Seemingly unfazed by my mutant nails, my aunt evenly answers, “When the binding spell first cracked, I believe in an effort to save you, your magic froze your body in time so that it had a blueprint to go back to.”
“Holy shit,” I curse, angrily pushing my obnoxious hair out of my face. “I used to joke that I had a fucking reset button, but this is ridiculous.”
“There’s a time travel joke in here somewhere, I just know it,” Felix blurts with an awkward laugh.
Turning my head to look at him, I give him a small smile, appreciating his attempts to lighten the mood.
“So, this is time finally catching up with Callie?” Kaleb questions while reaching over to hold my hand, his thumb softly running along my nail beds, as if to assure me he isn’t freaked out by my magical Miracle Grow. “She should be fine soon, right?”
Mildred nods and wisps of her blonde hair escape her French twist to fall around her face. The fact she has a hair out of place hints that she’s likely more frazzled than she appears. Once she’s trimmed back my toenails, she peels off my ruined socks, before rolling them into a neat ball. She then grabs the comb, ribbon, and scissors, and moves behind me to start working on my Rapunzel hair.
Though I appreciate how she’s calmly handling my weird growth spurt, which is keeping the guys from freaking out, I really wish everyone would just leave so I could do something about me bleeding all over the bed. I press my thighs together, like that will somehow keep it from leaking everywhere.
Connor swiftly moves to my aunt’s side without being asked, and almost reverently helps her gather my hair, holding it so Mildred can start combing. I want to tell them they don’t have to be so gentle, since I can’t really feel much at the moment, but honestly, I doubt it would matter to Connor. He seems to have a, uh, special bond with my hair. Different strokes, I guess.
Donovan looks like he has something caught in his throat when he rasps, “When do you think it happened? The time freeze.”
Since he’s usually more concerned with what happened than when it happened, this seems an odd question for him. Fortunately, my nails have simmered down a little at roughly a centimeter in length, and I don’t poke my eye out when I rub my face.
Through a deep breath, I answer, “My guess? Probably the car accident right after my fourteenth birthday. All the doctors kept talking about how lucky I was to be alive and they were baffled that I healed so well, considering I looked like…” I trail off when I hear Connor growl. “Anyway, it was bad.”
“Fourteen,” Donovan wheezes. This is apparently not what he wanted to hear, his face paling and his eyes rounding, while he coughs around the invisible thing trapped in his throat.
I don’t understand his reaction, but Nolan apparently does, because he starts laughing. The sound starts small but balloons into something that encapsulates his whole body when Donovan glares at him.
Felix looks at the two and shrugs. “I don’t get it.”
“Me either,” I murmur back grumpily. It’s been a hell of a morning. I feel uncomfortable in my own skin, and this isn’t helping.
Noticing my expression, Nolan attempts to calm down, wiping at his eyes. “Come on guys, time to go before we wear out our welcome.”
Donovan chafes at his arms, like for once he’s uncomfortably aware of his semi-nakedness, which just adds to my bafflement.
“Glad you’re okay. Text us later or something,” he grunts, then grabs Kaleb by the collar of his costume and tugs him out of the room.
A hurried goodbye is all Kaleb can manage before he’s shoved out the door, his own expression of utter bafflement painted across his features.At least I’m not the only one.
When Connor appears to have no interest in leaving, Nolan stares at him for a long moment before chiding, “That means you too.”
Felix snorts as Connor continues to ignore him.
“Dude, Callie has things to do that she can’t with us around,” he emphasizes, his gaze flicking back and forth from the general location of my hips and Connor’s face. “Time. To. Go.”
I turn every shade of red imaginable at the reminder that as a vampire and a wolf shifter, they can smell the blood. Yes, please go now.
It finally clicks in Felix’s head what’s going on, and he stammers, “I’ll, uh, just be, um, downstairs. Holler if you need me. Not that you will.” He breathes a curse then floats through the floor.
“Good thing Kaleb’s parents are gone,” Nolan mutters under his breath.
Connor still looks reluctant, hovering halfway between my bed and the door, with his big hands stuffed in his pockets, which is pulling the waistband of his sweats even lower on his hips.
Yep. Time for everyone to go. Brain and body overloaded.
Hoping the confusing monsoon of feelings inside me isn’t showing on my face, I give a subtle nod of agreement, assuring him that I’ll be fine, and if anything changes, I’ll do better than text. I’ll send Felix straight to him.
Seemingly appeased by the promise of news by ghost messenger, he walks over, kisses my forehead, then nods his goodbye before strolling out the door.
I give Nolan a grateful smile and he returns it.
