IncuBUST

Tour

Charlotte's home was really nice. I was jealous. Octavia was in awe. There were four bedrooms. Two downstairs and two upstairs. Celeste and August were twins and shared a room upstairs. Charlotte had the master bedroom on the first floor and Nikolai had a room downstairs. Octavia would be in the guest room. I thought the room was cute, but she thought it was awful. The walls were pastel pink and yellow with white trim. I was a sucker for pastels. 

"If you move in you can decorate the room however you want," Charlotte said and I saw a look of bitter indecision twist on Octavia's face. She was determined not to like it here. I nearly squealed over the kitchen. It was huge with sparkly marble countertops. I had to remind myself that it wasn't me who was moving in. Octavia turned her nose up at everything. The swimming pool with a waterfall. The flower garden in the backyard. The flat screen television in every room. The high-speed internet. The small but diverse library. The home-gym. 

"What do you do for a living?" I asked Charlotte as we wandered onto the back porch. Juno galloped after a ratty rope toy and scooped it up throwing it into the air and chasing after it. She glanced at me and replied, "I was a pharmacy manager for thirty years. I'm retired now." 

"Wow..." I mumbled. I was impressed. It was awful. I wanted the place to be horrible. Infested with rats and roaches. Lead in the water. Filled with cats...something! But I found absolutely nothing to complain about. It was in a good neighborhood (an exclusively human neighborhood), close to the high school, unnaturally tidy and she would be living with girls her own age. She would be safe here. I sighed and closed my eyes for a second. 

"Alright," I said turning to Octavia. "We can stop by my place and pack up your stuff then--" She began frantically shaking her head. 

"I don't want to live here!" she signed adamantly. 

"Why?" I asked, "It's perfect. You'll be with your family. People your own age. Humans--"

"I don't care!" she gestured, "I want to live with you!" Her brow was creased in anger. 

"You can come visit whenever you want," I said before glancing at her aunt. "Right?" She hesitated for a moment and then shook her head replying, "I'd rather her not." Octavia threw her hands into the air in exasperation. 

"She...she can't even visit?" I asked and something resembling pity crossed through Charlotte's eyes. 

"I don't want her to be alone with you." Both Octavia and I stared at her then Octavia began signaling wildly. I caught a few choice curse words.

"What is she saying?" Charlotte asked and I paused trying to figure out a way to repeat what she said without offending anyone. 

"She said she's been alone with me for the last four nights and nothing bad has happened," I finally replied. Charlotte set her hands on her hips and said, "You've been lucky." She was right. Sissy and I would never hurt her, but she had almost been killed by Barapha. 

I sighed again and took Octavia's hands in mine so she couldn't interrupt me. I stared right into her face and said, "You know I could make you, right?" She nodded grudgingly. I looked around the house and continued, "This place is really nice. I think you'll be happy here. And you know you only have to stay for two years and then you can do whatever the heck you want." She turned her gaze away from me and her fingers twitched. I let go of her hands and she slowly signed, "I'm happy with you." I blinked at her hands and suddenly felt tears burning in my throat. 

I pulled her into a hug and breathed in the smell of her hair. If this was the last time I was going to see her then I wanted to remember every detail I could. After a moment, I heard Charlotte clear her throat noisily. I tried to step back but Octavia clung to me. I reached back and removed her hands from my person. 

"I suppose...you could visit her here sometimes...if you want," Charlotte said with her arms crossed over her chest. "But only if Niki or I am here and I don't want you going anywhere near my daughters!" Octavia let out a stuttered laugh and signed, "But you can get as close to Nikolai as you want!" I felt my face go red and I chuckled in reply. 

"What did she say?" Charlotte snapped and I replied, "You should really learn ASL." She scoffed and said, "August knows it. She can translate." That was good. Octavia would have a rough time if no one in the family knew sign language. 

Octavia sighed and shoved her hands in her pockets looking out across the backyard surrounded by a white picket fence. Without looking at me she asked, "Do I really have to stay here?" 

"I could try and sue for custody, but no judge would let a minor live with a Mythic. Especially since we're not related," I replied and I felt her aunt glare at me. 

"You'll visit?" she asked and I nodded.

"Whenever you want me to." We were silent for a long moment, watching the dog roll around in a patch of bright green grass. Finally, her aunt said, "Alright. You can go collect her things. She'll stay here with me." Octavia tried to protest but I took her hands and replied, "Okay."

I started back towards the front of the house. I was just shoving my shoes back onto my feet when the front door swung open and a voice shouted, "We're home!"