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Chapter Thirty Six

"Julia, you can't hide behind the TV forever!" Leo exclaimed to his girlfriend, who peeked out the slightest bit to peer at us.

"Like you're one to talk, Leo!" I yelled in exasperation, huffing in annoyance at the blonde. "You're under the table!"

Earlier this morning, I made Leo and Julia promise to talk to my parents in real life. I had gotten stronger with the Dream Factory attribute, and Doctor Hansen, my mom's doctor from before, was able to change my birth certificate to report the official attribute in my body. The couple had been nervous to meet my parents, and when I informed my parents, they weren't feeling any better about it as well. Currently, the spirits of the couple were hiding away from my parents, who awkwardly sat on the couch as I yelled at nothing.

Sighing heavily, I crossed my arms, irked. I can only allow two spirits to remain in a physical form for a few hours before I run out of energy for the Dream Factory attribute. So far, I'm struggling to even get them to stand out in the open to make them physical again!

I heard Mom hesitate to say something as she stuttered out, "Y-You know, we could do this another day... They aren't comfortable yet."

Leo perked up at Mom's suggestion, nodding frantically from his position under the dining table. "Yes, yes— listen to your mother, Meredith."

I turned to Leo, my eyes glowing intensely as I started to lose my patience. He froze. "You have no say in on this, incompetent fool," I spat harshly at him, glaring.

"Who do you think she took after..?" Papa whispered to Mom from behind me, nudging her side. She slapped away his hand, blushing furiously at his persistent teasing.

"I'll give you two one last chance to sit down on that damn couch," I announced aloud, "before I lose my goddamn mind and probably end up destroying everything around me!"

I felt music notes glowing on my face in fury as my blood boiled in my body.

After about a few seconds of silence, Julia reluctantly slipped out from behind the TV, slowly but surely, brushing her skirt of any dust. Leo's eyes widened. "Julia, love, please don't abandon me!" He exclaimed dramatically, shrinking in his spot.

"Oh, c'mon out of there," she said, sighing softly. She kneeled and looked under the dining table, a hand holding his face. "If anything, we shouldn't feel intimidated. They probably feel way more conflicted than we do about meeting them. Let's go, okay?" He shook his head, refusing. It makes sense for him to be scared out of his mind. My parents, from what I've heard, were furious when they found out he was an accomplice of the enemy. Julia leaned over and kissed his forehead, adding, "I'll hold your hand if you want me to, Leo."

"Huh?"

Leo's attention snapped up to Julia immediately, and she smiled brightly at him, knowing he was suddenly feeling more confident. I watched as she grabbed his hand and led him to the couch, sitting him down as he leaned on her. I tried to keep in my excited smile at how cute they were.

"Okay! Everyone's ready, right?" I asked.

Everyone nodded.

I closed my eyes, breathing shallowly. My mind began to concentrate on the two spirits in front of me, and a soft yellow glow appeared around my body. On my arms, two keys pointing outward were painted onto me, glowing brighter than I was. I opened my eyes slowly and saw the locks that were in front of the couple. They appeared frozen in time, and I let out another short breath as I walked forward. I could hear Mom inhale sharply, worried for me. If anything happens to break this spell, then a risk of attribute defect is increased. The locks disappeared as my arms looped through them, and I took a step back.

"I bestow upon these two beings the physical forms once known to them."

There was the sound of a gate creaking open as the keys turned, and a voice said, "Granted."

The glowing suddenly stopped, almost as if the wire had been cut, and I shook my head, feeling a headache suddenly taking place. Papa was immediately at my side, keeping me steady on my feet.

"Meredith, are you okay?" He asked, concern laced in his voice.

I nodded, wincing slightly. "Yeah. Did it work?"

"You ask me."

Papa let go of me as quickly as he had stood beside me, his eyes wide. Mom's reaction was just the same as his— startled, shocked even. Julia put a hand over her mouth, looking between the two adults. "Oops. Did they hear me?"

"It worked!" I exclaimed suddenly, running to her. Hugging her tightly, I felt my chest closing in on me when I felt the warmth of Julia's flesh against mine. I pulled away, jumping on my feet. "O-Oh my god! I did it!"

Julia stood up and pat my head, smiling. "Of course you did."

Leo stood up beside her. "Good job."

Julia turned to look at Mom, who was standing next to Papa with an uncertain and uncomfortable expression on her face. I followed her gaze. Her arms were crossed, and her lips pressed together into a thin line.

"Julia, I—" Mom was interrupted by Julia, who ran towards her and hugged her tightly in her arms. She stopped her sentence short, surprised by Julia's embrace. "J-Julia..?"

"Don't apologize, Cheryl," the brunette whispered. She held Mom's shoulders with a bright smile on her face. "You did what was necessary. My father's rotting in jail, where he belongs after what he did to my mother. No hard feelings, right?"

Mom's eyes began to water suddenly, and she nodded, suppressing her tears as she looked down at her feet. "R-Right..."

Julia hugged her tightly again, laughing lightly and comforting Mom as she cried on her shoulder. No hard feelings. I shifted my eyes to Papa and Leo, who were staring at each other intensely. Their eyes were that of eagles, almost picking apart their prey with only their heavy gazes as their arsenal. I saw the green glow around Papa, but Leo's orange glow countered it. I crossed my arms, and my cheeks puffed out. Music notes began to dot my face once again, and the two adults seemed to notice the rivaling power source, turning to me.

"Don't ruin it for Mom and Julia," I said in a low voice, glaring at them. "They're enjoying their time together, so play nice. I don't want you to think about what happened in the past just yet. If there's even one snarky remark from one to the other—" I stood up straight, and my hand swiped across my neck, making their eyes widen. "—I won't hesitate to end this meeting." The power radiating off of me immediately disappeared as I smiled brightly at them, "We wouldn't want to upset Mom and Julia now, would we?"

"No, Meredith..." they muttered simultaneously in defeat.