Forever

by Chanda Hahn

Mina smiled and laughed with everyone as they celebrated. But when she licked her lips, she tasted the distinct flavor of lemon bars, and her heart plummeted. That was her mother’s favorite dessert.

  Ever just shrugged her shoulders. “It’s different for everyone.” She licked her lips. “Mmmm.” She flew up, arms wide, and made the rest of the room burst forth in colorful fireworks of flowers.

  From above, Ever said, “Only when we die, are we truly reborn.” When the flower had bloomed, it slowly fell and withered, and the petals fell, leaving only a single, white sparkling seed. “Because life comes from death.”

  Ever picked up the seed and handed it to Charlie. “When you’re ready, plant this.”

  She dropped the pearlescent seed in his outstretched hand. “I’m not sure what kind of flower it will be, but it will be representative of your mother’s life. This way, you will always have a bit of her with you.”

  Charlie jumped up and shoved the seed into his pant pocket.

  Ever turned an apologetic face toward Mina. “Sorry, I only have one remembrance seed. I just thought that—”

  “It’s fine,” Mina interrupted. “You did the same thing I would have done.”

  Throughout the morning, Mina and Nan retold various recollections about Sara. Stories of her sitting up eating ice cream sundaes till one a.m. during their slumber parties. Helping the girls with last minute book report projects.

  “She really was like a mom to me. More than my own mom, and I really can’t thank you enough for sharing your family with me.”

  Mina gave Nan’s hand a big squeeze. “I can’t imagine my family without you.”

  Brody had been quiet for most of the celebration. Obviously, something was weighing heavily on his mind. He kept looking at Charlie and frowning. He was the deep thinker of the group, so Mina figured he was also recognizing the problem at hand.

  With Charlie having just turned ten and Mina not yet eighteen, without a legal guardian, they would be taken away, and their little family torn apart. It was possible a foster family would take both, but there would be no guarantee.

  He finally broached the subject to Mina by pulling her into the hallway “What are you going to do about Charlie?”

  Mina held up her hand and shook her head. “I’m not ready to go there just yet. I need to take it day by day.”

  “Mina, you can’t take care of him by yourself.”

  “Please, Brody, I don’t even know what to tell the police or social services. That my mom was taken by a death omen? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Well, I do. And I don’t want to be sent to a mental institution.”

  He sighed, and she put a hand on his arm. “Just give me a few days, and I’ll figure out what to do.” She already knew though. Terrylin made sure Mina knew her plan. And she had to admit—it was a good plan. A little crazy… but good.

  He didn’t look pleased with the idea. “Okay, but I’m worried about you.”

  “Believe me, I’m worried too.”

  Ever cleared her throat, but her expressions said she felt bad about interrupting them.

  “What’s up?” Mina asked.

  “We need some supplies. Stuff that can help us in time of need.” She waved the paper in the air in front of Mina.

  “I don’t know.” Mina hesitated, thinking it was going to be a huge list of weird items to ward off Teague. She grabbed the paper and breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a list of food items—and tons of candy.

  “What?” Ever said dryly. “Were you expecting something else?”

  “Yeah, I guess things like shrunken heads or bat guano and stuff.”

  “Relax. You just need groceries. You’ve got nothing in the fridge to feed the hungry posse. I told you. This is a time of need. How can you not hear my stomach growling?”

  Brody laughed. “It is almost noon.”

  Mina frowned. There was usually plenty of food in the fridge, but then, they always did their grocery shopping on Saturdays, and that hadn’t happened.

  “Besides, it might be good for Charlie to get out of the house and away from here for a bit.” Ever took the paper back from Mina and fidgeted with it.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  They went back into the kitchen. Charlie was now up and smiling. Mina looked to Nan who gave the slightest head shake. Mina had hoped that Charlie would continue to talk since he did yesterday, but he seemed to have reverted back to his quiet self again.

  Nan came to stand by her and gave her a quick, reassuring hug. “What’s the plan?”

  “Food,” she answered.

  “That’s a good plan. I like that plan.” Nan grinned.

  Mina couldn’t help but smile. “Of course you do. You love food.”

  “Hey, I’m a growing girl, and I can out-eat a boy any day. This awesome figure is totally a pizza and chocolate ice cream body.”

  Brody flexed his bicep. “Burgers and fries.”

  Ever laughed and smiled. “Lollipops and Pixy Stix.”

  Nan’s eyes went wide. “You’re serious?”

  “Pixies love candy,” Mina explained. “I mean really really love candy.”

  Ever pulled a lollipop out of the pocket of her dress, tore off the wrapper, and shoved it in her mouth, which had already been full with other candy. “Yep.” She swirled the lollipop to her other cheek so she looked like a giant chipmunk. Then, she popped it out of her mouth and held the stick. “But we can’t just live on candy. We need to get stuff for my Grimm. I’m not going to let her starve.”

  “I’m not going to starve,” Mina argued, but Ever held up her hand.

  “Nope, starve. You’re worthless.”

  “Oh gee, Ever. Seems like you’re back to your chipper self.”

  Ever looked down at her yellow dress. “Not yet.” She waved her hand, and her dress transformed into black pants and a top. “Now I’m back to my chipper self,” she said. “Let’s get you some supplies.”

  “I don’t know, is it safe to take her out, with that maniac after her?” Brody looked over to Mina for affirmation.

  His question mirrored her very own fears.

  “That’s fine. We can stay in this house forever, but let me just say that Teague can come and go in this house as much as he wants. Since Jared has been here, Teague technically has too, and the wards won’t keep him out.”

  “You’re right,” Mina said. “We can’t cower from him forever. I think this will show him we’re not scared of him.”

  Nan’s hand shot straight up in the air. “I’m scared of him.”

  Charlie grabbed her hand, pointed to himself, and shook his head no.

  “Well, if Charlie’s not scared then I’m not scared,” Nan amended.

  “Okay, but we don’t go anywhere alone. We stay in groups. You got that?” Mina said.

  Nan made a salute, and Charlie copied her, slipping his hands into hers.

  Brody smiled at Mina. “Aye, aye, Cap’n.”

  Mina laughed and turned to Ever who looked aghast.

  “Nuh-uh. There’s no way I’m saluting you. You can’t even lead a silkie to water.”

  “You mean horse?” Nan corrected.

  “No, I mean silkie.”

  Nan’s face furrowed in confusion as Ever opened the door and they piled out into the driveway.

  Chapter 5

  Mina didn’t follow them outside into the driveway right away. She went back to the kitchen, and her footsteps slowed. The glamour of flowers and the celebration had disappeared. The room was back to the way it had been right before her mom disappeared. This was the last place she had spoken with her mom.

  Moving on so soon seemed wrong. But these weren’t normal circumstances. Mina was a young girl trying to protect her little brother in the best way possible. Helping him heal was what was most important right now. But they didn’t have time to mourn, not when she had a feeling there was so much more to come.

  She stared at her mother’s purse but couldn’t open it up to take
money out of it. It felt wrong. Instead, she went into the pantry and pulled out an old coffee tin, to take money out of their emergency stash. Her mother was always prepared in case they had to pick up and move again, so even though they felt strapped for cash, there had always been a couple hundred in there.

  The wad of money was even larger than Mina remembered. Probably because they weren’t paying rent on this place, her mom had been able to add to their fund.

  Mina took three hundred dollars and shoved it into her jeans pocket. Then she placed the lid back on the tin and pushed it back up onto the top shelf.

  She grabbed her jacket and locked the door before following the others. They’d apparently split themselves up into two cars instead of taking one—Nan in her Volkswagen Beetle and Brody in his SUV. Ever already sat in the front seat of Nan’s car, and Mina could see Charlie strapped into the back seat. The girls were talking very animatedly, trying to keep him entertained.

  Mina didn’t feel like being surrounded by false joy, so she willingly jumped into the front passenger side of Brody’s car. She had barely gotten her seatbelt buckled when Nan meeped impatiently. Nan’s car horn wasn’t threatening at all. It was kind of hilarious and matched her personality.

  Brody gave a wave, drove down their driveway, and turned left. Sailors Grocery wasn’t a long drive, and Mina was too far out to pay Brody much attention. Until she realized that he had asked her a serious question and was staring at her, waiting for her answer.

  “Um, I’m sorry. What was the question?” Her cheeks heated in humiliation.

  Brody’s face flushed, and he stammered. “Yeah, I’m the king of asking questions at the wrong moment.”

  “No. I’m sorry. I’m here in the moment. Ask away.”

  He glanced in the rear view mirror to check his blind spot before changing lanes.

  “I asked you if you got to see it.”

  “See what?” she mumbled and felt horrible.

  He didn’t make eye contact. “What was in the box I gave you two nights ago.”

  Oh crud. Mina blinked in disbelief. A ring? There was a ring. When? Where? Two nights ago! That would have been the night of the explosion. Then it all came rushing back to her. Brody on the balcony, holding up a small box and saying how old fashioned he was. He’d opened a box to show her a class ring. His class ring. What happened to it? She remembered the explosion, and that’s it.

  “Your class ring.”

  “Yes and…?” he trailed off.

  “And…” she repeated trying to delay the answer so she could think. If he had given her the ring before the ball, she would have said yes without a doubt. But then she had gone back in time and started to fall in love with Teague, before she’d torn his life in two with the curse. Before she’d seen how ruthless he could be.

  When Teague was hell bent on trying to destroy her, why would she pause? She had loved Jared—she was able to freely admit that. But a small part of her still wondered if something of him remained within Teague. Could there be a small bit of love for her within his blackened heart?

  Why couldn’t she just date the boy she’d had a crush on for years? It was obvious he liked her, and she really, really liked him. And this time there was no Story-funny-business messing with his feelings.

  “Oh man,” Brody grumbled and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

  “What?” Mina glanced around somewhat fearfully, and they had pulled over by the school. Cars were lined up and down every street, and kids walked by with balloons and large overstuffed prizes. “Oh, the school carnival.”

  Brody groaned and ran his hands over his face. “Yeah, I was supposed to volunteer with the polo team in our booth today. I got out of it for Friday night, but I blew off yesterday.”

  “Well, you did have a lot going on, like being chased by a death omen and all.” Mina tried to tease him, but it didn’t help. Brody’s face looked guilt stricken.

  “You don’t understand. This was my idea—to raise scholarship funds for underprivileged kids to go to summer camp. The team is going to kill me.”

  Mina understood. She had seen the banners all over school promoting the fair. Most of the clubs and teams manned a booth—it was the biggest fundraiser of the year. Luckily, Mina had been able to avoid getting roped into volunteering.

  Nan pulled up beside them, and Ever rolled down the passenger window. “What’s the hold up?”

  Brody rolled his window down. “I’m supposed to be working today and yesterday.”

  “Uh oh! Somebody’s in trouble,” Ever taunted.

  Charlie saw the balloons and the Ferris wheel and fun house in the background, and he practically crawled up between the console of the seat to point it out to Nan.

  “Yeah, I see it, buddy,” she answered. “So what are we going to do, Mina?” She leaned forward to ask around Ever.

  Brody turned to Mina and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “I’m sorry, but I really ought to go in and work the rest of the day, or the guys will kill me. You can jump into Nan’s car, and I’ll swing by tonight when I’m done.”

  Mina looked over to Nan’s car and saw Charlie jumping up and down in excitement, pleading with those big, brown eyes. It might be just what they needed.

  She sighed. “I’d hate for you to get kicked off the team for shirking your duties. But I think we should all go in. It should be fine. We’re surrounded by hundreds of people.”

  He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “You’re the best.”

  She smiled slightly as Brody pointed out an empty spot for Nan to park in up ahead. He did a U-turn and pulled into a spot that had just been vacated.

  Thankfully, he was so worried about his missed volunteer spot that he didn’t ask her again about his class ring. But he did grab her hand as soon as they were out of the car and met up with the others.

  With a squeeze of her fingers, he said goodbye and then ran to the volunteer line to check in before disappearing into the fair.

  The group walked out by the football field and fell in line behind others waiting to pay to get into the fair. When it was their turn to pay, Mina was pleasantly surprised to see Melissa, Makaylee, and Julianne selling tickets.

  “How many?” Melissa asked, opening the cash box.

  Mina eyed the list of ages and ticket prices. “One student and one child,” She pulled out enough money to cover hers and Charlie’s entry tickets.

  “How many ride tickets do you want?” Julianne piped up and pulled out a roll of pink tickets. “Everything is two tickets, and each ticket is a dollar.”

  “Okay then, twenty,” Mina handed over the bill and paid for the tickets.

  “Be sure to check out the dunk booth,” Makaylee whispered to Mina. “You won’t want to miss it.”

  “We won’t miss it,” she answered, unsure of the hidden message.

  Ever and Nan met up with them on the other side of the ticket tables.

  “Highway robbery,” Ever scoffed.

  “It’s a fundraiser,” Nan corrected. “We do this to raise funds.”

  “Well, the rides better be good after what I paid to get in.” She held up her wad of pink tickets and made a joke of emptying out her pocket.

  They started with the food vendors. Ever stopped grumbling when she got a cotton candy as big as her head. Charlie munched away happily on an elephant ear while Nan skipped joyfully and waved to each of the students working the booths.

  They came upon the infamous dunk tank that Makaylee had suggested they stop by, and Mina was surprised to see how long a line it had. The cheer squad was running the dunk tank. Mina couldn’t help but slow down and stare as the one and only Savannah crawled up to the seat above the tank of water and perched on the edge with her pom poms.

  Mina watched in fascination as one of the basketball players, Avery Picket gave his money to take a shot at the target.

  “Oh Avery, you don’t really want to hit that target and get me wet, do you?” She smiled sweetly at him.
“How about you give another donation, and I’ll let you take me out on a date.”

  He paused in his throw and tossed the ball up and caught it in his hand. “How about Friday?” he asked.

  She turned in her seat, and Pri held up a date book and shook her head. “How about three Fridays from now?” Savannah smiled and twirled her hair.

  Avery thought about it and said, “Deal.” He tossed the ball into a large bucket next to the dunk tank. Someone had plastered a big old white sign with red letters over the word “Dunk,” changing it to “Date.”

  So instead of Dunk a Cheerleader, the squad had turned it into Date a Cheerleader. Mina watched, amazed, as almost every guy lined up booked a date with either Savannah or one of the other girls.

  When a girl did make it to the line and chose to toss a ball at the target, they either didn’t have enough power to make it to the target or they had terrible aim.

  “You gotta admit that’s pretty genius,” Nan chuckled. “Wish I would’ve thought of it first.”

  “Yeah, well you didn’t,” Ever grumbled, following Charlie as something caught his eye.

  He stopped in front of a milk-can toss and stared in awe at the large wooden popgun prize.

  “Three throws for five dollars,” the wiry carnival vendor coaxed. He was in his thirties and was one of the traveling fair’s employees.

  “There’s no way we can win that, it’s rigged.” Mina tried to dissuade him from the game.

  “Nonsense,” the vendor replied. “It’s easy as pie.” He came over to their side of the booth and, with one easy lob, tossed the softball into the milk can.

  Charlie lit up. He wasn’t going to leave the booth until he had at least tried the game. So they wasted five dollars on the game to watch the ball spin around the top and roll right across the opening. Instead of falling into the hole, it rolled up and over the side. Charlie was devastated.

  “Too bad. Maybe next time.” The vendor smiled, showing tobacco-stained teeth.

  Ever slapped five more bucks down and gave Charlie a wink. “My turn.”

  She grabbed the softball and tossed it underhand in a perfect arc for the milk can. It hit the edge, rolled around the rim and fell off. She frowned and tried again. This time, the ball went up and was falling in a perfect arc, right at the hole. But it changed course and bounced off the lip at the last second. Ever tossed her last throw—even more on point than the last—and it rolled into the middle, then popped out.