The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven

by Jessica Miller

  When they finally stepped into the kitchen and saw us, my mom shut up. I saw a slight softness in my dad’s eyes before they were quickly replaced by anger. He looked me dead in the eye and then walked out. “Liam,” my mom chastised.

  “Not now Jamila,” he said, heading to his office.

  “Yes now!” She yelled, putting her foot down. “You are not going to walk out on your children.”

  He stopped, whipped his head around, and looked directly at me. “It was their choice to leave. They’re the ones you should be lecturing,” he growled.

  “Our choice?” I stood up. “If I recall you didn’t give us much of a choice.”

  “I will not have my children running around on some wild goose chase doing god knows what. You create trouble Ella.”

  “Here we go again,” I said, grabbing my stuff. “I knew this was a mistake. I should have never come back here.” I started to walk out but Xander and Dean stopped me. “Move!” I growled, but they refused. I was prepared to take them out if necessary.

  “Let her leave. If she wants to live her life recklessly then let her. Who are we to stop her? We’re not her family anymore,” my dad spat. I flinched. His words cut deep causing a slight pain in my heart.

  “Enough!” my mom screamed. “Ella, you are not going anywhere and we all are a family. Damn it Liam I will not put up with this anymore. Sit down, all of you!” No one moved. “Now!” my mom yelled so loud her powerful voice boomed throughout the whole house.

  Dean, Xander, and I quickly took a seat at the table. My dad made his way over slowly, still keeping his distance. My mom stared him down until he sat. “Now, we are all going to sit here and discuss this like civilized people. Is that clear?” We all nodded and my dad just stared at me.

  My mom let out a breath and took a seat beside my dad. “Despite what you may think, both your father and I are happy to have you both home and safe. Unfortunately I was not there when this whole mishap happened,” she glared at my dad. “And I’m sure some things were said that weren’t meant.” It was my turn to get her evil glare. “But we are family no matter what and we all make mistakes,” she said, looking at my dad again. “Now, does anyone have anything they’d like to say?”

  “I guess this must mean you’re done with this little adventure. You’ve given up?” my dad asked.

  “First off, I never give up,” I said with my head held high. “And yes, I found him. If that’s what you were wondering.”

  His eyes went wide and he tried to cover his surprised reaction with a scowl by crossing his arms. “So does this mean you’re done acting like a child?”

  I stood up to leave. “Ella, sit,” my mom warned.

  “No.” I stood firm. “I’m tired of him treating me like I’m some great disappointment and embarrassment.”

  “Is that what you think?” my dad asked. I looked down before I took a breath and looked him straight in the eye. His face softened and he looked almost sad. “I’d like to speak to Ella, alone.”

  I had a slight fear for my life. “Only if you promise me you’ll still be here when you’re done,” my mom said, looking at me. I didn’t answer right away. “Ella?”

  “I promise mom.” I let go of some of my frustration and sat back down. Xander, Dean, and my mom left the room, leaving just me and my dad.

  The room grew silent as we both just sat there waiting for the other to start. I tried to get inside his head to see what he was thinking, but I found nothing. “You can’t read my mind,” he said, matter of fact.

  I creased my brows. “Why not?”

  “Mind readers can’t read each other’s minds.”

  “What?” I asked surprised.

  “I’m not sure exactly. I think it’s a natural defensive power. A perk if you ask me,” he said with a slight smile. I looked down at my hands not knowing what to say. “Ella,” he began. “You are not a disappointment or an embarrassment. I never want you to think that. Why would you even think that?”

  “You’re kidding, right? After everything you said? The way you always talk down to me. The constant disapproval of everything I do.”

  “Ella, I am your father. I’m not always going to agree with the decisions you make, but I would never not want you as my daughter.”

  “Then why did you say those things?” I cried. I bit my lip, trying not to let my emotions get the best of me.

  “Because I was angry and sometimes threats are my only way to make things go my way, usually. I never actually thought you would stand up to me.”

  “That’s because I’m not one of your employees or some hostage. I am your daughter.”

  “I know,” he said softly and I almost swore I could see some moisture in his eyes. I have never in my life seen my dad cry. He was the strongest man I knew.

  “You think by now you’d know I’m not one to back down and I stand my ground.”

  “Yes, you are very stubborn,” he said, cracking a small smile. “Ella, you have to understand that with Xander and Dean it was easier.” He reached across the table and placed his hand on mine. “You are my baby girl. My only daughter who I would give my life for. You have to understand that I don’t always know what I’m doing”

  “You got that right.” His hand tightened on mine and I could tell he didn’t appreciate my comment.

  Instead of losing it, he closed his eyes and took a breath, loosening his grip on my hand. “Ella, I just don’t want to see anything happen to you. So when you fly across the country and don’t tell anyone…I just…I think the unimaginable could happen and if it did I couldn’t live with myself.”

  “I get that, I do. And while yes it was rash and not the best decision, it was a decision I had to make on my own. When you finally stop treating me like a child than maybe we can have a normal relationship. I know you see me as your little girl, but dad, I’m not little anymore. I’ve grownup. And the sooner you start realizing that the sooner we can get past this.”

  “I know honey, but it’s hard. One day when you have kids you’ll understand.”

  I stifled an eye roll. “Well that is a long way from now.” That is if I live long enough to have kids. With all the threats on my life I was lucky to be alive.

  “Hopefully yes,” he laughed. “But in the meantime how about a compromise?”

  “One of your compromises isn’t really very compromising.”

  I saw in his eyes he was fighting the urge to argue. Instead he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. “I promise to start treating you as an adult and respecting your decisions if you promise to stop keeping things from me. I’m not saying I want to know everything. I just mean the important things like taking a random trip to Ireland in the middle of the school year.”

  “You want me to believe that if I told you I was doing that you would have just let me go?”

  “Well, not at first, but I would have made sure you were protected.”

  “That’s just it dad. You can’t protect me all the time. I need room to breathe.”

  “You’re right,” he stuttered. I knew it was hard for him to admit that. “It’s just natural instinct for me to do it.”

  “Wait, I’m sorry. Could you say that again?” I was still shocked at him saying I was right.

  “Ella, don’t get smart. I’m trying to be good here and it’s not going to happen overnight.”

  I tried to hide my smile. “I guess if you can try not to be so dad like I guess I can try to stop being so reckless.”

  “And a smartass,” he added.

  “Hey, let’s not push it.” He chuckled softly and patted my hand before he released it. He stood up from the table and I took that as a sign we were done. I stood up and pushed in my chair. I faced my dad who was still standing there looking a little uncomfortable. Before I knew it his arms were around me, embracing me in a hug. After the initial shock wore off, I hugged him back, laying my head on his chest.

  “I love you Ella. I will always love you no matter what. There’s nothing you
could do to ever make me want to get rid of you.”

  “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting. So much has happened that sometimes I just don’t know what the right thing to do is any more. So sometimes being reckless is just my way of handling things.” I wiped a few tears that strayed from my eyes.

  “It’s okay. You get that reckless spirit from your mother.” I pulled back to see a smile and slight twinkle in his eye from mentioning my mom.

  “Oh no, you were just as bad as I was when you were young,” my mom said, walking back into the kitchen. “She has my free spirit and your rebelliousness.”

  My dad let out a genuine laugh. One I haven’t heard from him in a while. “Agreed,” he said. He looked down at me, smiled, and squeezed me one more time before letting go and giving me a kiss on the forehead. He walked over to my mom, wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her hair.

  “Have you come to your senses or do I have to tie you both to a chair until you reconcile?” my mom asked, with a slight worried expression.

  My dad looked to me to answer. “It’s all good.”

  She clapped her hands excitedly. My dad leaned down close to her ear and whispered, “You can still tie me to a chair later if you like?”

  “Ew, ugh, gross. I can you hear you!” Apparently he wasn’t as quiet as he thought. He winked at my mom making me want to vomit. My mom blushed and smacked his chest. Then she walked over to me, threw her arms around me and embraced me in a bear hug.

  “I’ve been dying to do this since the moment I saw you.”

  She squeezed me so hard I could barely breathe. “Uh dad, a little help here?”

  “Sorry, you’re an adult now. You don’t need my help,” he laughed and walked away, leaving me to fend for myself.

  “That’s cold old man, just cold,” I said, shaking my head and trying to peel my mom off of me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Oh, I can’t believe I almost forgot,” my mom said, releasing her vice grip. She walked back out to the garage and came back in with a large package and a few shopping bags. “You can only open one now and then the rest later.”

  I looked at her funny. “You bought me stuff?”

  “Of course, you didn’t think I’d forget my own daughter’s birthday.”

  “Oh yeah,” I said sighing. “How’d you even know I’d come back?”

  “A mother knows,” she said, caressing my cheek. She frowned. My guess was she sensed my mixed emotions. “What’s the matter?”

  “I’m not really in the mood to celebrate. If you don’t mind can we just skip my birthday this year?”

  My mom drew back and I knew she wanted to protest, but once she got a real feel for my emotions she didn’t push it. “Okay honey, if that’s what you want.” She turned around and picked up the bags.

  I grabbed her wrist. “Um…just because I don’t want to celebrate doesn’t mean I won’t accept presents,” I said sheepishly.

  She laughed and put the bags down, pushing one toward me. “This you can have for tonight and the rest you can have later.” She sat down in a chair and waited impatiently for me to open the bag. I looked inside and the first thing I spotted was pink fabric. I pulled out the contents to discover it was a strapless dress. It was tea length with an empire waist. The fabric was soft and flowy and very feminine.

  “Mom it’s beautiful, I love it.” I leaned over to give her a hug, forgetting just how much I sometimes really missed her.

  “Why am I sensing you’re not telling me the whole truth? Do you really like the dress or you just trying not to hurt my feelings?”

  “No I do. I just wish I could hide my blue streaks so they wouldn’t clash with the dress.”

  “Ella, when are you going to learn that they are a wonderful gift?”

  I rolled my eyes. Gift my ass. “Hey, how come I didn’t know about the engagement party? And why did they pick today of all days,” I said a little disappointed.

  “Because I didn’t know where to send the invitation,” Xander said, coming back into the room.

  “Oh,” was all I could manage.

  “And Jasa picked the date. She said June would be a good time to have it and this was the first weekend she was available. She’s been very busy with work.”

  I picked at the tablecloth wondering if Xander really knew what today was. Even though I didn’t want to celebrate, it was still nice to be acknowledged. I thought about peeking inside his head, but then I reminded myself it wasn’t right and took my dress upstairs to my room.

  It was so nice to be back in my own room, in my own bed. Ginger greeted me as soon as I walked in. “I see someone was keeping my bed warm for me while I was gone,” I said, scratching her ears. “So this is where you have been hiding? I don’t blame you.” I sighed, falling on the bed face first on my pillow only to have a small box slide down and hit me in the head. I grumbled and sat up. There was no card. I shrugged and opened it.

  Inside was a gorgeous, white gold, charm bracelet. “It was my mom’s,” my dad said from my doorway.

  “It’s beautiful.” I held it up to the light and when I did I swear I saw a flash of blue.

  I flinched, almost dropping it.

  My dad laughed and made his way over to the bed to sit next to me. Ginger groaned in protest and he shooed her away. “It’s a protection charm,” he said, turning his attention to me. “The blue light shows how much power it holds. This here,” he pointed to a shamrock. “This was your great, great grandmother’s. It was passed down through every generation. And this here,” he said, pointing to the Griffin. “Your grandmother added this when I was born. It stands for strength. The water dragon was added for Xander and Dean which stands for courage and the unicorn I added after you were born,” he smiled. “Which also stands for –”

  “Strength,” I finished for him. I held the bracelet up, examining it again. There wasn’t much room left for many more charms. There was the traditional claddagh symbol, the eternity Celtic knot, which symbolizes never ending circle of life, the Celtic knot shield for protection, and the Druidic threefold sister goddess – maiden/mother/crone – three spirals that connect in the middle from a small triangle. I knew this because of what Ms. Kraft had taught us. It was a Wiccan symbol. The bracelet itself was linked together by double spirals. Double spirals represent the equinoxes when day and night are of equal length.

  “It’s also a sign of balance,” my dad said.

  “I thought you said other mind readers couldn’t read each other’s mind?” I eyed him.

  “Mine is different. I can only get through by touch. Maybe it makes an exception.”

  Just great.

  He laughed. “Don’t worry Ella I won’t invade your privacy. I am impressed with all the knowledge you have of these symbols. I guess you were paying attention after all,” he winked.

  “Can you help me put it on?” I asked him. The second he clasped it on my wrist I felt the power and it made me shiver.

  “With each new charm it was blessed again and again. So there is a whole generation of McCallister magic on there,” he said. “You must be very careful that this does not fall into the wrong hands,” he warned.

  “I wouldn’t,” I shook my head.

  He cupped my hand, kissed me lightly on the forehead and said, “Happy birthday Ella.”

  “Thanks Dad,” I said, feeling a warm tingling inside me.

  After he left, I closed the door without even getting out of bed. That power was one I was really starting to enjoy. I pulled the covers up, cuddled up next to ginger, and took a much needed nap.

  Cameron had woken me up about two hours later. “Oh my god, Cameron I am so sorry. I totally forgot –”

  She held up a hand to stop me. “No worries. I actually just got back. I helped Danni set up everything for the party.”

  “Really?” I asked surprised. I would have expected her to be sitting by the pool sipping margaritas.

  “Don’t act so surprised,” she said, nudgi
ng me. “And boy, Danni does not like your brother’s fiancé. What’s the deal there? Is she like a haggard bitch or something?”

  “Long story,” I said, sitting up.

  “Oh, nice bracelet,” Cameron said, reaching out and grabbing my wrist. “Ouch,” she pulled back. “It shocked me.”

  “Huh, that’s weird.” I looked at her and then the bracelet. Danni distracted me when she came into the room and fell on my bed. “Danni, what’s wrong?”

  “You really have to ask?” she mumbled into my comforter. I let it go, understanding. She lifted her head to look at me. “Hey that’s pretty. Where did you get that?” she asked, brushing the charms with her fingertips. I looked at her confused. I half expected her to flinch like Cameron did, but nope, nothing.

  “Wait, you can touch it?”

  “Well duh, I’m touching it right now,” she said like I was crazy.

  “But when Cameron touched it, it shocked her.” We both looked at Cameron suspiciously.

  “What?” she said, pulling back. I got up off the bed. “What’s going on?”

  “I was wondering the same thing,” I said accusingly.

  “Is everything okay in here?” my mom asked, looking at our worried faces. That was one time I was happy about her power invading my space.

  “The charm bracelet dad gave me shocked Cameron when she touched it, but not Danni?”

  My mom smiled as she walked into the room. “That’s because it’s a family heirloom. When Cameron touched it, it didn’t recognize her so it’s power kicked in and Danni, well, Danni’s been family for a long time,” she said, grazing her cheek.

  “So anyone who’s not family it will shock them?”

  “Yes and no. The purer the heart and intentions someone has will save them from the shock.” I looked at Cameron.

  “What?” she shrugged. “I never said I was an angel.”

  I rolled my eyes and let my mom continue. “Only when someone is truly evil touches it, it will show their true nature.”