“Thanks, Dad,” I mumble. Once his footsteps disappear down the hall, I turn the music on and try to fall back into the oblivion of sleep. I’m almost there when the knocking starts.
“Go away,” I grumble, burrowing deeper under the covers.
“Papa Bear. I know you’re in there!” My heart stops, I’ve got to be losing my mind.
“Can I come in, Papa Bear?”
“Uhh, ya?” The door cracks open and I hold my breath as Emily peeks inside, her eyes bright with curiosity. She gives me a brilliant smile as she steps inside. Her hair is longer than it was last summer, hanging down to her waist and her cheeks look thinner, like she hasn’t gotten enough to eat. I sit up in the bed, staring at her in wonder.
“What are you doing here?” I manage as she climbs onto the bed next to me. “How did you find my house? I thought you couldn’t come into town.”
Taking my hand, she looks at me with those bright violet blue eyes of hers.
“The boys said you weren’t coming outside anymore.” She says slowly. “That you’d been sad. I made them bring me here so I could see you.” She cocks her head, looking at me closely. “You’ve been broken,” she announces finally. “Who broke you?”
“It’s been a bad time. My mom…” I stop, not able to continue. She squeezes my hand, just waiting patiently. “She did a bad thing. She doesn’t live here anymore.”
“I’m so sorry, Papa Bear. I wish I could fix it for you. Is that why you don’t go out anymore? Sebastian and Samil say you’re mad at them.”
“They were there… when I found out… they tried to keep it from me.” Tears well up in my eyes and I squeeze them shut, hoping she didn’t see them. I feel her crawling on my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. She smells like apples and vanilla, and it’s strangely comforting.
“Oh Papa Bear. I’m sure it wasn’t that they didn’t want you to “know”, they probably just didn’t want you to have to “see”.” She’s stroking my back as she talks and the tension slowly seeps out of me. “They miss you. They have all these cracks on their hearts now.”
“Cracks?” I sniffle, hugging her close. I feel her nod.
“Uhh Huh. Black cracks, right here.” She presses a hand to my chest.
“How do you know that’s new? Maybe they always had cracks?” She pulls back until our eyes meet, her face serious as she shakes her head in denial.
“No, these cracks are new. None of you had them when I saw you last.”
I’m not sure what she means, but it’s not the first time Emily has talked about things that none of us really understand.
“Yours are really bad,” she whispers. “You used to be the prettiest shade of green with all these swirls of teal and turquoise. And there were ribbons of gold, red, blue, purple and white. But now you’re all dull and muddy brown.” I can’t look away as she talks about things only she can see. “And the red and purple ribbons are completely broken, and the blue and white are full of cracks. Only the gold ribbon is ok, but it’s so small compared to the others.” Tears slip from her eyes and roll down her cheeks.
“How do we fix it, Trouble?” I ask, all the anger I’d been holding slowly draining out of me at the sight of her tears. I’d do anything to bring back her smile.
“I donno,” she replies softly. “But maybe if you come outside with me... Talk to them… Then we could figure it out together. I need to go soon, I have to get back.”
“I know,” I whisper, hugging her tightly. “I’m glad you came. Maybe tomorrow I’ll talk to the guys and we can meet you at our spot.”
“Really?” she asks hopefully.
“Really. We don’t get much time with you. I don’t want to waste it.” She pulls back and flashes me a bright smile.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” she says before crawling off the bed. She pauses at the door. “Love you, Papa Bear.”
“Love you too, Trouble,” I smile back at her before she disappears out the door.
Coming Soon
∞
Book four in The Magic Catalyst Chronicles will be available Spring of 2020.
You can keep up to date on the next release by visiting either my Facebook page Jacie Douglass or my blog https://jaciedouglass.com/
Acknowledgements
I wanted to take a minute to thank you for reading my work and bearing with me through all the delays getting out book three. The last couple of months have been crazy with computer issues and unexpected responsibilities in the real world.
As always, thank you for spending time with Emily and the Guys.
Through the process of telling their story, they have truly come to life in my head, and I hope you enjoy reading about their journey, as much as I enjoy writing it.
While this has been a passion project for me for the last year, I could not have done it without the support of my friends and family.
Special thanks to:
My Mom: For always reminding me that I can achieve anything I set my mind to.
My Dad: For offering to be another pair of eyes and editing another book for me.
My best friend Kris: For once again reading and editing my work, even though it’s not her genre of choice.
Fredrick and Alexis: For listening to my endless rants. My brain surely would have exploded without their unwavering support and words of encouragement.
Monique: For her endless cheerfulness and support.
Daniel Christy my high school English teacher: Whose wisdom and guidance during high school inspired me to keep writing.
About the Author
Jacie Douglass physically resides in Las Vegas aka Sin City (yes people really live there) but spends most of her time living in the worlds she’s created in her head. Having retired after 20 years in the Telecommunications industry, she’s currently focusing on sharing her crazy world with others. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and playing dress up with the local Renaissance Festival community.
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