Courting Medusa (Magic in Stone Book 1) by Elise Hoffman

Author:Elise Hoffman [Hoffman, Elise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-09-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20:

Medusa

Too few hours later, I stand in front of The Reyes Home for Children, my palms sweating and feeling unbalanced. I’m not sure what happened with Bastian earlier, but the entire experience has clung to me like chewing gum stuck in my hair, and I can’t get it out of my mind. It’s like he’s possessed me somehow, and while it’s an uncomfortable sensation, I don’t hate it.

I should hate it. I should really, really hate it.

I rub the spot between my eyebrows, trying to work out some of the tension making my headache with a shaky breath. I hate this weakness. How can this be happening? Years of blissful unfeeling, and now I’m a mess of nerves and memories I wish I could burn to ashes. Where is all my anger? Where is my protective coating of general threat that has been my faithful companion?

I feel adrift.

“Hey, scary girl. You just gonna stand there, or are you going to come in?”

I am so distracted by… everything, I don’t notice Jeremiah approach me. Didn’t that happen last time I came, too? Is that a thing with this place? It brings up all my distractions, so I forget to pay fucking attention to what’s going on around me.

Ah, there’s some of that anger. Finally.

I sigh with some relief, then turn to Jeremiah with a tight smile.

“I’m coming in. Sorry, it’s been a day.”

“You have more bad dreams?” His face creases with concern while his eyes track over my body, as though my nightmares might have left a physical mark on me.

“No. No, nothing like that. I had a visit from someone that surprised me. It was tense.” Yes, tense is an excellent word for whatever the hell that was.

“Well, let’s go in and hang out with some really noisy kids. That’s sure to relieve all your stress,” he says with a bright smile, offsetting his light-hearted sarcasm.

Inside the house is alight with adolescent voices, the fuzzy sound of a television playing, clinking dishes and Ida Reyes hollering for her brood of misfits to wash up. Then comes the echo of heavy footsteps, running water, and laughter among irritated shrieks about “move, it’s my turn”. The noise is at once a shock, grating, and delightful in the way that only children can turn a ruckus into a good thing. Even frustrated, their voices are joyful and light. They’re the reverberations of kids who know they are safe and cared for.

A pang shoots through my heart. I had that once, for a little while.

“Jeremiah, come help me finish getting the table set. You too, Alice,” Ida bellows to us as she goes back into the kitchen.

Jeremiah throws me a grin over his shoulder as he shucks off his coat and hangs it on a peg. Then he surprises me by twirling a finger in my direction, insisting on taking my coat, too. I let him help me pull it off my shoulders with an awkward smile, then wipe my hands down my pants and follow him to the kitchen.

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