Family Magic (13 page)

“I will when you admit you screwed up and
stop trying to blame me all the time,” I shot back.

“I’ve had about enough of you, young lady,”
she snapped at me, eyes flashing, power building. So weird she lost
control of her magic like that. I had a flash of real concern.
Something about my mom felt foreign, like I was looking at someone
wearing her body. The instant passed and good old Mom came back
full force, so much so I doubted what I saw.

“Don’t blame me your wards fell apart,” I
said. “I was the one who stopped her from annihilating our block,
remember? Geez, you’d think you’d be grateful or something.”

“My wards did not just fall apart, thank you
very much,” she flared back. “You’ve been dropping power all over
the place lately and with your untrained abilities…”

“I didn’t let her out!” I was shouting now.
“I don’t know who did. But it wasn’t me.”

“Fine,” Mom waved her hand at me, going back
to study the door. “Enough, I don’t want to have this conversation
tonight. Go to bed.”

She dismissed me. Not just me physically,
though. She dismissed my honesty, as though she didn’t believe me
but didn’t have the time to tell me so. She didn’t trust me. Worse,
she thought me capable of hurting my grandmother. It tore a huge
rent inside I felt like a blow.

All the frustration, all the anger and pent
up emotion welled up in one huge ball of fury, filling in the gash
like a flood of fire. I gathered my stuff to me and clenched my
teeth against the desire to call my power and smash her with it.
Even I had more control than that, although it would have served
her right. She expected me to be a failure, didn’t she?

I can only imagine the energy I emanated that
turned her toward me.

“Never again,” I snarled. “You can take care
of it yourself the next time Gram escapes and decides to nuke the
neighbors.”

Her face hardened. “Go to bed. Right.
Now.”

I glared at her, anger changing to something
cold and hard. The wall that crumbled between us the last few days
repaired itself, growing taller and thicker with each passing
second.

I drew myself up and clutched my stuff with
both hands, putting every ounce of my bitterness and contempt into
my face.

“Goodnight, Mother.” I said and walked away
from her.

Safe in the confines of my room, I threw a
few choice pillows around to satisfy the burning rage I clutched to
me like a blanket. Part of me worried she was right, maybe it was
me that released Gram. But I knew in my heart I was innocent,
despite the guilty verdict she already passed. Needless to say I
had very little sleep and what I did get wasn’t restful.

When I woke up the next morning for school, I
was in very foul humor, so much so, in fact, I literally threw on
the first pair of jeans and hoody I could find, threw my messy hair
back into a pony tail and said good enough. The beauty brigade
could kiss my ass.

Whispers in the kitchen halted abruptly when
I walked in. I felt the rolling fury start up at the sight of Erica
hovering over my mom.

Why couldn’t she mind her own damned
business?

I ignored both of them, rigid with control,
back stiff as I pulled open the fridge door and grabbed my lunch.
The contents rattled with the force of the motion.

“Syd,” Erica started. “Can we–“

I spun on her so fast I almost dropped the
paper bag, boiling over.

“How can you possibly imagine anything you
can say to me will change what happened?”

Erica stepped back, as if I was someone she
didn’t recognize.

“I wanted to talk to you about last
night.”

“Maybe if you were
there
,” I tried not to
snarl at her, “which you
weren’t
, I’d like to hear your
opinion. But since you
weren’t
,” I stressed it for the
second time, just in case she decided to push it, “I couldn’t care
less what you think.”

“Syd!” Mom said, playing the outrage card.
“Don’t speak to Erica like that. I asked her to talk to both of us.
To mediate, since we seem to need help communicating these days.”
She shot a grateful look at Erica who smiled back. “She’s trying to
help.”

I was so not in the mood for tag-team coven.
This was classic in my family. Everything was dealt with in witch
fashion, mediated, talked to death. I was sick of it and sick of
them.

“This is so typical of you,” I said to Mom,
the boiling getting to a level that scared me. “Big bad witch,
stronger than God, and you don’t have the courage to admit you were
wrong. Mediate, sure, convince me it was my fault and clear your
conscience, you mean.”

Mom stepped forward, angry again. Erica took
her arm, concerned, but my mom shook her off.

“I was worried about Mother last night,” she
said. “No matter what happened, I know if you were involved you
would never have let her out on purpose.”

Still in blame mode.
Naturally. I wanted to laugh and scream at the same time. “Really?
Wow, you don’t know me at all!” The sarcasm hurt my own ears.
“Didn’t you know? I let her out all the time, hoping she’ll do
something horrible so we can move
yet
again
and I can be the new girl one more time before I hit my
senior year.” The kitchen vibrated with my contempt.

“I think that’s about enough of that
attitude, young lady,” Mom snapped back.

This was not cooling our tempers, and Erica
knew it.

“Please, Syd,” she said. “This animosity is
hurting both of you. You two need to work things out. Now. Before
it gets blown even further out of proportion than it already
has.”

“Too late,” I muttered.

Mom regained control of her temper and
squared her shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “But I was upset,
worried about your grandmother. It doesn’t excuse me losing my
temper,” she glanced at Erica and back to me, “and I am very
sorry.”

How nice.

“For what,” I asked.

“What?” She seemed genuinely confused.

“What are you sorry for?” I was pushing her.
I wanted her to say it for some reason, wanted her to put it into
words, out in the world where we could both see it, examine it,
feel it. I dug away at the open wound between us, making it bleed
all over again.

“For losing my temper,” she said. “I’ve
apologized, Syd. I was wrong.”

“You can’t even say it, can you?” I wanted to
throw something at her but wasn’t willing to loosen my grip on the
lunch bag. It felt like the ordinary weight and texture of it was
the only thing holding me back. “Did you even tell Erica what you
did?”

Mom’s face stiffened, regret in her eyes.
“Syd, honey, I never meant... I never meant to blame you and I
should never have... have...”

“Accused me?” I shouted at her. “You
practically called me a liar! To my face!”

“Syd,” she said. “I did no such thing.”

“You didn’t believe me,” I snapped back. “You
never believe me. I’m always guilty, even when I can prove I’m
innocent.”

“Maybe if you took a little responsibility
now and then…” Mom faced me, anger rising once more.

“I am so sick of that word,” I shook my head,
choking out a bitter laugh. “You have no idea.”

“Get used to it,” she answered. “It’s a grown
up thing, and you’re almost there.”

My rage cooled to a simmer. “This is going
nowhere. I have to get to school.”

I stormed for the door. Erica made a grab for
me but I pushed her off and escaped the kitchen.

Great start to a Wednesday.

***

The walk to school went a
lot faster than normal, probably because I was so pumped up from
the fight with Mom and Erica. I was still a raging bundle by the
time I hit the steps. I didn’t even for a second think about what
might be awaiting me care of Alison and company. In fact, I already
decided to stop waiting for them to do
to
me, but to seek them out instead
and get whatever was coming face to face. Much preferable to being
stabbed in the back over and over again.

I’m pretty sure my new aggressive nature
scared the crap out of the entire school, not just the mean girls.
I thought the other students scattered like frightened birds on
Monday. Today was a whole new ball game and I was calling the
plays.

Each time I encountered one of Alison’s
girls, instead of the punishment they planned, I had the
satisfaction of seeing their sick little plot sputter and fail in
their hands, unused, forgotten. I learned one thing very
quickly–-these bullies only picked on those who were scared of
them. Once the fear was reversed, they ran like rabbits.

Points for me. And the aura driving in front
of me like a battering ram. But I think it was more my attitude
that did it. I didn’t hurt anyone or use my magic to cause havoc.
Not only did it go against coven rules, but it went against my own
feelings. No, I simply decided enough was enough. On that day, I
didn’t care if they liked me or not but there was no way I was
taking this crap lying down ever again.

Talk about empowering.

By the time I came across Alison in her
office, the first floor bathroom, I had on a full head of steam. I
pushed through the small crowd hanging around the door, knowing
they waited there because of me. And I was right. When I entered
the gloomy interior, Alison huddled deep in annoyed conversation
with one of her cronies. The others around her seemed nervous.
Alison glanced up from her hissing whispers. She didn’t even try to
be civil.

Not that I cared. Not hardly. Civil was
totally out the window.

I stopped in front of her, close enough to
see it register in her colored-contact tinted blue eyes I had the
nerve to not only confront her on her turf, but face her,
fearless.

“I’ve had enough,” I said, not trying to keep
my voice down. “Your sick little games end here and now. Leave me
alone, and I’ll leave you alone.”

Her face hardened.

“Says who, Syd? You?” She forced a laugh and
cast a look around her for support. I couldn’t care less if she had
any but I think it really surprised her she was alone. The girls
knew a losing battle when they saw one.

“Yeah,” I answered. “Me. I’m done putting up
with your crap.”

“What do you plan to do about it? Cry to the
principal?” She desperately tried to reel in some support. I felt
some of her weaker followers sway.

“No,” I answered very quietly. “But trust me,
Alison. You do not ever want to piss me off. Ever.”

“Don’t threaten me,” she snarled. “I own this
school and I’ll do whatever I want to whoever I want. You won’t
survive here if I say you won’t.”

“Try me,” I said.

“You don’t get it, do you, new girl?” She
shook her head, fake concern on her face. “No one likes you. No one
wants you here. Until you run home with your tail between your
legs, I’m going to make your life at this school a living
hell.”

There. She actually said it. My whole body
sighed, tension released. The stakes were on the table,
finally.

I decided to play my trump card. “Brad
does.”

It kind of bothered me to use him as a weapon
but at that point I was willing to access all the advantages I had.
I was new to this standing up for myself thing, after all. I
figured I’d get better at it eventually.

Besides, it might turn around and blow up in
my face.

It didn’t.

“Brad is
mine
!” She shrieked,
reaching out with French manicured claws like she wanted to tear my
eyes out. “Stay away from him!”

How pathetic. I saw it so clearly in that
moment, the desperate need for attention, the total and utter fear
she had of being ignored, of not being noticed, not being the
center of everything. The terror of loss of control, of being seen
as weak or unworthy, of not being liked and accepted sat at the
core of what Alison was.

How very sad.

The hard, heavy part of me that hated her and
every bully like her softened.

“Wow,” I whispered. “I’m really sorry.” I
meant it.

She froze, floored. “For what?” She
snapped.

“For whatever it is that happened to you that
made you this way,” I answered.

Alison hissed an intake of breath. Her face
turned sheet white. I saw the rage rise within her.

“I am lead cheerleader,”
she snarled at me, “and my boyfriend is the captain of the football
team. My parents are so rich they could buy you ten times over. I
have everything. I am everything.
You
feel sorry for
me
?
You
are
the
loser.”

My anger drained away. The last of the hate
let go in a rush leaving me empty except for pity. I know she saw
it in my face. I think that made her madder than anything.

“You have a lot of issues. You should try
talking to someone about them before they eat you up, Alison.”

I heard laughter from those gathered behind
me, but I didn’t feel good about it. I knew I was right. She was
hurt, hurting so much she needed to lash out at people to make
herself feel strong.

And I thought I had problems.

This time, I saw the leeching aura as she
tried to draw power from those around her. Not magic, not exactly.
Just the normal dominance grab of leader to followers.

Nothing happened and she felt it.

“Get out!” She tried for bitch but barely
made it to annoying. “Leave me alone!”

She lost and she knew it. I
know
everyone else in the room knew it,
smelled the blood in the water. For the first time for as long as I
could remember, the blood wasn’t mine.