Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Did you try to tell your parents?”
“Oh yes. I thought I had done magic and was convinced I’d get a letter from Hogwarts in no time.” His chest shook under my head as he chuckled. “My parents thought I was exaggerating. They stopped reading me Harry Potter that same evening.”
I smiled. “So did you get a letter?”
“No, but I didn’t give up for a long time. I got pretty obsessed with owls. Eventually Dad told me that I had to be patient. He reminded me that Hogwarts letters would be delivered on my eleventh birthday. Well, by then I’d figured out that I wasn’t really a wizard. I also realized that I couldn’t tell them the truth.”
I squeezed his arm and inhaled his scent. Somehow things didn’t look so bleak anymore.
I was exhausted, but we couldn’t risk more than two hours sleep at a time. I entered the address of Holly’s parents into our GPS. I knew it would be risky to visit them, but since their house was practically on our way, it didn’t seem like it would hurt to make sure they were okay. It would only take us a little over fifteen minutes to reach their house.
Devon took a sip from a bottle of water before he asked, “Have you ever met them?”
“Holly’s parents?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Yes, once, about six months after Holly and I joined the FEA.”
“You joined the FEA at the same time?”
“Pretty much. Holly moved in a couple of weeks before I did. And when Major finally allowed her to see her family again, I went with her. Summers too. Someone had to keep an eye on us after all.”
“And that was the only time you saw them?”
“That was the only time Holly or I saw them. Major didn’t want her to visit them. She called them and sent emails, but Major didn’t approve.”
“That’s tough. How could Major expect her to forget her family?”
“That’s how the FEA works,” I said bitterly.
Neither of us said anything for a while after that.
“What about you and Alec?” Devon said carefully.
My hands around the steering wheel tightened. Where had that question come from? “What do you mean?”
“I’m sorry if it’s a touchy subject. I just don’t know the whole story. What went down between the two of you?”
I thought of the sadness on Alec’s face after I’d told him I understood why his parents hated him. But the resignation and acceptance had been worse. It was as though his worst fears had been confirmed, as though he’d suspected it all along. How could I have called him that? My stomach clenched so tightly, I was sure I’d throw up.
“There’s no such thing as Alec and me anymore,” I said.
But the lie was so blatant. It showed in the way my voice shook, in the way I couldn’t even look at Devon when I said it. I didn’t think there would ever be no such thing as Alec and me. My heart didn’t care about the betrayal. Maybe in a few years, my feelings would fade, dulled by years gone by, nothing but a distant memory. But that wouldn’t change the fact that Alec was a part of me—good or bad. “He took care of me when I first joined the FEA. He listened to my stories, and he was there when I cried. He understood what it was like when your parents turned their backs on you. He was my everything.” I realized how stupid that sounded. How stupid that made me sound. “I guess I just latched on to the first person who showed me some kindness.” It was more than that, but I didn’t want to explain.
“That makes sense, I suppose,” Devon said. But of course he could never understand. He had his parents, Linda and Ronald. He had a family who loved him no matter what. He’d never felt the hollow pain of deep betrayal, of believing you were worthless; that feeling you only get if the people who’d brought you into this world, if the people who should love you more than their own life, can’t even look at you without disgust.
I nodded. It wasn’t Devon’s fault that he couldn’t commiserate. He understood pain and loss. It was just a different kind of pain. I took his hand. It felt strong and warm.
We pulled into the street where Holly’s family lived. Rows over rows of identical looking, small, gray houses stood perched on even tinier square lawns. I pulled the car up beside the curb and we got out. The grass was yellow, the flowers in the beds burned by the sun. The front door was ajar. I slowly walked up to it and pushed it open. There were no sounds emanating from anywhere in the house. There was utter silence. Devon followed me inside.