I haven’t lost sight of it… Have I?
“We deserve to be happy. Even just a little bit. You know?” Wade continues.
Tears well under my eyelids and I nod. “Yeah.”
“We’re not going to be safe until we put all of this behind us. The Moirai will keep coming. They’ll taint anything good until there’s nothing left of us,” he says, clenching his jaw. “I won’t let that happen.”
“I agree.”
Wade sighs, pausing for a moment. “I won’t be going back to Windhaven Academy in January. Now that I’ve been permanently expelled, I don’t have the funds—or a magickal reason to be there.”
My heart is suddenly very heavy, and I stare out of the passenger-side window.
It’s all because of me.
“If you don’t go, I won’t either,” I say, pressing my lips tight.
“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s not why I was telling you.”
“Think about it, Wade. You said it yourself. The Moirai aren’t going to stop. I can’t just go back to school and act like I’m not being hunted. That we’re not being hunted. We need to end this. Find a way to break the curse. I can’t do that at Windhaven Academy,” I say, snorting to myself. “I highly doubt they have a class on curse-breaking or circumventing fate.”
Silence settles in the vehicle as he gives my words some thought. After a few minutes he finally says, “Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I’m right,” I say, sitting up straighter and paying more attention to the scenery. “Are you taking us to Mistwood?”
“After what just happened, Windhaven’s too far. I thought we could crash here for the night. Besides, it will give you some time to talk to your mom,” Wade says, turning toward the city.
“She’s not going to want to talk about it. I could barely get her to say two words on the phone.”
“Then at least you can sit with her and be in her presence,” Wade says. “Don’t ever take that for granted.”
Guilt coils in my stomach, and I know he’s right. I wish like hell that I had spent more time with my dad when he was alive. Now, it’s too late.
It takes less than ten minutes before we’re pulling into my mom’s driveway. Despite having grown up here, it feels strange now, showing up unannounced.
We don’t even get the chance to open our car doors before Mom’s outside, wrapping her sweater around her as she stands on the front porch.
“Hi, Mom,” I say, walking up the stairs and wrapping my arms around her.
“Hey, sweetie,” she says, pulling me in tight.
It’s been a month since I last visited in person, and every time, I wonder why it takes so long to come back home. Her embraces are one of the only things on this planet that have the power to calm my nerves.
“Hi, Wade,” Mom says, flicking her wrist and inviting him in on the action.
He steps forward, stretching his arms out wide to incorporate us both into his hug. For the longest moment, we just stand there, breathing in the cool air and clinging to each other.
“Come on, ladies. As much as I love you both, I don’t want us to freeze to death out here,” Wade says, chuckling softly and trying to keep things light.
Mom and I nod as he reaches around, opening the door for us.
Once we’re inside, Mom casts me a sideways glance, nodding toward the kitchen. We follow her.
“What are the two of you doing here? Did I know you were supposed to be here?” Mom asks, her hazel eyes switching between the two of us.
Wade shakes his head. “No, we were in Cambridge and—“ he stops, shooting me a glance that will instantly put my Mom’s Spidey senses up.
As if on cue, she quirks an eyebrow and turns to me. “Autumn?”
I stare at her for a moment, trying to look casual. “It’s nothing. We just thought we’d stop by and say hello.”
She narrows her eyes, clearly not buying it.
I fiddle with the bottom of my coat, trying to avoid looking either of them in the eye.
“Autumn found a red thread today,” Wade blurts out.
My head whips around to him. “Traitor,” I say.
Wade’s silver eyes are empathetic as he reaches for me. “After everything, she deserves to know.”
Mom’s eyes are wide as she glances between us. “Thank you, Wade. I’m glad Autumn has someone like you in her life. Since she clearly doesn’t want to include me in it.”
“Mom,” I groan. “That’s not it at all.”
“No, no. I get it. I didn’t want any of this for you. Right? So how could I possibly understand what’s going on now?” she spits, her eyes flashing. “Is that it?”
“Of course not,” I say, shaking my head. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
She actually snorts out loud. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard you say.”
“Mom, I don’t want to fight. Please,” I say, dropping my shoulders in defeat. “This is hard enough without—”
“Ladies,” Wade interjects, holding his arms out between us. “You need each other now, more than ever. Andrea, Autumn might not have been the one to say it, but I know she wanted to. She wants you in her life—her real life. Not just the superficial stuff. She wants to be able to lean on you with this shit. We have some heavy things coming at us and she just needs…”
“Her mom,” she whispers. Blinking back tears, Mom sighs and walks over to me. “I’m sorry, sweetie. It’s just… I wanted to keep you safe and the only way to do that was to keep you from all of this. I know its allure, trust me. But I can’t help it. I still wish you’d never opened that damn packet.”
“Mom, the Windhaven Academy had nothing to do with this. I am who I am. It’s in my blood. Acceptance to the school only shone the light on it,” I say, shrugging. “Ignoring it wouldn’t have kept the Moirai from me. It would have only kept me in the
