“But couldn’t you see what was going to happen and warn them?”
Aunt Beth closed her eyes and her bottom lip quivered. “I did know. I had always known they would die before seeing you grow into a beautiful young woman, but I was never able to pinpoint when. Your mother knew her fate though. I didn’t keep it from her. But she didn’t want to live in fear, so she asked me not to look ahead for her anymore.”
“But you were there that day, before the police showed up. How did you know something had happened?”
She placed her hand on mine. “I knew because for the first time in my life, I had a vision of what had happened without having to use touch as a medium. It hit me with such force, I rushed right over.” She looked down at her hands.
“Is it unusual for someone… like you to see something without the use of touch?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, taking her hand off mine and placing it in her lap. “You need touch to make the connection, but sometimes visions reach out to you and if you’re strong enough you can see their message.”
We sat, looking over the water for a quiet moment. Bright streaks of orange and red flew across the sky with the slowly setting sun. I thought about the past as I sifted through my new memories, remembering all the little slips my parents had in front of me. I felt like I knew them better now.
“Aunt Beth?” I asked.
“Hmm?” she replied.
“How come you never told me any of this after they died?”
“It was their wish that if anything ever happened to them that you would remain in the dark about Magic. They just wanted you to have a normal life.”
“So much for that,” I chuckled, shaking my head at the irony.
“I knew we could never keep you from the Magical world forever. It’s your destiny. It’s been your destiny for hundreds of years.”
We stood up and the swing rocked back and forth.
As we walked side by side back to the house I asked, “So I never had a choice then?”
“Of course you do. You can choose to walk away from all of this,” my aunt clarified as we reached the French doors.
“But I won’t, will I?”
“No, you won’t.” She smiled.
Before we went back inside, where Robert and his family were undoubtedly waiting for us, I wanted to ask her one more thing.
“Aunt Beth?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Thank you, for everything.” I hugged her tight.
“You’re very welcome,” she said, kissing the top of my head.
“I need you to promise me something though.” I released her.
“What is it?" Her brow furrowed with concern.
“Promise me you’ll never take my memories from me again.”
“I promise.” She patted my hand and nodded reassuringly.
Chapter 13
My Aunt left shortly after our talk, but promised me she would be in touch to teach me how to control my visions. Robert had been by my side since the moment my aunt and I came back in the house. I could tell he was anxious to hear about what she had told me, but he had enough common sense not to ask me in front of his entire family.
I wanted to go home, crawl into bed and enjoy my new memories, but Robert’s mother, Aniela, had insisted we stay for dinner. I couldn’t begrudge her a meal with the son she never got to see and I knew Robert wasn’t going to let me go home without him. And honestly, after last night I’d rather not spend the night alone in my house.
I didn’t say much over the next couple of hours. No one paid much attention to me anyway, which I was grateful for. As the evening went on, my mood rapidly decreased. I was emotionally drained and just wanted some time to myself to process everything my aunt had told me.
“Violet?” Aniela called as Robert said goodbye to his brother.
“Yes, Mrs. Maxwell?” I replied.
“Please, call me Aniela,” she said with a warm smile.
“Okay, Aniela. Thank you again for a wonderful dinner.” I smiled but my heart wasn’t in it.
“Of course, any time, dear.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I want you to know that if you ever need anything, anything at all, you always have people to come to.” She glanced in the direction of her family.
“Thank you.”
“I mean it.” She spoke to me with a motherly tone of voice, authoritative and loving.
“I appreciate it, thank you very much.”
She looked over her shoulder again and then back at me. “And be good to my son. He cares about you a great deal.”
I opened my mouth to say something but she raised her hand in protest.
“No need to make excuses,” she said with finality.
Aniela smiled and walked over to her husband, wrapping her arm around him. She was such a regal woman. It was nice to know she had a compassionate side too.
Annabel kept glancing in my direction and every time she took a step toward me Jake would pull her a little tighter to his side. I felt bad that I wasn’t being a very social guest but my mind was fried and I didn’t have it in me to play the nice house guest.
After another round of goodbyes, Robert and I headed off toward the garage. He didn’t say anything as we walked through the house. I knew he was still dying to know what had transpired between Aunt Beth and I, but being with his family had eased his curiosity some and lightened his mood. We reached the car and he opened my door for me. His gentlemanly ways never ceased to surprise me.
“You okay?” he asked sliding into the driver’s seat.
“Yeah, just out of it.” I sighed and stared out the window.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not right now.” I let out a grunting exhalation. I knew I was going to have to face him sooner or later, but I just wasn’t ready yet.
“I’m here for you when you’re ready.”
“Thank you.”
We spent the rest of the ride in silence. When we got back to my place, I went straight to my room, changed into sweats and a cotton t-shirt and went to brush my teeth. I’d been so preoccupied with everything I had learned about my parents that I hadn’t given much thought to what Aunt Beth had said about mine and Robert’s souls. Could he really be a part of me? I rinsed my mouth and couldn’t help going back into the living room.
Robert flapped a clean sheet in the air, making up his bed on the couch with his back to me, and didn’t notice me enter the room. I watched him unfold the blankets and fluff his pillow. Not only had he saved my life but he had become my friend. Granted it was a tense friendship most of the time, but I felt like the pieces inside of me were finally falling into place.
“I’m gonna head to bed now. Do you need anything?” I asked.
“I can fend for myself,” he said and smiled. “Get some sleep. It’s been a long day.”
“Alright, night.”
“Goodnight,” he said softly.
I checked the front door out of habit and dragged myself to bed.
I spent the next couple hours tossing and turning. The memory of my parents’ lifeless bodies covered in blood played in my mind every time I closed my eyes. My aunt was right to alter this memory when I was a child, I thought. If it was too much for me as an adult, there was no way I could have dealt with it when I was young. I'd always considered myself a strong person that could handle anything life threw at me, but lately life had been trying to bury me. Every time I broke through the surface another wave of information crashed on top of me, threatening to drown me entirely.
Sitting up, I switched on the bedside lamp. I wanted to go to the kitchen and make some tea, but I didn’t want to wake Robert if he was sleeping. Sitting on the edge of the bed I picked at my cuticles, wrestling with myself to get up or try and go back to sleep. Chewing off half of my nails, I decided to get up and go to the kitchen.