As soon as I could see the other side, I understood why I hadn’t seen her earlier when I had looked out the window. She was sitting at the base of the tree, curled up in a ball, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She was shivering and didn’t have her robe on anymore. “Momma,” I said, dropping down to the ground and throwing my arms around her. “Come inside, come inside.” Then I pulled back and got a better look at her.
She wasn’t crying, but her face had that splotchy, puffy look of someone who had just stopped, and she looked exhausted. She was streaked with dirt from head to toe, her nails were caked with it, and the skin on her hands was raw and red, and even bleeding in some parts. Her chin trembled as I tried to pull her up, and then more tears started to spill from her eyes. She resisted, though, and the harder I pulled, the more she seemed to shrink back from me. “Mom,” I pleaded, “you have to come inside. It’s freezing out here and you’ve been here too long.” Finally she took my hand and let me help her stand up, and then almost immediately, she bent back over and was pawing at the ground. The dirt was frozen, and it hurt me to see her battered fingers clawing at it, but the ground there was pocked with small holes just like the one she was now digging. There were dozens, more than I could count, and it was clear she’d been doing this for hours.
“Stop,” I said, trying to grab her hands. “Whatever you’re doing, stop it.” She just pulled away from me and turned around, trying to dig in another spot. Now I wrapped my arms around her from behind, and physically tried to lift her off the ground. Her feet kicked at me, and then all of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain rip through my forearm, startling me into letting go. She’d bit me.
In all my life, I’d never seen Mom like this. She’d escaped from her facility several times, but every time someone had brought her back, she’d always seemed the same. Sad, but docile, even if she’d just been wily. Now, though, she seemed possessed, frantic and digging, crying again. And I was crying too. “Momma, stop it!” I said. “Stop it. You’re hurting yourself. What’s wrong? Please come inside.”
I looked away from her and across the yard, where Janis and Adrian were both standing there, frozen, not knowing what to do. Pig, sensing pain as she always did, jingled across to us. I was rubbing my arm, and Mom had bent back down to dig at a spot right by the roots of the tree. Pig went straight to her and licked her face, then tried to squeeze under her arms. It was something I’d never seen her do before, and then understanding clicked: she was trying to put herself between Mom and the dirt. She was trying to make Mom stop.
It was like Mom realized it too, and before I even knew what was happening, she stood up and kicked Pig, hard, right in the side. I didn’t even have time to think about it. Instinctively I raised my palms and grabbed Mom with my kinesis, forming a straitjacket, clamping her arms down at her sides and her legs together. She let out a scream that could only be described as a howl. Pig was whimpering and cowering against the tree. “Are you okay, girlie?” I asked her, and she wagged her tail a bit to let me know that she was.
“Come help me,” I called, and Janis and Adrian ran quickly to join me as Mom continued to scream, even though the only part of her body that could thrash now was her head. “We have to get around her,” I said when they were standing next to me. “I can carry her inside, but I’m sure the neighbors are looking by now, and they can’t see her floating through the air. We have to pretend like you’re helping.”
Janis moved to stand next to me on one side, and Adrian positioned himself opposite us. Pig was close at our heels. “Hold your arms out,” I said, and they followed my directions. Mom was still making awful noises. I didn’t want to do it, but I had to, and I used my kinesis to clamp her mouth shut. She fought as hard as any demon I’d ever encountered, as though her strength were supernatural. Pig was whining, and I could see that tears were streaming down Janis’s face. I felt frozen, stunned, not able to believe what was happening.
Janis, Adrian, and I worked well together, Pig a few steps behind, letting out whimpers. At the back door, Adrian kept one arm on Mom for show, while he stepped forward and opened the door. Once we were in the house, I took my kinesis off Mom’s mouth and was relieved when she didn’t start screaming again. Janis stepped back, and I could see that Mom was shaking. I didn’t know what to do, so I carried her into the living room and put her down right in front of the couch, someplace soft where she wouldn’t hurt herself if she fell over. Thankfully, she just stood there, kind of limp. I couldn’t see where Adrian and Janis had gone, but I figured that they were probably making themselves as small as possible somewhere in the background.
I felt a warm weight on my leg, and looked down. Pig had come and sat down next to me, and was leaning against my shin. I leaned down and put my palm on her skull, realizing how much I had missed her presence. Pig always made you feel not alone. It made me choke up to think how grateful I was that she was there now.
Mom dropped onto the couch, and Pig walked over and started to lick some of the dirt and blood from her hand. I took a couple of steps toward her. “Come on, Momma,” I said. “We’re going to get you a nice warm bath, and then you can go to bed. You must be tired, and you need to sleep….” She was looking at me, and then her face twisted and she lashed out with a kick, her foot hitting me hard in my kneecap and sending me crumbling to the carpet in pain. Then she elbowed Pig in the face, and Pig scampered to my side, looking back at Mom with confusion and hurt in her eyes.
Instinctively I wrapped Mom in my kinesis again and didn’t let go until I’d backed away, far across the room and out of her reach. The shock I’d had a few minutes before had worn off, and now I was openly crying. I didn’t like the thought of treating my own mother like something I was about to flush, but I had no idea what to do. “Janis,” I managed to sniff through my tears, “call my dad and tell him to come home.” Janis nodded, and then ducked into the kitchen. I stood up, and winced when I put weight on my leg. Instantly Adrian was by my side, helping to hold me up.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and I nodded.
“My knee will be fine,” I told him. He seemed to accept that as an answer, and I was glad that he didn’t ask about the rest of me.
“Your dad will be home in two minutes,” Janis said, coming back into the living room. “He was just around the corner.”
“Great,” I said, and swallowed. “Thanks.” I didn’t know what to do. Mom was just sitting there, her arms down by her sides, a blank look of inescapable sadness on her face, but she seemed calm. I wanted to get her out of those dirty clothes, fix her some breakfast, get her to take a nap, but now I was scared to even take two steps toward her. I could handle a kick, a punch, or whatever it was that she wanted to throw my way. That was no big deal. But it seemed like it hurt her more than it hurt me, and I swear, in all the years that she had been cursed and living at the facility, I’d never seen her look as miserable as she looked now.
I heard tires crunch in the driveway, and a door slam. Dad burst through the front door, breathless. “Oh thank God,” he said. “Where was she?”
“Just in the backyard,” I said, “behind the tree, so we couldn’t see her when we looked out the window.” Dad ran over and knelt down beside Mom, taking her hand in his as I loosened my kinetic grip on her.
“Theresa,” he started, “you scared us to death. You can’t do tha—” The words were barely out of his mouth before she yanked her hand away from him and swung at his face, clawing his cheek with her dirty and broken nails. Dad stepped back and spun so that he was facing me.
“What happened?” he said.
“I don’t know,” I told him. “She just…” Then I started sobbing.
Adrian cleared his throat and spoke for me. “Esme had to carry her inside,” he said. “She kicked Esme, and the dog. She just…” He faltered. “Seems really pissed.”
I sniffed, swallowed, and managed to pull myself to
gether enough to speak.
“You guys should go,” I said, turning to Janis and Adrian. They both nodded, but Janis seemed hesitant.
“Are you sure?” she said, and I nodded. “I can pick you up after school if you want to go to the airport with me and…”
“No,” Dad’s voice broke in behind me. “Esme, you’re going to school.”
“Dad,” I protested, “I can’t. We don’t know what’s going on here. Mom’s clearly upset and…”
He shook his head. “And I can handle it,” he said. “I may not have magic powers, but I am still the adult here.”
“But what if—” He held up a hand and cut me off.
“It’s not up for debate,” he said.
“Dad! I’m not even going to be able to concentrate. I’m just going to be worried about—”
“That’s understandable,” he said. “But her nurse will be here soon, and I will keep you updated. If we’re always waiting for a normal day around here, we’re going to be waiting a long time. Go to school and just be a high school junior.” He paused, and we both just looked at each other. “Esme,” he said, “it’s not a request. It’s an order. Go with your friends, now.”
“Okay,” I said, looking back and forth between him and Mom, who was still sitting in the same place on the couch. “Okay,” I said again. I picked up my backpack and started to walk through the door, then turned and went back to give Pig a hug.
“Dog food,” I said as I gave Dad a hug. “Don’t forget dog food.”
“I won’t,” he said. “She won’t let me.” I turned to leave, got a few steps, and then turned and walked back toward Dad, lowering my voice.
“Uh, this is weird, but if you happen to talk to Brian, don’t mention Adrian.”
“The bird?” he asked, and I nodded. “Why?”
“Just don’t, please?” I said. “Trust me.”
“Okay,” Dad said, and nodded. I fought back tears as I walked outside, and Adrian and Janis kept a respectful distance behind me. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, and then turned toward them when we got to Janis’s car.
“Sorry,” I said, “that you had to see that.”
“Pshaw,” Janis said, waving it away, and Adrian smiled.
“You’re doing it again,” he said.
“Doing what?” I asked.
“Apologizing for something that’s not your fault.”
“Ha,” I said. “Okay, sorry.” I looked back at the house. “I don’t like leaving my dad alone.”
“I don’t think you have a choice,” Janis said. Then she turned to Adrian. “We’ve got to bounce if we’re going to make it to second period, but do you need a ride? We could drop you somewhere.”
Adrian shook his head. “Thanks,” he said. “I’m cool.” As Janis was getting in, I turned to him.
“Thanks for your help,” I said.
“No problem,” he said. “You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I said. “I’m just worried about my mom. She’s been seeming really happy lately, so I don’t know what happened.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. I waited for him to say something else, and then was kind of relieved when he didn’t offer any platitudes about how she’d be fine or how everything was going to be okay, because it clearly wouldn’t. “I’ll catch up with you later,” he said finally.
I nodded, then got into the car, and he shut the door for me. I buckled my seat belt as Janis drove away, and when I looked in the rearview mirror, he was still standing on the sidewalk watching us.
“What do you think happened?” Janis said, her voice cracking on the last word. “You don’t think anyone re-upped her curse, do you?”
I felt completely deflated. I was starting to think that nothing good could happen in my life without something bad happening at the same time. “I don’t know,” I said, and felt the tears come again. I tipped my head back so that I was looking up at the ceiling, rested my head against the headrest, and closed my eyes. The thought of trying to figure out what was going on with Mom was exhausting. I could tell Brian, but he wouldn’t know, so he’d have to ask someone else, and it would be more of the same. An endless round of kick-the-can as everyone tried to pretend that they weren’t really as helpless or as ignorant as they seemed to be. Janis’s and my phones dinged, and I checked to see that Ruby and Mallory’s flight had been delayed.
Ruby! Of course! If there was one person in my life who was going to have answers, it wouldn’t be an adult. Ruby knew more about curses than anyone else I’d ever met, and she was on her way to Kansas, right now. The tiniest sliver of a silver lining.
“Soooooo,” Janis said, and I could tell by her tone that she was trying to change the subject and lighten the mood. “He’s cute. His overall vibe is a little derelict, but I can see why you dig him.”
“He’s been sleeping in trees ever since the Summit,” I said. “He normally smells really nice.” I paused and reconsidered. “I mean, the only two days that I’ve ever hung out with him before, he smelled really nice.”
Janis nodded and pursed her lips. “So tell me about him….”
“He’s funny,” I said. “And he likes coffee, and has good taste in music, and…”
“He’s a bird,” Janis said.
“Well, I mean, he’s not a bird,” I said. “He just has the power to turn into a bird, and when he exercises that power, then yeah, I guess he is a bird. But Wanda gave it to him, and now the Sitterhood might take it away. That’s why he’s hiding.”
“He’s hiding?” she asked. I groaned and leaned my forehead against the passenger-side window.
“Yeah,” I said. “Just don’t mention him, okay? To Brian or any of the other girls?”
“So you’re keeping this on the DL?”
“Janis…”
“Sorry,” she said, quickly recanting. “Too soon for jokes. I get it.” Janis pulled into the school lot and, as usual, wedged her car into her spot at about a forty-five-degree angle. “Man, if there ever was a morning for coffee and doughnuts, then this would be it,” she said.
I just sat there, staring out the windshield, not able to get the image of Mom’s torn-up, dirt-encrusted hands out of my head. Janis looked at me.
“Esme, if you want to spend the rest of the morning sitting in my car, I do not blame you,” she said. “There are a million empty water bottles in the backseat if you need to pee.”
In spite of myself, I let out a little laugh as I reached for my backpack. “No, I’ll come in. It’ll be a distraction at least, and Dad seemed really serious about it.” I climbed out of the car, and then walked around so that I was standing next to Janis. “It just seemed like we were making progress, you know? I think Mom liked being at home, and Dad and I liked having here there. But this morning, I’ve never seen her like that. It was worse than ever before. I’m supposed to be helping her, and if I’m failing at that, I can deal. But what if I’m actually hurting her?” Janis put her arm around me in a side hug as we started walking toward the school.
“You’re not,” she said, “and your mom is not going to be cursed forever. It’s something that I just know, just like I know you’re my best friend and Pig’s a good dog. But right now you’re doing all that you know how to do, and when you learn how to do something else, you’ll do that too. Besides, this weekend is gonna be awesome, one way or another.”
“Crap,” I said, reaching for my phone. “I was supposed to call Tom back and tell him what time the band is supposed to play on Saturday. I need to talk to Kendra and Karen.” Interacting with the KKs, even when they were bespelled, was not exactly something I was looking forward to.
“Don’t worry,” Janis said, “I’m happy to do the honors. And I’ve also been coordinating with Cassandra and Amirah about when everyone gets in. Cassandra’s going to borrow Dion’s van
so we can pick them up at the airport.”
I gave a little laugh. “Amirah is going to looove Dion’s van,” I said.
“Oh yeah,” Janis said. “It’s going to be epic. If we’re lucky, it’ll die and everyone will have to get out and push.” Janis squeezed me again. “We’ve got everything else under control, so I want you to listen to your dad, and pretend that this is just a normal school day.”
“You mean stare out the window and count the minutes to lunch?” I asked.
“Exactly,” she said.
“Got it,” I said. “I’ll try my best.”
* * *
—
I made it through English, and then French, where Mademoiselle Ferguson subjected us to a long lecture on the history of the baguette. I was walking to biology when Dad texted. Mom okay, he wrote. You free for lunch?
Sure, I wrote back. I’m done at 12:15. I’ll meet you outside. Biology was actually kind of interesting, since we were studying plant life cycles and I was hoping to pick up some tips on how to keep my ficus from dying a slow, miserable death. As soon as the bell rang for lunch, I texted Janis that I’d meet up with her later, and walked outside to wait for Dad. He was right on time, and when I got into the car, I noticed some new scratches on his neck and that one side of his lower lip was swollen.
“So,” he said, drumming on the steering wheel, “I think we should go someplace nice. TGI Fridays or Ruby Tuesday?”
“Um,” I said, “Ruby Tuesday, I guess? It’s a Friday, so TGI’s is probably packed.”
“Smart thinking,” he said. “Too bad there’s not a Manic Monday’s or a Hell, Yeah, It’s Humpday’s.”
I snorted. “I would not eat at either of those restaurants,” I said. “Can you imagine the service at Manic Monday’s? No one would be able to concentrate long enough to take your order.”
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