Crest (Book #2,Swift Series) (7 page)

She stared at me for a moment, but her eyes held nothing but disappointment. She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again before any words escaped. Finally, she spoke, “Unfortunately that’s a very difficult thing to do. I’m not saying that it’s never been done; I’m just afraid that I won’t be of much help to you.” She paused for a moment, like she was debating on whether or not she should say anything further, like she had already said too much. “I may be able to direct you to someone who can. Your mother was the most powerful witch I had ever encountered, but there was someone else who was very close behind her.” She stopped and pressed her lips together, hesitating again. The anticipation was killing me. “Your mother’s sister, Jackie. She may be able to help you.”

I wasn’t expecting to hear that. Ms. Donaldson went on and explained the relationship my mother and sister had growing up and how different they were from one another. She told me that they hadn’t spoken since my mother had been a teenager and left London to come to Marblehead. I knew that my mother had family in London, but I’d never met any of them. I didn’t even know that she had any siblings to begin with. It always made me wonder, and now even more so, why none of them had ever tried to contact me, especially after my family’s car accident.

“Oh, dear. I’m not sure how to explain it all. There are so many things about your mother and her family that I find difficult to explain. Your mother was the most amazing person and the most powerful witch, but she wanted something more than her birthright. She wanted a chance at a normal life, one that was free of worry and fear. Your mother’s sister, Jackie, was on the opposite end of that spectrum. She envied the power your mother had and wanted to learn as much as possible about magic. When your mother turned fifteen, she begged her parents to send her away, to allow her a break from being a witch. They were hesitant, but eventually they gave in and agreed, as long as her assigned protector and teacher would go with her.” She sighed, looking down at her hands. “Of course, there was no question or arguing between myself and your father. At that point, we both loved your mother dearly, and would have done anything for her. Jackie, on the other hand, was appalled that she would just leave her home and her destiny in order to have a
normal
life. It formed a large wedge between them and they never spoke or saw each other after your mother left London. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. I just want you to realize that your mother and sister were different. When and if you meet Jackie, I just don’t want you to be surprised is all, but like I said before, she is powerful—has powerful connections—and may be the only person I know who can help you.”

I had to admit the way Ms. Donaldson was describing Jackie, she didn’t sound like the nicest person and I wondered how she would react to seeing me, especially if I went to her and asked her for help. At this point, though, after hearing what Ms. Donaldson had to say, I felt like there weren’t any better options.

“Do you think she’ll help me?” I asked, swallowing the lump in my throat.

 “I would be lying if I said she would help you without a thought about it. Ten years ago, I contacted her about the accident. She seemed upset, of course, but not enough to come and attend the funeral. I told her about you surviving and she was a little curious, but again, not enough to come see you.”

“Maybe it’s not a good idea for me to go, then.” I looked down towards the floor, feeling the hope I had come here with, melt out of me.

Ms. Donaldson took my hands in hers. “Of course you should go, dear. If you feel that contacting the council is what you need, then you should go and see if she can help you. When she sees you, I don’t know how she will be able to turn you away. Whatever was between her and your mother, has nothing to do with you. She has to see past that and so do you.”

It took Ms. Donaldson no time at all to make a few connections and track down Jackie’s current address. She handed me a piece of paper with the name Jacqueline Watson and an address in London. “This was the house your mother grew up in. After your grandparents died a few years ago, I guess Jackie moved back into it.”

My stomach squeezed thinking of going back to my mother’s childhood home. “Thank you... Thank you for everything,” I said, taking the piece of paper and wrapping my arms around her. I stared down at the piece of paper as I walked home, wondering how it would feel to see my mother’s sister. Would she look like her? Would it hurt to see her if she did? Would she slam the door in my face the moment she saw me? There was no mistaking that I was my mother’s daughter. We looked so much alike that it was often painful looking at my own reflection.

When I arrived home, the house was empty. Even though the emptiness hit me hard, reminding me that I was actually alone in a lot of ways, it was also a relief. I needed time to myself in order to figure everything out. It had been such a whirlwind since this morning. From the moment I woke until now, I was still trying to process everything that had happened.

I sat down at my desk and began to search for an airline ticket. From the moment back in the library, when it became clear to me that I was going to London, I had decided that I wanted to leave sooner rather than later.

I decided on a flight for tomorrow evening. It sounded quick and impulsive, but I knew that if I didn’t act soon, even more doubt may creep its way into my head. There was no way to ignore the little voice deep within me, questioning if this was the right choice or not—it seemed to be incessantly trying to convince me that there had to be something else I could do. That was just it, though, I had no other option—no other choice. With even more determination than before, I pulled out my debit card and began to punch in the numbers on my keyboard. My heart was racing, half from the thrill of actually going through with this and the other half from being scared out of my mind.

I sat back in my chair when it was all done and began to think about how to tell Aunt Rose and Jack. They were probably going to freak out and try to talk me out of it. From what they remembered, I had just told them my plans were to stick around Marblehead for a little longer. Now, only a short time later in their minds, I had decided to go ahead and leave for London! So to them, it would sound like I was making some rash, stupid, desperate decision. Maybe that was the truth, maybe this was stupid and desperate, but it felt like the only decision I could make. There was no way I could just sit here and wait. I needed answers. I had to learn why the council sent me back here, and I had to find a way back to the Harpers.

My stomach was a mess from the reality of my decision. There was one person I knew that could help me—help me calm the anxiety and take my mind off all this temporarily. He had been on my mind constantly for the last six weeks and the reality of knowing he was just a phone call away excited me to the core.

I picked up the phone and dialed the person who had always been my closest friend.

“Hello?” he answered. I pressed my lips together, trying to keep the tears from coming. It just sounded so good to hear his voice.

 “Roger.” I breathed.

“Mer! It that really you?! It’s been...” He paused for a moment, searching for the words. “It’s been forever since I last talked to you. Man, has that been my fault?” He sighed loudly. “Sorry, I’ve just been so busy. School and basketball have totally taken over my life.”

I couldn’t help laughing. This is just what I’d wanted... Some random mumbling, something other than what the reality of my life had become. “Wow, still can’t believe you’re in college.” I paused, trying to hold back my emotions. “I just wanted to talk to you before I left town. I’ve decided to go ahead with my plans and leave for London.” I thought it best to just put it all out there.

There was silence.

“Roger, you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” His happy tone had changed. “It’s just... I didn’t get to see you all summer. My fault, I’m sure. Man, I’m such a horrible best friend, but you know what, that’s gonna change—this weekend, you and me. What do you say?”

“Umm, that may be difficult.” I swallowed hard.

He was silent for a moment; then, he asked the question I dreaded answering. “When do you leave?”

I gulped loudly, hoping to get the next word out of my mouth. “Tomorrow.”

I heard what sounded like a choking noise coming from his end of the line. “Tomorrow? Man, you didn’t leave me much time did you?”

“Well, I figured it’s now or never.” I laughed nervously.

“I’ll see you later, then.”

Ouch, that hurt. “Okay.” I drug out the word, trying to fill the void of silence.

“Seriously?” He laughed. “You’re crazy if you thought I was gonna let you leave without saying goodbye and none of this over the phone goodbye stuff. I’m giving you a proper send off. Let’s do something fun, something we used to do as kids.” There was silence for a moment. “How about Devereaux Beach?”

I blew out a sigh of relief and made an effort to say my reply with a steady voice. “That sounds amazing.”

“Pick you up at nine,” he said and the line went dead.

After hanging up the phone, I fell back on my bed, already feeling better knowing that there was one person who knew my plan. I pulled out my suitcase and began to fill it up with my favorite clothes and a few personal belongings. With each piece I packed away, my anxiety built. This was real. I was leaving Marblehead. Sure, a couple months ago this had been my plan all along, but not under these circumstances. So much had happened over the last few months. Things had changed. I had changed. My reason for leaving Marblehead and going to London had changed.

The slamming of the front door pulled me from my thoughts. My stomach began to twist at the reality of having to tell Aunt Rose and Jack about leaving. The longer I sat there thinking about it, the worse I felt. As I stood up and began to walk to the door, my mouth became dry and my palms started to sweat. I took my time walking down the stairs. Aunt Rose was in the kitchen humming a tune, and for the moment, she sounded so happy and content. Guilt filled me, knowing that what I was about to tell her was going to shatter that happiness.

As I rounded the corner, I saw her unloading groceries. She turned around towards the refrigerator and noticed me standing there, watching her. She jumped back a step and almost dropped what she was holding. “Meredith, you scared me again! Sorry, I’m not sure why I’m on such an edge. I’ve just been feeling a little jittery lately.” She smiled at me. “Why are you home so early from work?”

 Oops, I hadn’t thought about having to explain that. “Oh, um... the library was really slow so Ms. Donaldson sent me home.”

“Oh, well, good. That will give us some more time to spend together,” she said as she turned to continue unpacking the groceries.

“Yeah, we could cook together. It’s been so long since we’ve done that,” I said, knowing at that moment I was going to postpone telling her anything about London. Right now, I just wanted to enjoy the time I spent with her.

“I would love that.” She smiled over her shoulder.

Aunt Rose and I spent the next hour chopping vegetables and preparing the tacos. The afternoon passed quickly as we talked and laughed about old times. When Jack got home, he found Aunt Rose and me laughing uncontrollably about the time we watched scary movies all night and then couldn’t sleep without all the lights on for the following week.

“Well, it sounds like you two are having a good time,” Jack said, leaning against the door opening.

“Oh, my stomach is killing me.” Aunt Rose laughed, gripping her stomach. “Meredith and I were just talking about old times. We’ve had some good ones.” She glanced over at me.

I laughed, too, as I grabbed a few plates from the cabinet and began to set the table. As we sat down for dinner I began to get nervous about telling them my plans, but anxious to get it over with. My day had been so perfect with Aunt Rose and I didn’t want to tarnish it now. However, if I waited any longer, it would just be worse, or I would end up making a million more excuses on why I shouldn’t tell them. When there was a break in the conversation, I made my move.