Startled out of my stupor, I whirled around to see Aline sitting up, clutching her chest as she wheezed and spluttered. Her eyes bulged out of her head like a demented frog. Rowan’s pestle lay in pieces on the tile.
“Don’t let her roll off,” Rowan cried. Arthur and Corbin grabbed Aline’s arms, bracing her as they helped her sit up. She coughed and sputtered, her tiny body convulsing as she fought for breath.
“Omigod, is she on drugs?” Kelly stepped closer, her expression horrified.
“Get away from her!” I shoved Kelly away, terrified that she’d touch Aline and end up with some horrible hex and how the hell would I explain that?
I shoved harder than I intended. Kelly stumbled back and slammed into the kitchen cabinets. Rowan’s jars rattled on the shelves. She clutched her side, glaring at me as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she whispered.
Tears sprung in my eyes. “Kelly, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean?—”
“Yes you did!” Kelly yelled through her own tears. “You’ve been pushing me away ever since I got here. You’re piling lies on top of lies just to avoid telling me what’s really going on. I knew you were selfish, but I never, ever thought you’d...” she hiccuped, her body dissolving into sobs.
I reached out to embrace her, but she shied away. “I swear, Kelly, I didn’t mean to hurt you. She might be dangerous and I?—”
“Why, is she awitch?” Kelly sneered. She got to her feet, fumbling for a hold on the edge of the bench. “Like you, right, Maeve? You’re a witch.”
The room disappeared. The only things I was aware of was Kelly’s cold glare and my heart pounding in my ears.
“I’m not a witch,” I said, but the words were weak, full of resignation.
Kelly snorted. “Jeez. I didn’t even really believe it, but if Maeve Crawford can’t even muster up the strength to deny the existence of witches, then I guess I’m convinced.”
“Moore.” Someone behind me rasped.
Kelly whipped around. “What?”
“Moore,” the woman who might’ve been my mother spoke, her voice like dirt being shovelled into a hole. “Her name is Maeve Moore.”
“Maeve,” Kelly said through gritted teeth. “Who is this personreally, and why does she know your birth name?”
My shoulders sagged. At least giving her this one truth might distract her from the witch thing for a while. “We’re not a hundred percent sure, but we think she might be my mother.”
“No.” Kelly slid down the cabinet and sank to the floor, hugging her arms to her knees. “This isnothappening.”
“Like I said, it’s not confirmed yet, but… I gestured at the coughing woman. “There’s a certain family resemblance. It’s kind of a long story and I… I don’t want you to hate me.”
“Why would I hate you?”
“Don’t you hate me already?”
Kelly laughed. “Only because you’ve been lying to me and sneaking around and cheating on Arthur and that’s really gross and sinful, and I don’t understand why you’d want to hurt someone you care about.”
“I don’t want to hurt anyone, and I’m not cheating on Arthur.”
“You know I saw you with Flynn, and you’re still denying it!” Her voice rose an octave. “It’s disgusting, Maeve. Adultery is a sin. How can anyone trust you when you’re not faithful?—”
Like a switch flicking in my brain, the mention of the wordsinturned my distress into anger. “Just because your stupid religion doesn’t allow for girls and guys to have platonic friendships, or for girls and girls and guys and guys to hook up, doesn’t mean you get to lecture me on my relationships?—”
“Mystupidreligion is the only reason you have a fucking family in the first place!” Kelly screamed. “Do you think if Mum and Dad had been atheists like you, they’d have taken pity on some unholy daughter born in sin? And now you’re trying to tell me your mother is some random druggie in your kitchen. Look at her, Maeve! She can’t be a year or two older than you are. That’s not your mother. You’re lying again.”
“Christians don’t have a monopoly on kindness or love. I’ve learned more about morality in the last few weeks than I have in my entirelifeliving in that backwards, judgemental hellhole of a town.”
“You mean you learned about morality while you were cheating on Arthur?”
“Um, Kelly, it’s fine,” Arthur said, but I held up a hand to stop him.
