Page 10

nine

They agreed to wait for me outside while I gathered a few things and spoke to my family.

The guards didn’t hesitate when the man waved his hand to tell them to get out, smiling like he was suddenly holding the whole world in the palm of his hand.

I felt bad for him, if only a little. He looked like he cared a great deal about his nephew—just like that day at the meadow. He’d hugged him to his side, and the way he’d spoken to him had been very affectionate. I remembered it well, now that I was no longer doubting myself. I remembered every single detail without that dark cloud of doubt hanging over me.

Which made me a bit sad, too, to be honest.

All this time, I had let people convince me that I was crazy, that what I had lived, what I’d seen hadn’t been real. I’d let a small town get the best of me, convince me that there was something wrong with me, disregard my own thoughts and memories, create my opinion of myself based on theirs .

Because I’d believed them a little bit each time they’d called me cuckoo . I’d believed them.

“But you have a flight to catch for New York City.”

Dad sat across from me on the sofa, while I sat on the coffee table in front of him. Fiona was by my side, too.

“You…you have to go to New York City, Nilah. You can’t just…go to another realm—you bought your ticket. You have to go now. You have to.”

He was losing it.

I leaned in and grabbed his hands in mine—ice-cold and sweaty. “Look at me, Dad. It’s just for eight days, maybe even less. I’ll be back before you know it.”

He looked at me, shook his head, and he was on the verge of tears. I’d only ever seen that look on him once—when Mom died. Once, and then he’d gotten his shit together and had given us nothing but smiles even when it was obvious it pained him to do so.

I loved this man to death, and I was so, so sorry for all I’d put him through.

“It’s… another world, Nilah. That’s too far,” he whispered. “That is entirely too far— do you hear me?”

“It’s close, though. Just eight days.” Tears in my eyes—I couldn’t help them. “I have to go, Dad. If I don’t, I’ll never be able to live with myself. That boy saved my life, and now he needs me. I have to go, and I will be back so, so fast. You’ll hardly notice I’m gone.”

At my side, Fiona rested her head on my shoulder. I kissed her hair and told her. “I have to, Fi.”

“I know. I know,” my sister said. “And you should. He saved your life. It’s because of him that we still have you now, right?”

“Exactly.” Even if that specific thought hadn’t occurred to me before.

I was still here because of that boy.

“I never…” Dad closed his eyes and two tears rolled down his cheeks. “I never believed you, Nilah.”

“I know.”

“I thought you…I thought you made it up. I thought you were so selfish—I thought you made it up.”

Stabs at my gut. “It’s okay, Dad. I don’t blame you.” Or at least I wouldn’t once I calmed down and made an actual attempt to understand him.

“Are you sure about this? One hundred percent sure?”

“Yes,” I said, and again, the word came easily. This was the right thing to do, and no part of me doubted it.

Finally.

It felt so, so good to know what to do. To know that I was going in the right direction for once. To just know.

Suddenly, Dad moved.

He leaned in and grabbed both Fi and me between his arms, and he hugged the shit out of us.

Like that, we stayed for a few moments, crying and smiling, and just healing together, I guess. Just mending what was broken between us through the years—not all, but some. Half.

And who knew—when I got back, maybe I could postpone my trip to New York for a few weeks. Maybe we could continue to mend all that remained broken.

It was a sign, I thought. This entire night was a sign that things were going to turn around for us at last.

For now, I had to wipe my tears and smile at my dad, remind him again that I didn’t blame him. And when I went upstairs to grab a backpack with some necessities, he came with and asked me to reassure him that I would be back in eight days another three times.

I did. As soon as the prince of the Seelie Court— I mean seriously, a prince?! —was all healed, I would be right back here where I belonged.

When I walked outside, I found the man, the uncle whose name I couldn’t even try to remember, sitting on the porch with Fiona, reading a book.

Not just any book, but her math textbook.

I stopped by the threshold as Fiona looked up at me, the man completely focused on whatever equation he was looking at, and from this angle I saw his pointy ears clearly. They looked like a very well-made Halloween accessory.

But the energy coming off him couldn’t be mistaken for fake. It had been inside the kitchen before, and now it was outside, apparently, too.

“I’m just showing him how we make calculations,” Fiona said, and the man seemed to finally realize that I was there, and Dad was right behind me. Ahead, the five guards were spread out around the driveway, looking at the quiet neighborhood.

“This is all truly fascinating,” the man said. “But if you’re ready?—”

And he made to close the book.

“Actually, can I have another moment? I need to talk to my friend real quick. She’s just over there.” Because if I left without telling Betty, she was going to follow me— somehow; she’d figure it out—find me, and she was going to kick my ass.

“Oh, certainly,” the man said, almost happy that he had another moment to look at the book.

Meanwhile Dad rested his shoulder against the doorframe and watched me in a way that broke my heart to pieces all over again.

“I’ll be right back, Dad,” I said, and he barely gave me a nod.

Before the tears came back, I moved down the porch stairs, focusing on my breath, counting in my head, until?—

“ Hey!”

Betty must have snuck out of her bedroom window because she was just coming from the side of the house, and I thought she was hey- ing me. Instead, she was looking at the men stationed around my house—and she was running.

Oh, fuck…

“Betty, no!”

If she heard me, she didn’t care. She stopped right across the road, took off her sneaker, and threw it at one of the men, shouting, “Get the fuck away from there, you piece of shit!”

I panicked and ran as I called her name again.

Meanwhile, the guy she’d thrown her sneaker at grabbed it.

I’d have never believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, but he simply raised a hand, slightly turned his head to the side, and grabbed the sneaker as if it was nothing.

Betty continued to scream. I stopped in front of the guy and said, “So sorry, so sorry—that’s just my friend, so sorry!”

I reached for the sneaker he was looking at in confusion and took it from his hand, then ran to meet Betty right in the middle of the street as she was preparing to take off her other sneaker.

“You are out of your goddamn mind!” I hissed and grabbed her by the arm, took her back toward her house, behind the thick trunk of the willow tree that grew at the edge of her front yard.

“What the fuck are those punks doing? Are they grown-ass men—am I seeing right?! Is this what this FUCKING TOWN HAS COME TO!”

That last part she shouted at the top of her voice, so I had no choice but to put my hand over her mouth to shut her up.

“Those grown-ass men are fae from a different realm! Just shut up and listen for a second! Stop screaming!”

Betty stopped instantly, as if I’d pressed an off button on her body. She stopped moving, stopped blinking and breathing, and just watched me with those big eyes. Her blue hair glistened under the soft lights coming from the side of her house—and I realized I’d never taken enough time to appreciate how utterly perfect my best friend was.

It’s not goodbye, I had to remind myself, and I finally let go of her mouth. This is not goodbye, damn it.

Even if for some fucked up reason, it felt very much like it.

“I need you to back the fuck up to the part where you said fae and start from the very beginning.” Betty’s voice was calm. She didn’t look like she was going to start screaming again soon.

With a sigh, I dropped her sneaker to the ground, took in a deep breath, and as fast as I could, I told her everything that had happened since I left the cemetery.