Heather

I was in bed trying to figure out how I’d let the night get so out of control when someone knocked on my door. Instead of waiting for an answer, Mom came in.

She made her way around the boxes in my room and sat on the foot of my bed.

"On a scale of one to ten, how mad is Dad?"

Mom sighed. "He’s not mad, honey."

I finally met her gaze. "I’m not buying that. I embarrassed him in front of all those people."

"What’s a Hollywood party without a little drama?" She patted my leg. "We’re more worried about you."

I stared at the ceiling. "It’s fine. I’m fine."

"No. You’re not. But we’re hoping Texas will be better. That’s the whole reason we’re moving."

I gathered my courage and hoped for the answer I wanted. "Is St. Francis’s a school for kids like me?"

She stuck her tongue out in a look of disgust. "No!" Then she laughed at herself. "No way. You would not fit in there. Trust me."

Interesting. So who would fit in there? "Then why Texas? Why make Dad leave his job instead of making me switch schools again?"

I’d been through most of the private ones in Los Angeles while in lower school. By third grade, I’d exhausted all options. They finally sent me back to my original one. It was a good school, but that’s not why I went back there.

The thinking was that my brother could keep an eye out for me. Their plan sort of worked. But my brother graduated, so that was that. Why my parents refused for me to do home schooling was beyond me. It would’ve made life so much easier.

"There’s really no one left who will take you besides Westlake, and I know you don’t want to stay there."

Well that was embarrassing. "What about the public schools?"

Mom shook her head. "Not in this county. I want you to have an excellent education in a safe setting. And with your brother going off to college, it’s time for a new place. I always wanted an excuse to move back to Texas anyhow."

"I could always do home schooling."

"No way, kiddo. You’re already in your own head enough. I won’t let you become a hermit."

"But Dad—"

"Why don’t you let me worry about your father? Okay? This job is a good one. He’ll be making the same as he was here with a fraction of the workload. After you leave for college, we’ll talk about coming back to LA, but I doubt we will. I have a feeling we’re all going to be happier there. Plus, we’ll be by your cousins. I think you’ll find that you have more in common with them than you think."

That had me sitting up. "Seriously?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The crazy brujos? She thought I’d have more in common with a bunch of crazy people that thought they were witches. I knew my abuela had gifts like mine, but some of the stuff the rest of the family believed was really out there. I doubted they’d see eye to eye with me.

"It’s my fault really. I didn’t keep up with them after your abuela died." Her voice was soft, and tinged with regret. "But I tracked down my cousin Ana, and her twins Veronica and Carlos both have gifts. They’re a few years younger than you, but it’s better than nothing."

She had a point. They couldn’t be any worse than the kids at school. Plus, who was I to judge someone for being weird.

Mom stood up, and smoothed down her dress. "I know it’s been hard for you here, but it’ll get easier."

"Thanks. As you can tell," I motioned to the boxes, "I think I might be ready to move."

She laughed. "Good. You can help me pack the kitchen tomorrow."

"Sure thing."

Dad popped in the doorway. "You okay, princess?"

I nodded. "Sorry, Dad."

"Don’t apologize for things that aren’t your fault." He turned to Mom. "People are clearing out."

"I’ll be right down."

"Great." Dad winked at me. "Get some sleep, princess."

Mom stopped at the door. "Light on or off?"

"Off." She was almost out the door when I stopped again. "Mom."

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"You’re very welcome." It was too dark to see her face, but I could tell from the sound of her voice that she was smiling.

I lay in the dark listening to the sounds of the dying party. I had been excited about the move, but now I was seriously pumped.

Cousins with gifts? This could change everything. But why hadn’t Mom contacted them before? What was different now?

The more I thought about it the more questions I had. And not only about my cousins, but about St. Francis’s. And those wolf-dog things. And that guy.

Mostly about that guy.