303
Tony
What lie would he tell? Would I even be able to tell it was a lie?
He frowned. Then, he snickered. “Right. My adventure. Well, after I got chased into the subway by Cline and his merry band of would-be kidnappers, a nice old lady directed me to a bookstore across town. Not sure how she did it, but she kept them from finding me.”
I narrowed my eyes. "She was a supernatural."
"A witch." He pulled the book out of a drawer, dropping it on the counter with a grin. “Sorry to say, but running for my life kicked my ass. I passed out on the couch.”
I frowned, pulling the book across the counter to me as Matt kept pulling stuff out of the cabinets.
“A bookstore?” He hummed. I skimmed the cover. “Potion Efficacy for the Everday…”
He hummed. As I flipped through the pages, I realized that it was more of a potions textbook than a recipe book, though a lot of the dishes were ones that Matt had made. The beef stew from the night before was inside. I scanned the pages, noting Matt’s handwriting in the margins and all the sticky notes that had been added. My lips twitched. Hadn't he brought home books from college like this?
“Why were you suddenly interested in potions of all things?”
“Doctor’s orders,” Matt said, pulling out a tray of eggs that looked like it had come from a farmer’s market of some sort. The carton wasn’t branded. “And class reqs. Well, more like extra reading.”
“I didn’t think you were the type to go for extra credit.”
He smirked. “One of us was on the Dean’s list and graduated magna… the other didn’t.”
I frowned, blinking. Was he fucking with me? I would have remembered that.
Then, the pain came back, and I saw him standing on stage, delivering a speech I couldn't make out, but what had he been studying? Magna for what?
“Hey,” Matt said. “Try not to send yourself into a conniption because you don’t remember, okay?”
I nodded slowly. “I’m more likely to freak out about why I don’t remember.”
“It’ll come back to you,” he said. “And… there was our mom.”
“Mom?” I frowned. Something bubbled, hot and angry, at the back of my mind. “What about her?”
“She was a great healer, so I got curious and went looking for her. You know she’s published. I’m looking for—”
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “She was a housewife like all she-wolves are.”
He glanced at the book. “That book says otherwise.”
I rolled my eyes and flipped to the front of it.
Eve Ashgrave.
“Just because the author shares a name.”
He smiled, and his eyes twinkled. “A face, too?”
“What are you talking about?” He motioned for me to flip. I flipped a few pages in and stopped as the photo of our mother stared back at me.
This is a posthumously updated edition, including Grand Healer Ashgrave’s personal notes as released by her estate.
“Mom… has an estate?” I looked up at him.
He leaned on the counter. “I don’t think he knows that… It’s probably held by her family.”
“But they’re dead.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Are they? Or have we never met them?”
I frowned. The pain started to grow, grinding into the back of my head. Bits and pieces. I could hear someone whispering to me through the fog, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.
“You think they’re alive?” I swallowed. “They’d be under Dad, wouldn’t they?”
“What makes you think that she was a Blue Moon wolf, Tony?”
I swallowed. I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to find out either. I shook my head and pushed the book back toward him. I can't help but feel a bit uneasy about this. I try to push my doubts to the back of my mind, but I can't help but feel a bit suspicious. It was growing, festering in a way that didn’t necessarily make any sense.
I shuffled the pages he’d given me and frowned.
“Matt.”
“Yeah?”
“How’d you get to the grocery store?”
“I drove, of course. Why?”
I pushed the pages across the island from me. “This says you’re not supposed to be driving.”
He frowned and looked down at it. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, really?”
“You didn’t read it?”
“Not past the prescription.” He rubbed his neck. “I feel fine. Better than fine. What the—”
His phone chimed, and the sound of it made me remember the other thing I was supposed to be asking about: his communication watch. I couldn’t see it. Was he wearing it now?
“This is Matt…. Yeah.” He winced. “Today?... Really?” He sighed.
“What is it?”
“An appointment,” he said. “ My doctor wants me to come in for an eval’.”
“I can drop you off on my way to work.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “And how long do you expect me to be there?”
“I can get you over lunch.”
He sighed. “And class tonight?”
“I’ll take you.”
He sighed again. “Fine. If it’ll make you feel better.”
Matt set up the appointment to start a little after ten. It would give me plenty of time to drop off Quillan, maybe meet his doctor, and be assured that things were… exactly as they appeared before heading to work. I couldn't exactly say why I was so... nervous, so paranoid about what was really going on with him, but I was.
He got off the phone and turned on the stove, looking disgruntled.
“What?”
“I’m getting him to change that,” Matt said. “I’m not an invalid.”
“Follow the doctor’s orders,” I said, rolling my eyes. “And you—”
I broke off as I heard Quillan’s tiny feet rushing out of his room.
“Am I late?” He asked, throwing up his hands. “I’m ready!”
I laughed. His clothes were halfway on. The buttons were mismatched, as were his socks, and his hair was a wild bed of curls.
“Close,” I said, sliding out of my seat. “Let’s see if we can get you dressed the rest of the way, yeah?”
Quillan's shoulders slumped. "Is it the buttons? Mommy tried to teach me…"
I chuckled and scooped him up into my arms. "Let's see if I can, hm?"
He looked up at me and laid his head on my shoulder. "Could you help me put on my green shirt?"
I frowned. "Your green shirt?"
He nodded. "Mommy's favorite color is green."
Didn't I know that? Had she told me, or had I figured it out? Her bike had been green, from what I remembered. I could see her driving toward me in a bright green t-shirt and leather pants that were sinfully tight.
I could feel them beneath my fingers, too. My stomach churned, and my lips twitched.
"Should I wear green too?"
"Oh, please? We could match!"
I nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
I got him dressed in his little green button-up and a vest that was close enough to the only shade of suit I had clean that would go with the green shirt I had. He bounced and grinned as I got his hair going in one direction.
"You have to teach Mommy how to do that," he said. "She's always upset... She said I'd have to grow my hair long like her to get it to do anything."
I snickered. "Let's keep it a secret, hm? She might be tempted to cut it all off."
Whatever had grown back anyway... I saw Lucy in my mind's eye. Her curly hair was just long enough to stick up everywhere.
Why had I wanted it straightened? I frowned, thinking back. Why had it mattered? I couldn't say, but the unease that started to grow in me left a bitter taste in my mouth.
When we were dressed, I led Quillan back to the kitchen and found Matt in a loose green t-shirt, too, shrugging on a hoodie and jeans that seemed too big for him. My chest grew tight, seeing how thin he'd become.
My gaze dropped to the documents, and I grabbed them before lifting Quillan onto the bar stool. Matt served breakfast, sandwiches topped with meat and cheese. Soon, we were ready to head out for the day. As we walked down to the parking lot, Matt went still and turned, staring down the hallway.
I turned, and just as I looked, the air seemed to shift.
"What?"
"Nothing," Matt said.
"Where'd the lady go?" I looked down at Quillan at the same time Matt did.
"What lady?"
He pointed in the direction that Matt had been staring. "She was just there a second ago..."
I squeezed Quillan's hand. "Maybe it was a ghost... You know Halloween is coming up."
He looked up. "Do you.... Do you think Mommy will be able to take me trick or treating?"
I swallowed. My throat grew tight.
"If not... would you mind if I went with you instead?"
He shook his head. "It would be nice if we could all go."
"We should start thinking about costumes," Matt said, grinning. "Did you two already have a plan?"
"We were going to be Power Rangers!"
I looked at Matt and wondered what the hell a Power Ranger was.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
