Little Green Stars

Chapter 62-End of the Rainbow

For a moment, I do nothing but watch—translucent colors mushroom above the dingy lights of the basement. I can't help but imagine this is what you'd find at the end of a rainbow. Not the three teenage boys holding down the murderous man in a purple, velvet suit, but this—the colors of the little, green star breaking into infinite pieces. My wonder is quickly cut short as Malcolm's anguish pierces the serenity of my victory.

"NOOO!" He manages to scream under all the weight, wiggling like a penned pig. "No..." his words become tired and hopeless.

The sudden euphoria instantly wears off as I wonder what all this means. What did Maeve's chanting do? Am I still Red Lady?

"Maeve..." I say, turning to see a smile curled tightly in the corner of her mouth. She looks pretty damn smug, typical Maeve style. "What did the note say?"

Malcolm's cries turn to irritated sighs as his body gives up fighting. He slumps down, his lips pressed against the floor, making him look like one of those big pufferfishes.

"I believe in you, even if you don't," Maeve says. I swear I see a tear whelm in her eye, but it's gone before it can even emerge. She has on her big girl panties, also typical Maeve style. "It was mom's handwriting."

"That's all it said?"

"That's all it needed to say." And with those words, Maeve runs over to Malcolm and crouches down to meet his eyes. "You! Got any more special stones in your bag of cheap tricks?"

Malcolm's eyes shoot away, desperate to look at anything but Maeve. Scoffing, Maeve gets up to grab the duffle bag, slings it over and begins dumping out the contents. Curled paper, a few pens, the Ouija board, fuzzy dice—weird but not unexpected—cards, vials of powered who-knows-what, something like a compass, and a small black bag spill out.

"HEY! Careful with—" Malcolm begins to rant, but Maverick smashes his face farther into the basement floor.

"Jackpot!" Maeve's hand grazes over the black bag, bumping up and down as she pats it. "I wonder what's in here?" With a quick shake of the wrist, she turns out the contents. More gemstones. Only this time, they're red.

"Cece!" I say excited, running over to her. Her face is still frozen, looking like she'll never recover from all the WTF this night has brought. "Cece! What color are those rocks?!"

"Red!" Jin's voice calls out. I turn to see him sending a wink my way.

My face becomes hot, too hot. Am I getting sick? I rapidly touch it to see what the problem is. Only, I feel something unusual—puffed, tight cheeks. I pat my face some more to be sure. I think I'm smiling. Not just smiling, I mean SMILING, like some huge, creepy-ass grin. I turn to Bundty to confirm. Sure enough, she's curling her nose at me, giving me one of those wtf are you doing looks.

"Are you okay?" Cece asks, her voice still quiet and shaky.

"I think I'm smiling. Like really smiling," I whisper, not wanting anyone to hear.

"Yeah, that's why I asked if you're okay. Something must be wrong with you if you called me Cece."

I what? "No," I say, almost laughing. Cece freaking Bundt has always been Bundty. I would never call her anything but Bundty, right?

"I heard it," Maverick calls.

"Really, Maverick?!" No. Please tell me I'm not starting to like Cece Freaking Bundt. Oh, God.

"What color are the rocks to you?" She asks.

I turn back to face her, and I can feel everyone's eyes dart like laser beams over to me as they await my response.

"Red."

"Does that mean?" Jin asks, his eyes lighting up.

"She's cured," Maeve confirms it.

What could only be a completely random deep, gut giggle burst out from me. A feeling I can't quite recognize overwhelms me. Is it relief? No, I've felt that before. Is it victory? No, not that either. And then it hits me—it's happiness. Pure, true happiness. Happiness to be alive. But also, happiness that I'm here right now with Maeve, the sister I thought hated me but was willing to risk everything for me. And with Jaxson, who loves me even though I ruin everything. And with Jin, who was willing to stick by me even if it meant dying. And, with Maverick and Bundty, who aren't the total asshats I thought they were.

My laughter crescendos and I can't stop it. And I don't think I want to. Soon, Bundty's horrified face is grinning. Maverick's obnoxious laugh choruses as Jaxson just beams with a smug smile matching Maeve's. I look at Jin and watch as the daintiest, little chuckles bubble out of him. I've seen him smile sure, but I've never seen him laugh. And it was one hundred percent worth the wait. He has the worst, cutest laugh. I'll have to remember to make fun of him for that later.

"Idiots," Malcolm grumbles, instantly breaking the mood.

Shit. For one small second, I forgot about the purple elephant in the room—Master Bullshit. Obviously tired of all the chumminess, Malcolm begins to fight against his captors again, moving wildly.

What are we going to do about him?! Before I can even think of the word hypothesis, Maeve is grasping one of the red stones, and placing it in an empty golden bracket attached to a long, woven black string.

"Good luck," Malcolm says, his laughs vibrating into the floor. "You'll never be able to do it."

Do what?

"Mom believes in me, and that's all the proof I need." The confidence in Maeve's voice beams and Malcolm's eyes widen—he's afraid.

Holding up the dangling stone, Maeve begins to chant. Malcolm squeezes his eyes shut.

"Open his damn eyes!" I yell over to the guys.

Maverick's hands are quick to squeeze Malcolm's wrinkled eyes open as he laughs, "It's just like Bird Box!"

I think I see Jaxson laugh. With the circus of Jin holding down flailing feet, Jaxson laying over top a purple, velvet suit, and Maverick bird-boxing Malcolm's eyes open, Maeve continues to chant in Hungarian. Growing louder and firmer, her words cascade together in some regal echo. How does she know what to say? How does she know what to do? What a badass. Malcolm soon stops struggling, his body going limp, his eyes glazing over, and his face moves expressionless. What is she doing to him?

"Boys, get off him," Maeve says, her voice returning to normal.

Everyone does what she asks, looking as surprised as I must be. Jin rushes over to me, his hand quick to slide into mine. I have the intrinsic urge to fight the blush racing to my face, but I let it settle in, wanting Jin to see what I feel.

"Mom, what did you do to him?" Jaxson is the last to let go of Malcolm. He cautiously tip-toes away, keeping one hand available to smack Malcolm back down if need be. But, he doesn't have to because Malcolm sits up and just stares blankly past all of us at the wall, seemingly helpless.

"Hypnotized him," Maeve says smugly.

"How did you know how?" Jin asks, his brain obviously firing with a billion theories.

"I just knew."

"Did I look like that?" Bundty's voice is tight and paranoid as she touches her face, obviously embarrassed.

"Actually, no," I say. That's weird.

"Why does he look different?" Jaxson says, his eyes darting back to Maeve.

"This is a special kind of hypnosis," Maeve says, her smile tightening again.

"Meaning?" Something about Maeve's smile makes me want to jump for joy without evening knowing why.

"Malcolm here is now under my control."

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