Welcome to My World

Chapter 37 Callum's POV {Jelly Tarts For All}

Author's Note: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Callum's Spellbook is supposedly coming out tomorrow! (March 3) Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! And also, Happy Birthday, Yellow de Bosque Verde!

I walk home, two hours after Rayla, Ellis, and Ezran left. It's already dark, and several sets of Christmas lights are on. The rain melted most of the snow away, so there's next to none. You'd be hard-pressed to make a snowball.

However, the drizzle turned to gently swirling crystals as I walked on. I smiled grimly. Yep, the Annual Winter Tournament was coming.

When I got home, my Aunt Amaya and her boyfriend Gren ((Sorry all you Janaya shippers, but in this fic, Amaya is only allowed to have a romantic relationship with Gren 😈😈😈)) were standing in the doorway. They were arguing in sign language about whether or not the mistlefoe was crooked.

Ah, yes. The mistlefoe. Amaya's favourite holiday tradition. Instead of kissing whoever was under the mistlefoe, you had to fight whoever was under the mistlefoe with you. It was quite amusing. More often than not, Amaya could be spotted lurking in doorways during December.

I slipped around the back and opened the door. Mom was in the kitchen, cooking dinner and baking jelly tarts at the same time. Mom loved anything sweet. "Hi, Callum!" She greeted. "Amaya got to the front door before you did?"

"Yeah, she did." I say ruefully. I've only ever beaten Amaya once, and only because she broke her leg.

Mom gave me an amused look. "The Lunarson family is coming over tonight, so are you going to invite those nice kids from school?"

I grin. "Yep. Ellis Jackson, Ezran King, and Genelyn Harriston."

Mom raises an eyebrow. "Genelyn? Who's she?"

I roll my eyes in exasperation. "Mom, she's my girlfriend."

Mom dropped the spoons she was carrying. "I thought you told me that you were going to marry Rayla when you grew up?"

"Mo-om!" I yelp with embarrassment, my cheeks flushing red.

"What? You did. Ask your dad. Ask your aunt. Heck, ask your aunt's boyfriend. They remember." She said innocently.

I groan. "Mom, that's so many years ago-"

"It was a month ago."

I grit my teeth. "Well, she's different. She changed, and I don't like it."

My mom puts down the cutlery, sits down at the kitchen table, and gestures for me to sit down next to her. I sit down with a sigh. "Well, have you tried talking to her about it?"

"Well, duh, Mom! She doesn't even want to talk to me anymore. I'm happy about that."

"Are you sure, Callum? Have you asked her what's going on? How did this all start out, anyways?"

So I tell her everything. How everyone rejected her, but I stayed with her until she randomly pushed me away, how I never could seen to penetrate her emotional walls, how she finally told me to choose Genelyn or her, how she saved me from those guys, and how she's pit herself on mental lockdown ever since.

Mom's quiet, for a second. It's quiet, until the silence is broken by a car driving up, the Lunarson's creaky door swinging open, and Rayla's joyous cry of, "Ethari!"

Mom looks skeptical. "She doesn't seen like she's on mental lockdown."

I roll my eyes again. "Mom, she's with her dads. Of course she seems fine!"

Mom shrugs. "Just try to talk to her over dinner, ok Callum?"

I smile quickly. "Yes, mom."

Mom smirks. "The house sounds empty without kids arguing with a Scottish accent- or a bad imitation of one."

I smile sheepishly. Oftentimes, I'd try arguing back to Rayla in my version of her accent. She got mad. I got gleeful.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. I padded through the halls, opened the door, then immediately regretted it.

Amaya dove into the house, tackling me gently. I knew she was rough with adults like Mom and Dad, but she played gentle with me and Rayla, and tried not to tackle guests. Tried.

After getting beaten by Amaya, the doorbell rang again. I opened the door, only to get tackled again by-