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Secrets, should they be counted as betrayal?
It's a matter of time.
The truth will come out.
Should Annie fight for the truth or give in?
MJ1
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Annie POV

I lie half-awake on my new bed, trying to make sense of the few words that reach my ears. Magic, danger, warning. I rub my face against my new pillow, trying to make sense of it all.

Then I hear my name. My curiosity has been aroused to the point of disregarding common courtesy. I stand on my tiptoes and slowly open the door to eavesdrop.

"But how can you ask that? You haven't seen her. Does she know what she is? She's out of control... "

I stop breathing, my mind goes numb.

"Why can't we explain everything to her? I can't protect her from herself. She's a danger to everyone."

My stress level goes through the roof. Does this have something to do with the events from last night? I am quick to dismiss it, how could it? Magic doesn't exist. I cross my arms around my torso, trying to hide my pounding heart. What am I missing?

"Annie?" a voice calls out to me.

I jump away from the door and slowly emerge from my hiding place like a child who has been caught doing something naughty.

"Hi, what time is it?" I ask, trying to save my honor, knowing full well that I shouldn't be eavesdropping on this conversation. It's not usually like me, but I couldn't help it after hearing my name.

He points at the phone next to his ear. I nod with a fake smile on my face, aware that I am blushing.

With an awkward motion, I point my finger in the direction of the kitchen. Drama is obviously not my major and never will be, I am a bad actress. Today I wish I was to play the game like so many others master their way into getting what they want with a bat of an eyelash.

"All right, I said I'll do my best and take care of it." His voice seems annoyed, like he wants to shut down the communication, but the person on the other side is still shoveling his opinion over his. "Huh-hum." The sound alone proved me right. It makes me smile. I often did that with mom whenever she was being unreasonable.

Still, 'I'll take care of it,' I close my fists. My grumpy stomach enhances my emotions. They boil on the surface, a lump in my throat fighting to get out. Why am I so susceptible lately? I puff, maybe because my mother ditched me and told me that I didn't fit in the family picture anymore.

"Uh-hum," Tom struggles to keep his cool. I know how hard it is to speak up sometimes, having used the same sounds many times with my mother. I guess money doesn't guarantee a paradise.  Open the fridge. To my amazement, there is nothing in the refrigerator but some juice, soda and alcohol.

"I said it's okay! Dad..." His annoyed tone mirrors my feelings about the contents of his fridge. My hands tremble, this isn't like me, but then again I'm not at home and this refrigerator was proof of that. How could my own mother rip me away from my family and her existence without blinking an eye? At least the fridge was filled, I made sure of it with the little money she gave me. Two nights before, I had my whole life planned out, and she turned my life upside down in the blink of an eye. Richard, that man, her boss. He had turned my mother against me.

He had brainwashed with a promise of a better life in exchange of disposing of one of her children, me. That man was no good news. An empty apartment, deprived of family pictures or personal possessions were telling enough. But opening the refrigerator was a revelation on its own. He was abandoned like me.

In a second, I walk toward him, taking long strides without thinking much.
"Tell him to put my mom on the phone. I want to talk to her."
My firm voice surprised even me. This wasn't like me, but then again, who was to blame? Certainly not me. This luxurious apartment didn't make up for the inconvenience. I could live in a hole as long as I was surrounded by my family, but I wasn't.

"He says she's busy." His voice brought acted like an electric shock through my heart.

"What do you mean? He can't give her the phone or she won't talk to me? It's not every day you leave your daughter with a stranger and she can't spare a few minutes to talk to me?"

I launched into a tirade intended for my mother, since I had lost all my remaining filters during the night. He handed me the phone. Does that make me a bratty child? Uncensored words keep pouring out of my mouth, my own words stinging my heart. This is so unlike me, but I can't help it. She sent me away from everything I know with a short explanation. Even this Richard, I had never heard his name before yesterday. And he was her lover? Was he the reason she didn't come home like she used to? Did she lied to us making is believe that she was doing double shifts?

"I mean, come on, how can you do this to me? I'm your DAUGHTER!!!" I boil. Drops of tears blur the corners of my eyes. Was I angry or sad? After so many months of feeling like a bystander, I had had enough. Was he the reason we grew apart ? Was he the reason why she couldn't stand a full conversation with me?

Tom moves the phone toward me and a woman's voice rises, making my mouth fall silent. She was so bad at pretending to be happy to have me on the line, but she was there after all.

My heart pounds in my chest as Tom's hands leaves mine. My excitement grows like a blooming flower in my chest.

"Mom?" My voice is full of expectation, hoping she will take me back.

"Are you done making a scene?" she says in a conciliatory tone, crushing my hopes. "Do you know how difficult you make things for me? You make me look bad. It's not like you were in a ditch or something suffering while I live the good life. You are to attend university and have the best life of your life. Can't you be happy? You promised that you would at least try. You agreed to if the other day? Remember?"

My head spins, my hand moves to the wall, bringing balance to my body. The day before yesterday? My heart slows in my chest. She means the day that is missing from my memory. My forehead making contact with the cold wall eases my mind. My mind is broiling.

"Annie? ..." Mom's nagging voice brings me back to reality. She never spoke to me like that before, but now she does it more often than not. I remind myself that I used to be loved by her and making reasons as to why she would be distant with me.

I shake my head,
"Yes, yes, you're right, I should at least give it a try, but it's hard."

It was no use. She'd never listen to me, not when she talks back to me the way she does.  I have to make her come to a better place in order to maker her take me back.

My heart feels imprisoned, trapped in a life I don't want to live. So many things haven't been adding up, am I the only one to notice? Again, I know I have to play along. Perhaps it's a mental illness.

"Tom is there, you will be okay. You are not alone. I know it might be scary to take a step into the world, but you will be okay. We all do. One day at a time. Besides you are more lucky than others. You have Tom." She sounded calm at the end, probably taking for granted that I would obey her wishes, but the opposite was true.

My lips quivered in disgust, "WHAT? Mom! I don't need a babysitter."
I am 17 years old. How could she do this to me?" I stumble across the living room carpet, I see Tom coming toward me out of the corner of my eye. I put my hand up to stop him, I circle the couches walking in circle like a lion in a cage.

"This is not up for discussion. His father has already told him what to do. Your job is to listen to him." This is an assessment, just like a superior would make to a subordinate, when I am her daughter and she is not a CEO.

My emotions take over and for the first time I break down.

"You took everything, you took everyone away from me and now this! A babysitter!" I scream in a painful sob.

Before I can catch myself, more words pour out of me. Like a torrent, my emotions are released into the open. I sweat and tremble in my bones.

"I can take care of myself. You can't do this to me. Remember, I was good enough to take care of my brother and sister. Why can't I take care of myself? This is Bullshit!" my voice rises, filled with all the uncertainty of my heart, and for once I don't care. Was I weak for letting my emotions get the best of me? Was I allowed to be myself? And I was wounded to the core. I had many conversations like this in my head, I never thought I would one day have the guts to tell it out loud, and now, I was unable to stop the words from coming.

"It's temporary, just until you... stabilize..." I hear her tone change, that was a first.

Huh, these words sting me, I close my mouth, freeze in place. I knew she had slipped, because after a pause she quickly took over in a soft voice.

"You. You are not good to your siblings this way. You keep acting and doing things for them just to dramatize after. Miss perfect is but a child. Go study, make friends, meet new people and make a family of your own. Luc and Julie are my kids, not yours. Live your life."

Her tone was so sweet and reassuring, so different, but her words held bullets and it was piecing my soul. I had just filled the voids that she couldn't fill and now she was holding it above my head? Really? Or perhaps this was her wY to show me that she loves me in her own twisted way.

Or, maybe she knew about my recurring seizures. I had so many of them, and I tried to learn to live with them, using medication only as a last resort. They were getting worse and happened often now. Medication was so expensive nowadays and money was so scarce at home that I made my best only to use it as a last resort.

"Do you promise that I will be left alone once I'm established here?" I ask.

"Yes..." I can hear her relief.

I take a deep breath and push away my bad feelings. I sit at the edge of the couch in surrender.

"All right, Ma. Give Luc the phone, please. I want to talk to him." My stomach fills with butterflies of anticipation. I have to talk to them. I miss them already.

"He's not here." Her voice is cold again.

My face drops and I walk around the couch again, as if it could prevent another argument between us.

"What do you mean, he's not here? Where is he?"
My hands roll in the air, expecting an answer that does not come.

"He went with your sister to visit some friends," she finally says.

"Together? With whom? They just moved? How can you leave them with strangers? They are children!" What little control I can muster is now gone.

"Things... I am busy." She pauses. I feel like she is running out of excuses, which makes my anxiety grow.

"And that gives you the right to drop your kids with strangers?" I do not have time to finish.

"Okay, enough. I'm busy. I shouldn't have had take the phone. This is exactly why we are better off without you." She angrily deflects back at me.

Tears burn my eyes and threaten to fall out. They compress my features. A headache is on its way.

The call ends with a click.

Tom holds out his hand to me. His eyes are suspicious. I look at him sideways and hand him the phone.

"Let's get one thing straight. I have things to do if I want to keep my benefits. First, get ready. Someone is waiting for us at the school. GO..." he presses his index over his lips and dismisses me with the other.

His tone contradicts his words, his actions as well. Is he giving me an easy way out? I take it.

I leave the room.

I can't help but wonder about my siblings as I make myself presentable. Deep down, I can only hope that they are well.

When I look into the mirror, my gray eyes are still torn between distress and sadness. I really feel that way. Under different lights, my eyes sometimes seem to change colors. It's a rare trait inherited from my father's side, just like my strange auburn hair colour, it has shades unlike others, I don't need to highlight lock of hair. I just need to walk under the light.  My tanned skin wasn't as tanned as it could be. We had spent a lot of time indoors this summer. I barely had traces of sun marks and winter hadn't made its entrance yet.

The last event that sticks in my mind is that she moved in with Richard, then she finally had moved on from my father. I  wasn't expecting that. Why else would she have kept his things for so long? Was this finally it? Now it was my turn to move on.

A knock and a deep breath later, I go to the door. This room wouldn't protect me from life's hell or keep me from my thoughts. It was time to face the music.

The door flung open only to send me stumbling back a few steps. Boundaries, did Tom know what that meant? He was clearly on to me.

"Don't you have anything else to wear?" Tom stood in the middle of the doorway, his eyes scanning my body like a fox.

I look down at my oversized hoodie, trusty old black jeans and sneakers, then up at him, biting my inner cheek.

Okay, I have to admit, it's a definite contrast to his trendy skinny jeans and shirt with the top button undone. He looks straight out of a fashion magazine cover, making my eyes quiver as I look into his.

"Nope." Self-conscious since my curves used to draw unwanted attention from boys. These sagging clothes kept their hands away from me. I closed my eyes, as if that alone could erase my memories.

"Let me see your wardrobe."

I eyed him suspiciously. I shook my head vigorously and looked back at him in horror. He pushed me aside and headed straight for my closet.

"Who, WHY, do you care?" I stepped to block my closet, hiding a few things I took out of the garbage bags hanging behind me.

He takes his time, looking at me from head to toe. His eyebrows arched and he added.

"I can't be around you. You look like this." He turns me to the mirror. "Do you know how prestigious or who we're about to meet?"

"Nope," I say, dropping the p as I cross my arms, anger simmering on my skin.

He grinned with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "We're on our way to see the dean so she can finish your admission paperwork. On a Saturday! Because my dad pulled some strings, and I mean BIG strings, in case you were wondering."

He looks at me with a very serious grin, slyly tilting his forehead toward mine.

"Oh..." My head drops between my shoulders.

The awkwardness of the situation makes my convictions vanish into thin air. I get out of the way. After all, this is a reality I don't belong to, and I have to do my part.

He looks inside and throws some of my clothes on the bed. He finally settles on a pair of leggings and a long-sleeved buttoned shirt. They belonged to Dad. I try not to think about it as I go to put it on in the bathroom. I found the shirt the day before when I was packing everything up, and I have no memory of when I hid it, along with my father's perfume and what is left. I sealed it in a plastic bag with a zipper.

A warm feeling grows inside me now that I am wearing it.

When I returned, he motioned for me to come closer. Unsure what to do, I held my ground. He approached instead.

His eyes sweep over my body, from head to toe. I blush. There is a look in his eyes that makes me look away.

Still, I can't help it. I look back at him enough to see a smile forming at the corner of his lips.

He grabs my wrist, sending a shiver down my spine.

I try to ignore it by looking straight out the window. His head moves from time to time, obscuring the view of the city.

Still sitting over my bed, he grabs my other wrist and rolls the sleeve up my arm.

My heart pounds in my chest as his fingers touch my skin longer than necessary. He acts suspicious, as if he is conducting some kind of experiment that only makes my heart act skeptical, unaccustomed to such a feathery touch.

My hand moves to my beating heart, pinching a button between my fingers. I stop breathing for a second, trying to keep my eyes on the view from the 7th floor that my window offers. I pulled it out the night before and discovered the breathtaking view.

Tom stands up, causing me to stumble backwards, creating a space between us. He looks me straight in the eye and grabs my hand, still holding the button close to my neck. I quickly move it away, avoiding being caught between his fingers.

"Okay, so." My voice is not working properly, nor is my brain.

Before I could get out a sentence, he undid the buttons above the one I was holding. My eyes widen. I move my hand, ready to push him away, but I stop. His stern, dark brown eyes freeze my body.

Then he opens the collar to my shoulders, bruising my collarbone.

Looking down, I get a full view of my breasts. I exhale, noticing that my spaghetti strap top effectively covers them. Having large breasts can be demanding and attract too many admirers. I inherited a D cup.

Relief washes over me as he finally pulls away, wondering why I freak out so much around him. After all, as he said, he is my sibling at the moment, and that should mean something.

He comes back with brown furrows and wraps his arms tightly around me, our bodies colliding for a second until I recoil a little. Without further ado, he puts a belt around my waist and leans over to fasten it.

All the while, I keep from inhaling his intoxicating scent, which reminds me of pine and musk.

When he finally pulls back, his hands grab my shoulders, forcing me to turn toward the mirror.

"Look. It's..." He hesitates. "Are you okay?" He adds, looking at me.

The mirror reflects a refined version of myself, to my disbelief I look good, but I can't deal with the thought. The shirt covers all the important parts and the belt shows my narrow waist.

"If you don't like it, we can start all over again." His sparkling eyes look at me with a mocking smile on his lips.

My heart skips a beat.
"No, no! It's nice! I like it."
His lips move up in response.

A blush fills my cheeks and makes me close my eyes. I try to control myself. He's just being nice.

My eyes flutter and I freeze, unable to utter a word as I stare at him.

He unties my hair and lets it fall over my shoulders. Shivers run down my spine as he adjusts my hair to his liking. He makes my chin tremble.

"What do you think?"
His voice is deeper, I don't understand why he's asking at all.

Until then, mesmerized by his reflection, I stare at his masterpiece, me. I stop. It's like seeing myself for the first time.

My face looks slimmer without a bun, giving me extra contouring shades on my cheekbones. It exposed the skin over my chest, just showing my bones, making me look elegant and taller.

"So? Are you coming? They're still waiting for us, may I remind you." Taking an extra second to look at myself, I follow his lead with quick steps.

A memory pops into my head, boys picking on me as a game, more teenagers smirking and talking bad about me, followed by this moment with Tom. He may play the bad boy with his friends, but he is different from the real ones. Although he got closer to me than anyone else, he never acted like I was an object or his property to toy with, as others had done in the past.

His grip on the steering wheel tightens, making a jarring noise. The road is quiet, but he seems so nervous. Did I make him uncomfortable?

My thoughts turn to my brother, Luc was younger, but he always fought to protect me. He couldn't do much, but it was enough to get people's attention and keep the men away. Until he became popular in sports and his friends were tagged as my bodyguards in the hallways.

He was never embarrassed to have me around, even though I was the weirdo everyone picked on. A sadistic part of me reminds me that I don't have a family anymore!

My throat and thighs are like the muscles of my neck.The last 24 hours of my life have been the worst. I lost everyone I loved.

Tired of it all, I sing in my head, keeping my emotions inside.

I followed him through the parking lot and halls, greeting the dean as a nice little puppet and playing my part.

She had little to no interest in me. Soon she started talking about donations and charities. The amount was exorbitant enough to make a name for herself and build a new gym. I kept my eyes fixed on my hands, knowing that I would never fit into such a place.

In the end, as if it were normal, she gave us not one, but two stacks of books. They had paid for everything, no need to queue for the whole thing, advantages of money.

Boredom grew inside me, the growl from my stomach brought me back to the moment. They stare at me, my cheeks getting hot.

They all turn and stare at me. That was my stomach. Skipping breakfast was a bad choice. I turn beet red.

"I think we should go now. I have to feed my step-sister." His smile said it all. Once again I was the weirdo.

The room was getting smaller by the second, and I was sweating with embarrassment. Finally, on the move, I fumble my goodbyes; I walk to existence. Self-consciously, I make sure the shirt covers my butt, as Tom is following behind with the two packages.

———
TOM
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Looking at her rosy cheeks as she looks out the window into the woods, a warm feeling grows inside. She is beautiful. Stealing another glance, my lips curled up, she was so alive.

After such a ride the day before, noticing her drowning everything inside, I was more than happy to see her standing up for herself, releasing some pressure. The man at the gas station unsealed her powers. Didn't she hear the thunder under the clear sky? If I hadn't intervened, I don't know what would have happened. I was ready to hide her power in the car, but the inhaler suppressed the effect. But even with a fresh dose, she caused a ruckus in the bar. I had to report it and call an intervention team. How strong was her magic to bring such a magical device to life? One thing is for sure, she is strong, stronger than any creature I have encountered.

This phone call only proves my suspicions: Annie is immune to the spell being cast on her and is unaware of our true identities. This inhaler must contain some kind of cocktail to subdue the power within. I have never seen anyone take such precautions before her. Her magic, or her wolf, is stronger than anything anticipated on this side of the realm. Is that why the otherworldly ruler sent for her? That would mean we have a spy on our side. How else would they know?

Now, as I sit in the car, measuring the waves of magic coming from her with my phone, I worry. Her dark face looks straight ahead. A storm is brewing inside and I know it, and it can only make things dangerous for her. Emotions trigger reactions that unleash either an untamed beast or uncontrollable magic. Whatever is unleashed ends in a chain reaction that can become dangerous to our own existence. She also sends ripples of magic out into the world like a beacon, and if she is being followed by Davon's subjects, then her emotions are a danger to both of us.

Whatever she is, she can't be alone and I need a better plan because I can't do this alone. I won't be able to hide her trail indefinitely. Far above my head, the decision is made, I text my friends.

If she is a werewolf, someone I know could help me find out. I need to know what she is. Maybe it could also explain this attraction I feel for her. Why did I flirt with her so openly before?

The call overwhelmed her; I had to do something. But nothing prepared me for this.

She is like a siren and I am a sailor, bewitched by her every move. It was time to prepare, it was time to find out which gift was dominant in her? The wolf or the witch?

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