The Accidental Invitation by Gemma Perfect

Author:Gemma Perfect
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: young adult
Publisher: Gemma Perfect
Published: 2020-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

Ellis

Flying with Sally’s mum is nothing like flying with Fletcher, obviously, but she does the job. I recognise the carpark they kidnapped us from with a shiver, but Jane quickly ushers me away and inside the row of shops, through the magically locked doors and into the safe house.

The twins and Sally are sitting watching TV, and Max is reading a book. “All quiet?” Jane asks, and he nods.

The girls don’t even answer. They are binge-watching something. I don’t even care what it is. I plonk down on a chair far enough away from them so I don’t feel uncomfortable, but close enough that I can see the TV too.

I’m not really watching the programme though, my mind is wandering, my eyes closing, the slump of tiredness taking over me.

There is a bit of me – and it isn’t a tiny bit – that just wants to go home. I want to help line coffins with coloured silk; I want to put blusher on dead skin, make people look better than they obviously are. I want to put their special belongings in the coffin with them and say goodnight to them.

I want to watch my dad try to make jokes and fail; I want to see my mum always laugh, even when he isn’t funny – which is always. I want to roll my eyes to Isaac and watch him smother a laugh. I want to be with my family: uncomplicated, full of routine. We do the same things all the time. We snuggle up on Sundays to watch a film together, eating whatever snack we’ve made together – maybe cakes or flapjacks or just popcorn. We go for long walks every Saturday morning, weirdly, to Margam Park, where I became a witch. We would look at the castle, the abbey ruins, Isaac would climb trees, and then when we were tired and muddy-shoed we’d go home, via the chip shop.

I miss them and I feel my eyes fill with tears.

I open my eyes, wipe the wet away and stare at the TV. Nobody noticed me crying. Why would they? They care about me as much as I care about them. And Fletcher, who I care about, isn’t here.

The question hits me then like a punch. Will he care about me once this is over? Once I’m a normal girl again – if that can even happen – will he like me? Want to spend time with me? He won’t need to protect me once we’re all safe again. Or dead. He won’t need to feel guilty, either, which I know he does. He feels like it’s his fault I’m in the middle of this war.

It isn’t his fault, of course, it’s Macaroon’s, but still, he feels bad. He feels responsible.

I feel sad. Waves of it are crashing over me, and I want to sink underneath them. I know this feeling; I’ve had it before. The blues, maybe not fully formed depression – I know how serious that is, how difficult it is to come out of, but I also know I’m on the brink, teetering near the edge.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.