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~Waylon’s POV~
“We’re in deep trouble,” Jason whispered as he settled into a chair, staring down at his plate the next morning.
“What did you think was going to happen?” Foster seethed.
“I thought we could finally get some fucking answers,” Jason snapped back.
“Cut it out,” I said. “We did it. The damage is done. All we can do is try to fix it.”
“She wants to skin us alive. I can tell.” Jason grabbed his water and drank half of it.
I wish I had words to comfort him, but what was there to say? We shouldn’t have approached her. As soon as Madeline opened her door and saw that it was Foster and me at the door, her smile had slipped away into a deep frown, confusion on her face.
We had been the last people she expected to see at her door. I wasn’t surprised. We had left her alone for almost ten years. Then when we told her that her sister was back, I thought she was going to faint right then and there. The shock was deep for her.
I couldn’t even remember what we had told her after that, too focused on how our news had affected her. Granted, we didn’t get any answers, so we gave her my card and told her where her sister was staying.
That was probably a big mistake.
Before we could talk more about it, Josie and her sister came down the stairs. It was almost like looking at twins. They both had the black hair, the same shape to their features. Except Josie’s baby sister looked like the older sister now.
Josie motioned Madeline to a chair. “Have a seat. Breakfast is ready.”
Her sister nodded, staring down at her plate with a frown. “I’m almost afraid to eat. I feel like I’m about to be forced awake from this dream and into a world without you.”
“Not a dream,” Josie replied in a soft voice. “Let’s eat. You know how Mom has always felt about breakfast.” She tried to smile but it was clearly forced. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.
I glanced at the guys, realizing how terribly wrong it was for us to talk to Madeline. I had a mean grandfather. I knew what it felt like to have my choices taken away. For a few summers, I had been underneath his absolute control. I was only saved when he had died from a heart attack. The byproduct of such a past meant I never wanted others to be in that situation. The military had only made that belief stronger. That was why I had no issue talking with her sister, and letting her know that Josie was around. She had that right, that opportunity to decide for herself what she wanted to do.
And for her, that was showing up here to talk with Josie.
I just didn’t think she’d look so broken as they talked.
My heart twisted as I took in both of the women. Their depression was heavy on my soul. We put them in this situation and something about Josie was off. Wrong. Like she’d come to a decision and it was tearing her apart.
We were about halfway through breakfast when Madeline finally spoke. Before that, it had been complete silence, except for the scraping of forks against plates and the ruffling of clothes as we shifted in our seats.
“Let me fix this,” Madeline said, her head bowed over her plate. Her sniffling wrenched at my heart.
“There’s nothing to fix,” Josie said, not looking at her sister.
“But—”
“Madeline.”
Her body jerked before she stilled. I could see the glistening of her tears as they fell.
Josie softened her voice as she pushed back from the table, moving slowly. “There is nothing to fix. Not anymore. This is our lives now.”
As she walked toward her sister, the air crackled briefly. Madeline’s chair turned on its own so that the two sisters faced each other. Josie kneeled before her sister, her skin growing translucent again as the golden swirls shined through. The three of us could only watch as Josie worked her magic. It was like she stole our ability to do anything. We could only be spectators.
“I belong to Faerie, and you belong here. Find your true love who will whisk you off to Paris, Rome, Venice, and all those other places you’ve always wanted to go to.”
“But this is all my fault. This should have never happened to you.” Madeline glared hard down at her lap, crying.
Josie squeezed her thigh. “Look at me.”
She blinked back her tears to no avail as she met Josie’s gaze. “My sweet baby sister. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
I gasped as Josie’s words had an instant affect. Madeline stilled, her gaze going dull. Pain hit me hard at seeing her like that, so lifeless. We had grown up with her. She was always a bright existence in our life, always quick to laugh, and wanting us to chase her around. To see her like that... like no one was home.
What was Josie doing?
I tried to speak, but it felt like someone held a hand around my throat. No noise would come out. My voice had been stolen. Not even my limbs wanted to work. All I could do was sit there and watch what Josie did to Madeline. Controlled her. Turned her into a puppet. Acidic anger swirled low in my stomach and rose painfully into my throat.
Jose didn’t seem to care as she kept talking, spinning a spell with her very words. “When you step out of my hotel door, you’re going to forget that you’ve seen me. You’ll only think you came for an overnight trip to the city to play tourist. You’ll go out, see your favorite places in the city, and then head back to Boston to live your life. Your memories of me are dull enough to feel an ache in your chest, but not enough to keep you from living your life the best that you can.” Josie continued, doing her best to weave her spell. Her skin became pallid, and it seemed like she was about to throw up as her words grew thick with emotions, and she blinked furiously.
I almost threw up watching, my tongue feeling like ash was coating over it. The nausea in me was so strong as I watched Josie do something that was unforgivable. No one should ever take another person’s choice away. Not like this. What did Madeline do to deserve to be controlled like this? All she wanted to do was see her big sister again. Finally get some answers.
Why was this turning out like this?
Josie jumped to her feet, still holding on to Madeline’s hand.
Madeline blinked and looked up at Josie. “I’m going to go get some coffee. There’s this I just down the street that has the best mocha latte. You’ll love it. Wait for me? Be here when I come back?”
Josie’s smile was forced as she replied, “I’ll be here for the rest of the day.”
Madeline’s smile was bright and heartbreaking. “Good.”
The moment Josie led Madeline to the door, the spell around us broke. I took in a gasping breath, jumping to my feet. I tried to move forward, but for some reason I stayed there as Josie led her sister to the door.
Madeline leaned over and kissed Josie’s cheek before stepping out. The moment she crossed the threshold, the air stirred in the room. Josie closed the door softly and watched through the peephole. It was a long few moments of holding my breath while Josie watched her sister on the other side of the door. The moment she turned around, looking relieved, I finally released all my anger.
“What did you just do?” I asked, clenching my hands at my side.
After releasing a slow breath, she finally looked at me. I wanted to pull her into a hug, anything to wipe that heartbroken expression off her face. But I was too furious to do that.
“Why would you do that to her?” I asked and began laying into her, demanding to know why. Did she understand what she just took away from her sister? Did Faerie warp her so much that she could do that so easily? What the fuck happened to her humanity? The Josie I knew would never do that to another living being. Ever. “How dare you use your fae tricks on your own sister? What if that destroys her? What if you do some kind of damage to her brain? That was fucked up and you know it.”
“Stop it!” Foster snapped. He got into my face, broad shoulders stiff. “You don’t understand anything. How can you call her out like that?
“Like what? She just turned her fucking sister into a puppet. How is that okay?”
“Guys...” Jason said, trying to get between us.
I shoved him back. “That was Madeline! Not some criminal on the street. That was her baby sister. If she can do that to her own sister, what else is she capable of doing? You know what she did was wrong.”
“No, I don’t know if what she did was right or wrong, but I trust Josie enough to make the right decision.”
I snorted. “You mean like how she left us and went to Faerie? How she decided not to let anyone know that she was back here? I don’t think she’s capable of making the right decision.”
“Enough—” Jason tried to interject, but Foster pushed him out of our way.
“Hey, Asshole, when are you going to realize that sometimes, there isn’t a right decision? You keep living in this world where everything is black and white. Right and wrong. That isn’t reality.”
“It’s wrong when you take someone’s choice away. When you control them like she just did with her sister. There is no gray when it comes to freedom of choice.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. Stop trying to live in a world where the answer is only right or wrong.”
“You’re her lapdog now, Foster. She has you by the balls,” I said, so angry at that point that I wanted to make him hurt for not understanding. Why couldn’t he? It was simple. Freedom. The right for Madeline to make her own decisions.
“Shut the fuck up. Even you don’t believe the shit you just said.”
“Uh, guys?” Jason pitched in.
“I understand that the military fucked you up enough that you can’t understand that what Josie just did was wrong.”
Foster’s eyes flashed dangerously with his fury. His fists were at his side, ready to make a swing at me. I was expecting it, trying to push him hard. I was too angry to care. Someone needed to pay for what had happened.
Before I could open my mouth and say anything else that would probably cause a fissure between me and them, a loud wailing cut through.
“Fuck you all,” Jason snapped. He grabbed on to Josie who collapsed into him, taking in shuddering breaths as she sobbed, her eyes closed, skin pallid. She clawed at Jason, like she was trying to get inside of him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She buried her face into his chest as her whole body shook. She kept wailing and gripping at Jason.
Foster and I could only stare at her in confusion.
“Now is not the time to go on about what is right or wrong. Couldn’t you guys tell how hard that was for her to do. She had to have a reason and before condemning her so quickly”—he glared right at me—“you should have talked to her.” He hoisted Josie into his arms and carried her up the stairs. She was too lost in her breakdown to notice what was going on.
I was left standing there like a complete asshole as Foster chased after them. Her wailing reached me, and unable to help myself, I went to her, needing to give her comfort.
No one said anything as I crawled into bed and rubbed her arm. She was on top of Jason, crying still, with Foster on the other side. I rubbed her arm and then her back, wishing for her to stop making the heart-wrenching noises. I wanted to take that pain away from her. I desperately wished I could.
Instead, I could only feel like a complete asshole and try to comfort her as best as I could, though I knew it wasn’t enough.
