I stood outside of the dining hall doors peering inside to the crowded room. All my friends had gone inside. Erik and Stark went in together to great their parents, who actually haven't seen Stark in quiet a long time since he ran away. I could see them greeting and hugging. I saw Erik introduce Maurelle to his parents and they were beaming with light as they accepted her as their own. I felt my heart flutter with happiness for her. I looked to the left to see the Twins with their parents, as always talking together in a group. The Twins were inseparable. Damien was sitting with his parents by the fountain, nodding, but not really in tuned to the conversation they were having. My guess is that he was thinking of Jack. Stevie Rae was off with her mom, she looked like she was looking for someone until she spotted me peaking in the window and headed right my way. Oh no.
"Zoey!" Stevie Rae called as she burst out of the doors with her mom in tow behind her.
"Hey Stevie Rae" I turned and saw her mom, "Hi Ms. Johnson"
"Oh honey, call me Momma J" she flapped her hand out in front of her as if to dismiss what I said.
"Ok, Momma J" I smiled at her okie twang that sounded so close to Stevie Rae's.
"Momma said that she made us cookies again!" Stevie Rae said excitedly.
"I did, but I left them in the car" Momma J said. "Silly me, always forgetting"
"No worries, I'll go with you to get them" Stevie Rae beamed at her.
"You guys go ahead, I'll meet you back here" I said shaking my head.
"Well, I just wanted to give you a big ol' hug and congratulate you on being made the High Priestess. Stevie Rae has told me so much and I'm so happy for you" she gave me a hug and kissed my cheek. "If it wasn't for you Zoey, I would have lost my baby months ago"
Momma J looked like she was about to start bawling, but not before Stevie Rae patted her on the back and reminded her that they still needed to get the cookies, then it was celebration time. Stevie Rae's mom seemed to agree and smiled at me once more before turning around with her daughter and headed towards the parking lot.
The one person I didn't see in the group was Aphrodite, I wonder if her parents were even here. It made me wonder if maybe they were hiding out scolding her again. I made it my mission to find them. I really hated the LaFont's, even as much as I hated my step loser of a dad.
"Zoey?" I heard the familiar call of my name. I felt a shiver up my spine as I froze midwalk.
"Zoey, darling!" my mom called. I made a face that she couldn't see then turned around to where I heard the voice come from, directly behind me.
"Hi, Mom" was all I said. It may have sounded a bit snippy, but I wasn't expecting her here. "Are you by yourself or did John come with you?" I asked, even though I knew the answer, my mom never went anywhere without him.
"I'm here on my own, thank you. I am allowed to go out by myself" she scolded, and then she smiled, the same mom smile that I had missed for years since she married that awful man. I felt my spirit leap as there were remnants of my old mother in there. She reached out and gave me a hug, the most contact we have had in a long time. I could hear her breathing in and sighing as she released her hold on me. "Come, let's walk" she took my hand.
I was very suspicious of my mom's behavior; this wasn't like her, at least not recently. As much as I wanted to believe that my mom was acting this way because she really did love me, this was not the same kind of mom I've had for the past few years. Something was up, she was hiding something.
"Let me go!" I heard a scream that sounded awfully familiar, familiar as in Aphrodite's spiteful yells. It was off to the right into the courtyard. My mom and I both turned our heads as we walked.
I stopped mid-stride and turned to face my mother, "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere"
"I'm not a child Zoey, I'll go with you" she insisted. I just rolled my eyes, fine, if she wanted to come along, and then come. "Who is that yelling?" she asked.
"I think it's my consulate, Aphrodite" I answered, listening to for her, in more ways than one. Since Aphrodite was my consulate, we were bonded, so I could hear here in my head and vise versa. I had actually heard her rage in my head long before my ears heard her screams. I walked a bit faster, leaving my mom behind me as she yelled for me to slow down, which I didn't.
I turned around one of the class buildings to see Aphrodite and her parents. Her dad had her by the arm in a tight grip while her mother smacked her hard against her face. I felt the overwhelming feeling of anger. I flung my hands out "Wind, blow them away" I called. Wind rushed past me flinging my hair in front of me in swirls and blew Aphrodite's parents off of her and sent them stumbling backwards. It also knocked Aphrodite down as well, but she looked back at me and I could hear her tell me quietly, "Thank you".
"Who the hell are you?" Mrs. LaFont screamed as she collected herself.
I arched my eyebrow at her, "I am the High Priestess, Zoey Redbird."
"So you are the filthy slut that took that opportunity away from my daughter?" Mayor LaFont said, sneering. I looked at Aphrodite to see that her head was hanging and she was ashamed of her parents and the way they were acting. They wanted her to be High Priestess so they could have control over the school. They were power hunger, money hungry, awful people. My Step Loser Dad was better than these people were. They made me sick. I pitied Aphrodite. I thought I had it rough, but really, she must have it worse, they were abusive, at least Step Loser never hit me.
"Excuse me?" I heard the high shrill voice of my mother coming behind me. "Are you calling my daughter a slut?"
I looked to the side, "Mom, I have this"
"No, Zoey. Let me take care of him" she said with a look of disgust on her face. "Who do you think you are insulting my child like that? Zoey may have done some things in her past, but she has long made up for them. She doesn't need you to scold her"
"Mom" I said in a low and husky voice. "Move Mom"
My mom looked at me and she saw the red glow in my eyes. She gasped as she moved out of the way, her hand clasped to her mouth.
"I advise you to leave this premises right now, otherwise, I will have to seek other means to removing you. If you can't keep your hands to yourself, then you will no longer be allowed back at the House of Night" I warned them. They seemed to laugh my warning off. Aphrodite's father turned back to her and laughed.
"You're pathetic! You're not a LaFont, never have, and never will" her mother walked up to her and spit right on her face. I ran to Aphrodite and put my arms around her.
"Spirit, come to me" I called and I felt the leap inside. "Go to Aphrodite, she needs you now" and I felt it leave as Aphrodite gasped from the leap she received. She started to cry as her parents walked away.
"Wind, make sure they leave here…quickly" I added and flicked my hand out towards where they were walking. The wind pushed them from behind and carried them out to the lot where it dumped them on their butts in front of their car. "Thank you Wind, you may depart"
Aphrodite looked up at me, and though she didn't have to say it, I knew she was thankful. The crimson tears flowed down her eyes. "Are you ok?" I asked softly. She just nodded her head as I helped her to her feet. The place where her mother smacked her was red and starting to puff.
I turned around to see my mom still frozen where she stood looking at me. "Come on Mom, we're going to my apartment" I took Aphrodite by the hand and lead the way, my mom slowly trailing behind us.
When we got to the apartment I put Aphrodite down on the couch and I went straight to the fridge for two things. 1. Ice, I'm sure she'd need it and 2. Blood, which was a staple and I knew she needed it. I should probably have Neferet take a look at it, just in case, but Aphrodite was a big girl and she could take care of herself.
"Zoeybird?" I heard the low husky voice of my Grandma coming down the hall. She stopped when she saw my mom, who was wondering aimlessly through my apartment like a kid in a candy store. "Linda?" her voice changed.
I saw my mom's expression, it was shock, she didn't expect Grandma to be here, and especially in not the best shape she's ever been.
"Grandma!" I ran to her and hugged her tightly. She complained and I apologized for hugging too tightly. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yes daughter, much better. What is the pleasure we have that you came tonight Linda?"
"I came to see Zoey. It is parent's night" she said very sure of herself, while she straightened her hair and any wrinkles in her skirt.
"And where is your husband?" Grandma asked with narrow eyes.
"At home"
"You can't expect me to believe that do you?" Grandma said looking at my mom like she was just a little teenager that was trying to get away with cheating or sneaking out.
"You can't trust your own daughter?" mom asked.
"Oh, I trust my daughter" as Grandma grabbed me and pulled me close to her. "I am very trusting of my daughter. However, you, I don't know you anymore Linda. You have changed so dramatically that you are no longer the daughter that I used to have"
Mom gasped at what Grandma said. "I'm sorry that's how you feel Mom." She turned to me, "Zoey, I'm just glad to see you and see that you're ok and obviously doing well." She half smiled. "I'll leave you two now"
She turned to leave out of the door when I yelled for her to stop. I heard Aphrodite huff on the couch with the ice bag on her face. I rolled my eyes and caught my mom by the arm. "Stay" I asked.
She shook her head, "No, I'm not wanted here, I'll just leave" Typical, turning into the victim.
"I want you here" I said matter of factly. I did want my mom here, I wanted her to be my mom, and the old mom I knew before John Heffer came into the picture. "Please, for me"
She must have seen the moisture buildup in my eyes because she rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine, I'll stay"
"Don't make us twist your arm Linda" Grandma sneered then laughed as she went to sit by Aphrodite. My mom just narrowed her eyes and went to sit opposite of Grandma in the unique purple chairs.
"Now, let's all play nice, ok?" I asked as I went into the kitchen, "Mom, Grandma, would you both like something to eat, drink?"
"Thank you Zoeybird, some juice would be fine" Grandma answered.
"No thank you" my Mom said still glaring at Grandma with anger in her eyes.
I returned and gave Grandma her juice, I had my blood packet and gave another to Aphrodite who was sitting next to Grandma.
"Oh Zoey, really? Do you have to drink that in front of me?" My mom asked completely disgusted.
"This is what she is Linda, if you can't accept her for that, then leave" Grandma sneered.
"It's….gross" Mom shivered as a chill ran down her spine.
"It's a necessity Mom. I have to drink it in order to keep my strength. It's like all the vitamins that I need." I explained. "There isn't anything gross about it. This came from a blood bank that donates it to us, no one was harmed, and we don't go around biting people"
"Well, thank god for that!" Mom hissed.
"So, Mom, what was it that brought you here anyways? I didn't think you were coming back after the last time we saw each other" I asked. I knew what happened last time. That's when we were hiding from the Raven Mockers and Mom and John came to hide out with us and that's when my mom saw my Dad again. She was so angry that she stormed out of the shelter refusing to have anything to do with me since.
"I came to see my little girl. Is that a crime?"
"There is always another motive Mom, I know better to think that there isn't" I rolled my eyes at her.
"You think me that deceptive?" her eyes went wide and pleading.
"I'm not sure. I would hope you weren't, but every time I think your trying to do something nice for me, he shows up and you end up walking away. What gives this time?" I cut to the chase.
"I just wanted to see you. It's been a long time and you haven't called home in a while" she answered.
Aphrodite snorted; she knew exactly why I never called. "You know Zoey, I almost think you have it worse than me, at least my parents were always jerks." She said mentally.
"You have no idea" I sent back to her as I rolled my eyes.
Mom and Grandma watched our exchange of communication without saying a word. Grandma, I assumed knew what was going on, Mom just looked confused.
"Do you think that maybe the reason I stopped calling, stopped writing was because every time I did you told me how much of a sinner and disappointment I am to you? Why would I keep calling?"
"Oh honey, I'm sorry, but you know this life, God damns it. It is a sinful life. Killing people, drinking blood, magic. It's all sin, and I hate to tell you daughter, you'll go to hell for it" she clasped her hands tightly in her lap as she looked me straight on in the face to tell me that.
I just laughed, as did Grandma and Aphrodite. "First, we don't kill anyone that isn't trying to kill us. We drink blood from a BAG, not people, and magic isn't evil. Many believe that what Jesus did was Magic to make Lazarus rise from the dead, walk on water. It's all magic"
"It was a miracle!" Mom yelled.
"Miracle is just another word for MAGIC! And at least my Goddess doesn't judge and fill my life with hate. She loves me and she loves everyone. That's more than I can say for your God that puts women down, that brings fear into people's eyes, that scares people into believing in his ways. That is evil, not my Goddess" I felt strong as I said the words. I felt like a High Priestess, as these were similar words that Neferet used on John when he condemned everyone in the hall the last Parents Night.
"I pity you Zoey" my mom hung her head. "That you'll never see great happiness"
"Pity me?!" I laughed. "Don't pity me. I am happy. I'm ecstatic! I've been given a great honor not only by my people, but my Goddess. She had enriched my life with great gifts, wonderful friends, and generous mentors. I am blessed everywhere I go. I pity YOU mom that you can't see how much love that is in my life, how much greatness. I pity the woman you've become and the woman you turned your back on. You were a great and loving mother. Ever since he walked into your life, you've given your all to make him happy, even sacrificing your own family. I pity your sad life that you'll have"
That hit a nerve. I had a lot to say and I just blurt it out. She stood there shocked until finally raising her eyebrow, "If that's how you feel then" she rose, her head up and walked out of my door. I didn't say goodbye. As much as I wanted my mother, I knew she would never return. I didn't feel sad, I was mad. I was mad that she refused to see the person she was becoming, what John was making her become.
It was that instance that she left that the first scream was heard.
