Remembering Family

Chapter 7

Tam and I arrived at Havenfield hand in hand after school. Inside, I could hear Grady and Edaline talking to to unfamiliar voices, though Tam seemed to recognize them, as he tensed and tightened his grip on my hand. I led him into the house, and we were greeted by Tam's parents.

"Tam.." His dad said, reaching out to touch him. He took a step back, pulling me with him. 

"Tam, please." His mother pleaded, tears in her eyes. Tam's eyes were dark, he was still bitter over their attitude when he was exiled. 

"Don't touch me." He whispered as his mom tried to place a hand on his shoulder. 

"She's touching you." His dad pointed out, looking at our intertwined hands.

"Because she's my girlfriend." He pulled me into him, letting go of my hand in favor of wrapping his arms around my waist.

"We're your parents." 

"After what you did to Tam and Linh?" I spoke. "After treating them like they were the definition of death and shame?" 

"What would you know about parents, human girl?" He snapped.

"I was accepted by my human parents. And I am accepted by Grady and Edaline. Despite the fact that I was created by the Black Swan, despite the fact that I lived with humans for 12 years, despite the fact that I have brown eyes and am vaguely related to Alicorns. Despite the fact that I have six abilities. I was never treated like I was the definition of death and shame."  I took a deep breath before continuing. "I have triplets for cousins, and their older brother is my best friend. One of them. Their parents don't treat them like you treated Tam and Linh. For goodness sakes, do you know how  amazing Tam and Linh are? Or are you just now realizing it because both of them helped get rid of the Neverseen, because both of them are attending Foxfire, because Linh has a handle on her ability and Tam's ability is amazing?" 

"Tam...." His dad started. He shook his head, the silver coated tips of his hair tickling my face. 

"Now, if you'll excuse us, Tam and I have homework to do." I said, pulling Tam up to the third level. I flopped down on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Tam was angry at his parents, I could tell by the way his hands were clenched and he was pacing the floor. I knew that the best thing for him was to let him be, so that's what I did. I started to do my homework, and when I finished mine, I sighed and started to do Tam's, as he was still fuming from his parent's visit. I finished Tam's homework, so I conversed with Fitz, who was sitting in his room doing his homework.

Tam's parents came to visit you guys? Fitz said as I told him about what happened.

Yeah. I replied. It's like they regretted how they treated them, but only because of how they helped us. 

And now he won't stop pacing? 

Yeah. I sent him an image of Tam pacing, and he mentally sighed.

And you've been giving him space. 

Yeah. 

Well.......

Is Linh still with you?

No. She just left. I heard Linh greet my parents before coming into the room, her eyes going to Tam, who was still pacing. 

She's here. Alright, I'm going to see if I can calm Tam down a bit. 

Talk to you later, cognate.

Talk to you later. 

"Tam?" Linh said hesitantly. He didn't respond, and I sighed. 

Tam. I said telepathically. Come here. I added. He stopped pacing and came over, sitting down next to me. I gave Linh a small smile, giving her a look that said I would explain once Tam was calm. She nodded, understanding and went back downstairs.  Tam leaned into me,and I wrapped my arms around him, not speaking anymore. 

Ten minutes later, Tam was asleep. Linh appeared again and smiled at the sight, before turning to leave. 

"Linh." I spoke softly. She stopped, turning to look at me. 

"Do you still want to know why Tam was like that?" She nodded, and came and sat next to me on the bed.

"Your parents came and visited." I said simply, and she sighed. 

"I just wish they knew when to stop." She admitted.

"They've tried everything. They visited us at Everglen, before school. They got the same reaction out of both of us each time." She continued. I listened to her, and she finally leaned back and stared at the ceiling. 

~~~~~

Linh had went back down to the kitchen, and I was once again talking with Fitz. 

TAM FELL ASLEEP? He said .

Yeah. I replied, transmitted a memory of our position. 

Aw that's adorable. I'm gonna put that in a memory log, and show it to Biana. Five minutes later, Fitz was back.

She shrieked. I could tell he was smirking. 

Sounds like Biana to me. I replied. 

Oh gosh she's going over there. 

"SOPHIE!" I heard Biana screech, and Tam shifted in his sleep. She burst into the room, and I glared at her. Tam shifted again, cuddling into me. She disappeared, and soon Grady and Edaline were in the doorway, smiling at the sight. 

"Stop it." I mumbled, blushing. They simply chuckled and left, but Biana stayed. We chatted quietly, and I saw Keefe appear in the doorway. 

"Oh. You're with bangs boy." He said, scowling. 

"Keefe." Biana said before I could. "Stop it."

"Oh so now you're in love with Bangs boy too?" He accused. 

"no. But if you really cared about Sophie, wouldn't you be happy for her? You know, since she's happy?" 

"It just...does she have to be with bangs boy?" He whined. 

"His name is Tam." I said, as Tam shifted again before his eyes opened. He smiled at me, taking my hand. I grinned, and Keefe stomped away. 

"He's always so grumpy." Tam muttered, and both Biana and I agreed. The three of us chatted for a while, before Biana got a call from her parents, saying she had to go home. We said goodbye, and then Tam turned towards me. He pressed his forehead against mine, our noses brushing. The next thing I knew, his lips were on mine and he was holding me close to him with his arms. 

"I can't wait to get our match making scrolls." He murmured, pulling away.I smiled softly, eyes twinkling as I looked into his eyes. 

"One more year." I murmured. 

"What happens if we're not each other's number ones?" He blurted. 

"Grady wasn't Edaline's number one." I pointed out. 

"What if you get Fitz and he gets you?"

"Then he can go with his number two."