Rectification

Chapter 5

"Boscha saw you in the woods while she was walking home from school."

With Luz? Please, stars...

"You were sitting on the ground, and your head was buried in your arms, and according to Boscha, you were crying very loudly."

Oh. Amity's throat went dry and she found herself unable to respond. That's not the worst case scenario, but that's still... bad.

Alador raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Care to explain what made you so upset?"

"Not really," Amity whispered.

"Miss Amity." Alador took one threatening step towards his daughter. Amity backed up against the banister and curled one arm around it. She fixed her eyes at the ground, avoiding Alador's gaze like it was the Islean Plague.

"I need to finish my homework. Finals week is coming up-"

"You have all night. I think it's time you and I had a little heart to heart conversation about what it means to be a Blight."

An unexpected flash of rage pierced Amity's heart. In any normal family, this was the part where Alador would sit her down and help her sort through her emotions with gentle words and soft praise. If this were a normal family, her father would open up his arms and Amity would melt into his embrace. Then, he'd curl his arms around her back and hold her until her sorrow had ceased. If this were a normal family, she wouldn't have to hide her friendship with Luz in the first place.

But they weren't a normal family. They were the Blight family. Amity had no choice but to deal with her frigid and unsupportive father, because Amity was a Blight.

And she hated herself for it.

"No."

Alador recoiled. "Excuse me?" He grimaced, and Amity could see his fangs.

She drew away from the banister and straightened her back. "I said no." A strange sense of strength flooded her limbs, and she felt invigorated in a way she never had before. This is for Luz. This is for me. "I don't have to tell you anything," she said bravely.

Her father's eyes flashed with anger, bright and cold. "Miss Amity, that is no way to address your father."

Amity shrugged. "It is now." Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of movement at the top of the stairs. There was no mistaking the forest-green hair and sky-blue sleeves of her siblings. Amity silently thanked the stars. Before Alador could make a lunge toward her, she spun on her heels and made a dash up the stairs.

Edric and Emira were waiting for her around the corner of the hallway, and as soon as they saw her, Emira grabbed her by the upper arm and they hurried down the hallway and towards her bedroom. "Lucky we saw you!" Emira whispered. She, too, noticed the cast. "Is your hand okay?" Amity managed a shaky nod.

The two girls ducked into Amity's room and Ed followed close behind, closing the door. Amity collapsed on her bed. She pressed her face into her pillow and curled herself up into a ball, hoping that if she was small enough she'd just disappear.

She felt a weight settle down by her side, and her hand fell on her shoulder. "Not now, Em," she grumbled. "Just leave me alone."

"But we just heroically saved you, Mittens," Em said.

Ed sat himself down on Amity's other side. "We just want to make sure our favorite baby sister is okay!"

"Yeah, right." Amity lifted her head and glared at the twins. "Just 'cuz I don't want to talk to Dad doesn't mean I want to talk to you."