Damnit! Aurora is gone again. I hate how she comes and goes as she pleases. And how does she do that anyway, it's my body, shouldn't I be in charge of her comings and goings?
And again she has left me with a ton of questions, as usual. I'm very confused but I have to admit this is the new normal for me. I think I'm getting used to it.
What I'm not getting used to, however, is how Aurora speaks of the so called Mistress Rosemont. She makes me doubt everything that the Rosemont sisters told me. For instance the fact that she called the woman who raised her evil is something I can't get out of my mind.
I don't want to doubt the Rosemont sisters because that further complicate my life and it would mean that they lied to me about everything, including the true nature of what I truly am.
But I can't help but think that there's some truth in what Aurora says. If all she did was choose James then why was she cursed? It sounds a little harsh if you ask me. And if Mistress Rosemont was the saint that my sisters proclaim her to be, why didn't she just banish Aurora instead of destroying her like that.
I don't know what to believe anymore but I'm starting to think that there's more to this story than what the Rosemont sisters told me.
I finally decide to remove my clothes. I put on a light summer dress as it is easier for both putting on and taking off. Just as I finish I hear a knock on my door which is strange since I thought I was home alone. Well maybe Ronnie came back.
When I open my door I'm surprised to see Alice along with Amelia, Nikolina and Cassandra behind it. I have a lot of questions but none are suitable in Alice's presence.
"Hi." I say.
"Hi sweetie." Alice replies. "I just got home and I bumped into these lovely girls. They are here to see you."
"Oh." Is all I say. I want to ask why they are here but that would be rude.
Before I can say anything Cassandra walks past my stepmother and pulls me into a tight hug. I quickly recover her ambush and hug her back.
"We wanted to see how you were doing." She tells me once she releasees me from her embrace.
"I'm fine." I say, trying to ignore the fact that she's stroking my hair right in front of Alice.
I know it's how they show their affection but I don't want Alice to think there's something weird going on here. Well something weird is going on here but Alice doesn't have to know that.
Alice doesn't seem to notice or maybe she doesn't find it weird that Cassandra is continuously touching me. It's not like it's sexual or anything but normal people don't behave like this.
"Well girls I will let you catch up. Call me if you need anything." She adds before leaving us, probably going into the kitchen to make us something.
Once Alice is gone I invite the Rosemont sisters in my room. It's not like I have a choice anyway, they are already in my house so I can't exactly get rid of them.
I was starting to grow fond of the Rosemont sisters. I was even starting to consider them to be my sisters but after what Aurora said I'm not sure how I feel about them anymore.
We all sit cross legged on my bed and that's when I notice a price tag on Nikolina's dress. Up until now I hadn't noticed that they are wearing matching blue dresses. And it's only now that I realize that these are probably new clothes.
"We bought them earlier." Amelia confirms what I have already figured out. "We wanted to look nice."
It shouldn't surprise me because that they would do something like buy new clothes just to come see me but somehow it does. "To impress me?"
"Well yes." Amelia says, her cheeks a bright shade of pink. "It's rare for us to go anyway so we thought we would try to look nice for you."
"Do you like them?" Cassandra asks me and I almost want to laugh. Not because the dresses are ugly or anything, they are not, but because they would go through all this trouble just to impress me.
"Yes but you don't have to dress up for me and you definitely don't have to wear matching clothes all the time." I move closer to Nikolina and remove her tag with my teeth. "And always remove the price tag."
"Ohh. Maybe we can go together sometime." Amelia says. "We are not really good at picking out clothes." She admits.
"Yes we are." Cassandra protests her sister. "It's just difficult to be around people."
It takes me a moment to realize what she's talking about. People are not exactly nice to them even when it's only in their minds. I remember the first time I met them and how I was instantly informed of their famous nickname, the Rosemont Weirdos. Now I know what a curse and a blessing this mind reading thing can be.
"Are you feeling better?" Nikolina asks me, pulling me from my thoughts.
I look at her, wondering exactly what she's referring to. It takes me a second to read her mind and figure out she's talking about my earlier incident, the one where everyone's thoughts were invading my mind and giving me headaches.
"Yes." Its the first time I'm actually thinking of it really. So much has happened today that I had forgotten about the whole thing ever happening. "They aren't as loud anymore. It's still a little annoying but I can handle it now."
"You handled it better than Nikolina actually. Remember when we first moved to Las Angeles." Cassandra starts to laugh. "Amelia would not let her leave the house."
"Why?"
"Nikolina was sensitive and unlike you she would have exposed us." Amelia explains.
"When did you live in California?" I ask, wanting to know as much as possible about them.
"1985." Amelia says like it's no big at all. Well I guess to them it's not really a big deal. To me, however, it's still quite surreal that they could look so young whilest they are very old. "It was Cassandra's turn to pick our next destination and she chose California."
"I wanted to live somewhere sunny." Cassandra shrugs playfully.
"So you never get old?" I already know this but I need to hear them say it out late.
"No. Our magic keeps us from aging. We stopped aging long ago."
"I don't think remember a time before we were like this." Cassandra says, laughing lightly.
But it's hard for me to find this situation amusing as it's highly likely that I may suffer the same fate.
"What about me?" I ask quietly. "Will I stop aging?" I'm afraid of the answer but I need to know if there's a possibility that I might stop growing older.
"There's a possibility." Nikolina answers me.
Oh no! I don't want to be stuck like this. What will my family say? What will Sky think? He would age without me and then eventually die whilst I'm still a teenager.
Amelia reaches out to squeeze my hand. "Hey calm down." She says softly. "We don't know if you will actually stop aging or not. No need to jump to conclusions." She adds and looks at Nikolina.
I don't say anything because my mind is still processing the fact that I lose Sky, not because he would stop loving me, but because my body was against the laws of biology which makes sure everyone ages. Well everyone normal that is.
Amelia sees my train of thought and she starts to say something in hopes to reassure me but before she can say anything we all hear a light knock coming from my door.
Needing to distract myself from this new disturbing information, I rush to open the door. I expect to see my stepmother but it's actually Ronnie.
"Hi." She says cheerfully, as usual.
Unfortunately I don't have it in me to feign enthusiasm at this particular moment so I just say a simple, "Hi."
At my tone her face falls a little. "Mom said she made something for you and your friends. She wants you downstairs."
I nod. "Okay."
She frowns. "Are you okay?"
"Yes." I say but I know she doesn't believe me. To avoid her asking me again I call Amelia, Nikolina and Cassandra, informing them that Alice made us food.
Fortunately they quickly catch on and come to my rescue. Ronnie quickly forgets about me as soon as she sees the Rosemont sisters. She's immediately dazzled by them, not that I blame her. These girls can be charming and if I didn't know better I would be intrigued by them as well.
"Well let's not keep your mother waiting, I'm really hungry." Amelia announces after minutes of 'formally' introducing herself along with her sisters to Ronnie.
"Oh okay." Ronnie is practically stammering.
Surprisingly Cassandra doesn't follow her Ronnie and her sisters to the kitchen. She stays behind with me and I wonder why.
"You really love him." She says after seconds of awkward silence.
I don't have to be a genius to know that she's talking about Sky, besides I can read minds. "Yes I do." I reply her. It's not like it's a secret or anything.
She laughs lightly. "It wasn't a question."
"Is that why you stayed behind, to ask me about Sky?" My voice comes out harsher than I intended.
Cassandra is a bit taken aback by my hostility but thankfully she doesn't call me out on it.
"Not really. I'm not here to tell you I disapprove or anything of the sort. I know how you feel."
"You do?"
She nods. "To love someone so much you cannot fathom the thought of breathing without them. A love that consumes you so much you would die for that other person." She says it so passionately that I'm convinced she really knows how I feel.
"You were inlove." It's not a question but it's a statement. The love she's describing is exactly how I feel about Sky.
"Maybe I still am." She goes back to my bed and I follow her and sit beside her.
"Will you tell me about it?" I ask. It's the first time I have ever heard her talk like this. I would have never thought there was this sensitive girl underneath all that playfulness.
"It's not really exciting like yours." She tries to joke but all I see is sadness on her face. "When I fell in love to the Mistress it was like I had eaten the forbidden fruit."
"Was it a demon?" I find it hard to believe that Cassandra might actually fall for a demon. I remember how she attacked James when she thought he had hurt me. There was so much hate in her eyes. But then again you know what they say about love and hate.
"No it was an Angel."
"I don't understand. If you fell for an Angel then what was the problem? Weren't you supposed to choose Angels for mates?" This is really confusing.
"Well this Angel wasn't the one for me and apparently the Mistress thought so as well. I knew it was wrong but I thought maybe Mistress Rosemont would let me be happy and forget about the rules for once."
"Why didn't she approve?" I ask, desperately wanting to know exactly what was wrong with Cassandra's choice.
Tears start to fall from her eyes. "Because it was against everything we believed in." She starts to sob. "It was against God."
My heart aches for her. I can only imagine what it's like to be forced away from the person you love. I couldn't bare it if someone were to separate me from Sky. He's my whole world.
Before I can stop myself I pull Cassandra in my arms and let her cry onto my shoulder. I stroke her back, trying to comfort as best as I can.
"Do you still love him?" I ask softly.
"Him." She says the words as if it pains her. "Yes I do."
She continues to cry and as I comfort her I start to wonder if maybe Aurora is right and Mistress Rosemont was evil. I just feel like she isn't the saviour that they believe her to be.