Cinderella Complex

by Rebekah L. Purdy

  The Fairy Godmother World had one heck of a sense of humor. Jack grinned at me as he sheathed his sword. My knight was supposed to be hot. And strong. Not my flipping brother. Seriously. Could I get a break already?

  He offered me his hand and helped me to my feet. “You’ve got blood on your face.” He handed me the handkerchief tied to his armored arm.

  Wow, Jack being chivalrous? I must’ve died and gone to some strange heaven, because my brother normally would’ve rather crapped out a rhino than do something nice for me.

  “Thanks.” I took it from him and dabbed the scratch on my face. At the rate I was going, I wouldn’t have a face left. First the car. Now the Grimm—what next? Okay, maybe I better not ask.

  Sirens whined in the distance. Aw, crap. Smoke floated across the parking lot, reminding me of the fire I started. People gathered on the sidewalk to take in the pyro show. Jack backed into the shadows, muttering words under his breath. A loud clank reverberated in the air. His armor disappeared, replaced by his clothes.

  “Okay, so how long have you been a knight?” I put away my wand.

  He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “After we got home from Grandma’s party. Some old guy appeared in my room with a sword and knighted me. The next thing I know, he jerks me into the closet for training. Try having some sweaty guy pressed up against you, showing you how to swing a sword.” He snorted. “I didn’t know for sure, until tonight, who my first assignment was. And now here I am, rescuing you.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Hey, I didn’t ask you to save me. I could’ve handled it on my own.”

  “You don’t get it. I’m assigned to you. Anytime you’re in trouble, I’ll be summoned to your side. In other words, we’ll be spending lots of quality time together.” Jack pulled on a strand of my hair. “Brother-sister bonding.”

  “Why me? What did I do to deserve this?”

  “You? I’ve actually got a life and a girlfriend. How do you think I feel? I’ll have to drop everything for you.” He rolled down his shirt collar to show me the tattoo of a sword on his neck. “I’m marked, and before you ask, there’s no way of getting out of it. Trust me, I tried.”

  The restaurant doors burst open. People poured out. The fire blazed closer to the building and sirens grew louder as the fire trucks sped into the lot.

  “There you are!” Dad shouted over the commotion. He grabbed Jack and me by the arms and dragged us to the car. He glanced at me and came to an abrupt stop. I ran into him. “What happened to your face?”

  Great! No way could I explain that.

  “A mugger,” I blurted out.

  Dad’s eyes bulged. “Are you hurt? Other than the cuts on your face?”

  “No, I’m fine. Really.”

  “Maggie, you need to talk to the authorities.”

  Double crap! Now I was in for it. If I made a false complaint to the police, I’d go to jail or something. Forget being a Fairy God Liar, more like Felony Godmother.

  “I didn’t get a good look at him in the dark. He stood in the shadows.” I shot my brother a look. But he just crossed his arms and grinned like an idiot.

  “They still need to know. Who’s to say this man won’t try to hurt someone else?”

  Okay, was it really lying? I mean, I got attacked by a Grimm. And who’s to say he wasn’t trying to mug me?

  “He didn’t take anything,” I said. “Jack intervened before anything bad happened.”

  He shifted his gaze to Jack. “Did you get a look at him?”

  “No. Not enough light.”

  The firemen shouted for everyone to get back as the flaming tree fell to the ground. It ignited the dry grass like a dynamite fuse.

  Dad shoved us ahead of him, letting the mugger stuff go as we raced for his car. The valet seemed startled as customers rushed to get their cars. There went his tips. Once we climbed into the car, Dad put it in drive.

  “We’re going to stop by the police station before we head home.” He glanced at me.

  My mouth went dry. This wasn’t going to end well. Maybe if I wished hard enough, something would change his mind. No sooner had I thought it, and crash! The car spun sideways. Glass sprayed the seat. An SUV backed into the driver’s side door.

  “Dang it! I just bought this car.” Dad slammed his hands down on the steering column and waited for the other driver to move. He shoved on the door, cussing and screaming when it wouldn’t budge. “Let me out.” He nudged me toward the passenger side door. I slipped out of the car, watching Dad crawl out behind me, his face crimson.

  “If that isn’t payback, then I don’t know what is.” Jack laughed as he joined us outside. Dad’s BMW was his baby. With that, I knew Dad would forget the “mugger” incident. I sighed with relief as I stared at the car.

  The night was a total disaster—and it wasn’t over yet.

  ****

  We got back to Dad’s after nine. The BMW got towed, and to my dad’s dismay, he’d been given an inexpensive rental to use until the insurance company figured out the amount of damage. I expected first thing in the morning he’d head over and get something better to drive. Luckily, the other driver wasn’t injured. Although, Dad seemed more concerned about the guy’s insurance covering the accident than his well-being.

  With my duffle bag in hand, I hurried for the stairs.

  “If you ever act like that again in public, I’ll ground you. Is that understood?” Dad hollered.

  I don’t know what my brother said, but soon they started yet another round.

  I needed a heavy dose of aspirin before bed. I took the marble stairs two at a time, the surface slick beneath my shoes. When I reached the second floor landing, I glared at the portrait of Thorna hanging on the wall next to Dad’s. Her beady eyes dark. Her nose and chin pointed like arrows. There was no smile, just the familiar tight line I’d grown used to.

  I raised my middle finger at the picture. “That’s for screwing up my life, stupid lady.”

  The eyes glowed and I leapt back from the wall. Nice. Now I imagined paintings coming to life. I shivered, deciding I’d better lock my bedroom door for the night. Just in case.

  When I reached the end of the hall, I traced my fingers along the roses etched into my bedroom door then flung it open.

  I gasped. “What? No way.” The room was empty. My antique four-poster bed with light blue drapes, gone. My bookshelves and desk, cleaned off. Even my blue and silver throw rug had disappeared.

  I dropped my bag and rushed downstairs. “Dad, where are my things?”

  He took off his jacket, handed it to one of the maids. “I’ve moved you and your brother’s rooms to the third floor. Since Thorna’s girls will be living with us full-time, I figured they’d appreciate the larger space.”

  “What?” My high-pitched voice could’ve broken glass. “You’re giving them our rooms?”

  Jack laughed coldly. “Like I said, out with the old, in with the new.” He bolted upstairs.

  Dad walked to his study. I followed on his heels. He moved to the liquor cabinet and pulled out a decanter of whiskey.

  “Don’t you even care about us anymore?” I asked, hands on hips.

  “You know I do.” He poured himself a drink and sat down at his desk. “Blythe and Georgia will be out of their element. I want them to feel like a part of our family.”

  “By giving them our rooms? Seriously? What about me and Jack? Shouldn’t we feel like a part of your family?”

  “Don’t start, Maggie. I’ve had enough from your brother tonight.”

  I clenched my fists. He wasn’t my dad any longer. The dad I knew would never have treated his kids this way.

  “Well, try and remember that Jack and I were here first. We’re your kids. Not them.” Tears burned my eyes as I rushed from the study and ran for the stairs. I stopped long enough outside my old bedroom door to grab my bag, then headed to the dark third floor.

  Why did it feel like I’d stepped into some screwed-up fairytale or something? And
by the looks of it, I was getting a wicked step-mother in the bargain.

  Chapter Eleven

  Dad spent most of his weekend on the phone with clients or with Thorna. Jack and I lounged in front of the TV. I didn’t get why he’d even bothered to take us, because he never did anything with us. The only good thing that came of the weekend was Dad’s BMW being totaled. I think he cried more over the loss of his car than his divorce from Mom. So I was ecstatic to get back to Mom’s.

  Once home, I sorted through my dresser and pulled out a blue cami, a white cardigan, and pair of jeans for school. Now I just needed to figure out how to pull off the whole Kat and Connor thing. What if I found a way to leave them alone during Connor’s lunch date with me?

  I glanced up to see Jack hovering in my doorway, watching me. “What?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing.” But he didn’t move. Instead he came in and sat on my bed. He picked up a copy of Seventeen Magazine and thumbed through it.

  “Um, kind of trying to get ready here.”

  He waved a hand at me. “Proceed.”

  Proceed? Who’d he think he was, the King of England?

  “Get out!” He didn’t budge. “I’ve gotta take a shower and get changed.”

  “Then get moving.”

  I stomped to the bathroom. Jack stood up. I raised my hand. “Okay, are you having some weird perv moment or something?”

  He glared at me. “Yeah, right.”

  “Then quit following me.”

  “I’m your bodyguard.” Jack’s arms crossed at his chest. “I’m supposed to protect you.”

  “Really? And what’s going to happen to me in the shower? Ooooh, a washcloth! Save me.” I rolled my eyes.

  Jack didn’t smile. He gripped ahold of my arm. “This isn’t a joke, Maggie. There are things I’m supposed to protect you from.”

  “I understand, but there isn’t anything in my bathroom.” I clasped the handle to the door and whipped it open. “See, no boogie man, or Grimm, or anything. Toilet. Sink. Shower. That’s it.”

  Jack peered inside. Satisfied there was nothing there, he sat back down on my bed. “I’ll have you know, in almost every scary movie, someone’s killed in the shower.”

  “Oh, please.” I shut the door before he had the opportunity to reenact Psycho. But when I turned toward the shower, uneasiness tightened my muscles. I crossed the room, taking quiet steps. My heart thundered. As I reached for the shower curtain, my hand shook. With a deep breath, I tore it back. The cli-clink of the curtain rings sent me reeling backward. I steadied myself on the edge of the bathroom sink and stared at the empty space. Great, nothing like letting Jack give me a complex.

  With no knife-wielding masked men waiting to kill me, I hopped under the spray.

  Once I dried off, I wrapped my hair in a towel and wiped the steam from the mirror.

  “We’re on a schedule here,” Jack called from my room.

  “I’m almost done.”

  I applied cover-up, added a coat of mascara to my lashes, and then held up two tubes of lipstick. Fizzy Peach or Cherry Blossom? Cherry Blossom it was. I traced the color over my lips, just as a low buzzing flooded the room. Like a wormhole in a sci-fi movie, a black hole opened up in front of me, sucking me inside.

  This time I didn’t scream as my wings spread out behind me, whipping me through the darkened space-like travel port. The scent of perfume hung heavy in the air as I plummeted toward an opening.

  With a whoomp, I landed on a bed, then bounced onto the floor. I glanced up and saw a startled Katrina standing in pajamas in front of her closet.

  “I think you need a lesson in putting on make-up.” Her lip curled into a sneer.

  Adjusting my Fairy Godmother gown, I climbed to my feet and caught sight of myself in her vanity mirror. I had Cherry Blossom lipstick all over my lips and the side of my face.

  “Well, if I hadn’t been jerked from my bathroom at light-speed, it would’ve looked fine.” The towel on my head loosened and fell to the floor.

  She handed me a tissue . I used it to scrub my lips. It didn’t help much. So I ended up having to get a washcloth from her bathroom.

  “I need to know what the plan is for today. You said we’d have lunch with Connor.”

  She yanked me from my house for this? We could’ve waited until school to discuss it. It wasn’t like an emergency.

  “I’m inviting you along to lunch. Then I’ll disappear. The two of you will be alone.”

  Katrina wiped her hands on her robe. Her gaze flicked from me back to her closet. “What am I supposed to wear?”

  With a groan, I went to look at her clothes. She didn’t have a ton of them, so the choices were limited.

  “You need to look feminine but vulnerable.” I shoved the hangers back, eyeing a cute black skirt.

  “Feminine? Please. Have you not seen my figure?” Kat spun around, sticking her chest out even more, if that was possible. Seriously, the girl could take someone’s eye out. “Besides, why should I take fashion advice from a girl who wears a towel on her head and can’t apply lipstick properly?”

  My jaw clenched. Maybe I could conjure a wolf to eat her.

  “You know if you were a little bit nicer, I might want to help more.” I tugged the skirt from the hanger and tossed it at her. “You need to look approachable. So try smiling. Not flaunting. And for Pete’s ’s sake, be nice.”

  “Being nice is overrated.” Katrina flipped her hair over her shoulder.

  “Yeah, so I’m finding out.” My gaze fell on her bedside alarm clock. Crap. School started in less than thirty minutes. “Listen, I’ll see you at school. I’ve got to get home and change.”

  I hurried from her room to the front door. Great. Daylight. No way could I fly home. People would see me.

  “Wand.” My wrist tingled with warmth as the wooden piece broke away from my skin. Okay, I can do this. It’s just magic. Who cares if the spell sounded lame? As long as it worked. “Take me home as fast as a bus.” Man, I have to pee, I thought as a shimmering hole opened in front of me. No. Way. It worked. I wanted to squeal as I stepped inside the Fairy Dimension thing.

  I zoomed forward, then a loud pop sounded and I fell to the ground. Horns honked. I glanced up in time to find myself in the middle of the road. A bus headed right for me. Aghhh! This wasn’t what I’d wished for.

  Picking up my skirts, I leapt out of the way, landing on a patch of grass. My heart clamored against my chest. My breathing came in gasps. I so needed more practice. I stood, brushing the grass off, when I spotted a stray dog ambling toward me.

  He turned his big brown eyes on me. I smiled. He trotted right up to me, then lifted his leg. I tried to move, but wasn’t quick enough for his lightning pee. “Hey!” I shouted. The animal scampered off, having marked his territory. “I ought to turn you into a handbag.”

  I lifted my wand once more. “Take me home.” This time the hole swallowed me like a giant mouth. I didn’t even have time to unfold my wings before I fell from the sky.

  Down below I spotted a swimming pool. My pool. With a screech, I plummeted into the frigid waters. My dress weighed me down, and I struggled to kick to the surface. My fingers grazed the ladder and I pulled myself up.

  “When I said home, I meant into the house, not for a swim.” My teeth chattered as I trudged toward the house, leaving a wet trail behind me.

  “Where have you been?” Jack threw the back door open. “I thought something happened to you.”

  He had no idea. “Just let me get a shower and we can go.”

  “I already sat through one shower. Besides, you didn’t answer my question. Where did you go?” Jack barred the entrance, his face twisted with worry.

  “Katrina called me, okay?”

  “Great. Now we’re running late. I had to call and tell Riley I couldn’t pick her up.”

  “Hello. I can’t help it. I’m a Fairy Godmother. If someone needs me, then I have to go. I have no control over it. Besides, I didn’t ask you to be
my knight.”

  “Yeah, well, you got me. And I’m going to be the biggest pain in your butt.” Jack stepped aside so I could get in.

  “Trust me, you already are.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Jack’s mood didn’t improve as we pulled into the school parking lot. He turned his narrowed eyes at me.

  “Can you at least try to stay out of trouble today? I’d actually like to have time with Riley.”

  “I already said sorry.” I grabbed my book bag and slammed the door shut. Jack fell in beside me like a secret service agent. Yeah, this was going to get real annoying, real fast.

  As we approached the school, I saw Connor peel himself away from a crowd of jocks. Seth followed him, making a beeline to cut him off and reach us first.

  “Hey, Maggie,” Connor called. “Just wanted to remind you we’ve got lunch together today.” His smile widened and he shoved his hands in his pockets. “I have something special planned.”

  “I’ll be there.” My voice faltered. Why did he have to be so sweet?

  His gaze flitted over Seth and Jack. “See you in class, then.”

  When he left, Seth snorted. “Yeah, his idea of special is probably giving you an autographed picture of himself. And if you’re really lucky, he’ll go over some offensive plays with you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Why do you always slam him?”

  Seth stopped walking and caught my arm. “The guy’s a dill-weed and…” His mouth turned down in a frown. “What happened to your face?”

  Aw, crap. Obviously the cover-up didn’t disguise the Grimm scratches.

  Jack cleared his throat. “A mugger tried to steal her purse this weekend.”

  Seth’s jaw clenched, his eyes darkened. “You need to quit wandering off on your own, Mags. It’s dangerous.” His undertone sliced the air between us like a blade.

  I swallowed, hard. “Trust me. It’s not something I want to repeat.” My skin broke out in goose bumps. My mind conjured images of the Grimms. Deep shadows. Claws. The scratches on my face tingled. They’d known when I was alone. But how? Did they watch me? Wait a second. How did Seth know I was alone?