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I roll my eyes as I hit the button to call them back.
It’s the house number, because my parents would never use a work cell to make a personal call.
The line rings for a minute, and I let out a relieved sigh right before my mom picks up.
“Yes? Rachel, is that you?”
“Wow, Mom. That was spooky,” I joke.
“Why weren’t you answering your phone?” she asks, snap to her tone that I don’t take personally.
It’s the way she always talks.
“I was busy, Mom. College is a bit more advanced than high school.”
“Well, I just had a rather nasty visit from Mr. and Mrs. Winters, and I’d appreciate it if you’d show a little more consideration next time.”
Shit.My blood runs cold. Mr. and Mrs. Winters. That would be Paul’s parents. My secret fling who tried to kill me instead of bringing me to Gemini Academy. We killed him, instead, and I scattered his ashes over the ocean. No one knows but me, and my pack.
It felt like that was the end of a nightmare. I didn’t realize it could easily become the beginning of a new one.
“Rachel? Are you there?” my mother asks, the snap in her tone amplified along with her volume.
I wince as I force words to come out of my mouth. “I’m here, Mom.”
She makes an irritable noise before she goes on. “Apparently, Paul ran out on his fiancé a few months ago and they’re having trouble locating the boy. His mother had the absurd idea that he might be with you, and she absolutely refused to leave until I promised I would call and ask.”
Oh, Goddess. This is bad. This is really fucking bad.
“Why would he be with me?” I ask, somehow managing to sound confused.
“Well, that’s what I said, but she insisted. It seems the last time he was seen was around the same time he left town to take you to your specially selected apprenticeship.”
“Huh,” I murmur, not sure I can say anything else without giving something away.
“As long as he isn’t there, we have nothing to worry about.”
“He isn’t here.” It’s the truth, it’s just not the whole truth. I manage not to blurt out the ‘he’s dead’ part. I start chewing on my thumbnail, waiting for my mother to end this excruciating call.
“I assume we don’t need to worry about you?” she asks, expecting me to tell her I’m fine, clearly.
“Nothing to worry about,” I tell her, knowing she must have some clue as to where I’ve ended up. The credit card statements would tip her off, if nothing else.
“I trust you’re apprenticing for a warlock suited to your talents?”
Hah.She thinks, like I did, that I was meant for a devoted apprenticeship that would prepare me for coven life in an elevated position. She has no idea I’m at a college for hybrids.
“Oh, my schooling is perfectly matched for my talents,” I respond, wincing slightly at the tinge of sarcasm. I can’t seem to help it. My mother brings out my bitchy side.
She’s quiet for a moment, and I cross my fingers that the call is over.
“Well,” she says, sounding more than a little lost suddenly. “Watch out for wolves. That town you’re in is full of the blasted creatures.”
Yes, it is, and I’m one of them now.
“Sure, Mom. Will do.”
The line cuts off without a goodbye. No ‘have a lovely Christmas’, or even a plain old ‘I miss you’. I suppose either would feel fake anyway. I put my cell down beside me on the couch and I replay the conversation over in my head.
