The Trinity of Magic (Book 2 of the Trinity series)

Chapter 3

"Caley," I heard my father's voice say, disrupting the quiet of the night surrounding me.

I hadn't spoken to my father since before the Spring Formal earlier that year. The last time we had talked, I had told him that things would never be the same, that what he had done to my mother in the past by abandoning us to live on our own, was unforgiveable. I didn't yell at him that time, but for once since my mother's death, I truly let myself cry.

My relationship with my father was nothing short of necessary. If it weren't for me needing his financial support and being required to live under his roof, I would have been long gone. I wanted nothing to do with him. He had left my mother and I when I was only five years old. My mother had always been sick, but over the years, her health had quickly deteriorated.

She died the summer before my senior year of high school. Forced to live with my father and attend his school, here I was now. I still hadn't forgiven him. No matter how hard I tried to see things his way, I couldn't find it in myself to forgive him for all the pain he put us through. He didn't even try to save her. And I think that's why I hated him the most. He didn't even try.

I didn't respond to him when he said my name.

"Remember when you and I would go climb up in the trees in Madison Square Garden and look at the stars from underneath the tree branches?" he asked me.

I did remember that. It was such a long time ago, when I was probably four or five years old. It was right before he left Mom and me. Whenever I would get bored in our little apartment in Manhattan, he would take me out for a walk. This is when I learned how to climb a tree. Although I was little and shouldn't have been doing it, I was good at it. I could scale the trees easily, as long as my father was right below me, making sure I didn't fall.

Once at the top, we would sit and stare at the millions of little silver dots in the sky. He showed me all of the constellations he knew about and I remember thinking how incredible his knowledge. My daddy; so smart.

But all that changed so quickly. A memory of the past, a ghost lost in the wind.

"Is there something you need to say?" I asked finally.

I wasn't in the mood for small talk. Besides, I had to get into the forest soon. I needed to meet with Gerrard in less than an hour. I had already told Abbey and Trey that I was going out for a walk to clear my mind and that I wouldn't be back until later because I planned on talking to my father.

I had meant it as a lie. I wasn't really planning on talking to my father. I just needed an excuse to be gone for a while. But here I was, standing outside the school, my father by my side.

"I just wanted to congratulate you," he said, his voice soft and tender.

"Thanks," I replied flatly.

"Caley..." he said and something in his voice made me turn to face him.

I was struck by how old he looked. The few wrinkles in his face were extremely prominent in the dim light of the night. His blue eyes--my blue eyes--seemed permanently darkened to a dark, navy blue. And his lips were drawn in a thin line.

It was striking, the similarities between us.

"I just want you to know how incredibly proud I am of you. I know that, whatever may come in the future, that you'll be a strong and independent witch. You've got all the skills that your mother and I wanted you to have," he said.

I could feel my heart racing. It wasn't often that he mentioned my mother.

He held out an envelope to me.

"Your mother--" he paused, blinking and looking to the ground. I saw him take a deep breath to compose himself. "Your mother wanted me to give this to you when you graduated," he said, his voice soft.

He handed me the envelope and I took it gingerly, not taking my eyes off of him.

"She knew she would be gone before I graduated," I said, my voice breaking slightly. He looked up at me, a pained expression on his face and I felt a pang of pain flash through my own chest.

"You should go, Dad," I said, my voice almost a whisper. I looked down at the light blue envelope in my shaking hands. He made a move that almost seemed like he was going to hug me. But then he thought better of it and walked back inside.

I looked on after him, feeling strange because a part of me wanted him to hug me.

                                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ten minutes later, I was scratching my arms and pulling leaves out of my now-messy hair as I walked through the woods. It was a good thing I had decided to change out of my graduation dress and into some jeans. I would have been a complete mess otherwise.

I was relieved when I found the clearing to my small lake of water. It seemed to be glowing again and I felt a calmness fall over me instantly. I wandered over to the lake and sat on the boulder. I was a bit early, but that was my plan. I wanted to sort out my thoughts before going with Gerrard to wherever he was going to take me.

I dipped my fingertips into the cold water of the lake, smiling slightly as the liquid tickled my skin as it ran down in little droplets. I did this a few more times before drying my hands on my jeans. Then I looked at the envelope in my other hand.

I felt my heart racing, wondering what was inside and yet, at the same time, not wanting to know. I was scared. Would whatever was inside tell me how she died? It was doubtful. But to think that this was something my mother had given my father for me after I graduated, was confusing. Surely it meant that they had met at some point before her death. I mean, holding on to an envelope for 13 years is a long time and a bit ridiculous to think about. No, they had to have met sometime.

Which begs the question, had they met any other times? If so, why keep it a secret? Why was I oblivious to this? Why was I kept out of the loop?

To protect your innocence.

The answer that so many had fed to me came instantly. Of course it was to protect me. Of course I wasn't mature enough to handle whatever information they tried so desperately to keep from me. But I'm not immature. I'm not naiive.

And tonight, I was going to find out everything.

I tucked the envelope in my pocket, deciding that it would be better if I looked at its contents after my meeting with Gerrard and this so-called Cain. Just as I was doing this, I heard a faint pop! in front of me.

I looked up to see a grinning Gerrard.

"Glad you could make it," he said, flashing a smirk at me.

I stood up and walked up to him.

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world," I replied.

________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Sorry it's a bit short. I want the whole conversation with Gerrard and Cain and everything she learns about her mother to be in its own chapter. I just needed to add the bit with her father in here.