Summary: Hestia Warner has always felt like she didn't belong, between finding out she was adopted to the pure craziness that has surrounded her for years. When several new students transfer to her school in the sleepy town of Widowsvale halfway through her Senior year, she is intrigued by them and the mystery surrounding them. With the return of something she thought she had put behind her, she's about to find out that not everything is as it seems. Especially, concerning a mysterious boy that makes her feel things she thought herself incapable of feeling. But, seeking the truth behind all of it is a lot harder than it seems, especially when darkness is around every corner and she's not as safe as she thought she was. A rewriting of True Heritage.
I don't own Winx Club
Chapter 5
Applying a small amount of pressure on the step, Hestia gave the stairway a cursory scan, even glancing over her shoulder to ensure that she hadn't drawn attention to herself, before slowly easing her foot down another step. She didn't dare to breathe too loudly, because Mom was a light sleeper – unlike Dad and Morgan, who could sleep through a tornado, hurricane, and earthquake when it came down to it – and it was inching close to three in the morning. Fingers tightening around the banister, Hestia slid down another step, before finally exhaling as her toes touched onto the cool surface of the laminate flooring.
The stairway was situated directly in front of the door with a set of glass doors to the right leading to an office and the living room was to the right with an open concept to the kitchen and dining room. There was a little silver thing that separated the flooring of the entryway and the living room, a transitioner from laminate to soft cream carpeting.
She moved lightly through the living room and into the kitchen, her right hand gripping the box of tea that Rory had given to her over lunch. Hestia had felt its presence in her backpack in a way that was strangely magnetic. It left her skin covered in gooseflesh and she wasn't entirely sure if it was a bad thing or a good thing. It didn't quite leave her at the level of discomfort that the night terrors and episodes did, but it was pretty up there in terms of freakiness.
Turning on the small light above the sink, she got a few of the backyard. If she squinted, she could overthink the way that the shadows moved – which was probably a lingering effect of her nightmare. It left her on edge.
Mainly, because she could only remember small portions of it. The rest was left to her mind to fill in the gaps, which just increased the unease. She could vaguely remember snow and her house and there was searching and shadows that were always reaching out towards her. The incident where she 'woke up' and thought she saw a creature hovering above her had happened two times after the first, but it never quite reached her, the waves of energy it gave off tinged with dissatisfaction.
Shaking her head slightly to clear it, Hestia fetched a mug from the cabinet – it had a sunny disposition with an equally sunny phrase scribbled on it in loopy writing – before filling it with water from the fridge and putting it in the microwave. She entered two minutes and one second into it, knowing that she would have to open it one second before it beeped – lest the time she spent creeping down the stairs be wasted.
Hestia bit her lip, keeping on eye on the mug while she opened the box. It had an assortment of white tea bags inside of it and she eyed them in consideration. The box was completely blank, no logos or anything to go off of and she felt a little weird for the fact that she was going to have to – if the tea was any treatment for the night terrors – go to them like an addict to a drug dealer.
It was probably not helped due to the fact that she had gone to Ryder last Wednesday and Thursday – approximately five to six days ago for the respective days.
She rested her chin on the palm of her hand, leaning over as she mindlessly watched the microwave countdown. Her brain filled with the numbers, not allowing any other thought to be involved.
When the timer reached one second, she opened the microwave and cleared it before it could chirp the ending of her timer for the entire house to hear. With her fingers wrapped around the handle, she eased it over to the dismally lit sink and watched the steam rise from the heated water. Grabbing a tea bag, Hestia swirled it around in the water, watching as it changed color, like ink spreading across a page, unable to be deterred.
Hestia left the string to dangle and turned off the light, before quietly creeping back to her room. It took a bit longer, with her guiding herself up the stairs with one hand on the railing and the other trying not to spill the hot water and burn herself – if only slightly. But, by the time she reached her room and closed the door behind her, the tea had cooled enough – theoretically – to be tasted without burning her tongue.
She sniffed it, before shrugging and taking an experimental sip. She immediately took another.
It was good. Sweet but not too sweet as it traveled down her throat, leaving her warm and relaxed. Hestia knew it wasn't infused with drugs or anything of the like, but it was the only way she could think of to describe the almost lazy feeling that slowly drifted over her.
Her muscles relaxed and she sat down on her bed, finishing up the tea quickly before laying down. Sighing, Hestia fought a relieved sleepy smile. She hadn't felt this content and happy since the episodes started two weeks ago. It was a feeling she hadn't even realized how much she missed. She also hated to admit that Brandon had been right about something – she didn't hate him, it was mostly made in a joke, inside her brain – and that she owed him for helping her sleep.
And no, not in that way.
"You're looking refreshed." Morgan noted the next morning, her eyes on her phone. She was currently scrolling through her playlist of music, trying to pick the next song in spite of the fact that she had just picked one. Hestia blinked at her, surprised that her exhaustion had been so noticeable to others. She had thought she was doing a good job of hiding it, but maybe it had been incredibly obvious, and it made her wonder if her parents had noticed and were making any plans to send her back into the institution.
Deep down, she knew if they did, it was out of love and trying to help her, but it still felt a bit akin to what she felt every time she thought of her biological parents.
Even if she didn't know them, had no idea what they looked like, their smell, the way they talked, if they were even together, if they were kind, why they opted to give her away, the thought of them still sent her emotions into an uproar. She still felt like a small part of her belonged to them and it was that part of her that caused an ache to form every time they took root in her thoughts.
Hestia shook her head, both to clear it and in an amused response to Morgan. "I don't know how I should take that." She mused aloud. It was a compliment, but at the same time, it wasn't.
Morgan rolled her eyes. "You've been looking like you've been out partying every night or hosting a circus in your room every night. But…now you look like you just slept for two weeks straight without a care in the world. Forgive me if I'm a little curious about the sudden change." She crossed her arms, her phone laying almost forgotten in her lap, the screen switching off after a few seconds of disuse.
"That bad, huh?" Hestia winced. She opened her mouth, before closing it, unsure of what to say. "I've just been having some trouble sleeping lately. Yesterday, a friend recommended a type of tea to me and it helped me sleep better last night." She chose the truth, without giving away that it had also stemmed from the episodes that were somehow intermingled with the nightmares.
Morgan eyed her skeptically, before allowing it with a nod. "So, that's why you've been so passive-aggressive lately."
Hestia parked in her parking spot robotically. "I have not!" She protested, to which Morgan gave her a blank look. She deflated after a few seconds under Morgan's stare. "Ok, fine, maybe a little bit. But not overly."
"Right." Morgan rolled her eyes. "And your exhaustion has nothing to do with you fighting with both Tracy and Ally."
Hestia frowned. "How did you know I got into a fight with Tracy and Ally."
Morgan raised her pointer finger. "Well, for one, you didn't go get coffee when we didn't drive together – don't forget that I know you, Tia, I know you pick up coffee for your group when you're not driving me to school." She added with a slight smirk at Hestia's surprised look. "Second, Tracy was talking shit about you for a solid hour – loudly, might I add – last week during Calculus." She raised another digit.
When it was worded like that, it became quite obvious that something had been up in her friendships. Hestia couldn't even bring herself to feign surprise that Tracy had been ranting about her in class – the girl expressed her distaste for someone quite clearly, and she clearly wanted nothing to do with Hestia, other than for a source of bitching. "Oh. Ok." It was all Hestia could think to say. She couldn't refute the facts, especially when they were laid out in front of her like that, except for when it came to her issues.
With those things, her emotions always outweighed her rationality.
Turning off her car, Hestia watched the other students walk past, slightly more fast-paced than yesterday – since yesterday had been Monday – but not as fast as they would be had it been Friday.
"I mean, I knew that the fallout with Tracy was coming. She's been extra bitchy all year – well, since she met that one guy who messed her up pretty badly – and I knew that eventually it would all just explode, and you guys would stop being friends. It's not that surprising, but I knew how exhausted you must have been to let it all go out in the morning – when you're barely functioning – and in the span of one day." Morgan continued, glancing towards where her group of friends were waiting by Bree's car.
Hestia took the nonverbal cue and unbuckled her seatbelt before opening the car door. "Are you coming home with me today or are you catching a ride with some friends?" She changed the subject.
Sometimes, they would go home together when they both had nothing they truly wanted to do, mainly Morgan since Hestia was the one with the car. "I think I'm going to try to catch a movie with Bree and Robbie later." Morgan made a slight face, "I hate it when friends keep forcing me to third wheel on their dates."
Hestia chuckled a little at Morgan's facial expression. "I'm so glad I don't have a guy best friend and don't have to suffer that." She stuck her tongue out childishly at Morgan.
Morgan lifted an eyebrow. "What do you call your relationship with Brandon, Jason, and Carter?" She smirked a little and Hestia narrowed her eyes, knowing exactly where her little sister's head had gone.
"We're acquaintances? Friends? Not entirely sure." Hestia frowned a little, she liked them all well-enough and they got on good when they hung out with each other, but she still wasn't entirely sure if she could consider them friends per say. It took a bit for her to fully open up to people – especially the boys in question – about her problems. With Rory and Lea, it was almost easy to open up to them. She saw a lot of herself in Lea, and Rory was Rory – which was an answer in itself. "And, no, it's definitely not like that." Hestia scowled slightly at Morgan.
"Denial." Morgan said in a sing-song voice.
"I will program your phone to play Justin Bieber for your ringtone for a week if you don't quit it. And not the new stuff. The old songs." Hestia threatened.
Morgan raised her hands in surrender. "Fine. Fine. I'll stop, for now."
"Go to your friends, you pain in the ass."
"Oh. My poor, poor feelings." Morgan pouted, before smiling a little and lifting her hand in farewell before she hurried off to her friends, checking to make sure she wasn't going to get hit when crossing the road. Hestia watched her leave for a second, thoughtful, before shaking her head at herself and fetching her bookbag from the back seat. She grabbed her key from the ignition, made sure her lights were off – her car had a special alarm if she left them on to prevent her from draining the battery – and that all of her windows were down, before shutting the driver's door and locking the door.
Hestia glanced towards the school, pausing momentarily to collect herself, before entering.
Tracing the spines of the books with her fingers, feeling the worn material underneath the pads of her fingertips and the engraved lettering on the spines, Hestia allowed herself a moment to feel truly content. Antiques and Things wasn't between the school and her house, but she still found an excuse to stop there whenever she could scrounge up the time and since she didn't have much work to do – she had a review guide for Chemistry to finish, a chapter review for Lit, and a packet for both Calculus and World History along with the layout of the school newspaper to do in the next two weeks, although the last one was supposed to be done Thursday.
Hestia worked one book from the shelf, her fingers tracing the cover. She hadn't really come to the store with a goal in mind, it was mainly a place where she felt safe enough to unwind.
She made a face as she thought about her room's level of safety. It was the room where she had most of horror movie-worthy episodes and the stigma was slowly starting to fill every crevice of the rectangular living space. Flipping through the pages of the book carefully, Hestia scanned the writing – it was a handwritten book of shadows, a term that wiccan users had coined for their journals – trying to decide if one more biography was really worth adding to her collection.
Granted, she didn't entirely believe in witches or fairies or magic, but she did love some of the stories they told. There was a logical explanation for everything, and Hestia believed that full-heartedly.
Replacing the book on the shelf, she browsed the aisle before moving to the next one. One of the books, a hardcover and decidedly not a book of shadows or journal, snagged her attention and she tugged it from its spot. It was about dream interpretation, and though Wicca probably had some mystical answer for her issues, an answer was better than no answer or the scientific answers doctors fed her and her parents – those answers just made her feel like she stuck out like a sore thumb and that something was irrevocably wrong with her.
Hestia flicked through the pages, reading a few lines of each one and biting her lip as she debated the merits of buying it. She closed the book and went to the back, where a price tag was taped on and winced as she read the cost.
"Hey Hestia." A voice startled her, and she jumped, her hand reaching out to touch the shelf. Heat gathered inside the center of her palm, like the wood was burning hot and scalding the skin on her hand, and she stared as an entire section of books launched off the shelf and onto Carter, who had startled her. His vibrant blue eyes widened in surprise and he reflexively lurched forward, only managing to get hit with a few books while the rest collapsed and more started to slowly fall off. "What the hell?" He muttered, grasping her hand and dragging them both from the mess as all of the books on that bookcase fell onto the floor, joining the originals.
Hestia gaped in surprise at the mess as Madeline, with saucer-wide eyes, made her way over at hearing the commotion and stared at all of the books on the floor, before she looked at the empty shelf and then towards Carter and Hestia. "Hestia? What happened?" Madeline bent over to pick up a few of the books, clutching them close to her chest.
"I'm not sure." Bewildered, Hestia managed to find her voice, before she bent down to assist the older woman with cleaning up the mess. "They all just started falling out of nowhere." Out of the corner of her eye, she noted that Carter was frowning and glancing behind the shelf to see if anyone had pushed it, but he returned with no one. She didn't add that they started falling when Carter startled her nor the unexplainable heat that had gathered in her palm prior to the disaster.
Carter crouched down and started to help clean up the mess. "Yeah. It was really weird." She could feel his eyes on her and wondered if he knew more than he let on. He didn't mention that it had been her to make contact with the shelf, because there was very little logic behind someone of her stature being able to force down all of those books unless she actually ran forward and pulled them free from their spots.
"Well, it's good to see you again, Carter." Hestia tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, she could feel the hard-covered book she had been looking at digging into her chest and stomach from how tightly she was hugging it. She winced as she looked at the destruction as Madeline set about checking the books for damage and plucking them from the floor, she didn't organize them back on the shelves, no doubt having to reorganize her system. "Although, next time, let's try not to get ambushed by books." She added, one side of her mouth quirking upwards.
Carter chuckled. "Yeah. That would probably be for the best." He said, one hand rubbing the back of his head, fingers running through his curls. "So, what were you reading?"
"Oh. It's nothing, really. Just a book about dream interpretation." Hestia hesitated, before offering him the hardcover. "Although now I'm not so sure I want to ask her to buy it." She eyed the empty shelves thoughtfully. "What do you think happened?"
He shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. All I can remember is a bunch of books trying to pummel us like they had a mind of their own and we had wronged them."
Snorting a little, Hestia felt a laugh catch in her throat. "What do you think we did to wrong them?" She leaned forward, a conspiratorial smile spreading across her lips.
"Well, I know I didn't do anything. You, on the other hand…" Carter trailed off.
Hestia shoved him, laughing when he overbalanced and toppled over. Carter glowered at her from where he had landed, but his eyes were dancing with a mirth that left his lips twitching. "Are you two alright?" Madeline inquired, bending over to collect the books they had collectively stacked together. She straightened, her braided hair falling over one shoulder and her eyes were a little troubled as she stared at them.
Sharing a glance with Carter, Hestia blinked a few times. "Oh. We're fine." She stood up and helped Carter clamor to his feet. He towered over them both by a few inches, his shadow stretching across the aisle. "I'm so sorry about the mess. Do you need any help getting it all back together?" Hestia gestured towards the empty shelf, none of the books had been spared from meeting the floor, and that knowledge itself settled like a heavy weight in her stomach.
"Oh, no. You two should be heading home soon, it's getting dark and this will take a while." Madeline shook her head, leading them down the aisle. Hestia kept her hands straight at her sides, eyeing the books on the shelf that hadn't felt the catastrophe warily. Carter wordlessly handed Hestia back the book she had selected, and she almost blinked as she had completely forgotten about it while they chatted. Madeline's eyes zeroed in on the book and she offered a small smile. "If you want it you can take it."
Hestia waved her hand emphatically. "No. You can't keep giving me free books and besides, I can pay for it." She fumbled through her small bag and wrapped her fingers around her card.
Carter put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "I'll pay for it." He winked, handing Madeline a twenty and a ten. "Keep the change. It's for all of that mess." He grasped both shoulders and steered her out of the shop before she could open her mouth to stop him while Madeline looked on with a mixture of shock and amusement splashed across her features. The cool wind outside snapped Hestia back into reality and she glanced behind her at the shop.
"You didn't have to do that." Hestia glanced down at the book. It hadn't even cost twenty dollars and he had given the money to the woman like it meant nothing.
Another second passed with silence between them as Carter stuffed his hands in his pockets. "A thank you would be nice." He muttered, one corner of his mouth hitching upwards and both his eyebrows raised.
Hestia felt her face heat up. "Thank you." She said sincerely.
"No problem."
"Although, you still didn't have to do that."
"Well, now we're back to square one." Carter said.
Hestia rolled her eyes, glancing towards her car. The streetlamps were just starting to click on, and the last dregs of sunlight had just disappeared behind the trees. A market was situated just across the street, a minimal amount of parking space allotted for the family-run business and she observed a car zip past at over the speed limit. "So, what are you doing here?" She immediately wanted to back-pedal, because the words sounded far too harsh for what she meant.
Carter's smile revealed his teeth. "Way to make a guy feel welcome, Warner." He teased lightly.
"Sorry."
He shrugged. "I was checking out some of the necklaces for my little sister. She's in love with crystal stone jewelry and her birthday is coming up soon so…" His smile waned a little, a look of sadness splashing across his features.
"Oh." Hestia racked her brain for something else to say. Lea had mentioned that he had two little siblings, Isabella and Percy, but she didn't know if that was information Lea had meant to share. "I'm sure you can come back some other time."
Carter blinked, snapping out of his haze. "At the risk of getting pummeled by books? I think I'll pass." He shook his head, rolling backward on his heels. Hestia opened her mouth to say something, but he held up a hand before she could start. "Sorry to cut our chat short, but I should be getting home if I want to actually eat food tonight." He started to head off to his car, the lights flashing as he unlocked it.
Mulling over her thoughts for a second, Hestia inhaled. "Well, tonight's meat loaf night and my Mom normally makes a lot. You're welcome to join us, if you want. It'd probably be better than take-out." She offered, walking forward to catch up with him.
He paused, the car door hanging open and when he turned to her, one eyebrow was raised. "Are you sure?" He seemed to be considering her offer, probably due to the fact that she could tell he hadn't eaten anything aside from takeout and school food for weeks.
Smiling, Hestia nodded. "I'm sure. She'll probably try to send you home with a bunch of leftovers too." Her parents had always been somewhat lax about when she spontaneously brought Ally along to dinner, even making extra all the time and when Morgan had briefly dated a boy named Cal, who she had brought to dinner. So, theoretically, they should be fine with her bringing Carter along considering the idea of them together made Hestia want to hurl, simply because she just couldn't bring herself to like him that way.
"Well, ok, then." Carter nodded. "I'll follow you to your house."
With her hands tucked into her pockets, Hestia waited for Carter to finish up with what he was doing inside his car. He was holding the phone with one hand, his mouth moving to signify that he was on the phone with someone – more than likely Brandon – while he twisted around in his seat to grab his jacket from the back. She glanced down at her bag, a small backpack styled bag with a colorful intricately designed print and black straps and removed one hand from her pocket to zip it further closed.
The book was small enough that it could just barely fit into the bag, although she could see the corners poking at the fabric, giving the bag a boxier shape. She faced her palm upwards, staring at the lines on her palm. Her hands felt fuzzy and almost like they were only hanging onto the rest of her body by a few nerves, enough so that she could feel the heat tingling along her skin and the one inside her pocket was sweating in spite of the cold weather.
She had the mind to text her parents that she had invited a friend over for dinner and mentioned that he was a boy. Mom had texted her back a thumbs up, which made her question when parents suddenly learned what emojis were.
It wasn't that she hadn't had boys that were friends before, her parents had met Ryder when he was good seeing as they had been friends from fourth grade to the end of ninth. They had also met some of the guys from school when they had a group project and she hosted. But Carter was a new face, not to mention a face with eerily similar coloring to her. Hestia remembered glancing at her reflection and being partially surprised to see that their eyes were close to an identical shade.
Sighing, she curled her hand into a fist, digging her nails into her palms.
"Sorry, I had to talk to Brandon." Hestia slid her hand into her pocket and glanced up, Carter was jogging up her driveway and rolling his eyes fondly at the mention of his friend. "He's super jelly, by the way, that you invited me for dinner before him." He nudged her slightly with his shoulder and she led the way to the front porch, climbing up the stairs. Carter fell into step beside her, hands in his pockets as Morgan thrust open the door.
She frowned for a second, confusion present in her eyes, before she grinned at them. "Hey, you must be Carter. I'm Morgan, Tia's little sister." Morgan thrust a hand out and Carter accepted it, shaking her hand cordially and bending over to press his lips to her knuckles.
Hestia quirked an eyebrow at the formality. "It's nice to meet you Morgan." Carter returned, dropping her hand and Morgan blushed slightly before nodding.
"You gonna let us in?" Hestia interrupted Morgan's dreamy haze and her little sister nodded slightly and stepped out of the way. From here, she could see that a blonde-haired guy with green eyes was sitting in the living room with Dad, looking to be in a rather deep conversation while the smell of lasagna wafted in from the kitchen. "Hey Hunter." Hestia briefly recalled meeting him before the transfer students came to town. He was from England and older, but Hestia found that she didn't mind him.
"Hello Hestia." Hunter glanced past her to Carter. "Hello, I'm Hunter, Morgan's boyfriend, and you are?" He seemed to pick up on the hue on Morgan's skin, but rather than looking jealous, he merely looked amused and slightly fond as his gaze shot to Morgan.
"Carter." Carter offered a hand and they shook hands while Dad spared a glance to their guest before doing a slight double take. His eyes were wide, and he kept looking from Hestia to Carter and back again with a strange expression on his face. Hestia frowned slightly, unsure why there was such a reaction to Carter. She had anticipated a little bit of weirdness, but not the looks her family kept tossing her.
"So, is dinner almost ready?" Hestia shifted her weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably.
Dad smiled, looking amused. "Of course, you're only here for the food." He rolled his eyes, fondness seeping from his expression.
Hestia stuck her tongue out. "Why else would I be here?" She teased. "Carter, this is my dad – David. Dad, this is Carter, he's my friend." She wasn't sure what else to categorize him as, their friendship was new and sort of fresh. Sure, Hestia had crashed a movie night and spent a day hanging out with him, Rory, and Jason, but that didn't make them close friends. She wanted to smack her brain a little, she was just overthinking it all and her brain just need to shut off for a few seconds.
"It's nice to meet you sir." Carter smiled politely, looking like the perfect golden boy.
Dad nodded, "You too, son." He returned. He glanced towards the kitchen. "Mom should be done with dinner soon, why don't you all sit down?" He plopped down in his seat, sweeping one hand out in front of him.
Hestia sighed, but sat down on the couch with Carter taking the seat next to her. Morgan and Hunter were keeping their distance physically from one another, but their eyes kept straying to one another. "So, have we gone through the boyfriend interrogation phase, yet Hunter?" She asked, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, offering an innocent smile to Morgan's death glare.
"I wouldn't call it an interrogation, but yes. We have." Hunter answered.
"Good." Hestia nodded. She fidgeted slightly, she was most definitely not a master conversationalist, trying to come up with something to say.
"So, how old are you, Carter?" Morgan asked.
Carter froze a little at the question, but it was gone within a blink that Hestia half-thought she imagined it. "Oh. I'm almost nineteen. I got held back during elementary school due to some family stuff." He answered, shifting only fractionally in his seat.
Hestia blinked, surprised at that tidbit of information. She had assumed that he was younger than her due to being a junior, but the fact that he was older than her and closer to Hunter's age than her was surprising. She really didn't know much about who she had befriended, did she? "Wow. So, where are you from?" Morgan asked, not asking the exact details of him getting held back.
"Gardenia." Carter answered automatically. "It's near LA actually, in California." He added.
"That's pretty far from here." Dad commented. "So, what sports do you watch?" He asked, eyeing Carter with interest of the topic.
Carter half-smiled. "Basketball. Football. And a little bit of Soccer." He rattled off the list.
"You should come over to watch a game sometime. Dad's a real fanatic over Football." Morgan jumped in on the conversation. She winked at Hestia, "So, that Tia and I don't end up being dragged into his watching." She added.
Dad pouted. "It's not that bad."
"If it's you, I know it's that bad, honey." Mom floated in from the kitchen, warmth clinging to her and her eyes landed on Carter, momentarily shrouding in surprise. "You must be Carter, it's nice to meet you." She lingered by Dad's side.
"You have no proof." Dad protested, but he went ignored by his wife.
Carter's smile revealed his dimples. "It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Warner." He returned the greeting. "It smells delicious."
Mom grinned. "Charmer."
"Yeah." Hestia elbowed him slightly. "Stop it or she'll feed you all of the lasagna."
Carter raised his hands in surrender. "I have no problem with that."
Mom clapped her hands together. "Alright, well, dinner's ready. Girls, come set the table for me." She ordered sternly and Hestia rolled her eyes but stood up without protest while Morgan sighed and shot Dad a warning look before leading the way to the dining room. Hestia didn't bother to do so, she knew that Carter could most likely handle her father's questioning and subsequent interrogation and it's not like they were interested in each other in that sense.
"He seems nice." Morgan handed her the stack of plates and Hestia checked if they were clean before putting them on the placemats.
"Yeah. He is." Hestia rolled her eyes a little at the fact that her sister was trying to set her up with someone that she truthfully couldn't see herself being with romantically. "He's kind of like an annoying brother."
Morgan snorted. "Really? So, you've brother-zoned him?"
Hestia grabbed a few napkins from the center of the table. "I'm sure he probably feels the same way. We're just not into each other in that way." She answered.
"I don't want to believe you, but you're not blushing to the roots of your hair so you're telling the truth." Morgan sighed. Hestia could hear the boyfriend-speech coming from a mile away. Morgan wanted her to get out there and be herself because she was in a happy relationship and she wanted that for Hestia. But Hestia just wasn't as interested in being in a relationship. The name Brandon teased her subconscious momentarily, but she batted it away.
Mom carting the tray in with thickly gloved hands cut off any further conversation and the boys spilled into the room, eager to eat food while Hestia fetched the forks. "Do you want something to drink?" She asked Carter, having pulled a glass from the cabinet for herself and he nodded so she pulled a second glass for him. "What do you want? We've got water, milk, juice…" She trailed off, opening the fridge.
"What kind of juice do you have?"
"Cranberry grape, grape, cranberry pomegranate." Hestia rattled off the names.
Carter looked thoughtful. "Grape sounds good." Hestia nodded and filled her cup up half-way with water – the juice was extremely syrupy in her opinion and watering it down made it taste like actual juice and not syrup. She poured them both a glass and handed his to him before they both took a seat at the table.
"I had a good time tonight." Carter slung the lanyard his car keys were on around his wrist. True to what Hestia had promised, Mom had given him a tuber ware container filled with leftover lasagna, and his other hand was holding it like a tray.
Hestia snorted. "Liar." She called him out, wrapping her arms around herself. "Sorry it was so awkward." She added, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. The start of the evening had seemed ok, if not stilted, but over dinner had been almost painfully awkward, the conversation carried solely by the children rather than the adults. She was going to ask her parents why they were so tense around Carter after he left.
Carter half-shrugged. "I've been in worse dinners." He promised, "That doesn't even rank top ten on the list."
Hestia eyed him thoughtfully, debating whether he was actually bullshitting this time or if it was sincere. "I'm still sorry. You gonna be ok getting home? I could follow you." She offered. Although, she didn't particularly like driving in his neighborhood at night, she would do it if he asked.
He shook his head. "No. Thanks. I have a feeling Brandon would follow you home to make sure you got there safe and we all really don't need to waste the gas." Carter pointed out. "See you tomorrow, Tia." He waved, heading down the steps with his head half-turned to her.
"See you tomorrow." Hestia lifted a hand in farewell, watching him get to his car, start it, and ease onto the street. She waited until he was out of sight before lowering her hand and hurrying inside. Hunter and Morgan were out back, sitting on the swings and swaying back and forth with Mom keeping an eye on them via the kitchen window when she came back in. Dad was no where in sight, although Hestia figured he had gone upstairs to get ready for bed.
"He's a nice boy." Mom commented abruptly, breaking the silence.
Hestia nodded. "He is."
Mom turned to her, her eyes looking weary and exhausted. "Hestia, I'm going to ask you a question and I need you to answer me. Honestly." She added the last part as if it were an afterthought and Hestia felt the contentment drain from her. "Is Carter someone who is biologically related to you?" Mom asked after a few seconds of eyeing Hestia.
Her mouth fell open and she gaped wordlessly at her Mom for a few seconds. "What? No! Where would you get an idea like that? He's a transfer student that I've run into a few times and become friends with." Hestia explained. "I would tell you if I was still looking for my biological family. You know that." She couldn't help but feel a little hurt that Alice was still looking at her like she was keeping secrets.
She was. About the episodes. But she wasn't actively searching for her birth parents.
Carter and her similar appearance were a coincidence. One that ate up most of her thoughts when they were around each other. But it was a coincidence nonetheless. Even if parents were a touchy topic for their group, she didn't think his parents and her birth parents could be the same people, it just seemed so much of a stretch.
Mom sighed. "You two look like siblings, Hestia." She pointed out. "You both have strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes – it's not exactly a common combination to have – although your hair is a lot redder hued than his."
Hestia rolled over the thought in her mind. She could understand where her Mom was getting the idea from and why they had garnered so many looks when she put herself in her parents' shoes. Their adoptive daughter had shown up with someone that could be mistaken as her male twin, and they both had a rare combination of physical appearance, which would just make it even more odd.
"You've considered that you might be related somehow, haven't you?" Mom asked.
Hestia blew a piece of hair out of her face. "Of course, I have. He's the one person I've met who looks like me. But that doesn't mean that we are. Thinking something doesn't make it reality." She answered honestly.
Mom looked thoughtful, and still so sad. "Does he know that you're adopted?"
Hestia froze. "I haven't told him, but I'm sure he can guess as much when he sees that I don't look like you or Dad or Morgan." She braced her hands against the counter. "What do you think I should do?" Hestia bit her lip.
"Talk to him. You can't be the only one noticing your similar appearances." Mom suggested.
She didn't want to. Her birth parents were a topic that she just didn't want to deal with or poke with a ten-foot pole. She had accepted that they weren't her parents and finding out their identities would just put a face and name to the people who had abandoned her. And, if it turned out that Carter and she had the same parents, it would not only mean that she had one sibling, but multiple and that she had been the one they had given up. That she had been inadequate enough for them that they had given her up only to have other children after her.
The idea of that was painful and she didn't know if she could bear to hear the answers to the questions she had for them.
"I don't know, Mom." Hestia sighed, not meeting her Mom's gaze.
Mom covered her hand with her own, offering comfort. "You wouldn't lose your father or I or Morgan if you searched for your birth parents. I want you to know that Hestia. Your family will only grow larger if you search and find." She promised.
A part of her – a part she hadn't even acknowledged – felt relieved that Mom was reassuring her that they would be there for her, but she still didn't want to. She wanted to focus on graduating from high school and picking a college to attend come fall. She didn't want to search for her family, a family who hadn't even bothered to search for her. "Thanks, Mom. I still think I just want to not deal with it for now."
"Alright, sweetheart. I'll support you no matter what." Mom kissed her forehead. "I'm going to head up to bed. See you in the morning." She swept out of the room.
"Goodnight." Hestia whispered after her, before turning her gaze to the window. She could see her sister's head tilted back in laughter and fought a wry smile. Hunter was good for Morgan, he made her seem so light and almost gleeful. She sighed, before grabbing a mug from the cabinet and filling it with water before putting it in the microwave and setting the timer for two minutes – it wasn't late at night, so there was no need to add the extra second.
She mulled over the details of it, before sighing and trying to distract herself with her phone. She scrolled through her notifications, reading them and allowing the words to fill every crevice of her brain.
A message from Brandon popped up in her inbox and she quirked an eyebrow before opening it, only to roll her eyes a few seconds later. He was so utterly ridiculous in a way that made her feel heat gather in her palms and a warmth along her face.
Brandon: Hey princess. I heard you hosted dinner tonight. When am I getting an invitation to family dinners?
Hestia typed out a response, leaning against the counter with a smile unconsciously on her lips.
Hestia: Let me think about it…
Hestia: Never.
Brandon: Such a cruel, cruel princess.
Hestia: Only for you. ;)
She flung the phone away from her after accidently hitting send on the last one. Did she just…holy guacamole she just flirted. Was that what people considered flirting? She buried her face in her hands and groaned, knowing that he probably had a programmed response to that and not entirely wanting to face reality. What the hell was wrong with her? Winky face? Since when did she send those?
Her microwave timer interrupted her thoughts and she opened the door and eyed the steaming liquid inside. She grabbed the box from where she had hidden it last night and pulled out a tea bag before putting the box back in its hiding place. Lowering the tea bag into the water, she swirled it robotically. "He's such a bad influence on me." She muttered to herself.
Her phone chirped as he responded, and she swallowed her pride and inched over to the screen and pulled down the notification bar to peer at the message.
Brandon: Line-stealer.
Brandon: I knew you'd come around princess.
Hestia: Shut it. That didn't happen.
Brandon: Oh, yes it did, and I screenshotted that moment.
Hestia: I will hack into your phone and erase all evidence of it.
Brandon: Someone's feeling shy ;)
She didn't bother to dignify that with a response and rolled her eyes. "Hey sis, who's got you smiling like that?" Morgan breezed in through the back door, a waft of cold air traveling in with her and Hunter just behind her.
"Uh. No one."
Morgan smirked. "Are you blushing?"
"No. You're seeing things."
"Uh huh." Morgan said disbelievingly. "Well, Carter didn't get this type of reaction. So, who are you texting?" She tapped a finger against her chin, eyeing Hestia thoughtfully, her gaze shooting to the phone and a practically devious expression splitting across her face.
Hestia raised her phone out of reach of her little sister. "Don't you dare."
Hunter stepped in, to Hestia's everlasting gratitude. "I'm going to head out, love." He said to Morgan, who stopped her attempts to turn to him. "See you later. As you were." He exited the room and Hestia felt her gratitude turn back to irritation as Morgan jumped up and grabbed the phone from her grasp. Hestia fumbled slightly, sputtering her rage as she chased her sister around the dining room table.
"Morgan! Give that back!"
"Nope." Her sister gleefully giggled. "Ooh. Who's Brandon?"
Hestia felt her face heat up. "No one."
"Oh. So, he's definitely someone." Morgan summarized. They were on opposite ends of the table, Morgan moved when Hestia did and vice virsa, setting them in a stalemate. "I'll give it back, if you promise not to attack me." Morgan held her phone up.
Hestia gritted her teeth. "Shouldn't you be waving a handkerchief at Hunter right now."
"Don't stereotype my English boyfriend." Morgan scowled.
"Give me back my phone!"
"Promise not to attack me!"
"Morgan-"
"Hestia."
"Ugh." Hestia groaned, them switching sides of the table. "Fine. I won't attack you."
"Promise?"
"Yes. I promise I won't attack you." Morgan eyed her for a few more seconds before relinquishing the phone and Hestia grinned, grabbing the phone and then holding up her crossed fingers. Morgan squeaked before shooting up the stairs with Hestia not far behind her.
Morgan shut and locked her bedroom door and Hestia went through her bedroom to the bathroom, but Morgan was blocking the door with her body. "You cheater!" Morgan shouted through the door.
Hestia tried to force the door open. "You stole my baby."
"Your attachment to your phone is unhealthy!"
Hestia jabbed her finger at the door. "You…take that back."
"Nope."
"I'm going to kill you."
Morgan laughed. "Ha. I'd like to see you try to get through the door." She said tauntingly and Hestia frowned, before stepping back with a smirk. A few seconds passed as Hestia started to work out the kinks of her prank. "I thought I would get more of a response than silence." Her voice sounded closer to the door and Hestia smirked manically, feeling like a complete child.
Hestia chuckled. "You can't stay in that room forever, dear sister."
A beat. "You know you scare me when you talk like that." Morgan retorted.
Hestia shrugged, even though her sister couldn't see her. "That's the point." She answered. "So, how are things going with Hunter?"
"They're good." Morgan answered simply. "What about you? How are things going with Brandon?" She asked, her voice becoming teasing and Hestia scowled at the door separating them.
"We're not a thing." Hestia answered simply.
Morgan laughed. "You're flirting and you're totally into him and he's flirting back. Why not go on a date?" She asked.
Hestia thought about it for a second. "It's complicated." She finally answered.
"Why?" Morgan asked. "You two like each other, what can possibly be making it complicated? He doesn't have a sweetheart back in Gardenia, does he? You're not dating anyone, so what's complicating things?" Hestia couldn't think of a response to that and she opened and closed her eyes several times, her eyes meeting her reflection in the bathroom mirror. "Is this about Ryder?"
"Of course, it is." Hestia answered simply. "You know he screwed me up, M."
Morgan sighed. Hestia could hear her sliding down the door and briefly wondered how exactly she had managed to lock it considering the lock itself was on the inside of the bathroom. "Tia, I love you, but you have to move on. Yes, he screwed with your heart, but there are plenty of other – interested – guys out there for you. You can't just swear off love because of one, singular incident." Morgan said softly.
Hestia paused, lowering her sister's toothpaste and the charcoal she had planned to put on it thoughtfully. Logically, she knew that Morgan had a point, but her heart was still not entirely sure about Brandon. He had proved to be sweet and caring – in the obvious protectiveness and affection he demonstrated towards his sister and in the fact that he had picked up on her exhaustion and came up with a solution, not just offering meaningless advice. But there was his constant flirting and her not entirely being sure that he actually meant his words as anything more than a pickup line.
"One date, sis. Go on one date with him." Morgan said after a few minutes of silence and Hestia glanced at her reflection critically. There was also the matter of him being far out of her league. He was all muscle tone and aiming to look like a teenage Thor while she hadn't plucked her eyebrows and hardly wore make-up. "If, it's a disaster, then at least you can say you did it. But, if it's fun, then…" She trailed off, seeming to think of what else to say.
Hestia sighed. "Fine." She cut her sister off, removing her gaze from her reflection and putting the toothpaste back in its proper place while tossing the charcoal in the trash and situating some toilet paper over it. "I'm still going to kill you for stealing my phone."
Morgan groaned. "Oh, come on, I thought we were past that."
"Never."
Leafing through her notebook, Hestia leaned against the side of her car, eyes skimming the pages in front of her. Her handwriting had progressively gotten smaller throughout the years and more slanted, but it was still decipherable – well, to her, anyways. She had a chapter review test coming up for Lit and was desperately trying to cram some of the information into her brain, but it all floated around her skull like meaningless jargon.
Especially, considering she couldn't stop her mind from wandering towards the conversation she had with Morgan last night.
This morning, Morgan had pointed Brandon out to her on her way out of the car and wiggled her eyebrows and Hestia could figure that her sister expected her to make the first move to going on one date. And, though she had agreed that she would go on one date with him, that hadn't been to his face and it was only on the condition that he asked her. She didn't want to lose the easy friendship they had built by overthinking things and making it seem like she was one of those girls who read too much into casualness.
Which made it sound like they were hooking up. Which they weren't. There was nothing like that going on between them. And there would never be anything like that between them because Hestia wasn't going to do that with someone without being in a relationship.
Even if he looked like a Greek god.
She made a face at her train of thought and reread the last bit of information on her page.
"Hey." A voice startled her so much that she jumped practically a foot in the air and dropped her spiral bound notebook onto the pavement.
Hestia glowered at the person responsible, finding Brandon there with his hands raised in the universal sign for surrender. A twitch at his mouth was the only indicator that he didn't feel sorry at all for startling her, while his words declared otherwise. "Sorry. I didn't think you realized I wasn't here. You've got to pay more attention to your surroundings, gorgeous." He crouched down, not breaking eye contact with her and plucked up her notebook before straightening and handing it to her.
She swallowed, accepting the notebook and wanting to jump away from him when their fingers touched, and a spark shot up her fingers. With Morgan and her conversation fresh on her mind, she could feel the old nerves resurfacing like a forgotten friend. She had been able to downplay the effect he had on her when she didn't view it as anything serious and when she avoided reality, but having it shoved in front of her face made that a nearly impossible task.
Summoning the confidence, she didn't have, she rolled her eyes.
"You and Carter need to stop popping up out of nowhere." She clutched her notebook close to her chest, quirking an eyebrow and feigning nonchalance. "So, what's going on?" Hestia asked.
He leaned forward on his heels, his hands resting casually on his waist. "Not much. What about you? Studying in a school parking lot?" He raised an eyebrow at that, glancing at the front of her notebook and reading off the words she had written on it in black sharpie.
"More like cramming." Hestia sighed, rubbing the ache building behind her temple. She bit her lip. "Why do you do that?" She blurted out.
Brandon looked confused. "Do what?"
Hestia felt her face heat up. "The nicknames." She clarified. "First, princess, and then gorgeous." She trailed off, she didn't really want to imply she paid special attention to his nicknaming habit, but she couldn't help it.
His expression cleared some. "I don't know." He answered, shrugging.
"What do you mean, you don't know? It's simple. Why do you keep giving me nicknames?" Hestia furrowed her eyebrows. "I mean, I'm not a princess. In fairy tales, they always have to be rescued and it only recently became a thing where they don't, and I don't dream of extravagant ballrooms and big gowns and tiaras or freaking unicorns. I don't dream of someone coming to save me, so I don't know why you call me princess. And I don't even want to explain why the gorgeous part is false."
Brandon raised both eyebrows. "Why do you think the gorgeous part is false?" Of course, that's what he lingered on of her whole speech. Not the princess part, but the part where she knew that the gorgeous part was a lie.
She raised both of her eyebrows, mirroring his look. "Oh, come on. Do I really have to say it?" She blew a piece of hair out of her face. "I mean, hello, have you met me? I'm Hestia, a girl who has never plucked her eyebrows, doesn't wear make-up or fashionable clothes. I don't fit the whole gorgeous thing." Hestia pointed to herself with a sarcastic smile.
"You and I have very different definitions of gorgeous." Brandon simply said. "Let me ask you something, Hestia." An involuntary shiver traveled down her spine at the way he enunciated her name. "Do you think I'm a liar?"
She rethought their conversations, before shaking her head. "No. I don't."
He half-smiled. "I don't think gorgeous or beauty itself is defined as what you listed out. I think it's natural. Some who's real. Someone who is natural, is gorgeous to me. I've lived most of my life around women who do the things you described and none of them have left any type of impression on me. You are. You are gorgeous to me because you are real, and you are the first person – outside of my family – who has seen me. So, yes, I'm going to call you gorgeous because that's what you are to me."
Mouth dry, she simply nodded. She felt like she had a package of letters, but she couldn't find a way to string them together into words, much less into a sentence.
"I'll stop." He finally said, his eyes locked with hers and she opened her mouth to say something, but clamped it shut, not sure what she was even trying to say. "If you say it makes you uncomfortable, I'll stop, and I'll leave you alone." He searched her eyes for something, before slowly turning to leave.
Hestia watched him start to walk away before she dropped her notebook and grabbed his sleeve. "I…I don't know what I want." She whispered, grasping onto the fabric and searching his eyes for anything to tell her what to do. "Ask me on a date." She ordered.
He looked partially amused. "Ok. Hestia, do you want to go on a date with me?"
"Yes." The word was out of her mouth before she could overthink it. "When?"
He leaned closer and her heart froze in her chest. Hestia couldn't stop her eyes from traveling to his lips or her eyes from closing when he pressed them to her cheek. "Saturday." She opened her eyes and he was back to a reasonable distance. "I'll pick you up at noon."
She tilted her head to one side. "Noon? I thought dates were normally at night."
Brandon smirked. "Why limit ourselves to night?" He glanced over her shoulder and she followed his gaze to see her sister finally emerging from the school. Hestia had stayed behind with the intention of driving her sister home because Morgan hadn't been able to find a friend to drive her home. "See you tomorrow, gorgeous." He offered a wave before heading over to his car.
"What was that all about?' Morgan headed to the passenger side of the car and Hestia glanced down to where she had dropped her notebook – poor thing, it just kept getting dropped on the pavement – and plucked it off the ground. She didn't answer her sister's question, trying to regather her thoughts as she robotically tossed the notes into her back seat and slid into the driver's seat. "Um, hello? Earth to Hestia, come in Hestia." Morgan snapped her fingers in front of Hestia's face, and she glanced at her sister's expression. Morgan had one eye lifted and an amused and albeit confused smile on her face.
She started her car. "I have a date." Hestia blurted out. "He just asked me out."
Morgan cheered. "Hooray. Oh, I'm going to doll you up like hell for your date."
"Just keep it at a natural look." Hestia requested, putting the car into drive and pulling through the empty parking space in front of her.
Her little sister pouted, crossing her arms. "What? You're taking all of the fun out of it." She suddenly grinned wickedly. "Wait, does he like the natural look?"
Heat gathered in her face and she partially wished she weren't driving so she could cover her face with her hands. As such, she angled her face away from her sister's knowing gaze.
"Oh. He does! Ok, I can work with that. When's the date?"
"Saturday at noon." Hestia paused. "Why do I get the feeling that you're more excited about this date then I am?"
Morgan smiled innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Bullshit."
...is it bad that this has been sitting on my computer for a few months all finished?
I'm sorry, don't throw things at me, even if they are virtual things at me. Now I'm kind of curious about how people throw virtual things at each other. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I am extremely sorry about the fact that I've basically been a ghost for so long. I'm trying, but my mind is in a weird place right now where I don't feel inspired to do anything and I hate that part of my mind set.
I can make all of these assurances that I'll do better, but I honestly don't know. I'll be updating With or Without You next for those of you who are interested.