Here's an extra-long chapter to make up for not posting last week. Enjoy!
Talia's POV
Two Weeks Ago
"I'm so sorry I'm late. I had detention from this morning. It won't happen again. I promise," I explain to my advisor.
"I'll give you a pass this time Taila since this is a rare occurrence. But, in the future, if this happens, you will be suspended from competing. Understood?" Mr. Smith lectures me.
"Understood," I repeat.
"I want you to stay until four since you missed most of the meeting," my advisor tells me. I sigh. I knew that this would probably happen. I figured I would have to stay late because of detention. I'll probably have to stay late for practice too. And then, because of that, I'll be late making Anthony's dinner. Hell, I probably won't even finish. I'll either be late to work or have to get a beating. I can take getting a beating; I can't take being late to work again.
"I'll stay late," I respond.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I was right. I had to stay late for soccer practice. Luckily, I have my car. Anthony got it for me last year to help lessen suspicion of the fact that he beats me. Him being the doting father and all. I scoff. Yeah right.
It would suck if I had to walk or run home. After running for soccer practice, I'm a little worn out. It's to be expected. My coach likes to run us ragged. He made me run extra laps too for being late. Not fun. I guess that'll show me not to sleep in.
Honestly, though, it wasn't my fault. With how little sleep I get, I'm not surprised that I overslept. If Anthony didn't have me cooking dinner every day and cleaning the house, I wouldn't be so tired. On top of that, I work and have soccer. Plus, I have to take care of my little sister because God knows Anthony won't. Someone has to look out for her.
Her powers make things a little... difficult. She has the ability to fly, has ice powers, and can control water. She's basically the opposite of me. I don't know how we're siblings considering I have the complete opposite powers from her.
The first time she used her powers she was eight. Sally McAllister was picking on her at a pool party. They called her a stick figure. Suddenly, the water started making huge waves. Mind you, we were in a backyard pool so the waves shouldn't have been that big. Then, the water shot up into the air. I started looking around to see what was going on. I thought that if I could control fire then maybe someone else could control water. I saw my sister standing there in a trance with extreme amounts of anger coming off of her. So, I swam over and shook her. Next thing you know she was shaking her head and giving me a confused look. And then I heard a scream. Sally was soaked to the bone and giving Scarlett the evil eye. Somehow she knew that my sister had caused the mishap. After that, they became enemies.
We talked about it afterward. She told me she didn't mean to do it. She had just gotten so angry and couldn't control what she was doing. Scarlett may have ice and water abilities, but she's a total hot head. Every time she gets really upset, her powers go out of whack. It's kind of my job to keep her cooled down. To make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble. Especially with Avery. Once she found out about Scarlett's powers, all hell broke loose. Those two were always icing the sidewalk so people would trip and fall or making the sprinklers go off at random times. Honestly, Avery was a bad influence on Scarlett. But what was I supposed to do? Ban my best friend from hanging out with my little sister? They would give me the silent treatment for weeks.
I finally make it home at 7:30. I was supposed to start dinner no later than 6:20. I'm going to have to differ from my original plan. Anthony is going to be pissed.
I work my hardest preparing dinner, but I know it won't be enough. The next thing I know, I hear the front door unlocking. I take a look up at the clock. It's already 8:30. I hurry up and prepare his plate making sure everything is meticulously placed. Anthony has this thing about his plate having to be immaculate and needing it to be placed on the table before he sits down to eat. I set it down right as he comes into the kitchen. He takes a seat and just stares at the plate for a couple of seconds.
CONTAINS SCENES OF ABUSE
"What is this?" He asks calmly. He's calm. That's always so much worse. I'm silent. My mouth won't work no matter how hard I try. "I said what the hell is this?!"
"I didn't have time to prepare what you wanted. Due to the beating this morning, I was late for school. I got detention, so I was late for my after-school activities. I-" I don't get to finish because he interrupts me.
"Did I ask for your fucking excuses?!" he yells. " I asked why I have steak and asparagus on my plate instead of homemade lasagna!" He gets up and throws the plate at me. I know better than to dodge. If I do, the beating will be so much worse. Anthony walks over, pulls my hair, and throws me against the wall. I hear a crack. I think that he broke a couple of ribs. He storms over to me and sniffs my hair. "Who have you been around?"
"No one!" I cry. "Just my classmates."
"No. You've been hanging around Marcus Trent. Are you trying to get witches to gang up on me?!"
"What? No. I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb with me! I know you have magic, Talia. I know what you are. Don't try to act all innocent. Now, you've met some fellow witches. You're plotting against me."
"I'm not plotting against you," I cough, spitting up blood. I have no idea how he knew that I was a witch. I certainly have no idea how he knew about Marcus.
"Fine. Don't tell me." He stomps on my ankle. I hear yet another crack. "Try playing soccer with a broken ankle. I don't want you anywhere near Marcus Trent. If I smell him on you again, you'll get much worse than a broken ankle." Anthony walks back over to the table and starts to eat. This has been one hell of a day.
End of abuse
* * * * * * * * * * * *
It's 11:30 at the coffee shop, and we're just getting ready to close. I'm the only one working tonight, luckily. I don't need my co-workers asking why I have a limp or why I keep wincing whenever I have to walk into the back for my supplies.
I will never understand how Anthony's a doctor. He doesn't have an ounce of empathy or compassion in his body. Apparently, though, he's really good at his job. Enough where he oversees all of Augusta Memorial. Everyone loves him and thinks he's such a great guy. I know the truth. He's an asshole through and through.
I hear the bell above the front door go off and look up. "Hey stranger! Long time no see," Avery says in a bubbly tone. I try for a big smile, but it comes out as more of a grimace. She stops short of the counter. "Are you ok?"
There's no use lying to her. She'll see right through it. Which is why, whenever I get a really bad beating, I stay home from school for a couple of days. It rarely happens, maybe five or six times in a given school year. I call in sick from school and that's that. I couldn't call out of work though. No matter how much pain I'm in, I have to work. "I broke my ankle during practice today," I tell her the partial truth.
"What?!" she yells. "How are you even standing right now?! You shouldn't be walking on that at all!"
"You know I heal fast. I think I might know why now."
"Still you should be sitting down. I'll finish cleaning for you." She takes the rag from my hand. I guess that's my queue to sit down. I wobble around the counter and take a chair down from one of the tables to sit on.
"As I was saying earlier, I think I might know why I heal fast. You know Marcus Trent in the grade above us?"
"You mean hottie with the swimmer's body Marcus Trent?" I give her a look. " I will not take back what I said. The dude is smoking hot. Like he'll start a fire hot."
"I thought you preferred girls?" I question with a laugh.
"I do, but that doesn't mean I can't see what a fine specimen he is." I laugh again.
"Sometimes I can't with you Avery."
"What? I'm not allowed to speak the truth?" That girl has NO filter.
"Anyyyyways, he told me something today."
"What did he tell you?"
"I'm a witch." I see Avery almost drop a cup she's drying off the moment I finish my sentence.
"He said you're a what?!"
"A witch. Apparently, there are all these other supernatural races too. He told me that he would teach me about them. Not sure how that's going to happen after... after my accident." That was close. Avery doesn't need to know about Anthony.
"Damnit Marcus. It wasn't time." I have no idea what she's talking about. "Well, since the cat's out of the bag." She puts down the rag and comes around the counter. "There's something I need to tell you."
"Ok?" She has this serious look on her face. I haven't seen her look like this since she told me she accidentally killed my hamster in the fourth grade. I was not a happy camper.
"I'm not human either."
"You're not?"
"No." I see her roll her shoulders and then... I can't believe my eyes. Wings just sprouted from her back. I think I might faint.
"You-you have wings," I stutter.
"Not just that. I have abilities too. Powers. I'm a fairy."
"You're-you're a fairy?" I don't even know why I'm surprised now. With everything I learned today, is this really such a shock.
"Look, I'll explain everything later. It's a long explanation, and you need to rest. I know you heal fast, which is part of being a witch, but if you put too much stress on it, it could heal wrong. I'll finish cleaning up here. You go home."
"But-"
"Go home," she demands slowly. I let out a sigh and start to walk towards the door. I turn around and bid farewell. I get into my car with much difficulty. My ankle is really bothering me, but I would never admit it to anyone else. I have to stay strong. I have to put on a face.
Once I get home, I drag my body through the door and up the stairs. I take a longer shower than normal. Since I left the coffee shop early, I'm able to just stand here and enjoy the hot water coursing down my back. This doesn't get to happen very often. A second for me to just be in the moment without anything holding me back or distracting me. It's a nice feeling.
By the time I get dressed, it's just a little past one in the morning. Now time to work on homework for the next two hours. This is what I get for being in all AP classes. Then, I have to be up at 5:30. I really hate my schedule.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I finally talked to Avery more about fairies. Apparently, there are three types of fairies: guardians, royals, and fretchers. Guardians are bonded to lead witches of a coven to guide and protect them. Royals are royalty that rules over all supernaturals. They are counseled by a female and male from all 7 main races called The Court of Illusion. Fretchers are fairies that catch rabid or dark supernaturals and monsters. Apparently, Avery is my guardian. She said since she's my guardian, one of my parents was a lead witch. She said she's not sure which one it could have been. I can't really ask either of them since they're both dead.
She said that there are also specific things that fairies are able to do. They can only cast spells specific to their element, are tarot card readers, can fly, and can use their element to gain speed and heal. She also said fairies have to attend a school specifically for fairies, vampires, and elves for at least two years unless something important comes up. Avery pointed out that when we were kids, my parents dying was an extenuating circumstance. Avery was tasked to protect me and watch over me since my parents weren't around to do it. That's why she didn't go to Till Academy for Fairies, Vampires, and Elves. Well, she did end up going, just not when she was supposed to. Most guardians end up going to Till Academy when they are in middle school. They are supposed to be around in a lead witch's life in high school since those are their most pivotal years before adulthood. When something happens with a lead witch, a guardian will be sent off later when they are in high school. They just have to be back before the lead witch's senior year. The elders, whoever they are, said that they weren't sure if my stepdad was a witch. Therefore, they didn't know if he would be able to guide me and teach me witchcraft. I'm glad he isn't teaching me. I hate him, and he hates me.
Speaking of Anthony, I avoided Marcus Trent for two weeks. Two weeks. And boy do I have to tell you that guy's persistent. Every time he tried to talk to me, I made up some excuse or straight-up walked in the opposite direction. Today, though, he gave me no choice but to talk to him. As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. I do need to learn about the supernatural world as soon as possible. I need to have the information so that I can protect myself and my sister.
I've been dreading telling my sister what we are. I don't know how she'll react, and when her emotions are heightened, her powers go out of whack. I don't want her or anyone else getting hurt because her powers went got out of control.
To top it all off, every time I come back from the library on Saturdays, I'm going to have to take a shower. Somehow, my stepdad can smell Marcus on me. If he catches a whiff of him on me again, I'm dead. I'm more than dead. That's why I had to avoid the guy for two weeks. I couldn't risk Anthony smelling Marcus on me. Even today is going to be hard. I'll just have to take a quick shower right when I get home. Then I won't have to worry about it.
Now there are two days until Saturday. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm excited about the lesson or dreading it. Probably a little bit of both. Seeing Marcus will make it worth it. Damnit! I don't know why I find him so fascinating. It's infuriating. I can feel other people's emotions, but most of the time I don't know how I'M feeling.