The next morning, I wake up before anyone can rudely push me out of bed or smack me in the head. And definitely no water to the face.
‘Kill the rooster. It’s too early for that shit,’Lynx says and rolls over.
Silencing the alarm on my phone, I get up and take a quick shower, opting to wear a short-sleeve shirt and pants. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I debate calling home. I didn’t call last night because I’m an idiot and I was scared. I didn’t realize my phone wasn’t completely charged when I got it, so by the time I went to my room to make the call, I was sitting at less than 3% and there’s no way I could have a conversation since Grams was a talker. A part of me is nervous about getting my ass handed to me over the phone, but I also have questions I need answered. I dial my grandma’s number as my nerves play havoc with my stomach. I’m a freaking mess so I take in a deep breath and slowly let it out. But I need to do this, so I sit and wait patiently.
“Hello?” Gram answers.
“Hey, Grams, it’s Rez. I’m sorry—”
“Where are you?” she demands, worry tinting her words as she cuts me off.
“Um, well, you wouldn’t believe me if I—”
“Just answer me this. Are you somewhere you can easily fly home,” she hedges.
I pull the phone away and look at the screen quickly, making sure I have the right number. Because there is no way that this is my grandmother. She’s usually long-winded and doesn’t cut me off. Hell, she loves just hearing herself talk.
“Um, No. But I have—“
She cuts me off again, and dread settles in my chest.
“Nerezza. I’m sorry this happened, but there’s nothing we can do now. Be safe, hun, we love you.” And just like that, she hangs up on me.
Confusion clouds my brain as I look at the phone in my hand. Did she really just do that? This is not the time to play around with me. I dial again, and it rings until it cuts off. There’s no voicemail or anything. Nope, I refuse to accept this. I dial again. Nothing. Hanging up, I frantically redial and wait for her voice to pick up and tell me she’s kidding. She has to be,right?I dial again and again, losing count of how many times I dial until finally, there’s not even a ringtone.
My vision blurs looking down at my phone, and pressure builds in my chest.This can’t be happening to me. Gram said she would be there for me no matter what, and when I need her the most, she cuts me loose, and just what? Blocked me? I dial Zeke to see if it’s my phone and when it rings, I quickly hang up. I just wanted to see if my phone was working. Taking in a deep breath, my body shudders as I release it. A teardrop lands on my phone, splattering like my hopes and dreams.
‘Rezzi, are you okay?’Lynx says, scooting up to me. I wrap my arms around his neck, burying myself into his soft fur, and spill my heartache.‘I know it’s not easy, Rez, but things will work out one way or another. We’ll figure it out. Now go wash your face, put on some of that black crayon crap around your eyes, and I’ll go grab you a breakfast bar. And I’m taking your phone and laying it on your bag. Now hurry up. I swear you’re slower than when Moni or I wake you up.’
He laughs and grabs my phone with his mouth, trotting out of the room before I can stop him. I don’t even have the energy to bicker with him, but I do what he suggested.
Walking out into the living room, I spot JP walking out of his room with his bag.
“Morning, Rez. One more day till the weekend. Do you have anything planned for tomorrow?” He asks and grabs a water bottle.
“Sleeping,” I shrug. “Why?”
“Girl, there’s a party tomorrow night. It’s the first one of the year, and it will be down by the beach. You have to be there, plus it will be your first time to try some fairy wine and troll whiskey,” he winks at me.
I give him a bored look.Come on, dude, you have to do better than that.
“Plus, there will be dancing, shenanigans, and I need a date. Please come with me. It will be fun.” He swings his hips, being all flirty, and grabs my hand, spinning me around, laughing.
“Okay! I’ll go. I doubt you need a date, though. I see how you are,” I say, pointing a finger at him. “You probably have never taken a date to anything in your entire life. Hell, your nickname in the chat is Playboy,” I laugh, grabbing my bag.
He holds the door for me, and we walk out, “Got that right, but I still want you,” he says.
* * *
I make it to Familiars class right on time and take the only seat left open, right next to a petite girl with green hair and dark brown eyes. She seems friendly enough, she’s not giving me death glares, and I sit down right as Professor Girdwood walks in with a golden retriever following him.
He’s a portly looking fellow with a small bald spot and thick round glasses framing his golden eyes. “Okay, guys, settle down. If you have any questions about the syllabus, we can discuss it at the end of class. For now, we are going to work on your bonds with your Familiar. What you will do is take what you should have read last night and apply it today,” he announces. Waving his hand, chalk starts writing information on the blackboard behind him.
Shit. I was supposed to read ahead? In all my other classes we just went over the syllabus and started from there. Great, I’m already behind.
“Most of you have already formed some basic bond, hence your animal, but we need a Soul Bond. This is an important process in more than one way. In the aspects of your Familiar, a Soul Bond connects you on a molecular platform. Simply, you combine their life with yours. Another reason allows you to feel their emotions and possibly mind link with them. To begin, concentrate and imagine forming a bridge from you to your Familiars. This is the first step,” he says and starts walking around the room.
This is a waste of time for me since Lynx isn’t my Familiar, but I have to put in the effort if I want credit. Playing along, I pull Lynx off my neck and sit him on the table in front of me. Next to me the girl gives me a sheepish look, pulling a frog with what looks like thorns on its back out of her bag and places him down.
