Starlight

Chapter 15: Freedom

I opened my eyes, twisting my body as I stretched. My fingers curled around the pillow that propped up my head. I rolled over, looking up at the familiar ceiling...

My room. I sat up straight, my head snapping back and forth.

I was back home. My eyes darted to the hippo alarm clock that sat on the oak vanity next to my four poster bed. 11:30 AM. I blinked, confused, rubbing my eyes and looking around. I had left Jake's around midnight... and then...

The events of the night slammed back into me. I didn't remember coming home. The tank, Ash had apologized and... I didn't remember anything more but my head felt heavy and foggy....

Like I had been drugged.

I swung my feet off the edge of the bed and noticed the cloak discarded on the floor, wrinkled and piled on my paisley rug. How had they even known where I lived?

I picked up the cloak and paused to find my shredded parka and, conveniently, my wallet.

Well, that was a reason to always keep my address current.

I sank to the floor and sighed.

What was my next step? I had no clue how to get back to Spectra, or even how to contact anyone. I could keep my eyes open and hope I stumbled on a rift, but who knew when that would be or where it would lead. And there was the problem of one of those crystals... I hadn't used one last night, or at least I didn't think I had. Would I even be able to travel the rift?

A fist pounded on the door, jumping me.

Before I could stand, the door opened and my mother stepped in.

She was in one of her states, her blonde hair swept back into a top bun as she put her hand on her hip, glaring at me as I sat on the floor.

"Where were you last night?" She growled.

My mind was completely wrapped up in Spectra and Mu that I had forgotten about this storm. And now there was no escape.

"I was at Jake's. I fell asleep and then by the time I woke up it was late and I walked home."

Her eyes darted to my jacket. It was ripped in several places, the fluffy down poking out. One of the arms definitely had a singe mark.

I lunged for it, but she had it in her hands before I could grab it. I groaned dropping my head into my hands.

"What is this?" She said shaking it at me like I was a naughty dog that had just soiled her favorite outfit. "Is THIS burned?"

"Mom..."

She cut me off. "I knew it. I told Dr. Skinner if he let you off those meds you'd turn to drugs and..."

"I'm not on drugs, Mother!"

"Then explain THIS!" She howled shaking the coat again.

I stared at her. This was ridiculous. Partly because I knew I wasn't on drugs but mostly because last night I had learned about something so much bigger than teenage fights with my mother.

I had hoped and prayed that there would be so much more.

"You know what, Mom?" I got to my feet and snatched the coat from her hand. "You're right. I'm crazy and on drugs. But I'm also 18 and about to graduate from High School. So what are you going to do about it?"

"Get out," She hissed.

"Happily," I said with a saccharine smile.

****

Jake's eyes widened.

"You said WHAT?!"

I was sitting on the edge of his bed, my duffel bag packed the brim with everything I cared enough to take. And then I had gone to the only place I had at this point.

Jake's.

I nodded. There was something liberating about having finally left and not only left, but the I had even risen my voice to her like that. My jailer. My keeper. And not her problem anymore.

And because I was dying to talk to Jake about what had happened last night, I focused everything I could into my anger at my mother. I had raged when I first got there, pacing back and forth while I ranted and raved about how unfair, unloving, and horrible my mother had been and would always be. About her narcissistic tendencies and her physical and mental imprisonment she had forced on me.

Jake let out a hoot and slapped at his bed. "Please tell me you aren't pulling my leg. I want this to be real so bad."

If only I could tell you the rest of it, I thought.

I had never really had any secrets from Jake and the few that I had tried to keep, hadn't lasted many days before I'd find myself pouring out my heart to him. Keeping this from him felt wrong, but how could I ever hope he'd believe me? Hell, the longer this day went on the less I believed the events from last night had actually happened.

"Well what did she say then?"

I shrugged. "Kicked me out."

"There's worse punishments in this world," He laughed and I joined him.

*********

And because I didn't have a lot of other choices, well, none really, I stayed with Jake and his family over the next month. And, as his mother said, it wasn't much different from normal since I spent so much time over there already. I stayed on the pull out couch under the skylight in the living room. And I loved it. It gave me my own private view of the night's sky.

I finished up finals, getting the last few credits I needed to graduate early. I practiced my cheering while Jake did practice drills with his team mates. We did laps at the pool, watched horror movies, cheesy rom coms, and ate our weight in popcorn.

But no matter how much time we spent together, the more I felt the divide that had

sprang up overnight between us. And it wasn't just me feeling guilty about not telling him. Jake seemed to sense it to. And whether he thought it was due to my Mother throwing me out or something else, he didn't push. Because he knew I would eventually come to him... and that made me feel even worse since I didn't know if I'd ever be able to come clean.

At least there was something freeing about not being under my mother's thumb anymore. I kept my eyes open for strange sights: whether it was strange creatures, monsters, or even the shimmering rifts but everything seemed, well, normal. I wondered if they had done something to me... to turn off whatever part of me could see the magic. Shouldn't that have made me happy? To be normal?

But having experienced both, I knew that I wanted to make that difference. I didn't want

to be normal if that meant being blind to the truth of the world.

And so I waited.