I sighed, reaching up to touch the inside of his wrist. My fingers needed something to do. “I just,” I said. “I knew going to my father wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I knew that. And yet, I’m still disappointed, and I don’t understand why.”
“You want to believe the best in your family,” Rumple said softly. He pulled me back in his arms, his fingers slowly running through my hair. It was enough to lull my eyes to half-mast, to ease the tension that had accumulated in my body thanks to the dream. “That isn’t a bad thing, you know. We all want that. Even me. Even Pan.”
“You still believe there’s good in your family after…” I pulled out of his arms only slightly, just so I could look at him, so I could read his eyes. I didn’t want to mention what they had done to him, that they had ripped out his wings when he was younger as some form of punishment for something that was inconsequential now. I didn’t understand how parents especially could be so cruel.
“No,” Rumple said. Darkness touched his voice, and his grip on me tightened, even after I rested my head on his chest once more. “But I want to think they’ll eventually see it was a mistake, that they’ll apologize, even if deep down, I know they won’t.” He placed his chin on the top of my head. “But your father is trying to protect you. He’s not being intentionally cruel. At the very least, he would do anything for you, darling, and that’s something to admire.”
“Is it?” I began to trace mindless patterns across his soft skin. “What if he blames me for what happened? Like, my father has always been a black and white kind of person. Justice was important. Doing the right thing has always been important. But then, here I am, now used against him in a way that forces him to go against his core beliefs as a way to protect me. His life would probably be easier if I wasn’t around.”
“Don’t say that, darling.” His lips were in my hair. My eyes were nearly closed. “Nothing in life is worth doing if it’s easy. The real accomplishment is working through the difficulties, the pain. It makes the good times so much more rewarding. And as someone who has had a dreary sort of life, I would know when a good thing happened to me. And you, my darling, are the best thing. And I’m certain your father feels the same way.”
My stomach twisted, but I didn’t think it was because I was going to lose my stomach again. Suddenly, I was grateful for Rumple, grateful that he was here with me, holding me, comforting me.
I needed him.
I needed him, and while that did scare me, it elated me because I knew I could count on him. Even if he had his moody moments. I sure as hell did.
“When it comes to your dream, I promise I will look into it, and I promise I will tell you what I find - if anything,” he said. “And you know I cannot lie, so I’m telling the truth. For now, though, rest. Rest, and everything will be as it should in the morning.”
I nodded, but there was something left unsettled in the pit of my stomach. Whether it had to do with my father or my dream, I didn’t know, but it was difficult for me to get to sleep that night, even with Rumple holding me.
16
The blaring of my cell phone cut through my dreamless sleep, pulling me awake from my slumber. I wasn’t sure if I should be grateful to be awake or resentful for it. I was glad I didn’t have any more dreams, but if there was something good to come out of that, it was the fact that I was starting to remember. Or, I guess, technically, the magic that was suppressing my memories was wearing off.
But how? Why?
I shook my head, letting out a groan. Without even opening my eyes, I reached over to my nightstand and grabbed the cell phone. I cracked open one eye, hoping -
But no.
It was Crim.
Disappointment flared through me, but I tried to suppress it. Crim was my best friend. I shouldn’t be disappointed to hear from her. It wasn’t her fault she wasn’t Rumple.
“Hello?” I asked, answering in a groggy tone.
I didn’t even know what time it was. I made sure the blinds were tightly down so sunlight couldn’t get through. I wanted to surround myself in darkness, in a blanket of shadows. I wasn’t sure if it was because I wanted to ensure I wouldn’t be interrupted if the dream slash memory - whatever it was came back or if because I didn’t feel good about being basked in light. Whatever the reason, I kept the light out and I managed to sleep for a bit. I didn’t know how, didn’t know what that said about me where I could sleep so peacefully after such a terrible dream, but there was nothing I could do about that now.
“Oh my God, Alice, did you hear?”
I furrowed my brow. Whatever time it was, it was too early for Crim to be this enthusiastic. I couldn’t help but wonder if she had eaten one of her grandmother’s sugar-filled concoctions before calling me - or five.
“Hear...what?”
“Oh, were you sleeping? I’m so sorry. It’s just - it was after eight, and I thought, you know, since you used to start at six that you’d still be on an early schedule, and anyway,” she sucked in a breath, “Sabrina Charming was arrested last night. I just processed her booking paper.”
“You’re calling me at work?” I asked, immediately sitting up. Slumber was nowhere near my voice. I was too awake and I couldn’t go back to bed if I tried.
“Not on the phones here,” Crim said. “I’m not stupid. Obviously they’re recorded. No, I’m on my phone on the bike trail taking a fifteen, but I had to tell you. Sabrina Charming was arrested, and you’ll never guess who the arresting officer is.”
I held my breath. Actually, I might know who it was but I wanted her to say it. I had to hear her say it.
“Who?” I whispered into the phone, leaning forward.
“Your dad.”
My heart skipped a beat.
I knew it.
Suddenly, a rush of emotions consumed me in a way I hadn’t expected it to. My father had actually listened to me. After a couple of months of tension and silence, of disappointment and heartaches, he had actually done something that went against everything he considered necessary in his pursuit to protect me.
It was...unexpected.
Tears filled my eyes but I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t think it would do me any good. But tears rolled down my cheeks anyway, and the ache in my chest that had been festering eased slightly. It hurt to breathe, but it was a start. Pain was just another way to heal.
“He-he did?” I asked in a low voice.
Of course he did.
He took the information I gave him, took the evidence and actually did something with it. Something right.
And now, Sabrina Charming was in the Wonderland Police Department, booked and held until someone - probably my father - decided to interrogate her.
“Yup,” Crim said. “It’s all anyone can talk about.”
“You have Shane to thank for that, actually,” I said. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought about it before. But if it weren’t for Peter going to Shane, if it weren’t for Shane listening, we wouldn’t know the truth. “He was the one who ran the DNA. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was fired. I’m almost positive the test went against protocol or whatever, but he did it.”
“What I don’t understand is why there was still evidence on the body,” Crim muttered. Her voice dropped and I wondered if it had anything to do with bikers passing and her not wanting anyone to overhear our conversation. I appreciated her caution. “I mean, you would think whomever wanted to keep Sabrina Charming’s role in Mary Stone’s death a secret, they would have wiped the body clean.”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” I said. “I think that not even magic can erase other magic completely. At least, that was what I remember being taught. I’m sure there’s powerful magic out there that might, but I doubt anyone in Wonderland knew how to do that. Except Rumple.”
“Or the Mad Mage.” Her words were whispers, and somehow, they caused a shiver to run down my back.
“ShadowMagic,” I murmured. “ShadowMagic could have er
ased her evidence. But since it’s still there, she didn’t have it.”
“Weird,” Crim said. “You would think with their resources, they would know someone who could do that.”
And then it hit me.
They did.
At least, Sabrina Charming did.
Rumple.
He was involved in this. And yet, Sabrina’s magic was still on the body. Was that on purpose? Had he not cleaned it up. I started to tease this out slowly. Maybe Sabrina made a deal with Rumple about keeping her secret. Knowing Rumple, technicalities were what gave him power. If she specifically didn’t tell him to wipe the body, and instead, made a general comment about keeping her secret, Rumple would latch onto the diction used in their deal: keeping a secret didn’t mean cleaning up evidence. Which meant he didn’t remove it from the body.
But, if that was the case, why didn’t they arrest Sabrina that night when they found Mary Stone’s body? Why would my father go with what was already being said - that the Mad Mage was responsible?
I tried to rack my brain for an answer, but the only thing I could think of was the Mad Mage needed to be blamed for something, and Mary Stone fit perfectly. It was weak, especially since I had no evidence to back up that claim, but it seemed to fit.
“Alice?” Crim’s voice flitted through the phone, and I blinked. Suddenly, a yawn consumed me. “You still there?”
“Yeah.” I rubbed my eyes, feeling the sleepers as they crusted on the corners of my eyes. I needed to wash my face. “Yeah, I’m here.”
“What do you make of all this?” she asked.
I blew out a breath, finally swinging my legs over the side of the bed and standing up. “I have no idea,” I admitted.
I blew out a breath and dropped my shoulders. I wanted to stretch but I didn’t want to risk losing the connection with Crim.
“How is everyone responding?” I asked.
I wanted to ask about my dad, but I didn’t know if Crim even knew. Part of me also didn’t want to share my concern with her only because I didn’t want to admit I was worried about him to anyone. I hadn’t thought about the consequences of him doing what was right.
But I was still here, unharmed.
If my father was bound to the same magic Rumple had been bound to, did her arrest break that connection?
“Well, obviously it’s all anyone can talk about,” she said. She was slightly breathless, so I imagined she was probably walking around. “And not just at the PD, but, like, all of Wonderland. Even at my grandmother’s bakery, every customer that came in asked if we had heard. And we hadn’t. This happened just last night. But when I got to the PD and saw the booking paperwork...I mean, I couldn’t believe it.”
I nodded, then remembered we were on the phone and she couldn’t see me. “I appreciate you calling,” I said into the receiver, hoping she could tell that I meant every word.
“I know,” she said. “I knew you wouldn’t have known, and I thought...I thought you should know. It’s important that you know that about your father. I know things are tense between you, and while I don’t know why, I think it’s important you know that he is trying. At least, I think he is.”
I opened my mouth, suddenly ready to tell Crim everything. It would be so easy to unload this burden. That was what friends did, right? And yet, I couldn’t seem to do just that. I couldn’t tell Crim because what if she looked at my dad differently? What if she told Shane and Shane told Peter and Peter told Jack and Jack told MaryBeth? I shook my head. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Crim or even Peter. I just...I didn’t want my dad to get caught up in this, even if he made his choices years ago. Even if they were choices that were wrong.
He was trying to fix them now, and that was what mattered.
“Yeah,” I forced myself to say when I realized that Crim was still waiting for some sort of response.
“Well, I should probably get back.” She sighed, and it was obvious she did not want to go back any time soon.
I couldn’t blame her, but there was also something about being in a place where magic was happening. Not literal, in this case. But I could imagine the PD buzzing with renewed vigor. I was almost jealous I wasn’t there to experience it myself.
Almost.
“Okay,” I said.
“Hey, Alice?” Crim said.
“Yeah?”
“Just because you don’t work here anymore doesn’t mean we can’t still hang out,” she said. “I mean, especially after what you and your Imp did for me and Shane, I’d like to still be friends. If that’s okay with you.”
I blinked and headed to my closet, trying to find the right words. “Yeah,” I said, nodding. “Yeah, of course. That’s what I want too. I want to still be friends, but I just, I didn’t want to bother you. I know things are still tense with your grandmother and with the Scarlet Hood and everything. And obviously, you’re living with Shane and I didn’t want to interrupt that.”
“Oh, no, you definitely wouldn’t,” Crim said. “Honestly, I could use the distraction.”
“Everything okay with you and Shane?” I found myself asking. What was even more surprising was the fact that I genuinely cared.
I padded over to the closet where the dresser was and rummaged through my shirt drawer after putting Crim on speaker so I could utilize both of my hands.
“Oh, yeah,” she said. “It’s just, sometimes I feel like I’m holding him back.”
“Holding him back?” When I found the shirt I wanted, I pulled off my oversized sleep shirt and tossed it into the hamper. It didn’t quite make it in, but I would worry about that later. “What do you mean? How could you be holding him back?”
“You know what he is, Alice.” Crim’s voice dropped again, almost like she wanted to make sure no one could overhear her. “And you know what I am. I don’t want him to blame me for ostracizing him from his pack, from his family, just so he could be with me, you know? Family is important. It’s the most important thing.”
“And sometimes, family is the one you choose,” I pointed out. I bent over, looking in my jean drawer for jeans. “I’m sure there’s a way you can have both.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Things are getting tense between the Hood and the Lycans. I can’t explain it.”
“Haven’t they always been?” I asked. I pulled out faded blue jeans, tilting my head to the side. These should work. Honestly, I didn’t particularly care, but whatever.
“Well, yeah, I suppose,” she said. “But there’s always been respect between each other, if that makes sense. Like, the Lycans stay away from the Hood’s family. The Hood only hunts the Lycans at night. But things are changing, and I know Shane feels responsible to protect his pack just like part of me is worried for my grandma.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. I still didn’t know much about the Scarlet Hood or about the Blood Forest Lycan pack. So, I said the only thing I could think of. “If you need anything, I’m here for you,” I told her, meaning every word.
“Thank you,” she said. “And I hope you know it’s the same for me.”
We got off the phone and I pulled on my clothes just as it began to ring again. I frowned. What had Crim forgotten to tell me?
Except, it wasn’t Crim at all.
It was Jack.
The second I answered, Jack blew past me without even waiting for me to say even hello.
“I need to see you. Now.”
17
Jack wanted to meet at Hatter’s Park. I wasn’t sure why. There was a good chance the place would be empty since it was late October and the days had been stretching out longer, a chill hanging in the air. Stiff autumn leaves fell to the floor, and as I walked over to the park bench Jack sat at, they crunched under my feet as I stepped on them.
I knew I should have called for Rumple. He made me promise him not to do anything with Jack without calling him first. He didn’t trust Jack. At first, I thought it had something to do with Jack being a guy and Rumple being territorial
, but there was more to it than that, and I knew it. Rumple hadn’t made me promise him anything until he heard that Jack was a White Rabbit. Even now, I didn’t know what that meant and no one was saying anything.
The thing was, I knew Rumple had to deal with the fallout of Sabrina Charming being arrested. I wasn’t sure how that affected his deal with her - or whomever he had made the deal with. Calling him now would only distract him more. More than that, there was a good chance he insisted that I didn’t go see Jack at all.
And I didn’t want that.
I also didn’t think Jack would ever hurt me. We might not be in the best place right now, but he would never hurt me. Deep down, I knew that.
So, I went to Hatter’s Park. I took a seat on the concrete bench, leaning against the stiff, cold bench, stretching my legs out in front of me. The old pumpkin patch was finally opened, and there was a small line of parents and their young children waiting to buy their tickets and head inside. Every year, the field that made up a significant chunk of Hatter’s Park was used for the pumpkin patch and the Christmas tree farm. Part of me considered heading over just to buy a cup of warm Apple cider - anything to keep my hands warm right now.
“Aly.”
Jack’s low voice took me by surprise, and any thought of cider vanished. I pulled my gaze away from the pumpkin patch and looked over at Jack, standing directly in front of me. He had on a dark blue sweater which only brought out more of his eyes and brown slacks. His chestnut hair fell casually into his face, but his eyes were locked onto me like I was a target he expected would try to elude him.
“Jack.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. I figured by this point we were well past pleasantries. I wasn’t sure we ever found our way back to them since Anna died.
When Jack did nothing except continue to stare at me with those piercing blue eyes, I decided I needed to say something to break the tense silence between us.
“You wanted to see me?” I asked, staring straight ahead at the parking lot. The white lines that made up parking spaces were faded thanks to the sun, and the trees began to sway in the breeze. The leaves were an array of colors that screamed autumn - reds, oranges, browns, yellows - and they floated to the ground each time the wind plucked them from their branches. Already there were different piles of leaves scattered throughout the park, waiting for the gardeners to pack them away. These were moments of pure bliss - Anna and I would jump in the leaves whenever we could constantly. We always made a mess of the leaves, and if my father was around or found out about it, he would make us rake them back up, but it was always worth it.
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