My heart felt like it was going to burst through my chest by the time I finally opened my eyes. I was barely able to contain the gasp before it could squeeze its way through my throat and alert Theo. The said guy was still sleeping on his side, his warm breath tickling my skin.
I used the steady rhythm of his breaths to help ground me back to the semi-dark bedroom. While the nightmares were nothing new for me, something had changed this night. For the first time in five years, the image changed. My mother still stuffed me inside the big closet and used the freezing spell on me. This time, however, she had stopped before she closed the door. Her forest green eyes had melted into mine, and she'd whispered something. Words I couldn't remember, but that still felt real.
"I love you, Gabriela," she had said. "No matter what happens don't put the blame on yourself. It was my choice."
The words rang over and over again inside my mind and prevented me from falling back asleep.
At the same time, I wanted to give Theo some more time to rest. This is why, with a little squirming, I managed to get out of his hold and land silently on the floor. I reached for my phone on the nightstand and winced at how early it was. Not even eight in the morning. This called for an immediate dose of caffeine.
As quietly as possible I made my way downstairs. I was sure I was the only one already awake. After all, who in their right mind would be out of bed before eight o'clock? This is why I didn't bother to change out of the oversized shirt and the pair of purple panties I was wearing.
The scent of freshly brewed coffee tingled my nostrils, which caused me to slow down just in front of the kitchen. I wasn't the only one awake, after all.
My eyes snapped down to my state of undress, but after a second I shrugged it off. This was still my house, so it shouldn't matter what I was wearing. All thoughts of the brown liquid worth more than gold, however, vanished the moment I entered the kitchen.
Leaning against one of the counters was Vivian and molded against her front was Kasey. Her hand was resting on Vivian's hip, with a few fingers hiding underneath a white shirt. One of Vivian's hands, on the other hand, was curled in Kasey's hair. Their lips were moving in a gentle rhythm, perfectly in sync.
Something between a cough and a shriek squeezed through my throat. My brain was unable to comprehend what exactly I was seeing.
The two jumped apart as if they had just been scorched by a Fire witch. They spun to face me with equally wide eyes.
We stared at each other for a few silent heartbeats.
"I..." I felt a heat rise up my cheeks, so I began to back away. "I'll just be..." I let my words trail off and pointed with my thumb to the door behind me. Then without a second to spare, I fled back upstairs.
"Gabriela!" Vivian reached me just as I was one door away from the safety of my bedroom.
I did my best to reach the door in time, however, her strong grip on my forearm forced me to stop.
"I'm sorry." She stared at me with big pleading eyes. "You were never meant to see that. I didn't want you to find out this way."
I glanced at the closed door for a second and then allowed my shoulders to sink. This wasn't something we could avoid until it disappeared.
"I know I shouldn't have hidden the truth from you for so long, but... I didn't know how to tell you. It was never the right time... Are you... Are you disappointed... in me being... you know..."
"No, of course not!" Only then did I realize what my reaction must have looked like. "I don't care who you like. Men or women... I just... I still thought of you as my twelve-year-old half sister."
"So, you don't mind me and Kasey?" She peeked at me through her eyelashes.
"It's just... I've just found out that she's my second cousin... and you're my half sister." I understood they weren't really related by blood, but it still seemed odd. "How long have you known?"
"About Kasey or me liking women?" A soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
"You liking women." I first needed to clear this up before I could focus on Kasey's role in all of this.
"About a year now."
"Does Rob know? Did Judy know?"
"Rob knows about me, but not about Kasey. Mom..." She looked up at the ceiling. "I never told her. I just... I was always afraid of..."
"She would have loved you no matter what." I knew Judy well enough to know it wouldn't have mattered. "Deep down you had to know that as well. Judy would have accepted you no matter who you love."
"You're right." She nodded, while her eyes glistened with a few tears.
Without a second of hesitation, I pulled her into a tight hug. "I need to ask. Are you and Kasey just a fling or...?"
"No." She put her arms around me. "We haven't yet put a label on us, but it's not just for fun. It might have started off as a simple attraction, but now... I... I think I'm in love with her."
"I'm happy for you. Both of you," I whispered while continuing to hold onto her.
"Thanks. It means a lot... But can you please not tell Rob about this? I want to be the one to tell him."
"Of course." It was none of my business to go sharing her private stuff with anyone, even Rob. "But tell him before he accidentally finds out as I did."
"Definitely." She agreed and we finally parted.
With one last smile, she turned around and made her way back downstairs, while I slipped inside my bedroom. The moment I shut the door, I leaned my back against it and closed my eyes.
"I didn't expect that one."
My eyes flew wide open to find Theo sitting on the bed, now very much awake. His upper torso was still shirtless, while his hair looked like an old, used mop.
"You shouldn't have eavesdropped." I shook my head at him.
"Then you shouldn't have been right outside the door." He ran his hand through his hair and made it even messier. "Your voices were what woke me up in the first place."
"Sorry." I dragged my feet over to the bed and sat down next to him.
Without hesitation, he pulled me against his side and enveloped me in his warmth. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm not sure." It was way too early for my brain to start processing such a heavy topic. "Until this morning I still thought of Vivian as my twelve-year-old half sister. I never considered her all grown up... But she is. And I missed it all because of those five years."
"What are you saying?" He was running his hand up and down my arm.
"You heard what she said. She's known for a year now and I had no clue." It never even crossed my mind. "If I had stayed, then I could have... I don't know... been there for her. I could have helped her tell Judy."
"That's not true. From what I've heard of your life, you spent most of your time in Allium. So even if your mother had never died and you'd never left, you still couldn't have been there for Vivian."
"At least she could have called me."
"Do you really think this is a conversation one has over the phone?"
My silence was all the answer he needed. He was, of course, right. Even if I had never left, I wouldn't have spent much time with my human family. I had, after all, been the High Priestess in training.
"At least from now on, you can make certain to be there for her."
It felt a bit strange for him to be comforting me. He wasn't a person one usually thought of when needing to be comforted.
"And I can make sure you never leave again."
"As if you could stop me," I snorted.
In an instant, he pushed me backward so that my back landed on the mattress, and he hovered over me.
"I could make it impossible for you to leave me." His lips grazed my earlobe, making me shiver. "Don't forget you're wearing my mark now. There isn't a place on Earth you can hide from me. You are mine."
"And how exactly could you make me want to stay with you?" The purring undertone in my voice let him know exactly what I was thinking.
He moved his head, so his eyes met mine. The playful spark in his eyes matched mine as his lips hovered just above mine. My tongue darted out to moisten my lips and I waited for his next move.
Teasingly slowly he leaned closer until his lips were barely a hair's distance away from mine. His sweet breath had my head spinning and I almost couldn't stop myself from crossing the last inch.
"I have a few ideas." His lips grazed mine while he spoke. "But first we need to eat."
He pulled away and left me breathless and alone. I couldn't believe my eyes as he stood in the middle of the room, grinning down at me. The tease.
"You're going to pay for this." I sat up.
He, on the other hand, threw me a mischievous grin before he walked over to the door and closed it behind him.
I glared at the closed door for a few heartbeats. Then I finally got off the bed and made my way into the bathroom. Once finished, I intended to make my way downstairs alone, however, the moment I exited the room Theo was already waiting for me. Without giving me an opportunity to mutter a single word, he pulled me flush against him. Then hungrily captured my lips.
The kiss left us both breathless and would have continued if someone beside us hadn't cleared their throat.
Kasey was standing a couple of steps away, avoiding looking in our direction. "I guess I deserve this one. Can I talk to Gabriela?"
"I'll see you downstairs." Theo kissed me one last time and then walked away.
I waited until I was sure he was out of earshot before turning back toward her.
"About before, I—" Kasey began, but I instantly stopped her.
"Before you say anything, I need to make one thing clear. If you ever break Vivian's heart or hurt her in any way, I will make being my guard look like a child's play? Got it?"
"I guess that's fair." She nodded and we slowly began making our way downstairs. "I want you to know I'm not just messing with her. I... I think I love her." She said the words just as we turned a corner.
We didn't make it very far because I walked straight into a wide-eyed Rob. He had been walking in the opposite direction while carrying a bowl of milk and cereal. The milk now drenched the front of my shirt, while the bowl fell to the ground and shattered into a thousand pieces with a loud crash. The three of us froze and stared at each other.
As if on cue Vivian came running up the stairs. She only needed to take one look at her brother and the two of us to know it was already too late.
"We need to talk." She grabbed Rob's arm and began to pull him in the opposite direction.
He didn't try to resist, but his eyes didn't stop flickering back toward Kasey.
"Damn, today is not a good day," the said witch murmured.
I gave her a sympathetic pat on the back and then made my way back to my bedroom. Before I could go downstairs, I first needed to change my shirt. Again.
Inside the room, I pulled the ruined shirt off and threw it into the bathroom. Just as I picked out a nice light blue shirt and took it out of the closet, a voice spoke from my right.
"Well, this is awkward."
A loud shriek left my mouth and I instinctively raised the shirt to cover my bra. Only then did I turn to face the intruder.
He was standing in the middle of the room, with his eyes focused on the ceiling. At least he was gentleman enough not to look.
Before my brain had a chance to connect the face with a name, the door broke down with a loud crash. A heaving Theo barged into the room and grabbed the man by his throat. He raised him up into the air and began to squeeze.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't snap your neck?"
***
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Much love
-E