Page 18

Chapter Eighteen

Juno

An annoyingly shrill sound woke me up. I had Remi’s arms around me, his warm body a comfort as I remembered we were in a hotel room.

“Ergh,” Remi grumbled, trying to bury his head in my neck and escape the sound. It stopped and we both breathed a sigh of relief, snuggling further into one another, desperate for more sleep after the night of fun we’d had.

The shrilling noise started again. We groaned and sat up, reluctantly releasing one another as we found the culprit. Remi’s phone was beaming with light in the somewhat darkened room. He reached for it with tired eyes and sighed once it was in his hand. Holding it up to his ear he answered. “Good morning, Mom.”

She wasn’t winning any points in my book for waking us up and stealing my Remi time from me. But I could deal.

Soon he would be all mine.

“How did you hear about that?” Remi asked her, looking adorably confused. “Oh, that’s right, I paid those off.” I leaned in closer so I could overhear the rest, making it obvious that was what I was doing. Remi smiled and put it on speaker.

“You paid off all your student debt? You aren’t finished with your school yet! Besides, how did you even get the money? We were paying for it.” His mom sounded more put off about the fact he’d obviously dropped out, than the fact he had that kind of money laying around unbeknownst to her. At least she wasn’t after his money.

“I wanted to pay it off myself,” he replied calmly. “I dropped out yesterday and didn’t want to leave you and Dad with my debt.”

There was silence. “You… dropped out? Why?!” she demanded. “You can’t just do that!”

“Well… I did , so yeah, I can do that.” I loved Sassy Remi. I pecked a kiss on his shoulder, not able to stop myself from showing him just how much I adored him.

“You’re coming home for lunch today, then your father and I will have to knock some sense into that thick head of yours.” She sounded almost calm, but also threatening. I hoped she wasn’t actually going to hit him. I would defend his honor if I had to, but hitting an old lady wasn’t something I wanted on my conscience.

“I’ll be there,” he agreed easily. “I’m bringing my boyfriend with me. See you soon.” He didn’t wait for her to reply to that, just hung up and shut off his phone.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” I had to ask. We could stay here a few years so he could at least try to work it out with his parents, but I had a feeling that things were worse between them than I’d first thought. Remi was a sweet guy; he wouldn’t leave them unless he truly felt they weren’t worth his love and time.

“I need to just rip the bandage off. I won’t regret not seeing them again, but I am regretting letting them control so much of my life. I could’ve been happier if I’d set some kind of boundaries with them, or cut them out of my life earlier. I didn’t care about them paying for college. I didn’t want to attend in the first place. I would’ve been happy with a low paying job, working on my ideas.”

“Those things in your journal?” I asked. They were so cool. I wished I’d had more time to browse through them, but I’d only skimmed them when I’d packed his belongings, too curious to not know what was in them. Derek had said it was his most prized possession, so of course, I’d looked.

“You,” he stopped. “You’ve seen them?” He seemed nervous, almost afraid if I was reading him correctly.

“Yes, just a quick skim of the pages. It looks cool! I understand why you want to educate yourself into making them with magic. Our world needs more brilliant minds like yours, gifting us with inventions we didn’t know we needed until we get them.” His eyes turned glassy but his emotions were filled with relief, love, and a touch of confidence.

“You have no idea how much that means to me,” he whispered, smiling softly as he kissed me. It was a brief and tender kiss, telling me everything I needed to know. My Remi needed encouragement on his ideas and his work. I could do that easily. How fun would it be to talk about machines that could make waffles and ice-cream. I would be the honorary tester, of course, testing if it worked and tasted good. I couldn’t wait.

After having spent another hour in bed, just holding one another and enjoying each other’s presence, we decided a shower was needed. It was almost lunch time when we left our hotel room, not caring that we’d skipped breakfast. We took a cab over to his parents’ place, silently watching the scenery flash by as we neared their home.

Remi didn’t seem as nervous as his emotions told me he was. It was a little unnerving how well he could mask his true feelings. I wouldn’t allow that when we got home, I wanted him to show his true emotions and not care what others felt about it, although I suspected he wouldn’t need to wear his mask around anyone else.

We were in front of their house now. Remi looked to the side of the building—for what I had no idea, but I admired the pretty rose bushes lining the house on that side. I loved gardening and cooking, and now that I wouldn’t have the same itching feeling to leave home, I could actually start my garden. I should plant some roses for Remi when we got home, I think he would like to have something pretty to look at outside in the summer. He could write down his ideas while lounging on a chair, with me bringing him cold drinks and snacks while his brilliant mind worked. I mentally sighed. I couldn’t wait.

Remi looked at me with a genuine smile. “I love how I can feel your love for me. It’s nice that I don’t have to doubt you truly love me.” Damn, his mind had gone to a dark place, likely wondering if his parents ever did love him. I couldn’t really do anything to help their relationship. I could only be there for Remi as he said goodbye.

“You never have to doubt my love for you, baby,” I assured him, lacing our fingers together as he guided us over towards the front door. He knocked and soon footsteps could be heard approaching us.

“Remember, I’m here,” I whispered, giving his hand a soft squeeze, as I prepared myself for meeting my in-laws for the first and probably last time.

A woman, looking much younger than I had visualized in my mind, stood before us. She was clearly assessing me before she even greeted us.

“Hi, Mom,” Remi said, forcing her to look away from me. I felt like I was being judged and found lacking, somehow. I could only imagine how growing up here had felt for Remi. Parents didn’t have to use bodily harm to make a critical hit. Whatever her eyes shone with… yeah, that seemed just as bad and damaging as a beating.

“Hi, honey,” she said, somewhat pleasantly. “And this is the boyfriend then?”

I decided to show my support towards Remi by extending my hand and introducing myself, saving him from having to do all the talking himself. He wasn’t alone anymore. I was on his team. And from the pure relief I felt rushing through him, followed by love, so much love, he appreciated it.

“I’m Juno,” I said, taking her hand and offering her a smile she didn’t deserve.

“Nice to meet you, Juno,” she replied kindly. “Come inside.” She waved us in and we followed her into the living room where Remi’s dad was lounging on the couch, not sparing us a glance until his wife made a coughing sound to get his attention.

He sat up straight and looked at us, acting surprised that we were already there. Like he hadn’t noticed anything around him. “Oh,” he said, standing up and offering me his hand. “I’m Remi’s father, Vince.”

I took his hand and like with his wife I offered him a polite smile. “Juno. Nice to meet you.” I still held Remi’s hand, not letting him go for one second until we were back in our hotel room. He tugged me along to the dining table, which was filled with sandwiches and some small treats. Even though we’d skipped breakfast, eating was the last thing I wanted to do.

“Sit down, boys,” she ordered with a small smile. “I’ll bring the drinks.” Remi gave me a look that, mixed with his emotions, told me he was glad I was there, and there was probably also an apology there for me having to deal with them, but I dismissed it. I didn’t need his apology for being there for him. That was my right and privilege as his mate. He couldn’t get rid of me. Not ever.

Vince sat down and looked so uncomfortable, it was a little insulting, to be honest. Did he also find me lacking for his son? Or was his unease strictly because Remi had dropped out of college?

His mom came back carrying our drinks and sitting down like she was fully in control and just needed to get the words out and then Remi would follow through with her wishes. I knew it was a lot to get from just her posture and facial expression alone, but I was getting good at reading her already.

“So, Remi,” she said, taking a sandwich calmly. “What is wrong with college? Is it the classes?” she waved her hand like it wasn’t important anymore and continued. “You’ve obviously already transferred to another school so we might just focus on that, no need to waste time discussing a school you no longer attend.” She gave him a little smile at the end and I honestly couldn’t figure out why she wanted him to attend school so much? Was that normal here? Education was highly valued in my world, but so was following your passion, and since most could make a decent living doing whatever they wanted, there wasn’t this pressure that Remi’s parents forced upon my dear mate. I didn’t like it.

“I haven’t transferred,” Remi replied, still with his mask of confidence on. Only I could feel the anxiousness he felt inside.

She laughed. “Of course, you have. Is it because you don’t want us sniffing around your new school? Or perhaps you wanted away from Hayley and her new boyfriend?”

“Why does it matter so much to you that he attends college?” I asked, no longer able to remain quiet. It was eating me alive not knowing.

She looked taken a back. “Why does it matter that my son gets an education?”

“Yes. Why are you so against him making his own choices for his life?”

“Every good parent wants their children to get an education, and not many can. Remi should be grateful we can pay for him to have a nice future.”

“But what if a nice future for him doesn’t involve a degree or a fancy job? What if he wanted to work a low paying job and be happy with that?”

“Who would want that?!” she laughed, her tone laced with condescension.

“Me,” Remi replied. Her attention left me and zeroed in on her son instead. “When you coerced me into attending college all I wanted was an easy job where my mind could afford to wander, spending my time coming up with my ideas and then someday, I would make them a reality. How? I have no idea, but that was the life I wanted.”

“Those ideas again,” she complained and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

His dad’s voice finally joined in. “You said that was what you wanted then, but is it still what you want?”

She smacked his arm. “Don’t encourage him!”

“No,” Remi replied. His emotions showed me he was surprised by his dad’s question. “I no longer want that.”

“Thank god,” his mom sighed.

“I’m moving to Klumven. With Juno. I won’t be able to reach you over the phone or have internet access. I’m leaving and I’m not returning here.”

They gaped at him. “You’re leaving the country to live in Klumven?” his mom asked, likely thinking she’d heard wrong.

“Yes, with Juno.” He was calm and spoke perfectly, not a single hint that he was unravelling inside with unease, that was only for me to know.

“Is this a self-discovery journey?” his dad asked, not sounding disappointed but more intrigued.

“What would he need to discover, Vince?!” his mom hissed. Then her attention returned to Remi, a stern look on her face, “you can’t leave. We need you here.”

“Why?” both Remi and I asked in unison.

“We just do!”

“Well, I’m still leaving.”

I got a sense of fear and worry from Remi, telling me this wasn’t normal behavior from them. I needed to say something. “My father wants us to visit him tomorrow, so we aren’t leaving today. You’re welcome to join us. That way you have a little more time together.” I hadn’t thought much about what I would say to get them to let us leave, but I didn’t feel safe here anymore, and I definitely didn’t want to use my magic on them.

“No one is leaving,” his mom hissed, grabbing a knife, and I knew I had to do it anyway. Letting my magic out, I made them slump down in their seats.

“We need to get out of here, it’ll only hold for about an hour,” I said, pulling Remi up with me. He didn’t say anything, but his emotions showed relief and still held a bit of fear. “We need to head to the portal and tell my dad, something is off here.”

We got a cab and had the driver drop us off near the forest. Once we were surrounded by trees, Remi finally spoke. “She was so…”

“Cold?” I supplied.

“Scared.”

“Oh,” that actually made sense, she was acting out of fright or need. She definitely didn’t want him to leave.

“Do you think someone is forcing them to keep me here?” Remi asked, his tone worried. I hated that he cared about his awful parents this much, although I had a feeling his father wasn’t as bad as his mother, but he was firmly on her team so I judged them both equally.

“I have a suspicion that something is off,” I replied. “Which is why we’re leaving. I need you to be safe.” I held out my slate and called my dad.

“Hey, son. How’s your week of exploring going?”

“Hi, Dad. Bad news. We’re thirty minutes from the portal, please meet us there.”

“Of course, I’m already here. Do you need the others?” I knew he meant the rulers.

“Yes, please.”

“See you soon,” he said, his voice worried.

Then we hung up.