Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Chapter 28 - This Love is Ours
Author's Note: OHMYGOSHYOUGUYS. I am SOOO sorry for taking so long! I had half of this chapter written, then I got grounded (luckily I have a mommy that understands and allows me to use my laptop for writing purposes:) so when I finally went to add more, and I learned that I didn't save it. Serious angst. But thank you all for being so patient. Your sweet reviews and messages keep me going. Thank you for all of the support.
Sequel News: I wrote the prolouge for the sequel (still trying to come up with a name) and I might post it after the final chapter, but I think I will write the first few chapters before I actually start uploading them. Like I said, all of you have been so kind to me and ditching you would be completely unfair. So those who follow me on twitter ( ShayDenney311) will probably be updated on this more. xo, Shay. :)
Third Person POV
Leah impatiently drummed her chipped pink fingernails on the wall while she listen to the phone ring four times. She almost hung up until she heard a suprising girl voice answer, "Alex?"
She pulled her mother's phone back up to her ear. "Aunt Harper?" she asked in confusion, "I thought I called Uncle Justin."
"Justin left his phone here by mistake, Leah? Why are you on your mom's phone?"
"She thinks I'm playing Tetris. Please don't tell her I called." she pleaded.
"What's going on, honey?"
"I can't tell you..when will Uncle Justin be back?"
"In a few minutes. Leah you're making me nervous. What's wrong?"
She sank down in the soft chair behind her. "Do you pinkie promise not to tell anyone?"
"That depends; its it safe?"
"Uh huh."
"Is it legal?"
She paused. "I think so..well Uncle Justin's supposed to be figuring that out."
Harper sighed. "Okay. Pinkie promise." She bent her right pinkie as if she was actually pinkie promising Leah in person.
Leah did the same. She lowered her voice. "Uncle Justin and I have a plan." she smiled, "And it's gonna work if he gets permission from the Wizard World."
"You are most definitly Alex's."
"What does that mean?"
She laughed. "When we were teenagers, your mom used to have all kinds of crazy schemes and shenanigans that she always dragged me into."
"Really?"
"Uh huh. We went on all sorts of crazy adventures." She smiled and thought back to the simpler time.
"So you'll help?" Leah asked hopefully.
"Of course I have to know the plan first," she informed.
Leah sighed. "You promise you won't tell anyone? Momma, Daddy, Nonna, Poppy, or even Uncle Max?"
Harper smiled. "We already shook pinkies, hun. Spill it." She could tell that Leah wasn't convinced. "Max and Hailey are playing a video game upstairs and you grandparents are at a seminar about why turkey with mold spots causes food poisoning. No one will hear it but me, I promise."
Leah glanced around the room to make sure no one was around. The last thing her family needed right now was more trouble. And one of the twins eavesdropping would be one of the worst possible outcomes. She took a deep breath and lowered her voice. "Okay, but this conversation never happened, right?"
"You got it, kiddo." Harper smiled.
XxXxXxXxX
"Here's your phone, Momma," Leah announced, placing it in her lap. "I got stuck on a level."
"You'll beat it eventually, Lovebug. You always do." Alex smiled, lightly tapping her daugter on the nose. Leah shrugged.
"I..I'm gonna go see what Ink's up to," she told them as she slid out the door.
"Be back in a few," Alex reminded her. Leah nodded and dashed down the hall. Alex held in a huge sigh until she left. Her eyes grew more saddend.
"What's wrong, love?" Mason asked from the couch, sensing her worry.
She threw her head back and closed her eyes, covering her face with her hands. "Mason, do you realize that in one hour, everything we've been fighting for, for seven and a half years now could possibly be gone? Everything we ever dreamed of? Just, gone? Like that?"
"I know that, darling. But try to stay on the positive side."
"How can you still be positive in a time like this?" she asked.
He stood up and took both her hands. "Alex, why was the rule for werewolves and mortals created in the first place?"
"Because apperently the werewolf always ends up eating the mortal." she replied.
"And have I ever hurt you?"
"Of course not."
"Have you ever been afraid I would?"
"Never in a million years, Mason," she told him.
He swung her arms around playfully. "Now if they just saw that, we would be one hundred percent safe." He smiled.
"And what about Leah?" she raised an eyebrow.
"I know for a fact they won't lay a hand on her," he replied. "I could tell by the way Crumbs looked at her on our visiting days. He doesn't want to hurt her." He spun her around without letting go of her hands and pulled her closer, trapping her from behind with her arms crossed over her stomach. "I heard a song that reminded me of a moment like this on the radio the other day," he told her.
"How did it go?" she smiled.
He rested his chin on her shoulder and smiled. "Don't you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine, and life makes love look hard...the stakes are high, the water's rought, but this love is ours.." he sang softly in her ear while swaying her to the rhythm.
Alex twitched and giggled as she untangled her arms and spun herself around to face him. "That's actually kind of perfect," she smiled. "How did I get so lucky to find someone like you?"
He intertwined their fingers with a smirk. "I think the real question is how did I get so lucky to find someone as perfect as you." Alex smiled and stood on her tip toes, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his. She could feel him smiling.
The kiss was broken by Alex's phone ringing. They froze, and instantly started to laugh. She picked up her phone. "Hello?...Yeah, we're okay...Huh?...Why? What are you guys up to?...Alright alright, Mr. Bossy. Sheesh...okay I will. Bye." She awkwardly stared at her phone.
"Shortest phone conversation with Justin ever." she remarked. "That was weird."
"What did he say?"
She shrugged. "No idea what it's supposed to mean, but he told me to tell Leah: All systems go."
xXxXxXxXxXx
Alex's POV
Trial: Take two. This is it. No more re-dos. This is probably one of the scariest moments of my life, because now is when it is decided if my family will stay together. It all comes down to this.
Everything was set up the same way as the first trial, only on our side of the courtroom, two dozen teenage wizard girls were sitting in the back rows. According to Hannah, our story had become a huge hit with the teens. An article written about us titled "True, but Forbidden Love" (by an unknown source) had been sweeping around the World Wide Wiz Web, explaining the whole trial, and touched the hearts of many teenage girls. We had fans. Awesome. Well, the more the merrier. In our case, more people on our side was most definitly merrier.
After waiting silently for what seemed like hours but was only ten minutes, Professor Crumbs finally spoke up.
"The Wizard Council has officially decided on the fate of Leah Greyback." He announced. No one spoke, but I could feel Leah tense up. I squeezed her hand in reassurance. She squeezed back.
"After being observed, interviewed, tested on agility and endurence, and many other types of observations, Leah has turned the judges around. She seems to be a very bright and harmless child, and could very well be one of the most powerful wizards of all time."
"I like where this is going," Mason whispered.
"It would be a shame to do anything to harm this hybrid child. The Wizard Council has decided to spare her life, and she will not be charged. She is innocent."
Leah beamed and gave me an expression of excitement. The whole courtroom applauded. Our daughter basically leaped into my lap, hugging both Mason and I happily. This was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. My baby was finally safe.
After a good five minutes of clapping, Crumbs raised his hammer and silenced the room. "Now, as for the fate of the parents, the council would like to have Alex answer questions."
I awkwardly stood up, not one hundred percent sure what was happening. I stood next to Crumbs as he scanned me over.
"Alex, are you aware of the law broken?" he asked me.
"Yes, sir."
"Do you know why the law was established in the first place?"
I breathed heavily. "Yes, sir."
"Were you aware of this when you decided to go against the law?"
I hesitated. I bit my tongue in order to not instantly reply with a snap of sarcasm. "Y-yes, sir."
"Would you mind explaining why exactly you did?"
"Not at all," I replied. I took a deep breath and looked at Mason in the front row. He gave me a small smile in reassurence. "I did it for love."
The girls in the back let out a loud "Awwwww!" Crumbs silenced them and guestured me to go on.
"Well, six years ago, I lost my family's Wizard Competition. But at that point, I didn't want to win to have my powers. Well I did, but that was my number two reason. My number one reason was Mason. Because I knew that the only way we could stay together was by me winning. I tried as best as I could, but I was no match for my brother. After I lost, Mason and I decided that the only way to stay together was to run away, so we did. We ran off in hopes of no one ever finding us again. Then Leah came along. So our lives were perfect." I stopped to take a breath. "Mason has never once tried to hurt me since we left. Or even accidentally hurt me. He has kept me sane and strong. He's the best father, the best husband, and the best friend I could ever have. I'm sorry Professor, but no law can stop fate. People do crazy things when they're in love. But that's how you know it's real." I smiled at my family.
The court room was in complete silence. "So, yeah..." I added with a shrug. And then the claps came. The room bursted into applause, giving me a standing ovation. I blushed with a smile.
Crumbs finally had enough of the shouting and clapping. He hit the hammer on his pedistal. Everyone hushed.
"Thank you. Alex, you seem to have delivered a very good point. I give you props for standing up for your family. So it's going to be awkward when I tell you that the rule hasn't been changed."
My heart sank to the ground. "What?" was the only word I could manage to spill out. The courtroom let out a loud "BOOOOOOOO!"
"Pipe down, everyone," he continued. "I'm really sorry, Alex. I really do wish I could help. But unfortunately that law were created centuries before I was a professor. And it is locked by magic even more powerful than my own. I can't change it. I truely am sorry."
I could feel a tear roll down my cheek. I couldn't even look at Mason. My heart had basically shattered on the inside. I wiped the tear and looked over at Leah, who was whispering something to Justin in the row behind her. He nodded and stood up.
"Hey, Alex! Think fast!" He called. Before I could even realize what was going on, Justin had formed a glowing orange sphere in his hands and forced it in my direction. The sphere sank faster than light itself into my chest. I caught my breath. The whole room gasped. I was suddenly levitating a few feet above the ground. Gold glittery smoke coiled around my arms and legs and eventually made its way inside me. I finally dropped back to the ground, landing lightly on my feet.
"Justin! What did you do?" I asked. My brain seemed to be flying in all directions at once. I was getting dizzy. Mason rushed to my side, catching me before I started to faint.
Justin came to the front of the room. He stood before the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the Russo, well or Greyback, uh, anyway the official Family Wizard!"
Then I realized what had happened. "Justin! Why did you do that?"
He gave me a quizzical glance. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I thought being the family wizard meant everything to you, why would you give it all up? Everything you've ever worked for?"
He rested his hand on my shoulder. "Alex, even though you're married, and have a kid, and actually more of an adult than I am considering the fact that I'm niether of those things, but you're still my baby sister. And I'm not going to have your life ruined just over something like this. I actually should've done this years ago, but I was too caught up in the moment of winning that I didn't realize what really mattered. You and Mason, the real magic."
A smile spread across my face. "Justin, I don't know what to say," I said softly, still dizzy from having my brain basically rewired.
"I've got it from here, love," Mason told me. He turned to my brother. "Thank you, Justin. For everything."
Crumbs came towards us. "Alex, you are very lucky to have a brother that cares so much for you that he was willing to give up his life's dream just for your sake."
"Life's dream? Please, I'm also a principal." Justin informed him proudly. I nudged him playfully.
Crumbs turned back to me and Mason. "Well, consider yourselves lucky. I guess fate has a way of working out true love after all. Consider yourselves, not charged."
The whole room bursted into an applause four times as loud as before. I slammed myself into Mason, burying my face in his shoulder and crying happily. He did the same to me. He lifted me off the ground as if I weighted five pounds and spun me in the air, both of us crying from excitement.
"Yeah, baby! It worked!" Leah exclaimed, jumping off her seat and leaping in between us. Mason kissed her on the cheek and lifted her on his shoulders. I took a good look at my beautiful family. Finally, we were free.
"Congradulations, Miss Russo." Crumbs smiled.
"GREYBACK!" Everyone in the audience corrected.
Crumbs ran his fingers through his beard. "You know, I think I have a way to fix that."
Stakes are high,
the water's rough,
but this love is ours.
xXx
Such a sweet chapter, huh? Stay tuned... :)
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