The Magic Within: Shadows of Two Worlds

Chapter 22 ~ Jamie

     When our father disconnected the call, both of us went dead silent. We stayed that way for a minute. Then I gritted my teeth and called him back. "I won't let them leave us," I whispered. Ella sighed. "Jamie. They aren't going to answer," she reminded me softly. "They will if I call them enough times!" I snapped, spinning to her. "They can't just abandon us like this!" Ella looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Oh... Jamie, I know. But there's nothing we can do now. We don't even know where they are, currently." I slumped my shoulders, then fell back onto my bed. "You're probably right," I muttered. I let the phone ring until it went to voicemail. "Come on. I have homework, and I'm sure you do too," Ella whispered. I nodded.

~~~

     After school the next day we went to hang out with our friends at the roller skating rink. It was college student night, so it was open until midnight. I finished getting my roller skates on and joined the others, who were about to go into the rink. Unfortunately, Liam couldn't come because of his "friends". He decided it was time to confront them about their actions, so he went to their party instead. Ella had invited Christopher, so I took the chance to invite Thomas... even though I knew she would be furious. Thomas turned to her. "Hey Bella!" He greeted. My sister's eyes filled with rage. "What are you doing here!?" She demanded when she saw him. He smirked. "I was invited." Ella's head snapped towards me. "Jamila Elaine Glynn." I grinned sheepishly. "What? I think he's pretty cool." Thomas leaned back against the wall proudly, and Ella rolled her eyes. Jeff smirked at me. "Your full name is Jamila? I will definitely be using it." I groaned. "She went by Jamila until she was 10," Ella said, clearly relishing her revenge. Lilly chuckled nervously. "Oh, I haven't done this since I was a kid," she muttered. Amelia smiled at her. "Here. I can help you get used to it again," she said, then grabbed her hand and led her out. Lilly stumbled, but caught herself. She was grinning as they skated away. The others chatted and followed, but I trailed behind with Ella. "Are you two coming?" Jake asked, giving us a concerned look. While he could be a little oblivious at times, he had known us long enough to recognize when something was off. I nodded. "Yeah. We're fine." We skated behind him. Usually, I would be doing something stupid- as Ella would tell me, but today I wasn't in the mood for it. Who knows when the next time we will see our parents could be? Ella and I stayed close together, behind the rest of the group. Jeff was laughing with Christopher, Jake, and Thomas. I turned to Ella. "I hope you're not too mad that I invited him." She gritted her teeth. "Oh, I'm mad alright. You could have at least warned me!" I laughed. "Hey, you two can't hate each other too much. Thomas can't even figure out your name." Ella rolled her eyes again. "You know full well that he's doing it on purpose," she reminded me. Thomas turned at that, Christopher and Jeff stopping as well. Ella skidded to a halt next to me. "What am I doing on purpose, Bella?" She looked absolutely done with him. "Get my name right or I'm going to kick you in the face. And I doubt you want to be kicked in the face with roller blades." I laughed. "Whoa, sister. Let's not threaten people." Thomas grinned, which made Ella even angrier. "I'm so done with you guys," she groaned. "And yes, that includes you, Jamie!" She skated away, towards Lilly and Amelia. "Wow. Your sister has-" I cut Thomas off. "Yes. She can be a little dramatic, but it's because she's her father's daughter." At that, Thomas grinned again. "Oh, you're funny. I like you." I wasn't sure if Jeff was joking or not when he spoke next. "Well, hopefully not too much. She's my girlfriend." Lilly, Amelia, and Ella skated back over to us. "Do you want me to order us the pizza they serve here? It looks really good," Lilly asked. I nodded. "Yeah. Pizza is good." Ella rolled her eyes. She was clearly still annoyed. We got out of the rink and sat down at a table while Lilly and Amelia ordered. "Hey Jamie, can I talk to you real quick?" Jake asked. I nodded, and the two of us went off to a more secluded area. "What is it?" I asked, tilting my head. Jake looked at me seriously, making eye contact. He didn't make eye contact very often, unless he was worried. "Something's wrong. I can tell you're doing better- ish now, but earlier you and Ella were completely out of it. What happened?" My smile slipped off my face immediately. "Oh? It's...complicated," I muttered. "Since when do you not tell me these things?" Jake asked, his voice breaking with hurt. I flinched. I hate lying to Jake, but... I took a deep breath and said, "Well, our parents got into a car accident. They aren't doing well, but they refuse to let us go help them." Jake frowned, and he looked a little startled. "Oh... I'm sorry. I- I shouldn't have been so pushy-" "No." I cut him off. "Don't say that. We're friends, and friends care for one another. We shouldn't hide." I hated every word of what I was saying. I knew I was being a hypocrite. Jake paused, then nodded. "Yeah. You're right. But I really am sorry about your parents." He looked me in the eye. "Helen and Isaac have always been more like parents to me than my actual parents." I flinched. "Oh, Jake..." I whispered, then pulled him into a hug. Jake didn't talk about his home life much, but I knew it wasn't very pretty... let's just say, we were next door neighbors, so we could hear some things. "Hey, you shouldn't be comforting me," Jake said after a moment, pulling away. I shrugged. "It'll be fine. Thanks, though." I tried to make myself believe my own words. Everything will be fine.