Beauty behind the magic

Chapter 17 "i Can Control Minds"

TORI'S POV :

I walked towards my car in silence . i actually did feel like there was a humongous cloud above my head . i needed to speak to someone about this. sure , there was tammy , but i think i needed my mom right now . i just reached my car when a saw a very amused yet judgy tammy waiting for me , her foot tapping against the gravel .

"i didn't peg you down as someone who would PDA " she said when i reached her . i rolled my eyes , but secretly i was worried . i had been hoping she wouldn't have seen it . guess she did . then again , so did the whole cafeteria . i just shrugged and opened the door and got in , throwing my bag in the backseat .

tammy got in beside me and mirrored my acions , her bag now in a heap on mine . "tori " she began "do you maybe want to explain to m whats going on ?" sh asked . "we kissed " i said "and he thought we were a thing " "and " she inquired "do you want to be a thing? " . i shrugged non-comitally .

"tam" i began " do you believe in fate ." she didn't reply for a long time as she just stared out of the window . "i didn't used to" i heard her say "but after looking at you two , i just might" . i chuckled and a slow smile found it's way into her face .

we reached home and walked in together . as soon as we got through the front door , the smell of fresh baked cake hit us as we both sniffed intently . "race you " i said as i pushed her and ran towards the kitchen . we reached in a tangled giggling mess . my mom just stood in the warm and bright kitchen wth her hands on her hips . "will you two ever grow up?" she asked jokingly , a loving smile gracing her face.

"we aren't like this all the time " i said "just when you bake for us " . my mom let out an airy laugh and enveloped us in a hug , kissing the tops of our heads like she did when we were little . "sit " she said "it's almost done and something tells me its going to taste like heaven " we laughed and settled ourselves in the chairs against the counter .

i looked at my mom as she moved around the kitchen , wondering if i could actually talk about this with her . she had been so supportive all my life , but i know she put her little girls first . my thoughts must have reflected on my face , because tammy suddenly stood up . " i have to go call my friend for some homework " she said .. " alright honey , just come back down when you're done" my mom called without turning around.

My sister walked by me, giving me a pointed look before walking out. I sighed. "mom" i called out nervously. "yes?" she called out still not turning around. "what if i told you i like someone whose mind i couldn't control" i let out. My mom stiffened. She turned around slowly. "tori" she started, quirking an eyebrow. "theres this guy" i said, guilt lacing my voice. A saw a myriad of emotions pass through my mom's face.

She motioned for me to continue. " We like each other, but i cant control his mind. He doesnt know about any of this" i said. My mom sat next to me and put a hand on my face "oh honey, why didn't you tell me before?" . I sighed and shrugged, tears threatening to fall. "Listen to me, i understand how you feel. Even though i never was in this situation, your grandparents warned me enough about it. I'm telling you this with the best of intentions, you should put your powers first. Maybe not for yourself but with this power comes the duty to contribute " she said running the back of her hand against my cheek.

I nodded the tears flowing freely now. " but" she said, causing me to to look at her "if after you sincerely try to stay away from it, you cant? Give in, tori. Love thats that strong comes by only once." i smiled and threw my hands around my mom, who kissed my head. "now" she said with a decisive pat "lets have some cake"

. . . . . ************** . . . . .

The next day i went to school with my mom's words in my head. I had to atleast try. And if i had to do that, i had to explain to ashton. Maybe not everything, but atleast some of it. I spotted him next to his locker. "ashton " i yelled causing quite a few heads to turn in my direction, including ashton's. He saw me and a slow smile spread across his face that made my heart ache and my cheeks burn. He walked towards me slowly, knowing i wasn't going anywhere. "sweetheart" he said once he reached me. "can i talk to you" i said. His smile fell a little, but he nodded.

I led him to a corner. " we cannot continue this" i said. He looked at me in confusion. "i told you about the complications and they're getting between us and we can't be together without sacrifice." i rambled. "tori" he said "i have no idea what you're talking about and i can't just agree without knowing what this complication that you keep talking about is" he finished. I sighed. "lets just say that if we're together, i'll be losing something very important to me" i said.

"what do you mean?! "

" what i said! "

" tori, if you like someone else you could just..."

"i can control minds!! " i yelled. I looked up at him" i can control minds and read them. I cant control yours and if we're together i would lose my powers" i said in a quieter voice " i looked up at him and saw him looking at me with a shocked face.

" is this a joke?! "

A/N : heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy guys. As usual its been a while, but this time i wrote this chapter in parts. It's kind of a sad chapter. I feel so bad for tori. Must be so hard.
On another less depressing note, this book has quite a few chapter left yet. I know that's what i like seeing in books i read as well. I just don't feel like i can end thus book any time yet.
What do you think is gonna happen?? Especially since ashton's response is far from perfect, which is shocking considering he's such a perfect guy.

Stay tuned, readers 🙋
-x sneha x-