Chapter 131: Retail Therapy
Mom and Dad were gone when I made it back, my crazy but powerful grandmother securely warded in her bedroom. Even Meira was out, probably with the coven. And Sassafras was missing too.
Probably for the best. I wasn't in the mood to listen to a lecture from a demon boy trapped in a cat's body.
It was a long time before I slept.
***
A soft breeze blows, carrying the scent of honeysuckle and roses. The garden sways around me, bobbing blossoms dipping to the ground as the wind brushes past them.
A lock of my blonde hair slips across my face and, as I lift one hand to brush it aside, my eyes lift and meet his. He is watching me, as he always does, his green eyes full of something I feel stirring in my own breast.
I turn my head to the side, unable to contain the small smile lifting my lips, bending to breathe in the luscious scent of a large yellow rose swelling beside me.
I feel his approach, welcome it. Turn to smile up at him.
She stands behind him, glaring at me, her anger so clear it makes me gasp.
***
A crack of thunder jerked me awake. I blinked up at the sparkly pink chandelier hanging from my ceiling and hugged myself under the covers. Another dream, the same people. But despite the fact I felt like I should know them, none of it was familiar at all.
When dawn cracked through the low clouds, I was there to greet it. It wasn't until my phone buzzed I remembered I had a life after all.
Alison. I promised her I'd go shopping with her. Exactly the kind of thing I wanted to be doing while my family and the rest of the world were in imminent danger and I was contemplating joining the ranks of the undead.
Still, I'd promised, and the more I thought about it the more I decided it was a good idea. Maybe I could get my mind off things.
I was amazed she was still up for it considering she'd probably been partying all night after prom. But she showed up, bright and perky as ever, just after ten, the horn of her convertible tooting happily from the driveway.
I slid in the passenger seat and was instantly jerked to the side as my best friend hugged me.
"Oh Syd," she said. "I'm so sorry about Brad." Great, news made the rounds. Though I wasn't surprised. I'm sure Page made it to the after party just in time to spread the joy.
"Thanks." I snapped on my seatbelt and tried to look sad. "I'm okay."
"I can't believe he did that!" She pulled out of my driveway with a hum of tires just shy a squeal and drove off, blonde hair flying behind her. "Brad's joined the jerk squad for sure."
"It's not his fault," I said, not sure why I felt the need to defend him. Okay, maybe because the poor guy had been a slave to my power through his latent abilities since we met. Suddenly I didn't have to fake sad anymore. "Things changed, that's all."
Boy, was that an understatement.
Alison patted my hand. "A little retail therapy will do you good then." She winked and spun onto the off ramp, heading for the interstate. "You'll see."
It's not that I didn't like shopping. It was just the enthusiasm Alison put into it. I kind of enjoyed drifting around from store to store, admiring things. That kind of shopping was fine by me. But Alison insisted I try stuff on. And not the things I picked out, oh no. Though I had to admit she had fantastic taste.
"This color blue is perfect for you," she gushed at me, holding up a soft sweater. "Perfect. Could it match your eyes better? I'm so jealous."
"Your eyes are blue." I took the shirt from her and looked in the mirror. She was right.
"Not as blue as yours, at least without help." She winked at me. "Thank goodness for contact lenses." She sighed over the sweater. "You have to buy it. I bet it would even make Brad change his mind."
I snorted. "Not looking for that to happen anytime soon," I said. But I took the sweater anyway.
As we strolled to the next store, I asked her about the party.
"It was fine," she shrugged. "Prom party. Bunch of drunk guys being idiots and stoned girls trying to get their attention." She giggled. "My date? Ended up face first in the lake. A couple of the boys had to fish him out by his hair."
I snickered. "That's attractive."
She wrinkled her nose. "Then he puked all over Page's new jeans she had her mother buy for her. From Paris." The laughter made Alison's eyes actually twinkle. "She was a total freakout mess."
"I bet." Now I wished I'd been there just to see Page get what was coming to her. There was a time when the perky cheerleader was a friend of mine, back when Alison was the nasty bully who led the cool girls. But like with most people who shouldn't have power over themselves let alone others, Page was in charge and giddy from the fact.
And you bet it went to her head.
"I just wish I could find a guy who had some respect for himself," Alison said. And flashed me a sly grin. "Like that yummy piece of handsome, Quaid Moromond."
My stomach lurched. What? An image of a lush garden and the feeling of a breeze made me shudder. The dream, but why was it popping into my mind now?
"He's okay I guess." I shook it off as I tried to concentrate. No way was Alison attracted to Quaid. Really? She'd never mentioned him before, not once, not ever.
Oh no. This could go very badly.
"Okay?" She rolled her eyes and bumped her hip against mine. "That boy is prime A deliciousness. Any guy who looks that good on a motorcycle... not to mention his voice." She laughed, a throaty sound, tossing her hair back as she led me to the food court. "I've been thinking about asking him out."
My body jerked as the furious face of the girl who ordered my death flashed in my head. For a brief moment, her snarl of jealous fury replaced Alison's smirk. Oh. My. Swear word. Now what?
"Um," I fumbled for an answer as the memory of the two dreams swirled around in my mind, making my head ache and my stomach churn. I fought for reality, hands fisting around the handles of my shopping bags. The real world faded back in, the scent of roses dissipating.
Alison was looking at me funny, as if she was worried I might fall over.
"Syd, are you okay?"
I nodded quickly, swallowing against the slow settling in my stomach. Right. Alison. Quaid. My logical mind started to work again. This could be a mess. For all she knew I'd been into Brad the whole time and had no clue about Quaid and I. How was I supposed to tell her all of a sudden she couldn't date Quaid because he was mine?
As the last of the weirdness settled, I realized it wasn't an issue. Quaid would turn her down. My anxiety eased a little. Until this whole demon and Wild Hunt thing was figured out, there wasn't much chance Quaid and I would be going on a real date or anything that Alison would witness.
So, I decided to be a coward and let him handle it. It seemed I had worse things to worry about. Like hallucinations.
"Um, sure, I guess." Weak. So weak. It was the best I could do. I kept my eyes forward and upward at the fast food menu. "It's up to you, Cydia."
"What?" She turned to me, ignoring the girl who waited to take her order. "What did you call me?"
What had I called her? "Alison?"
She frowned. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Who the hell was Cydia? But I already knew. The other girl, the one who had me killed. Cydia. She wanted to take my boyfriend. Was jealous of us. My mind slurred between reality and dream again for a second before I came back. But Alison wasn't Cydia. This was all wrong.
"Sorry," I said. "Low blood sugar."
She tossed back her blonde hair. "I hear you." Alison chewed her bottom lip. "So, about Quaid. Do you think it's a bad idea?"
I could have put an end to it right there. But what excuse could I possibly have? This dream stuff was freaking me out enough I just let it go.
"What are you hungry for?" It was a deflection, and maybe obvious, but Alison shrugged and accepted it.
My appetite was pretty much nonexistent, but I forced down a few bites of burger and a handful of fries just to have something in my stomach. I kept glancing at her, wondering if I was wrong. If this was some kind of possession or memory event triggered by magic, was I wrong about my friend? Were we tangled up in this together? But every time I looked at her, I knew the answer was no. It was the situation making me crazy, not the person.
Alison wasn't Cydia. No, I already knew who was.
Pain. I really had to talk to her.
"So," Alison said, way too fast and brightly, "what are you doing tonight?"
She looked uncomfortable as soon as the words gushed out of her.
"Nothing." Tell me she didn't want to double date with Quaid or something. That would be just wrong.
"Good." She fiddled with her straw, squirming a little. "Weird weather, huh?"
As much as my head was in an odd place, I noticed my friend was acting her own brand of nutters. I welcomed it, wanting the distraction. What was wrong with her? Usually she chattered on about everything and anything and I just nodded and smiled at the appropriate times. It worked great for us. Except she had something on her mind and she was obviously having trouble spitting it out.
More Quaid? I really hoped not.
"Yup, weird," I said.
"Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?" Alison's face turned bright red, her eyes wide. She ducked her head and kicked out one foot, impacting my shin.
"Ow!"
She reached for my hand. I'd never seen her look so uncomfortable.
"Sorry." The flush faded from her face and she laughed a little. "I'm such a goof. Forget I said anything."
I was actually speechless for a moment. Not from the kick or the odd behavior, but because in all the time I'd known her, Alison never once invited me over to her house. Not once. In fact, she avoided the topic so much I let it go. Alison loved my mom, my whole family, and I always thought it weird she never wanted me to meet her parents.
She looked so ashamed for some reason. I reached out just as she pulled back.
"I'd love to," I said. So what if I was in the middle of another massive mess? My best friend asked me to finally meet her family and I wasn't about to let Alison down.
She smiled, hesitant and sweet. "Thanks, Syd."
"I'm surprised you thought I'd say no." I swished the remains of my ice around in the bottom of my cup. "I've been asking forever."
She shrugged. "I wasn't sure I wanted to ask." She sighed. "I'm just worried. That you won't like them."
I rolled my eyes at her. "You've met my family," I said, layering on the sarcasm. "How much more embarrassing can you get?"
Her laugh cleared the last of the concern from her face. "You have a great family," she said. "All of them." Her eyes dropped to her hands. "Anyway, you'll see."
Why was I suddenly nervous?
Lunch finished, Alison dropped me off at home. "Six okay? I'll pick you up."
I waved, parcels in hand, and went inside. And came face-to-face with Mom.
"Have fun, honey?" Her eyes looked tired, but she was smiling.
"I guess." I set my bags down and hoped she wouldn't insist on me showing her what I bought. I just wasn't in the mood. I did want to talk to her about the dreams. And my reaction to Alison.
She didn't give me the chance. "I was wondering if you had plans tonight?"
Talk about déjà vu. And since when did Mom care what I did with my time, especially now? I frowned at her and shrugged. "Did you need me for something?" Alison would understand. Family came first. The thought that Mom needed me... I was here for her, always.
I hadn't felt needed in weeks.
She shattered my bubble pretty quick. "No, sweetheart. Not at all." She fidgeted a little.
"Alison asked me over," I offered, wondering why she was fishing.
Mom suddenly smiled like I'd handed her a gift. "Fabulous! Have a great time."
She retreated back down to the basement so fast I didn't get to ask her what her problem was or bring up my new one. Maybe she was working so hard her mind finally snapped. I sighed and gathered up my bags.
I was on my way upstairs when Dad almost ran me over coming down.
"Syd!" He hugged me harder than necessary. He did that sometimes, still a little awkward about his own strength in his mortal body. His navy blue eyes smiled at me, even though he looked as tired as Mom.
"Dad." I waited for him to get out of the way so I could keep going. He was a big guy and took up most of the space.
"I was wondering," he said, "are you busy tonight?"
Okay, now it was all three of them. Something was definitely up. Made me wonder if Mom tampered with my best friend to get me out of the house. She wouldn't do that-would she?
I couldn't help the scowl of suspicion that settled on my face. "I'm going to Alison's," I said.
Dad's smile widened. "Excellent. Have a great time." He kissed my forehead and thundered the rest of the way downstairs, around the corner and out of sight.
Why did I suddenly get the impression they were hiding something from me?
And was it worth it for me to worry about?
I decided yes. My bag of goodies fell abandoned on the stairs as I made my way down to the scene of the crime.
Mom and Dad whispered to each other, hunched together, when I stormed down the basement steps and interrupted. They jerked apart as if I caught them at something that made them feel guilty.
More evidence.
"What's going on?" I looked back and forth between them while they tried looking innocent.
"Nothing, honey," Mom said while Dad offered, "Not a thing, cupcake."
Then they said, "Why?" together like I hadn't noticed they were sneaking around.
"You two are horrible liars." I crossed my arms over my chest and glared. "I want to know what's up that you want me out of the house tonight."
Mom's shoulders slumped a bit. "It's nothing, really," she said. "Just... have a great time with Alison, sweetheart, and well see you later, all right?"
No, it wasn't all right. Not even a little.
"Fine," I said, some of my frustration seeping out at her. "Don't tell me. Cut me out like you always do. I'm sick of your crap anyway."
I ran back upstairs and to my room, slamming the door behind me. I collapsed on the bed face first, fighting tears of anger. It wasn't fair. None of it. It was like I wasn't a part of my family anymore just because I was powerless.
I heard my door creak open, the rustle of plastic. I flipped over and watched Mom set my stuff on my desk chair. She looked down at me with so much sadness I instantly felt like a jerk.
"Syd," she said, "you know we love you. We're doing everything we can to figure this out. And we will. But there are bigger things going on right now."
"The Wild Hunt," I said. She looked startled, then nodded.
"Quaid told you." She smiled a little. "Yes, the Hunt is rising and when their leader is fully awake he will come for us." She hugged herself. "I want you to be safe until then. So go out with Alison, please. Have fun. Enjoy this time. It's what you've always wanted."
Everyone kept throwing that in my face.
Before I could shoot a comment back, Mom disappeared out my door, closing it softly behind her.
If I'd had access to my magic, I would have reached out and slammed it again, but the physical effort of getting up to do so didn't seem quite so satisfying.
***
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