Forgotten Magic

Chapter 25

"T-Taylor?"

I couldn't help but smile. "Oh, thank goodness! I was scared it was-"

"What-what are you doing here?" He sounded tense.

"I-I finished my school," I explained, slightly impatient. "Two years, remember? Plus, I got a letter from Quirin about...um...about mom."

Pure silence.

"Come on, we have to go. Now." He grabbed my arm and pulled me off the path and behind our house.

"What-what are you-what's wrong?" I gasped urgently, trying my best to follow. "Nick, what's happened. Why are you...what are you wearing? I-"

"It's a long story," he whispered. "Did anyone else see you?"

"What? N-no, but I don't understand why-"

"Shh. Did anyone come with you?"

"U-Um...yeah, my roommates from Bayangor. Why?"

"Find them. We need to get inside."

"So-so dad's still living-"

"As far as I know, yes. Now hurry."

I nodded and ran out onto the path, quickly spotting my two friends and running up to them.

"Taylor. Where have you been?" Quince demanded. "Did something happen?"

"U-Um it's hard to explain," I stuttered. "Basically, uh, my brother is here. And...he said we need to get inside quickly. I-I don't know why, but, um-"

"Wait wait wait wait-"

"I don't know either," I panicked a bit. "Just c'mon." I grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards my house, dragging Tori with me too.

For a moment, as I stood at the front door, I wondered if I should knock. I did.

The door opened, and my father was standing there. He wasn't as well as I remembered, a bit pale with messy hair.

"Taylor!"

Suddenly, I was wrapped in a tight hug and welcomed in. My friends were too. And then there was silence.

Nick was standing at the door, and our dad was standing between my brother and I. I felt something stiff in the air.

"Father." Nickolas scowled. "This isn't exactly easy for either of us, I know."

"You're not welcome here," the farmer said sternly. "You know that."

"What-Dad, what do you mean?" I interrupted, getting between the two. "What happened?"

"Taylor, I-" Nick began, "I can explai-"

"Taylor, I can explain later." our dad set a hand on my shoulder. "After-"

"N-No, not later. I-I want to know now. Why-what happened? Tell me."

"I left." Nickolas's voice was empty. "I left for my own good. But you," he pointed a finger at our dad, "don't understand that, now do you?"

The older man sighed. "You see, Taylor. This is why-"

"B-but I don't understand," I stammered. "Mom-Nick-Dad, I-Everything is just-" I knew my breath was quickening.

"Excuse me," Quince interrupted from behind the three of us. "If I may...I-"

My eyes widened as I realized how difficult this might be for my friends.

"Ah yes, and you are?" Nick stormed.

"U-um, Quince Miro," the messy, cedar-brown haired. "Anyways, I was hoping that-"

"Whatever it is, I don't actually care."

"Nick!" I chided in what I soon realized was a bit of a whiny voice. "Come on!"

"What? Just being honest," he shrugged, glancing to his right. "Anyways, all this light from the doorway is going to attract attention. So..."

After a long moment, our father sighed. "Fine. Just this once."

"Not like I wanted to anyways," my brother muttered, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "Anyways, I think I owe an explanation."

"You think?" I asked. "Alright. Let's hear it."

"Not now," he added. "Maybe in a bit." He turned to Dad. "I want to know what happened to Mom."

"Ah right. You would know if you had been here!" our father yelled. "But no, of course you-"

"You wouldn't understand!" Nick shouted back. "Now, anyways, I actually-"

"C-Can we...do this later?" I asked softly. Everyone's eyes turned to me.

"Seriously?" my brother asked, hands clenched. "Now?"

"I-It's just...I've been traveling all day and-" I whispered. The truth was that I hoped to stall long enough for everyone to calm down completely. "I just..."

Lucky for me, it worked.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Dad agreed. "Taylor, why don't you get your friends settled. I'll be in the back."

I nodded and watched him leave. And then I led my friends upstairs, leaving Nick in the living room.

"Sorry about that," I whispered, closing my bedroom door behind me. "I...don't know what happened here."

"I wish we could've done more," Tori admitted. "Seems like something's really messed up here."

"No duh," I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. "I don't understand what could've happened. Anyways, there should be some spare blankets in the closet and..." I pulled open the door. "Yes! Oh, and pillows too. Now, I don't know if Nick is actually going to sleep in his room... He can be a bit...un...moody. So honestly you might just have to sleep...um...here. Sorry about that...um...I'm going to go check on him..."

I slipped out the door and headed down the hall. Sure enough, Nick was still standing in the living room, almost right where I'd left him.

"So..." I began, announcing my presence in a casual tone, "are you planning to stand here all night? Or are you going to get some rest?"

He shrugged. "I dunno...with my luck, my room's been cleared out completely since I left."

"Yeah...mind explaining that to me?"

"Pff. No."

"Well then...why don't we go find out? Quince and Tori...probably need somewhere to sleep. Other than the floor of my room. Or a chair." I leaned on the doorway.

Nickolas rolled his eyes. "Mmmph...whatever. Let's go." He breezed past me and I rushed to follow.

We found that my brother's room had indeed been cleaned out. The only evidence that he had ever inhabited the area was a shattered photo frame, amongst the shards a photo of us two as kids, 14 and 15 respectively.

"When do you think they did this?" he grumbled, taking a step inside. "When I left? Or when you did?"

"I...I don't...wait? Left? I-I didn't-"

"Didn't you? Isn't that what you did?"

"N-no. I-I wasn't leaving. Not the way you did."

He growled. "Whatever. If your friends want to take this room for now, tell them they can go ahead. I'll be back there." Nick jerked a thumb towards the living room before skulking in that direction.

"Well..." I approached my friends. "My brother said you can take his room. There's not much. Not even furniture. I don't know what happened. But it's..."

"It's alright," Tori assured me. "We've been in worse."

"Y-Yeah," I smiled uncertainly.

That night, I found myself thinking instead of sleeping. How much everything had changed. I didn't understand. What had happened between Nick and my father? What had happened to my brother?

He had never been cheerful. In fact, he'd always been kind of...blank. Rough on the outside. But he didn't smile anymore. Like he used to. It made me scared.

And...I think I should've been.