Page 55 of The Curse of Indy Moore (The Cursed Duology #1)

At the edge of the island, Slate dived below, where Westshire waited.

Mr. Hawthorne lifted me; I felt far too comfortable and safe in his arms. I hugged his neck and let my head rest on his shoulder.

We descended to the fields, where the villagers worked.

They offered their hello’s and thanked Mr. Hawthorne for all his work.

A handful of guards patrolled the streets with a few more walking by the edge of the forest.

When I turned down the road, Mr. Hawthorne pointed in the other direction. “Isn’t your house this way?”

“Yes, but I need to make another stop first,” I replied.

His lips fell into a frown. “The muscular fellow?”

“Baxter, yes. I want to tell him that I’m leaving and we won’t be starting over.” I resisted the urge to smile when Mr. Hawthorne’s eyes brightened .

“Oh, I see.” He walked beside me, beaming with such cheer it would make one’s eyes ache.

“You don’t need to look so chipper about my upcoming breakup, if one should even call it that.”

“I’m not chipper.”

He was entirely chipper, as was I. This felt right.

There was no dread or concern or anything to stop me.

We walked toward the baron’s estate, where Baxter worked, and somehow, I knew what I wanted to say, what I wanted to do, and there was no guilt or worry.

I didn’t care if he no longer fit in my life or I in his.

We were stories that crossed paths but were not meant to be. I had an entirely new story to write.

My letter asked Baxter to meet outside the estate’s gates. At this hour, he would be at work, but if he had a moment, we needed to talk.

Walking up the long trail through the fields, far from the village, an iron gate rose out of the land.

Baxter waited under the shade of a tree, wearing a suit that I had once found so flattering on him.

Now, I found his eyes weren’t as blue as before, his smile lacking charm, and my heart didn’t so much as waver.

There was nothing, and I couldn’t have been more grateful.

Mr. Hawthorne waited a bit further back, giving us space.

“Indy, when did you get back? What happened with the curse?” Baxter reached for me, his eyes straying toward the fluffy ears on my head.

I held up my hands, keeping him at bay. “I’ll be dealing with it tonight.”

Frowning, Baxter nodded toward Mr. Hawthorne. “What is he doing here?”

“He’s still helping. I wanted to stop here first to let you know that I won’t be staying long in Westshire once this is over.”

Baxter shuffled his weight from one side to the other. “What do you mean?”

“I’m going to stay with my family for a bit before returning to Ivory House. In short, I’m leaving Westshire to find what I want to do with my life, and the beginning to that is letting you know that we’re done. I thought I should tell you in person.”

I felt Mr. Hawthorne’s stare warm against my neck.

Baxter ran a hand through his hair, mouth ajar, then snapping closed. “Done? ”

“Yep.”

He released a strangled snort through his nostrils. “That’s all you have to say?”

I thought it was. Keep it simple and clean, then move on.

But another urge revealed itself, one that I normally would ignore.

However, I held the pendant, felt Mr. Hawthorne’s supportive attention, and said, “No, actually. You treated me poorly. I was too desperate to feel wanted to see that. You knew my situation, but you often held that against me. The way you broke up with me was rude, and I never should have accepted your offer of starting over. I deserve better.” I gave him a smile that put a harsh shade of red on his cheeks. “Goodbye, Baxter.”

He sputtered a strange noise that I left behind. Even as he called, I didn’t look back. We were truly done, and I was more than happy to accept Mr. Hawthorne’s arm.

“So you’ve accepted my offer of returning to Ivory House?” he asked, with a sly grin thrown over his shoulder that had Baxter shouting a curse.

I squeezed his arm, liking the feel of it in mine and how great it felt walking by his side. “You said I should be greedy today. That’s what I want to do. I’d like to use the conservatory.”

“Of course. Anything you want.”

“Your smile is indecent.”

He practically skipped at my side. “I will admit I am pleased. You can do better.”

Tapping a hand against my chin, I teased, “I suppose with all our potential traveling, I could find someone.”

He tensed. “That could… happen… but you must be picky. Only choose the best of the best.”

Butterflies erupted in my stomach. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

We walked the roads of Westshire, where familiar faces offered greetings and asked their questions. Though I missed the familiarity of town, I realized I didn’t want to stay long. On the horizon, Ivory House waited with endless opportunities I yearned for .

I held the pendant tighter and thought of all the places we could go.

Across oceans so deep we would never see their ends, into deserts of golden hills, and over mountains white as the clouds, to hear more languages than I could count and try food I had never seen, to listen to music and tales and write adventures of our own.

A life more grand than I had ever known.

I wanted it all, and I didn’t want to go alone.

Mr. Hawthorne stopped at the fence, where he opened the gate that didn’t squeak.

The cottage waited at the end of the stones with sparkling clean windows, a perfectly thatched roof, and a fresh coat of paint on the door.

The helping hands truly were helpful. I wondered when the cottage started feeling less like home.

While it carried many happy memories, and I appreciated all of them, I found myself looking upon it like the past rather than my future.

Often, my daydreams led to the same ending, walking through that front door.

I was neither content nor upset by the prospect.

Standing in the yard now, I thought of that future as one to avoid.

Not because I didn’t love my family waiting on the other side, but because I finally realized that I’m not leaving them behind by setting on a path entirely my own.

Behind me, Mr. Hawthorne gave an encouraging smile that pushed me to the door.

The handle fit snugly in my palm, familiar and inviting.

When I entered, Aunt Agnes sat at the kitchen table the same way she had when I returned to find my ruined dress.

She stood with her hands rubbing each other at the waist.

“Indy,” she breathed a sigh of relief and came to me with open arms.

I hugged her while telling myself this wouldn’t be the last.

She laid her hands on my cheeks to get a good look at me. “The girls will be happy to see you. They’ll be home from school soon.”

“Then we have time to talk first?” I took her hand.

“Of course, dear.”

Aunt Agnes gestured at the table, where we ate as a family a thousand times. We sat together talking and laughing, sometimes weeping and fighting. Countless memories were made between these walls that I would never forget, including this one .

We sat facing each other although I wasn’t certain I could bear seeing her expression once I uttered the truth.

Like this, she was so eager, waiting for me to speak, and unaware of what I would be asking.

My heart stuttered, warning of retreat, but I knew, outside, Mr. Hawthorne waited, and in the woodlands, so did Carline.

I couldn't face either of them until I faced my family.

Placing my hands on the table, I said, “I love you. I love all you have ever done for me. I’ve always felt indebted to you.”

She took my hand. “Indy.”

“Let me finish first. I’ve always felt like a burden, that I was a weight forced upon you, and I had to make up for it. I had to repay you, and I… I know how that sounds, and I want you to know you never did anything to make me feel that way; I just did.”

Her grip tightened, and her bottom lip trembled. I wasn’t any better. The tears flowed, and I let them.

“I still don’t know why, and I don’t know if feelings are meant to make sense or if they manifest however they please, but because of that, I’ve always felt like an outsider, I guess?

I know you see me as part of your family, and I know I am, but deep down, I’ve always seen it as you and the girls with me on the sidelines. ”

She lowered her head, and a tear hit the table.

“There has always been a hole I couldn’t fill.

Father abandoning me, Mom dying, Uncle Fern, my partners, our lives, the struggles we’ve gone through.

I’ve always felt undeserving of anything, of everything.

I didn’t realize until this curse that I have felt cursed all along, cursed to never know true happiness because there was always something I couldn’t explain dragging me down.

I’ve been surrounded by people, only to feel alone, and I’ve walked the same path because I was too scared to take another, but not anymore. ”

I held the pendant tight enough that I felt each rune against my palm. “Tonight, I’m going to end this curse. Tomorrow, I will return to visit you and the girls. I’ll stay for a few days, but then I’m going to return to Ivory House because I want to.”

Aunt Agnes smiled, her cheeks wet with tears .

“Mr. Hawthorne said I am more than welcome to stay. You may keep the helping hands as they are clearly doing more than enough. But I’m going to figure out what I want. I’ll always come to visit, and if you ever need me, I will be here. I want you to know I’m not abandoning you.”

She stood, and panic set in until she caught my hand and brought me to stand.

“Oh, Indy.” She pulled me in for another hug, where she pressed one kiss after the other to my cheek.

“I’m so proud of you. You’ve done so much for us, but I want you to know that it’s okay.

You don’t need to explain anything to me.

I understand. I want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“It was never your fault.” I buried my tears in the crock of her neck that would always be a home for me, even if I was thousands of miles away. That was the great thing about family, I realized. It didn’t matter where we were. We always had each other.

She held me close, and we cried until it was time to prepare lunch.

We invited Mr. Hawthorne in, where we chatted until the girls arrived.

They hugged me, and we sat around a tiny room at a tinier table, telling jokes and laughing and spending what little time we may have had left pretending like nothing had changed.

All the while, I kept my hand on the pendant and wished with all my might that we’d have thousands of more days like that one.