Rebecca
. . .
There are lots of things that I could be doing right now.
Homework, eating... taking a pregnancy test because Kai and I didn't use protection until we'd been given a box of condoms. But, I'm not.
And what I am doing right now would be far more relaxing if my mother would stop pestering me about Kai.
Less than five feet apart, at my mother's favorite spa, a half hour away from the school—away from Kai. A spa which, like most places I'm finding, is run by werewolves, my mother and I lay on massage tables, free to talk without being assumed as crazy.
Surrounded on all sides by the scent of soothing lavendar, and ocean sounds, I wish I could take the time to just... be.
"Are you sure this isn't a bit too much, too soon for you? I mean honestly, dear. I didn't meet your father until I was turning twenty-five."
But I can't.
I let out a sigh, partly out of exasperation and partly because my masseuse has begun working on the soles of my feet.
"Mom," I groan. "You know, better than I do, how this stuff works. And what I have with Kai feels right."
She lets out a sigh of her own, and I hear her shuffling around on her side of the room. "I'm sure you think you love Kaius right now, but, you're in high school, sweetie. And what you feel is just a product of the magic—yours and his."
"But it isn't, mom. I liked him before I found out, and learning he was pretty much made for me, how could I not love him?"
My mother waits a beat, alowing the room to fill with the deafening non-silence of a whale's call. "Right, you do realize that supports my argument?"
Thankfully she can't see me, so I roll my eyes. "What I'm trying to say is, yes the magic may have sped up our relationship, but even if it hadn't, the end result would most likely have been the same. So why fight it?"
She doesn't answer me, simply lets out a defeated sigh..
And apparently that's all that needs to be said.
. . .
My hair has been neatly trimmed, and rather than its usual style, lies pin straight down my back. Each strand perfectly in place.
My toe and finger nails are being painted pale green, with gold and white detailing, and my mother and I have moved on to less hostile topics of discussion.
"I met a succubus once. Let's just hope you don't end up with the fangs or the tail," my mom laughs.
I giggle along with her. "I think the fairy in me dims that."
We both laugh at that, but it fades, as I recall the question that wandered my mind as a child, and as I've learned I'm so much less than human has resurfaced with newfound intensity.
"Mom," I ask, my sudden somber tone grabbing her attention immediately. "If magica couples are so... perfect, then why didn't mine keep me?"
I look over at my mom, who gawps at me. Her mouth open and closes like a fish as she struggles for words.
"Well... sweetheart, not all magical couples are perfect. Just the werewolves... and the mermaids, though they don't have mates, they just—"
"Mom?"
Inhaling a deep breath to cease her rambling, my mother begins anew. "Look baby, your parents obviously came from vastly different backgrounds. There's a high chance one or both of them brought down a world of hurt on themselves after you were consummated. It's not their fault they had to give you up... I mean it is but, they couldn't in good conscience keep you, knowing one or both of them would die. And if they hadn't bound your powers before giving you up, you would have probably been hunted for a prize. I'm sure it hurts, to never have met them, to not know anything about either of them, but understand, they did what was best for you. And now, you have Leo and I. To keep doing what's best for you." She ends her heartfelt speech with a smile.
She reaches for my hand, but is politely halted by her nail technician. She settles for leaning over far enough to press the barest of kisses on my forehead and I smile back at her, allowing my eyes to fall closed once.
"Thanks mom," I sniffle, not having realized I'd begun to cry.
We sit, in silence just as before, but this is a more comfortable silence. Without speaking, we're just enjoying each other's presence, when all hell breaks loose.
Ya'll really thought I'd do that? Here's the rest of the chapter.
. . .
The room erupts in screams, causing my eyes to fly open and instinctively I look to my mother, and find myself letting out a scream of my own.
She's got an arrow through her throat and clutches at the wound, though it's no use, it's too late.
I'm rooted to the spot as my mom looks at me, eyes full of panic whilst she gurgles out her last breaths.
"Mommy?" My tears return full force, and I begin hyperventilating.
I whip my head toward the direction the arrow flew from, only to find myself staring down a revolver.
My mother's nail technician removes her filter mask with her free hand, tossing it to the side, and then reaches up and yanks away a wig, revealing her bound red hair.
It takes me a second to take my gaze off of the gun before I realize that it's Karen.
"Why?" I sob, my gaze flying back toward her weapon until I catch sight of the figure in the background.
Crossbow hanging limply by his side, dressed in full black stands the boy I knew was up to good when I spotted him on campus.
Slate says nothing simply approaches with a pair of hinged handcuffs.
My lower lip trembles as Karen points the gun at me, cocking an eyebrow that hints at what will happen if I fight. I allow him to put the cuffs on me, letting out a cry of pain when I realize they must be made of silver.
"Let's go," he orders.
Grabbing me by the crook of my elbow, he leads me out of the spa and into a black SUV with tinted windows.
I sob silently, unable to speak, to beg for my life as I try to comprehend what just happened.
I'm so in my head that I don't notice the man next to me until he moves. My father looks troubled as he sits in one of his ever crisp suits.
"Daddy?" I wail, reaching for him. "They got you t..." My words trail off as I realize he's not cuffed. Nor is he immobilized in any way that neutralizes him as a possible threat.
Seeming to witness my realization, my father offers a tight lipped smile. "To the house, Slate," he orders, and the car begins to move.
They're working together?
I feel like in my books, it seems like I'm all exposition, and then I rush into the end, but it honestly only seems that way because the first chapters are always short as shit.
Next update on Thursday! Stay safe angels!
😊✌🏽