Sins Of The Mother.

Chapter Twelve- Casserole Of Tears.

MIRA

Waking up in a beautiful room with the smell of home baking in the air was surreal. The last time I had woken up like that was here, in this very room. Lying there, too comfortable to move, the last birthday I'd celebrated here swam to the forefront of my mind. Mum had made my all time favourite breakfast, her cinnamon, apple and honey french toast casserole. Dad told Elaine it was my favourite and she'd make it at his insistence every year for my birthday. I'd swallow it down and thank her before escaping up to my spot to cry until I threw it back up.

As far back as I could remember Dad would bring my birthday breakfast up to my room along with my presents, only the age ever changed on the tags. 'Happy 7th birthday to my favourite person. My Sweetpea. All my love, Daddy xxx' I remember thinking that my dad's favourite person was himself but at least I got second place in someone's life. I remember hoping mum and Aden's names would be included or I'd come downstairs to find them waiting with gifts of their own, smiles on their faces. By my fourth birthday I'd known better, the people who lived in our house were not a family, mum and Aden were prisoners, my dad was their nightmare and I, the lock that kept them there.

Dad had taken me to a carnival in a human town, we'd eaten candy corn and pretzels before riding every ride they had, my adrenaline morphing into exhilaration as we swooped and spun. Hopped up on sugar, I'd dragged him to every stall, boasting that I could win my own prizes. He hadn't believed I could win more than three, so we'd put a wager on it. If I won, he had to take me to a different carnival every year on my birthday. However if he won, I had to promise that wherever life took me, that I would always spend at least part of the day with him.That day we came home with my winnings, glow sticks and plastic wands joined two teddy bears, a dinosaur stuffed toy that roared when you pressed its tummy, that night I had sneaked into Aden's room, hiding it in the toy box with all his other dinosaurs for him to discover. I'd also won three goldfish and the stuffed wolf I named Shadow. He went everywhere with me, still did, his frayed ear poking out from underneath my pillow, I grabbed him and stroked the faded fabric gently. It's been six years since dad lost that wager and six years since we had last been to a carnival. Yet I had spent all my birthdays with him.

Until this year, my thirteenth birthday. My wolf's emotions trickled through me, she felt strangely amped up, like she was anticipating something and it worried her, her usual demeanour tainted with... regret? She cut off her emotions immediately, her walls thick and strong in my mind before I'd even finished the thought. She physically stayed behind her walls at all times but usually they were an opaque golden colour so I could feel her. They'd never been this hard teak before, when she shut negative feelings off in the past they'd simply turned into a swirling caramel. Shaking my head at her strange behaviour, I decided to get up out of bed. Laura's muddy bed was already empty, I looked myself over and groaned, dirt biking through the forest then falling asleep on clean sheets had been a battle the sheets lost. Between that and the pigs we made of ourselves at dinner, my family must think we have no manners at all. 'I really hope nobody's seen me' I thought, stripping the dirty sheets from the beds before grabbing clean clothes from my bag and hopping in the shower.

Fifteen minutes later I was sliding into the seat beside my brother, beaming at everyone. Nothing could ruin my mood today. Before anyone spoke, Mum came through the open glass doors on the phone. "But I can't see anything else, I've done a clear skies spell and it's still shadowed. I'm concerned something else is going on that I'm not being made privy to." Her words caused something to tense in me, but again I shook it off. Throughout all of this, my wolf stayed firmly behind her wall, she'd never avoided me before and it made me anxious, but determined to enjoy my birthday, I pushed it to the back of my mind. Mum wandered into the kitchen and poured herself a coffee, looking exhausted. "Would you? Yes..uh huh... thanks Cole, I'd really appreciate that..."Whatever 'Cole' said next caused a light pink to spread over mum's face, "I'm looking forward to seeing you too, it's been a while." Spotting me at the table, she ended the call and dropped the phone before running over to me and hugging me.
"Happy birthday!" I winced, my ears overly sensitive as she shouted happily in my ear.

"Thanks Mum. I was so tired I crashed in my clothes, I stripped the beds though. Sorry." I ducked my head, embarrassed.

"My Babygirl woke up in the same house as me and I get to eat breakfast with her, on her birthday no less. I think I can handle some laundry," she said, rolling her eyes before skipping over to the oven and pulling a dish out of it, placing it in front of me with a flourish of her hands and a 'Ta Da!'

"FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE! Lolls, you have to try this." I said, already stacking my plate high.

"The casserole of tears? Is that the best idea, Mims?" Lolls enquired.

I shot her a warning glance as four pairs of eyes shot to me, "Heh, yeah Elaine's version would make anyone cry, but this, this is worthy of 'Hogwarts'," I faked a smile and joked, hoping they would all take the hint to drop the subject. Thanking the moon when the adults turned their attention to the dish of heaven in front of us, I shot Aden and Lolls a smile to let them know I was okay, reaching for the warm honey and drizzling it all over my heaping plate.

"I've come up with what we're gonna do tonight," my brother squealed, pumped for whatever he had come up with, his mist was projecting sunbeams all around him. Smoothing his hair back, he began, "As you all know..." he broke off spluttering when mum threw a strawberry at his gloating expression. Glowering at her, he continued, "I won last time, so I get to pick. Drumroll please," Lolls and I giggled when reluctantly mum and my grandparents smacked their hands on the table and sounded out a lacklustre drumroll for him, their faces mutinous, we chuckled until Aden glared at us both before pointedly looking at our hands, refusing to say more until we joined in. Once we did he cleared his throat, announcing excitedly, "We're gonna have ourselves an old fashioned magic extravaganza!"

You could have dropped a pin in the room, his declaration falling flat to the others, "You've had a month and this is all you've come up with?" Gramps eventually asked, but Aden was prepared, holding up his hand as Grams and mum chimed in with their own opinions and shushing them, all four of them trying to make their points at the same time until Lolls put two fingers in her mouth and whistled, the piercing sound sending a pain through my ears but effectively stopping the argument.

Aden nodded his thanks to her before pleading his case, "I've given this a lot of thought actually, Mira wants to know more about our magic and her own, right? And Laura doesn't have magic, so I propose that each of us put on an extravagant performance for her and Lolls... sorry I keep hearing it, Mims too, it's kinda stuck... anyway where was I? Oh yeah, so we have to come up with a routine and the girls will be the judges of whose was best. Then Mira can show us what she knows so far and what she can discover today after her reading. It's brilliant, isn't it?" Smoothing his hair back again, I got an inkling that Gramps wasn't the only one with an ego. Aden narrowed his twinkling eyes at me and after checking mum wasn't looking at him, flicked his middle finger at me surreptitiously, I gasped at my brother, then smirked wickedly at him, realising how much fun I could have at his expense.

Mum grudgingly shrugged, simply saying, "The idea has merit... I suppose." Looking beyond satisfied with himself, Aden patted himself on the back making us all laugh.

"I can't wait, well for Quinn, Grams' and Gramps' anyway, we already know what you can do. We'll think loud thoughts and you'll repeat them." Lolls snorted, batting her eyelids and fangirling sarcastically at him, "Oooh I'm sooo amazed Aden, you're my hero."

"You ain't seen anything yet, bread girl, just you wait and see," my brother replied confidently.

"Bread girl? How...witty." Lolls mocked, shaking her head at him and he responded by sticking his tongue at her childishly.

"He's got some tricks up his sleeve, that I will concede, but my performance will make everybody else's fade into obscurity," Gramps stated confidently.

"In your dreams old man," Grams piped up.

Within seconds the four of them were back to arguing competitively, gesturing widely with their arms. I sat there bemused at the sporadic chaos that seemed to be a regular occurrence until Lolls spoke between fits of laughter. "You guys are anything but boring, I never want to leave." I laughed along with her but the thought of leaving again made me want to cry. For the first time in years no comfort came from my future threaded, unsettled again I ducked my head and started eating to avoid the scrutiny I could feel coming from my intrusive brother.