The Inner Circle, Book 3 of the Glass Wall ( A YA Urban Fantasy Romance ) (20 page)

And then Ellison’s Volkswagen rumbled up the
driveway and Grace bellowed, “Time to open Christmas presents!”

It was a madhouse, but a happy madhouse.
Presents were launched through the air like footballs, and soon I
found myself surrounded by a pile of brightly colored bags and
boxes.

I’d never had so many presents before. Betty
gave me an insanely comfortable sweatshirt, Grace had made me
Christmas socks, and even though Al had already given me a cell
phone, he handed me a box. In it was an EMF meter to measure
paranormal activity.

I wondered if an EMF meter would be able to
sense the mutant tulpa.

Tigger’s present was an entire package of
generic hotdogs. He greeted it with wild excitement. Well, Tigger’s
version of wild excitement: a semi-rapid thump of the tail. And
after downing the entire package, he curled up under the table for
a nap. Apparently, eating that many hotdogs was exhausting.

I sat on my knees next to Al as he watched
everyone chattering in the room. His face glowed with paternal
pride. And I felt the love in the room. Though each one had come
from an entirely different background, they were a family.

And then Grace reached back and pulled me
into the circle, and for the first time, I felt like I truly
belonged. I looked around. It was funny that I’d come to think of
that obnoxious, blue-painted rambler as home.

There was no denying it. In spite of
everything that was going on, I felt like it was the perfect
Christmas.

After lunch, I volunteered to feed the
chickens the scraps, and slipping into my new sweatshirt, I walked
slowly through the newly fallen snow.

I’d learned something interesting that
morning.

You could find a family later in life. It
didn’t really matter that I hadn’t had them all along. I’d found
them now.

After taking care of the chickens, I darted
back inside the house, but the mood had changed.

There was a decided hush in the room.

And then I heard Maya’s voice.

“There you are, Sydney. Go pack your things.
I’ve met the most wonderful man, I can’t wait for you to meet him!
He’s a truck driver, and he wants to take us to Denver with him
right now.”

My mother
Maya stood just inside the door. She was wearing a black skirt with
matching boots, and her dark hair was combed into a topknot.

I just stared at her, stunned. The only thing
I could think of to say was, “Merry Christmas, Maya.”

Maya just looked at me, confused.

There was an awkward silence.

And then she said, “Well, are you
coming?”

“Do I have a choice?” I choked a little. I’d
always gone wherever Maya wanted. But now I was eighteen.
Did
I have a choice?

The question must have been written on my
face because Betty suddenly stepped up and put a comforting arm
around my shoulders.

“You have a choice, honey,” she said. “You
can stay here as long as you like.”

“Yessiree,” Al boomed.

“It’d be hard to switch schools in the middle
of your senior year,” Grace chimed in and then got a little
embarrassed and backpedaled a bit. “Not that I’m trying to tell you
what to do or anything…”

“Why don’t we give Neelu a call?” Betty
suggested. “Maya, can I get you some tea?”

I looked over at Maya.

She didn’t look particularly upset. She was
adjusting her skirt and inspecting her nails. “Well, make up your
mind,” she said to me, ignoring Betty. “Matt’s waiting for me, you
know. He’s really quite the catch, Sydney. I really think he might
be the
one
.”

How many times had I heard her say that?

I suddenly didn’t want to hear it
anymore.

And I most certainly didn’t want to go. I
belonged with Al and Betty, and I just knew that they genuinely
wanted me far more than Maya ever had.

Betty kept patting my shoulder as Al hovered
nearby. And every time I looked at him, he gave me an encouraging
nod.

“We’d love to have you stay, kiddo,” he
said.

I closed my eyes.

I couldn’t leave them. The mere thought was
upsetting. Far more upsetting than telling Maya good-bye and
wishing her well.

“Can we call Neelu?” I asked, clearing my
throat.

But Maya didn’t like that. I could tell by
the way she was frowning. “Matt’s waiting for me,” she said. And
then giggling a little, she turned to Betty. “Well, Betty. Oh my,
it
is
Betty, isn’t it? That’s your name?”

Betty just smiled warmly and nodded.

“It looks like Sydney wants to stay here and
finish school. I’m not sure about the paperwork, do I need to sign
anything?” She smoothed her skirt over her hips and continued, “I
really need to hurry. I don’t have time to call the social
worker.”

Betty assured her that everything was fine
and that nothing needed to be changed that day. And she promised to
contact Neelu herself to let her know what was going on.

I wondered if Neelu even knew that Maya was
showing up out of the blue.

Maya was obviously relieved. Grabbing my
hands, she did a little dance. “Oh, I’m off on an adventure then,
Sydney. Off to Denver. I’ll call you when I get there, and you can
visit if you want.” She looked downright giddy.

“Sounds great, Maya,” I said woodenly.

“Matt’s waiting, so I’m going to go now.”
Maya squeezed my hands and then with a wave and another giggle, she
left.

I stayed there for a few minutes, part of me
was surprised at how fast she’d disappeared. It made me feel like
she’d been waiting for me to turn eighteen my entire life so she’d
finally be free.

And that made me wonder how fast Al and Betty
expected me to move out. I supposed it was as soon as I graduated
high school. Or was it before? Technically, I was eighteen, capable
of taking care of myself.

“Would you like some tea, honey?” Betty
asked, her arm still around my shoulders.

“Maybe I should call Neelu,” I said, focusing
my eyes on the door. “You know, to find out when I’m supposed to
leave here.”

“Leave?” Al repeated. “No one’s telling you
to leave, kiddo. You’re part of the family now.”

I scowled hard in order to keep the tears in
check. Clearing my throat, I asked, “So, do I have the rest of the
school year before the government checks run out?”

Al and Betty exchanged a glance.

And then Betty drew me into the kitchen and
said, “We’ve got something to show you.”

I leaned against the counter as she took out
a manila folder from one of the cabinets. There were a bunch of
papers in it from Child Protective Services, and then a small
bankbook. Betty handed the bankbook to me.

“We don’t spend your money, Sydney,” she
said, opening it. “The check we get every month goes right in here
for you. We’re hoping it’ll help for college or whatever you plan
to do with your life.”

I just stared at her and then glanced down. I
could see entries for each month.

“So you see, we’re not waiting for you to
move out. You can stay for as long as you like,” Betty finished
with a warm hug. “We aren’t doing this for money. When Neelu told
me your story, I just couldn’t help it. I wanted to bring you
here.”

It was overwhelming. My throat closed up with
emotion. I didn’t know what to do.

Grace was leaning against the countertop. She
shot me a sympathetic look.

And then Al switched on the radio and began
to sing Christmas carols, and the zany coziness of the house
resumed.

Over the next hour, each of Grace’s brothers
made it a point to welcome me into the family, and each of them
told me tidbits of their own troubled and unstable lives before Al
and Betty had found them. They’d all been foster kids, coming to Al
and Betty’s house in their teens.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. Every single
one of Betty’s foster kids called her “Mom”.

Turns out Grace’s story was pretty sad, too.
Both of her biological parents were in prison and weren’t getting
out anytime soon. They’d given her to the state when she was eight,
and none of her relatives had wanted her because of her behavioral
issues. She’d arrived at Al and Betty’s on her thirteenth birthday.
And as they say, the rest is history.

All of their stories made my life seem pretty
tame, and it definitely was a bonding experience. Afterwards, I
knew that I’d truly found a home.

By the time we’d all finished, it was getting
pretty late.

I had to work the next day, so I told
everyone goodnight and escaped to my room.

Galahad was right where I’d left him, perched
on the edge of the curtain rod.

I hadn’t had much time to think of him, or
tulpas, or Jareth, or Melody.

Or, of course, of Rafael.

My dream the previous night had seemed so
real. I supposed I’d imagined him because I really did love him,
and I didn’t want to give him up.

He was right.

I really couldn’t fool fate. I could pretend
I didn’t care for him. And even though I might never see him again
for the rest of my life, I knew that I would
still
love
him.

Fate would know that.

I closed my eyes, and not wanting to feel any
more pain, I refused to let myself think of him any longer.

I rubbed my temples. I had a splitting
headache.

In the kitchen, I could hear Al singing and
the laughter of Grace’s brothers. They all sounded so happy.

Trying to think only happy thoughts—after
all, it was Christmas—I tickled Jerry’s stomach and then decided to
clean his cage.

I didn’t let Jerry loose on the bed like I
usually did. After all, I had Galahad there, and I didn’t quite
trust him where Jerry was concerned.

After seeing Jerry’s cage clean and his dish
filled with seeds, I grabbed the plastic bag of dirty litter and
headed outside to dump it into the trash.

Everyone was in the family room watching TV,
except Al. He was sitting at the kitchen table writing in a
notebook. He gave me a friendly wave as I passed by. I smiled. He
was still wearing his Faraday cap.

It was snowing as I stepped outside. The
weather had turned cold.

I darted across the yard and tossed the bag
into the trashcan next to the garage. And I was about ready to run
back into the warm house when a flicker of light caught my eye.

It was coming from Rafael’s house.

I hesitated. I’d thought he’d already
left.

For a moment, I was tempted to run over and
knock on the door, but then I thought better of it. It could very
well be Melody over there.

Dashing back into the house, I ducked into my
room.

I sat down on the bed, feeling strangely
unsettled.

For a brief moment, I thought about making
Tigger sleep in my room, but he had looked so comfortable snoring
under the kitchen table with his paws twitching and his tongue
hanging out that I didn’t have the heart to disturb the old
dog.

Besides, I reminded myself, I still had
Galahad. The white pigeon was still perched on the edge of the
curtain rod with his head tucked under his wing. He appeared to be
sleeping, but I figured it was just a pretense. I was pretty sure
he never slept and never missed anything.

Going out to borrow Betty’s radio, I returned
to my room, and with Al’s baseball cap firmly on my head, I
collapsed into bed.

Tuning the radio to a station which played
soft Christmas music, I thought it set the right kind of mood for
me to work on my Pikachu tulpa.

Tomorrow, I was going to pin Jareth down and
pry information from him. I needed to know what Blondie was up to
and learn more about the Brotherhood’s portal.

I pulled Al’s cap closer about my head. It
was uncomfortable, but I felt more comfortable with it than
without.

I genuinely tried to work on my Pikachu tulpa
for a while. But it was hard to summon happiness. I kept trying to
envision Pikachu happily dancing along, but I could only succeed
for about three seconds before I would start thinking of
Rafael.

After a time, I gave up entirely and just
closed my eyes, listening to the Christmas music mingling with the
squeak of Jerry’s wheel. Finally, I switched off Betty’s radio and
collapsed back into bed.

Galahad was still perched on the curtain rod
above me. He hadn’t moved.

I was just about ready to tell him good night
when I heard a soft whisper coming through the radio.

I frowned. I could have sworn I’d turned it
off.

Annoyed with myself, I sat up. But as I
reached for the switch, a chill crept down my back.

The switch was already off.

Then I heard a voice ricocheting through the
room. “Sydney, it is time!”

I froze, stunned into inaction.

“Sydney!”

A shadow rose behind Jerry’s cage. It started
out as a long line, growing taller and wider and eventually turned
into the man with the top hat. He was much clearer than ever
before.

I opened my mouth to scream, and as I lunged
for the door, he slipped in front of me, blocking my way.

I didn’t think twice.

Running to the window, I yanked it open. I
have no recollection of climbing through. I just know that I was
standing in the cold snow, and my socks were getting wet.

Frantically, I thought of Jareth’s
numbers.

But this time, he didn’t come.

The man with the top hat floated to the
window, and I heard his voice whisper through the opening, “You are
very strong, Sydney, but not yet strong enough.”

I didn’t know if it was a criticism or a
compliment.

And I didn’t stay to find out. I made up my
mind in an instant. If Jareth wasn’t coming, I was going over to
him.

I set out at a dead run, cutting across the
street and slipping on Rafael’s front porch in my wet socks.