Chapter 39
After Mickie managed to calm the morning sickness down with a baby-safe spell, Melina felt a lot better and was ordered to relax while they finished cleaning up. It didn't take too long, running the dishwasher was a big help. Once that was taken care of, Brooklynn made her way into the living room where Seth and Claira were engaged in a game of tonsil hockey. Claira was straddling him, her fingers in his hair and Brooklynn loudly cleared her throat, watching her daughter FLY off Seth's lap to land on the carpeted floor.
"Do you have any idea what would happen if your father walked in on you guys doing that?" She scolded, folding her arms in front of her chest.
"Uh… he would get Mr. Bautista to string me up by my ball sack?" Seth was trying not to shift, but he really needed to adjust himself and having Mrs. Calaway right there… embarrassment wasn't helping his boner.
"Please don't tell Dad." Claira was red too, though she grabbed a throw pillow and planted it over Seth's lap, clearing her throat. "Please?"
His ears were bright red.
"Who am I stringing up?"
Claira groaned, burying her face in her hands.
"Claira, you know better than to make out with your boyfriend in OUR friend's house." Mark would've lost his mind if he walked in on Claira straddling Seth, kissing him like she wanted to screw him for hours on end. And Seth had a boner on top of it! "Nobody is being strung up, but you two need to separate. Now." Brooklynn snapped her fingers, blinking when Seth FORCEFULLY went to the other side of the room to plant his backside in the chair.
Claira shrieked as she flew back as well to land on the couch.
"What the hell?!"
"There will be NO sex in this house when the pregnant one can't even have it!" Melina had told her how scared she was to have sex with David again because he wasn't exactly a small man.
"Mickie!"
She realized what she did and felt her eyes widen, cringing at the DARK look Claira shot her. "Oops?"
The cat was out of the bag. "Fuck me…"
The human mind was wonderful for rationalizing weird situations. It happened all the time and Seth was no exception. "Sorry, sorry."
He was so worried about getting strung up by his ball sack, nonetheless, that he subconsciously assumed that he and Claira had sprung apart as more adults came in. All of them her family and, Christ, were these guys bred on a farm? He didn't think any of them counted as 'small' or even 'normal sized'.
Realizing the kid was a bit dazed and not fully processing, Mickie began muttering under her breath. She watched Seth go a bit foggy for a moment before blinking. Claira hated these people. They were all a bunch of idiots.
"David, take Seth upstairs to his room to lie down. He looks…out of it." Melina instructed, smiling at her husband lifting Seth with ease to cart him upstairs.
"Mickie, I love you, but what the hell were you thinking?"
"I know – I know, I'm sorry!" Mickie groaned, knowing she screwed up and could see the death glare being shot her way from Claira. "It was a natural reaction. And why has she been Bound?"
"Because I'm not a freak like you and never will be." Claira answered before her mother could, folding her arms tightly in front of her chest. They were just kissing and making out like all normal teenagers do.
"Claira Beth!"
"Honey, at least I don't lie to myself about who I really am in order to keep a guy." Mickie snorted, not appreciating the condescending tone Claira had and knew how to deal with snot-nosed teenagers. She had two of them after all and one that was on the verge of the teen years.
"Excuse me?!"
"You heard me. Milayna was the same way, acted out just like you are now and let me tell you something. When she was in REAL trouble, magic helped her get out of it. You might wanna think about that since all your boyfriend is thinking about right now is how to bone you." Thanks to Steve's mindreading and Trish receiving visions from him, which Trish had discreetly shared with the women, not the men. "You need to get your head out of your ass and realize you are NOT normal, Claira. You never were, to begin with, and you NEVER will be, no matter how long you are Bound. You are a WITCH, deal with it, embrace it and stop RUNNING from it. Because sooner or later, it will catch up to you and you won't have anybody to blame but yourself when your magic goes haywire and destroys something or someone you love and care about. Excuse me."
Claira couldn't say anything and just sat there with angry tears rolling down her cheeks, not believing the way Mickie just spoke to her. What nerve!
Mickie was never one to sugarcoat how she felt, especially when it came to magic and her beliefs. It was the reason why she had started training Milayna at an early age, but Claira had fought it every step of the way. "I think it would be a good idea if we sent Seth home for the rest of the trip. It's too dangerous with him being here, Claira." Brooklynn sat down beside her daughter, not touching her because she knew better and sighed heavily. "This is a serious threat, more serious than we've ever faced before and I don't think it's safe for him to be here." Mark would agree with her and hadn't wanted him to come in the first place, but Trish had intervened. "Not to mention, your father WILL destroy him if he catches you two on the couch the way I just did, and you know that. So, unless you wanna come clean to him about the magic, I'm afraid we're not going to have a choice except to send him back to Dallas." Keeping this hidden from the boy was impossible and reckless because, if push came to shove, they would need to use magic if the darkness came for them.
"Send me home with him. Ugh, I HATE THESE PEOPLE! Who the hell does that Witch think she is?!" Claira shrieked, exploding and, if not for her magic being Bound, she probably would have destroyed the house. "Just because SHE made magic HER life, I should do the same? No, as soon as your stupid shit is OVER, I want it GONE. Dad can find a way in that stupid library of his, I know he can!"
She wasn't any of them or their stupid kids. Claira had NEVER wanted this curse, the sight or the magic. And she wasn't going to be treated like crap just because she didn't share the same viewpoint as that bitch Witch. At her mother's look, her eyes flashed poisonously.
"And you LET her talk down to me because I don't want to be like any of you. All you do is freak out and have stupid panic attacks, so please, tell me, how is ANY of this magic shit working out for you?"
Brooklynn didn't know what made her do it, but her hand connected with Claira's face before she could stop herself, the smack echoing throughout the living room. Claira held the side of her face, in complete shock her mother just struck her the way she had, and fresh tears slid down her cheeks. Never in her life had she felt such rage and Brooklynn had to step back, tears of her own in her eyes.
"Let's get one thing straight right now, little girl, I am your MOTHER. You WILL respect me, and you will NOT talk down to me like you just did, EVER! Do you have ANY idea the horrible threat we're facing? NO, you don't, you know why? Because Dad didn't want to tell you about the fact we have a darkness headed our way that could potentially destroy the world. And do you know who could cause that to happen? YOU! You're the key to all of this, Claira Beth! Yet, all you wanna do is straddle your boyfriend and make out with him in OUR friend's home and DISRESPECT them! You're nothing but a spiteful, inconsiderate little BITCH and I'll be DAMNED if you bring us all down with you! You are not going anywhere, not until this threat is contained and destroyed, do you hear me? You are in DANGER and you don't even care because you're too self-involved and absorbed! You sit on that couch and if you move, I WILL bend you over my knee and spank your ass until it's RED." Her eyes were nothing more than hard gold, her entire body coiled and watched as her daughter backtracked to sit on the couch, obeying the order. "And if you say ONE more word, I will see to it your mouth is SEALED SHUT. Don't say a fucking word, Claira Beth Calaway."
Claira had nothing to say anyway. Her mother had just shown AGAIN how spineless she was when it came to her precious, magical friends.
"Brooklynn, enough." David ordered quietly, coming out of the kitchen where everyone had fallen really quiet. He knew that look on Claira's face, she wasn't going to speak a word to any of them anytime soon. Teenagers. Thank GOD their kids would never be in that position or be told they were the fault for the problem.
Brooklynn needed some fresh air and had to book Seth the first flight out of here. It was a mistake to bring him here because their daughter had once again shown her attitude and her ass because of that boy. This reminded her of the dream she'd had, only she hadn't struck her daughter in it. Brooklynn felt sickened with herself and walked past everyone, pulling her cell phone out, stepping out on the back patio. She pressed a hand to her forehead, fighting back tears and closed her eyes, making the call. It took a little while to get through, but once she did, the flight was booked and night had fallen, the moon shining brightly in the sky.
"Brooklynn…I'm sorry I went off on her like that. I didn't mean to…" It was Mickie coming out to check on her friend, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact Brooklynn had slapped Claira. Not that the girl didn't deserve it because she did for speaking to her mother the way she had.
"I didn't appreciate that, Mickie. We've been battling with her for years about her magic and she wants nothing to do with it. We told her if she wants to stay Bound and not have powers, that was her choice." Brooklynn explained in a monotone voice, not looking at her old friend and gripped the ledge tightly in her hands. "She's right, she's nothing like us, you and Milayna. I don't know what or where I went wrong with her, but she absolutely hates magic. She's determined to be normal and…I wish there was a cure to rid her of these curses."
"Believe me, I went through the same thing with Milayna, but I started on her early and, by the time she was a teenager and saw all the cool things I could do, she wanted to try it out. Now, she's about done with her training." Mickie sounded proud, placing a hand on Brooklynn's shoulder. "Do you want me to apologize to her?"
"It won't do any good. She's already got it in her head she hates all of you because you're magical. Just leave her be and let's try to get through this week. She probably won't say much now that Seth is leaving."
"I really am sorry for snapping on her, Brook."
"I know." There was nothing to be done about it now, but at least Mickie realized the error of her ways and apologized.
"Sometimes, I wonder if you don't take it personally that she doesn't want anything to do with that side of her," Mark said thoughtfully, landing on the ground a few feet from the ledge she leaned on. "You didn't go wrong anywhere Brooklynn, she had a bad experience with a spirit and it all went downward from there." Not everyone was cut out to be like them. He had felt a surge spike and came flying back. That had startled the hell out of Glenn and Steve, his big ass disappearing from the truck on their way back like that. "What happened?"
Brooklynn jumped out a foot in the air, possibly more, and away from the ledge, clutching her chest while Mickie went back inside to make sure she hadn't shit her pants. "You're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days, Mark Calaway." Brooklynn knew better than to lie to him because he would find out the truth anyway. "I caught her straddling Seth on the couch, making out heavily and…they were practically fucking with clothes on." She was in a blunt mood tonight and could see the venom fill his eyes. "I'm sending Seth home. It's too dangerous for him to be here right now and…I think they need some space from each other after catching them in the act." She went on to explain the blowup her and Claira had, including the slap across the face and finally turned away from him to lean against the ledge again. "Get pissed at me all you want, but I know these warnings from Julia are the truth and I know Claira is in danger. I feel it in my gut and my heart, even my mind…they're all telling me the same thing, flashing like a bright green neon sign. But I know you guys won't believe it until we summon Julia and ask her directly because it'll be concrete proof and I get that. I probably shouldn't have told Claira about the danger, but I was pissed off and wanted her to realize just how serious this situation we're in is. Instead of disrespecting our friends by necking with her goddamn boyfriend. You were right, Mark. We never should've brought him and I never should've let Trish talk me into it or sway me. I should've listened to you…and I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven." He bet Claira was royally pissed, beyond royally, that explained the spike in her aura and that Binding had been seriously tested tonight. He could practically feel the venom rolling out of that house, sighing. "What do you want me to do, Brooklynn?" He asked finally, moving so he was in the air and dropped right in front of her, taking her hands in his to prevent her from turning away from him this time.
His voice remained soft and low, not an ounce of anger seeping from him like there should've been. "I shouldn't have struck her. I didn't mean to, I just…the way she spoke to me, if you were here and you heard it, she's NEVER done that before. I don't know what brought it on tonight, but…she really pissed me off and I feel sick to my stomach that I hit our daughter…" Blinking, tears slid down her cheeks as the guilt began eating away at her, feeling Mark pull her against him and buried her face in his chest, her whole body shaking. "I-I just want her to be safe. Happy and safe and she's never going to be happy until she gets rid of her magic for good." Pulling back, she looked up into his eyes and felt his thumbs wipe away her tears.
All in all, it was probably a good thing he hadn't been here during the event because he would have been likely to take Mickie's head off. Mickie had an annoying habit of being self-righteous, he imagined it came from her 'I'm so good, and a good Witch' mentality. His upper lip curled at his own thoughts, shaking his head.
"Is Claira still up?"
"I told her not to move from the couch, so probably. Seth is upstairs in his room because Mickie used her magic on him and Claira to split them up. She apologized, by the way. She does feel bad about what she did and said to Claira and I told her I didn't appreciate it. I explained to her the struggle we've been having with Claira and magic and she feels really bad about it. I didn't let her get away with talking to our daughter the way she did, but I also wasn't letting Claira talk down to me either." Mark and Mickie came from two different types of magic – light and dark. Mickie was all about the light while Mark had stayed in the dark, but Claira had a choice between the two and she wanted nothing to do with it.
More than once, Mark had wondered if Claira would be different if she hadn't had that experience with a spirit. Having both abilities… that would be overwhelming. When he was young, magic was overwhelming. Toss in Brooklynn's ability, no thanks. He knew if she was going to be trained, it should have happened sooner, but she hadn't wanted a thing to do with it. Rubbing his temples, he only nodded. When they went home, she'd have to make a decision: be trained or Bound until he could find a way to remove the magic permanently. He wasn't going to let her be miserable with one foot in, one foot out. She'd have to pick a world.