Chapter 169: Besties
I'd never understood my mom's obsession with her '66 Mustang. The way she took care of it, had it detailed regularly. I was even pretty sure she'd spelled it to protect the paint and interior from damage. Come on. It was just a car.
Until she and Dad one happy, sunny morning just a few weeks ago, handed me a jingling set of keys. Squealing in absolute excitement, I found myself staring down the grill of a brand new Cooper Mini. I didn't care it was the same car Mom's best friend Erica drove. Not one little bit. I loved my car immediately with a powerful sense of possession I'd never felt before.
I refrained from hugging its cute bonnet only out of sheer willpower, sliding behind the leather-covered wheel into the black seats that seemed made for me. It had been the most incredible gift I'd ever received and I vowed as I turned the key for the first time I'd never let anything happen to her ever.
Her. Yeah. I know.
The only downside? The color. Mind you, I didn't for a moment let even a fraction of criticism enter my mind for my Minnie. Yes, she was electric blue and white. Yes, I knew Mom's favorite color was... you guessed it. Did I mind? Nope. Though I did privately admit to myself my Minnie was pretty flashy.
I paused on my way out the door to admire her for a moment, gleaming there in the driveway, before hopping in, plugging my iPod into the dock and jacking the tunes. The engine hummed happily as I drove off, forcing my mood to stay cheerful, if only to keep me from losing my mind when I finally came face to face with Alison.
I found myself looking around as I drove through town, still amazed how quickly things went back to normal. It was almost as if a killer storm hadn't just threatened the entire town. In fact, when the Sidhe hunt dust settled it turned out there hadn't been much damage after all.
Yet another mystery of Wilding Springs I filed away as weird and creepy.
I sped through town, trying to do the speed limit, but knowing already I had a lead foot. Lucky for me I never seemed to get caught. That would suck. Especially if my ex- boyfriend's dad was the one to pull me over. Sheriff Peters never fully got over the effect my mom's power had on his latent talent, or the fact Brad and I weren't together anymore. I was just as happy, actually. Now that I knew the true face of normal, had been dumped at prom and saw the follower side of Brad's bully nature, no amount of cute or football hero could make me want him again.
Which naturally made me think about Quaid. Delicious tall, dark Quaid with his eyes like the best chocolate and his black hair hanging over them, lean body clad in leather as he sat on his motorcycle... I had to jerk my thoughts from him and try to focus on the music or I would have swerved off the road.
It pissed me off how much I missed him.
I checked all the local haunts for Alison's car, but there was no sign of the cherry red convertible. Fine, her house it was. Not my favorite place to visit, but this was Alison. She was worth it.
I wound my way up her drive to the mansion at the top of the hill, parking directly in front of the big door. I knew I should pull around the back of the house, but I wasn't in the mood to play nice to appease Angela, Alison's capricious mother. Besides, it was almost ten in the morning. She'd probably be too drunk already to notice.
Rosetta answered the door and I admit I felt a bit of a shock. The woman looked terrible, as if she'd aged ten years since I saw her last at the lake house. A member of the Chosen of the Light, the crazy maid always hated me and seeing me now made her actually twitch in horror.
"I'm here to see Alison."
"She's not home." Rosetta tried to slam the door in my face, but I held it open easily, her tiny frame no match for me.
"She's home." I reached inside the house with my magic, no harm done, though I was pretty sure Rosetta knew what I was doing. Most of the Chosen had their own powers, betraying their kind to a cult who thought anyone who had magic should either convert to their beliefs or burn at the stake. I felt my friend approaching. "Get out of my way."
Rosetta shook her head, refusing to release the door. "Out, foul spirit." She made a sign to ward against me. It made me laugh, low and menacing, just to spook her further.
"Good luck with that."
The maid didn't get a chance to respond. Alison appeared over her shoulder. She looked pale and angsty, meeting my eyes with a gaze filled with a mix of sorrow and outrage.
"Al," I said. "We have to talk."
She hesitated before nodding. "Let her in, Rosetta."
The maid turned to protest. As she did, I shoved past her. She flinched back from me as though my touch might harm her.
Good, let her be afraid. About time someone was scared of me and not the other way around.
I followed Alison through the vast foyer and to the back of the house. She entered the library, perching carefully on an antique sofa, no longer meeting my eyes. I sighed at the drama and collapsed in a chair across from her.
"You haven't answered any of my texts or emails." It came out like an accusation. Now that I was here, I was pissed. We were friends, weren't we?
She shrugged delicately, looking away. Her perfect blonde hair swung over her shoulder, blue eyes catching the sunlight streaming in the room.
No answer. Really? Was she expecting a personal apology? Well, guess what. That wasn't about what I planned to deliver. I had a story to tell her and she was going to listen.
Quietly, with as much dignity as I could wrangle, I told her about the arranged marriage between Quaid and I. Yes, I left out some details, like how his parents were witches who murdered his real family and kidnapped him to use him as a power source. And the fact the only reason our families wanted us to get married was because we'd have really strong kids. But the rest of it? I dumped that on her. How Mom betrayed my trust, that I had no idea when he sat down in our living room that this perfect stranger was meant to be my husband.
As I spoke, Alison reacted. First with scorn and skepticism, then with shock and growing horror. She clasped her manicured hand to her mouth as I wrapped up, tears standing in her eyes. With a low cry, she came to me and hugged me, sliding into the wide seat beside me.
"Oh Syd," she said. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."
I shrugged. It went better than I expected. "Sucks, right? Anyway, the whole Brad thing happened and I thought that was what I wanted. But Quaid, he kind of grew on me." Did he ever. When our power connected it was heat and magic of another kind. "I couldn't tell you. I was too embarrassed. And I didn't want you to be mad at Mom." Alison adored my mother, so that much was true.
She shook her head, patting my hands as if I were a child and she needed to reassure herself I wasn't going anywhere. "I'm sure your mother had your best interest at heart."
Alison siding with Mom. There was a shocker.
"Is it still on?" Her eyes were huge, breath bated. "The marriage? And you were dating?"
I shook my head. "Not exactly. They decided to give us a choice. But none of that matters anymore." I felt my mood darken further, this time with sadness. Damn him. Damn him for leaving me.
"Why?" She held my hands now, the contact a desperate thing and I wondered how much damage this caused her. I was only beginning to understand how hurt my friend was from a lifetime of bad parenting.
"He's gone." I actually choked up. "Quaid. He left. To find his family, he said."
She shook her head. "Oh no."
It felt good to talk to her about it. "Yeah. I don't know where he is or if he'll come back."
"After telling you he loves you? He just left you like that?" Her outrage was flattering. I hugged her back when she squeezed me again. "He did not."
I found myself laughing through a mist of tears. "I missed you, Al."
She choked up herself, finally crying for real. "I missed you, too." This time when she hugged me I felt her shaking. "I'm sorry, Syd. I should have trusted you. I never want to fight again."
"Me either." I pushed her back. "But you were right to be mad. I should have told you before."
"No more secrets." She held out one little. It reminded me of Meira and the promises we made all the time. "Pinky swear."
That was a tough one. I wanted to do it, knew she needed it. But it would be a lie, straight up. Could I pinky swear when I knew I'd be lying to her on a regular basis?
I hooked her finger with mine. "Deal."
Alison laughed through her tears. "Deal." Her eyes flew wide again. "Oh! You haven't heard, have you?"
"Heard?" Was I right? Did she tell our mutual friends not to contact me? I saw her blush and knew she had.
"About Blood." She bit her lower lip, winding the string of her hoody in her fingers as she did. "He's moving."
Weird Pain didn't tell me. Though I wondered how much time she spent with her Goth boyfriend now that she had lessons to tend to.
"His dad got a job somewhere in Europe." Alison sighed sadly. "I guess this happens all the time."
I was surprised at that. I'd thought he was born in Wilding Springs, that I was the only outsider. "When are they leaving?"
"Soon." She ducked her head. "A few days."
Our little group was breaking up, I guess.
"I'm planning a going away party." Alison perked. "We'll all be able to say goodbye together."
"Sounds good."
Alison dimpled with a mischievous grin. "Well," she said, "I'm planning one now."
I had to laugh. It was a relief to see her laugh with me. Because even as she did, I could feel the sadness in her, something older and deeper than what I'd caused. Now that my magic and I were getting along, it was easy for me to feel just how unhappy my best friend was.
I was determined to do something about that.
***
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