Forgotten Magic

Chapter 26

A few days later, I was on the couch, staring at a blank sheet of paper. Softly, quietly, the weight on the chair shifted. I glanced up, expecting it to be Quince or my father.

"So..." Nick began, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "Um...I haven't spoken with Father about this, but I think I need to head back to the castle." His eyes were cast to the ground and a soft frown was set on his face.

I didn't like how he referred to our dad now.

I sat straight up in shock. "What? Now? But-"

"We can't all stay here." His eyes landed on me, steady chartreuse green orbs trained on my eyes. "I need to earn a little money. And I can't lose-"

I turned away.

"Taylor," he sighed. I could feel him shifting closer to me. "You know I have no choice."

"No," I whispered, my voice quivering.

"What?" I think his hand was outstretched towards me.

"No. I-I don't understand."

My brother let out another heavy sigh. "Taylor..."

"Don't..." I felt a wave of tears run down my face. "You're not doing this for us...You're doing this for you."

"No...no...I..." His hand landed on my right shoulder.

I flinched. "Why are you leaving again?"

"Because I-"

"No! Why are you really leaving?" I demanded. "Tell me the truth."

"The-No, I-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses," I whispered. "Not again."

"Taylor, I-I don't understand. What do you mean?"

I shook my head. He was really good.

"You left us," I whispered. "You left your own family. Dad, Mom...me. You left us all. You didn't even think to write or-or come back! You couldn't have seen Mom. She was...she was heartbroken. She needed you. I needed you..."

"Taylor...it wasn't like that."

"You know it was! You know what you're doing. You always have!" This was the second time in three days that I had yelled.

"Taylor, I did it because-"

"And there you go again! Your excuses, you're lies. Over and over again. Exactly what I told myself. You would be back. You just got too busy. You would come back hone. You cared. But I was wrong."

"Taylor." His voice was level. "Please, just listen."

"I don't want to listen! Do you see what you've done? Mom was sad, you're at odds with everyone here, and you proceed to be as rude, as arrogant, as uncaring as you've always been! Don't you see?"

"Taylor, I-"

"I hate you!"

I'd never said something like that before. And I knew it wasn't true. I didn't hate him. I was just angry with him. And I think that's why I punched him.

Well...I tried. He caught my hand in his. And I doubt I would've done anything if he hadn't. For a long moment, I stood there, shocked. I didn't even know when I had stood up.

Everything else is a blur to me. We both threw fists. I know that. Nick, cautiously, and me, without hesitation. I think he was trying to help me.

But then something happened. I still don't know what. My brother doesn't either. But I felt a shock of pain up my right wrist and I fell to my knees. Nick fell to his in front of me. I could see him talking to me. I knew what he was saying.

He was so sorry. He didn't realize. He didn't mean it. He sweared. Honest.

Lies...

Suddenly, another voice rang out through the room.

"What happened here?" our father demanded from the doorway. "Taylor. Nick."

And I could hear now.

"I-I-it was an accident!" Nick stuttered, almost as if he had been caught stealing food or something similar. Like he would when he was younger. "I-I swear! We were just talking and-"

Our father scowled-I could see that through my tears-, reading the situation like our mother would.

"I-I didn't mean to do it, I swear, i-it just sort of-" Nickolas insisted. "Please, i-it wasn't my fault!" Exactly like he would when he was eight. Ten years ago. So much had changed...

"Get out," our dad said firmly. "Get out of this house, Nickolas Chance. Or I-"

"Fine!" he yelled, showing a sliver of his usual pride. A door was slammed, and then the room was filled with silence.

"Are you okay?" my dad approached me. He helped me to my feet. "What happened?"

"I-it was my fault," I whispered. "I-I started it..."

"Tell me."

"Is everything okay?" Quince asked. "We heard yelling." His eyes landed on my right wrist. "Taylor! What-what happened! Come on, let's go find something to-"

"Yeah...yeah, let's go," I whispered, walking towards him. "There might be some stuff in the kitchen."

"O-okay..."

I used my left hand to open and close every drawer, searching for bandages or...something. No luck.

"You think it'll heal?" Quince asked. "Properly, I mean."

I shook my head. "Without anything here, I'll have to improvise. I can try, but I doubt it."

"What do you need?" Tori asked, sticking her head through the doorway.

"Uh..." I paused. "A-A flat stick or something for a splint a-and some strips of cloth. That's the best I can do."

"Right. Okay. I can look around for some cloth," Quince decided.

"And I'll find something for a splint," Tori added. "You should sit down. We'll take care of it."

"Thanks..." I smiled, making my way towards a chair in the dining room.

As I held my wrist in place and hissed in pain, I thought about the argument. I never got angry. It was actually pretty unfamiliar to me. Of course, I was angry at my brother for leaving. At the same time, I understood why he'd done it. Like my decision to study outside the kingdom, Tori's decisions, and even Quince's. He knew what was best for him and just followed that path.

I just didn't understand why. Why did he abandon his family? Even I had sent letters. The written updates were few and far between, but I had been the act that was important. Nick, on the other hand, left. Abandoned his family. And apparently had bo intention of returning. I just couldn't understand why.

At the end of the day, my wrist had been taken care of to the best of my ability. As a result of the timing and lack of resources however, I doubted I could easily use it again.