But a new one came through right as I was about to put it down.
Thoth-But I’m going to be frank, read the letters. I hope you’ll understand my frustration.
Then that message was gone too. I sighed as I tossed my phone onto the counter, and then I stepped into the shower. Hopefully, it would wake me up. I washed up and stepped out to find Carly waiting for me on the end of my bed. Her little pigtails were lopsided, and she smiled when I walked in.
“Good morning!” She ran to me and hugged me. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, baby girl.” I hugged her close. “I have to go for a run, but when I get back, do you want to help me?”
She looked up at me with wide eyes. “With what?”
“Paperwork.” I frowned. “But I’d rather do it with you and spend time with you. You don’t even have to help. You can color or something.”
Carly jumped up and down. “No, I want to help.” She squealed.
“It’s just a box of papers, Car.” I laughed as she did a little dance.
“Yeah, but I get to spend time with you. And I know you won’t tell me anything about why you were gone, but I saw.” The words hit me like a sledgehammer. “I saw you in the jail cell. You were hurt and cold, but you were strong.” She came over to me, this little girl.
Her words caught me by surprise. Not because they were true, but because she felt they were. “Oh, baby.” I cupped her face. “Just because you are a Shaman, and you see more than you should, doesn’t mean I have to add any more on to ruin your childhood. You are a kid, and I want you to stay that way until you are older.”
She pouted. “But why?”
I crouched down so I could be level with her. “Being old isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. We have bills and responsibilities. But most of all, we worry. We worry about what’s going to happen, what our actions will do, and what we can’t help. That’s not fun.” I tugged on her pigtails. “I want you to be a kid. When all of this is over, you’re going to be going to school with the other kids. You’ll get to play, and just grow up at your own pace. Don’t rush it, okay?”
She watched me for a minute and then nodded. “Okay.”
I smiled and kissed her head. “Good.” I stood up and walked out of the room. Carly caught up to me and slipped her tiny hand into mine, and we ended up walking down the stairs with each other. “Okay, I’ll be back in a little while and then we will get started on the box of paperwork.”
“Are you looking for something?” Her voice was soft, but eager.
“I don’t honestly know. Maybe?” I chuckled as she looked at me with her tiny pinched brows. “I guess we will find out together.” I winked at her and then stopped in to see Toya and Wendy. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Toya smiled as she washed the dishes. “How are you feeling?”
“Yeah, your mom caught us up.” Wendy came over and rubbed my back. “It’s a lot.”
I huffed out a breath. “Yeah.” I shook my head. “But I have bigger things to focus on.” I leaned in to Wendy. “Today when I come back, I have to work on paperwork, and Carly is going to help. But when she goes to bed, I want to talk about the plan.”
“Plan?” Toya perked up. “Are we moving on soon?”
I nodded. “We are.” I sighed. “But I want to talk to my dad first.”
Wendy nodded. “Makes sense.” She turned away, but then looked at me over my shoulder. “Where are you going?”
“Back to the apartment building.” I walked to the door. “My father…he used magic to keep stuff from me. Said it was for the best.”
Toya scoffed. “All dads think they know best, but mostly they are just too afraid of their kids growing up.”
I rolled my eyes. “That sounds…exactly right.” I huffed out another laugh and then I headed to the back door. “I’m just going to run there and back.” My two friends nodded. “Tell my mom when she comes down to where I went.”
Toya smirked. “She’s been up. She’s outside right now, texting your father.” Toya wiggled her eyes brows, and I wanted to vomit.
“Gross.” My best friends laughed as I walked outside to see my mother in shorts and a t-shirt with her phone in her hands. Shelooked like any normal twenty something year old woman, and not the fifty something she actually was. A smirk hit her lips, and I grimaced. “Mom, ew.”
Her head snapped up, and she blushed as she slid her phone on to the picnic table. “Baby. I didn’t hear you.” The tips of her ears turned pink as she looked away.
I laughed. “Do you hear yourself? You are a wolf who didn’t hear me coming. Tell daddy I said hi.” I shook my head as I looked down at her.
