“Feeling better?” my mom asks as I flop onto the couch in the living room. Chris is watching the evening news and Donna is flipping through a book.
“Yeah. Me and Jared were kinda having a spat but we made up.” That’s the condensed version.
“Good. You know that boy is crazy about you. He can’t stay away,” she smiles. Chris shakes his head at our silly girl talk.
“So I wanted to talk to you guys. I’ll be graduating soon and Morgan will be getting licensed. She was offered a job at a really prestigious salon. I actually was offered a job as well.”
“Oh, that’s great, honey!” Donna beams.
“Good, Kiddo. What’s the job?” Chris adds.
“Um, at a boutique downtown. Managing it actually,” I say sheepishly.
“Sounds good. So what’s the problem?” Of course, Chris would want to cut to the chase.
I take a deep breath and square my shoulders. “We want to get an apartment together. Actually, part of Morgan’s benefits package is an apartment in a really nice complex. And her boss said he would upgrade the apartment so I could live there as well. I would just pay the difference.” I add the last bit to dispel any concerns about our living arrangements. And let’s just leave out the tiny detail that I’m sleeping with said boss.
Chris’s brown eyes meet mine. “Absolutely not,” he says sternly.
“Why not?” I reply incredulously. I thought Morgan would have an issue living in a place Dorian owned but she was thrilled. Getting her on board was a lot less stressful than I thought. Plus we could never afford to live at Paralia on our own.
“Why not?” Chris asks with wild eyes. “Because you won’t be safe there. We won’t be able to protect you. And I told you about Morgan.”
“Yes, and you also told me she might not even know! Morgan is my friend and she has been for a long time.” I can feel my face heat with anger. How dare Chris insinuate that Morgan is only my friend because of her ancient Vodou heritage. “And do I need to remind you that I am 20 years old? And will have graduated?”
“I don’t care how old you are! The answer is no!” Chris shouts. He has really lost it; he hardly ever raises his voice.
“I don’t care what your answer is!” I shout back. “And I wasn’t asking your permission! I was just giving you the courtesy of knowing what my plans are!” Unfortunately, another trait Chris and I share is our hot tempers, and stubborn tendency to never back down.
“Calm down you two!” Donna chimes in. She looks at me with pleading eyes. “Honey, your father is just worried about you. If you leave, we can’t keep you safe. The wards are only for the perimeter of the house. We can’t watch you if you’re not here.”
I stand to my feet and move towards the hall before looking back. “No offense, but there’s nothing you can do to protect me now. I’m not going to be a prisoner here. I can’t live here with you guys forever. I may have a very short time left on this Earth and I want to spend it living. Not hiding out. This is beyond you. There’s nothing you can do.” And with that, I stalk to my bedroom and slam the door.
This is not how I imagined this conversation going. Sure, I thought they’d have reservations, but I never thought it would come to that. Too upset to do any reading from Natalia’s book as I planned, I put on my pajamas and go to bed, hoping that sleep overcomes me soon to ease my troubled mind.
**********
“So we’ll get there Friday afternoon, drop off our stuff, grab a bite, and then Cecilia’s right afterwards,” Morgan says over her chicken Caesar salad.
It’s Friday afternoon, and we are having lunch at a local restaurant to go over final details for our Breckenridge trip. Morgan and I used to do this at least once a week but we hadn’t been spending as much time together since Dorian came into my life. I have to admit, I’ve missed her. She is in fierce Fashionista mode this afternoon in a leopard print mini skirt, a white tank and a pale pink blazer. I am much tamer in jeans, a black tank, and my leather jacket, topped off with a printed silk scarf.
“So your friend Bobby is spinning that night and can get us in?” I ask. Leave it up to Morgan to have connections in all the hot nightclubs.
“Yup. He even told me about this event at the brewery there. Super exclusive, meaning only the hot, young and rich are getting in. So bring you’re A-game!”
“I don’t know, Morg. You know, Dorian is meeting us up there. I thought it’d be a good chance for you guys to really get to know him. He’s really cool and laid back. Not ‘creepy’, as Jared likes to think.” Inviting Dorian was a risky move. My friends could disapprove of him and then what? Would I stop seeing him? Probably not.