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“Was the house nice?” Her mother handed Lily the plate to dry.
“We didn’t get a chance to look around. Too many lectures and the play went on forever.”
“Are you staying in this evening?”
Lily dried the last plate and put it away. “No, I’m going to see Jonas with them.”
“Jonas?”
“He’s an old teacher of theirs, lives in town.”
“You’re not seeing him then?” Her mother pulled the sink plug.
“Not tonight.” She didn’t want to fight. Things weren’t the same between them anymore. She’d never had to watch what she said to her mother before. She’d never felt like she was walking on eggshells around her. But now, it was like there was a huge black cloud hanging over them, threatening to tear them apart. She was losing her mother, and it was killing her.
“What about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow I’m with the boys. They’re taking me to the Bootlegger for my birthday.”
“Your birthday! I forgot your birthday. I’ve had your present wrapped for weeks. Oh god, Lily, I’m so sorry. I was going to take you to a little Italian restaurant I found in town. How could I forget? It’s your eighteenth as well.”
“It doesn’t matter, there’s been a lot going on recently, and I’m not surprised we forgot.” Except everyone hadn’t forgotten. Her boys hadn’t forgotten.
“I’ll book it for tomorrow night.”
“You can’t. I won’t be here,” Lily reminded her. “The boys are taking me out, remember?”
“You see them every day. At college and then again in the evenings. I hardly see you anymore. They can see you another night, I’ll take you out.” She put the last plate away and turned to Lily.
Lily switched on the washing machine. “Now? We’ve just eaten.”
“No, tomorrow. It’s only a pub, they can take you there any time. It’s not as if they’ve booked a table.”
“Mum, they arranged this weeks ago. I’m not turning my back on them.”
“You’re not turning your back on them. Matt will understand.” She folded her arms.
“No. I’m not cancelling it. We can go out Sunday, can’t we?”
“Don’t worry about it. When you can fit me in to your busy schedule, let me know.” She crossed to the kitchen door.
“What’s wrong with Sunday? Sunday would be all right, wouldn’t it?” Lily tried to push away the guilty feelings her mother’s words instilled.
“I said it’s fine. Drop it.” Her mother went out and up the stairs.
Lily rubbed at her forehead, feeling sick. Why was everything so hard? She wouldn’t let the boys down, but she was disappointing her mum.
A knock sounded on the door, and she went to answer it.
“Happy birthday, Lily.” Drew stood in the doorway, a big grin on his face, and a shiny box in his hands.
“Oh!” She stepped back in surprise.
He took it as an invitation and came in, shutting the door behind him. “Here, this is for you.”
She hesitated before taking it from him. “Thank you. You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to. I’ve never been able to before. You’re my daughter, my responsibility. A responsibility I wanted badly but was denied. We’ll never get back what we’ve lost, but we can try and build something. It’s not too late.”
Hope mixed with sadness shone in his eyes and her throat closed. She was torn, pulled in three directions with no idea which way to go.
“Go on, open it.” He nodded encouragingly.
She removed the lid, revealing a silver framed photograph of a young woman. “Is that her?”
“This is Sarah.” He gently touched the photograph of the golden-haired woman. She was laughing into the camera, pure joy shining from her face. It was clear to see she was in love with the person behind the camera.
“We didn’t know it at the time, but she was pregnant with you here.”
Her heart twisted in her chest. This was her mother, her real mother.
“She’s—” Regret, sadness, and loss swept over her, threatening to drown her.
“She’s beautiful,” Drew said. “You have her dimples and her smile.”
Her throat ached with unshed tears for a mother she’d never known, for a life she’d never live.
“She loved you so much, Lily. She’d be so proud of the woman you’ve become, despite everything you’ve been through.”
Tears blurred her vision. She hadn’t been ready for the sense of loss to be so overwhelming.
“I didn’t want to hurt you.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I just thought you’d like to know what she looked like.”
“I did. I do.” She swallowed. “Thank you.” She met his gaze. The hurt, love, and longing for a woman long dead was easy to see on his face.
“I just wish—” He took a deep breath. “I just wish she was still here.”
Lily placed the box on the narrow shelf underneath the mirror and took a step forward. She touched his arm, bringing his attention from the picture to her. “Thank you,” she whispered. She took a step closer, her heart in her mouth. He met her, taking her into his arms, her head against his chest and her arms around his waist. His heartbeat soothed her as he held her, his cheek resting on top of her head.
“What the hell is going on?”
Lily yelped as she was wrenched away from Drew. Her arms flailed, and she hit the photo frame. It hit the floor with a crash, the glass shattering on impact.
“Get off her!”
Her mother’s grip on her arm was painful, but she ignored it as she stared at the ruined picture. “You’ve broken it.”
“It’s only the glass, it can be replaced easily.” Drew’s voice was calm, but it did nothing to soothe her rising anger.
“You have no right to be here. Get out! Get out now and leave her alone. Don’t you dare touch her,” her mother shouted.
Lily wrenched her arm free and rounded on her. “He has every right to be here. He’s my father.”
“Sweetheart, calm—”
“Don’t you dare call her sweetheart.” The livid tone of her mother’s voice matched Lily’s fury.
“He can call me whatever the hell he wants to call me. How dare you? How dare you keep him from me? You broke the only picture I have of my real mother. The mother you forgot to tell me about for eighteen years.” Anger, hurt, and the unfairness of it all welled up inside her, consumed her.
“Lilith.” Her mother gaped at her, her hand on her heart.
“Stop, Lily.” Drew’s voice was low and commanding. “Don’t say something in anger you’ll regret later.”
“Just get out. You cause trouble. You always have, and you always will. If you really loved Lily, you’d leave all this where it belongs—in the past,” her mother snapped.
“It’s not the past for me,” Lily retorted. “I don’t know who my parents are. I don’t know who I am. I want to know. I want to know him.” She pointed to Drew as he picked up the broken picture frame, shaking off the glass.
“Look, it’s all been a bit much. Let’s get this glass cleaned up before someone hurts themselves on it.” He straightened up.
“Are you threatening us?”
“Mum, you’re being irrational,” Lily cried.
“You have no idea how dangerous he is.”
“Lynda, you’re holding onto something that never even existed.” Drew’s voice deepened. “I was never a danger to Sarah or Lily.”
“Then why did she leave her with me?” she shouted, pointing at Lily. “Why isn’t your name on her birth certificate?”
“Stop it. Just stop it. Both of you.” Lily held her hands up.
Drew caught her hand and ran his fingertips over her palm. “I’m glad your burn has healed. And so quickly, even for my ‘goo’.” He ignored her mother.
“Well, that’s...that’s...yeah.” Lily cringed, pulling her hand free. She’d forgotten about the burn from the candle.
“What’s he on about? Has he hurt you?”
“It’s nothing, Mum. I hurt myself, but Drew healed me.”
“Are you sure I healed you?” Drew lifted a dark eyebrow at her.
“You put the goo on.” She avoided his gaze and took the frame from him. A scratch was etched across the picture, slicing through Sarah’s nose and eye like a jagged scar.
“You’ve ruined it.” She held it out to her mother. “You broke it, and you’ve ruined it.”
“I can get another one. I’ve got a whole album full at home.” Drew tried to take it back, but she pulled it away.
“I’m sorry—”
“You’re jealous,” Lily snapped. “You never wanted me to know about her because you knew she’d take your place.”
“I never wanted to take her place,” she denied.
“You never wanted me to know about him because of what I am.” Anger, hurt, and betrayal whipped up inside her.
“No. No, it wasn’t like that.”
“You made me take those tablets to repress it. You lied, saying I’d never lead a normal life, that I had no dad, that you’re my mum. You hate magic, you hate me.” The fury inside her burst out of her in a scream.
Icy wind whipped around them making the door rattle. The mirror fell from the wall, smashing into a thousand pieces at their feet.
“Stop.” Drew’s voice thundered around her.
She jerked, and the wind died down.
“This is why I made you take the tablets,” her mother whispered, taking a step back from her.
“No harm has been done that can’t be cleared up,” Drew soothed. “Lily, your aunt doesn’t hate you. She wouldn’t have spent the last eighteen years looking after you if she hated you. She’d have dumped you the moment your magic started to manifest itself.”
His words didn’t register over what she’d done. She’d made the wind whip around them, made the mirror fall. She hadn’t known she was doing it, and she had no idea how she did it. Her mother feared her, and she saw why.
Drew caught her shoulders with his hands. “I want you to take deep breaths.”
“I did it,” she mumbled.
“Yes, you did. You got angry, but it’s okay.”
“How can it be okay?” She pulled from him and stumbled into the living room. “How can that possibly be okay?”
“Because now you know.” He followed her. “You know what you are, and you’ll learn to control it. I won’t leave you alone again, I promise you. I won’t let this family control you anymore.” He caught her shoulders and pulled her into him.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his jumper, breathing in deeply. He smelt of dark forests, smoky bonfires, and safety.
“What the hell?” Nate’s voice echoed through the room.
She sighed, took a deep breath, and stepped back from him. Matt and the twins stared at her as if she’d grown three heads, while Nate glared at Drew.
“Let me take the picture and the frame away, I’ll get it fixed and bring it back to you.” Drew touched her arm. “As for the other, don’t worry about it. Come over when you get a chance, and we’ll go over it, okay. Together, Lily; you and me. Okay?”
She searched his eyes and nodded, seeing only concern in their dark depths.
He smiled, taking the photo from her fingers. “Good girl.” He turned to face the boys. “I’m leaving now. Take care of her.”
Nate opened his mouth to say something, but Drew walked past them. He picked up the frame and went out of the front door, closing it behind him.
The broken glass glinted in the sunlight, a reminder that cut as sharply as the shards. Her anger had brought a wind, smashed a mirror. It was only Drew’s command that stamped her fury down and made it stop.
Her mother was scared of her.
She was scared of herself.
