Unbound (Unbound, Book 1) ~Formerly Casting Power~

Chapter 25

It took longer to decide whether to ring Nancy's doorbell and face her parents than it had to walk to her house. I didn't know what time it was or if Nancy's parents were home, but I didn't care. I just needed a time-out, a place to get away from home.

No mom.

No Zach.

Nancy opened the door as I was about to turn away, and I twisted back. The moment she saw it was me, Nancy gushed about how cute I had been with Trevor. Wouldn't it be so cool if we started dating so we could double all the time? Did he ask me out again and kiss me goodnight? Did I like him? Or did I hate her for setting me up? When I didn't respond right away, she transitioned into exclaiming about Julian's drool-inducing qualities as a boyfriend. Had I ever seen a guy so attentive? Wasn't he so hot? He was such a good kisser....

Hello—neighbor? So not going there.

Eventually, Nancy's rambling dwindled. She finally looked at me, watching me for a moment before glancing over my shoulder to the driveway where my mother's car wasn't idling. I shrugged and shook my head, not trusting myself to talk. My lips trembled under her scrutiny and my tears, which had been swelling in my eyes since I had made myself known to Zach and my mother, started to fall down my cheeks.

I didn't know if I was in tears because I was angry or sad.

It was the most confused I'd ever felt.

For years, I believed everything my mother had ever told me about respect and trust—simple honesty—being the most valued qualities of a person's character. Even though it was hard to always tell people the truth because it may not be what they wanted to hear, it was the kindest thing you could do. I hated that she made me doubt that.

"Mom!" Nancy yelled down the hall that led to the first floor's living room which students had been partying in just three weeks ago. "Dad? Noreena's spending the night!"

"It's kind of late, Nance," her father said as he strode out of his office, still dressed in his business suit from a day in the courtroom. He looked up from the stack of papers in his hand and squinted at me. "Hey, Noreena. You okay?"

I nodded, but Nancy wrapped her arm around my waist, shaking her head as she said, "I don't know what's up, Dad, but this isn't okay."

"Well." He ran his hand through his ash blonde hair cut in stylish short waves.

"Does your mother know you're here?" Aubrey-Lynn came up behind us from the opposite direction. Perfect makeup accented her clear, creamy skin, and light, golden blonde hair hung loosely against her shoulders. She too was still dressed in office garb: a black pencil skirt and white blouse no longer tucked in. Without coordinating shoes and jacket, she almost appeared human.

They were like parents to me, which made it hard to lie. It wasn't like I could deny what they could see, so I shook my head with honesty, and they told Nancy to settle me in the guest bedroom.

I could hear Aiden talking to my mom a few minutes later, coaxing her into permitting me to stay. I wasn't feeling well about something and needed some time away, he told her. I guessed, if I wasn't forced to go home where I was would say something I'd regret—words were one thing that you can never take back—I was okay with Nancy's parents calling my mom. It was the first time I'd left home without telling her where I was going, and I already felt terrible, though I wasn't ready to return.

All I needed was honesty. If Zachariah and my mother knew something about me that I should know, why didn't they just tell me? I wasn't a doll; I wouldn't break. Whatever it was that they hid from me seemed wrapped up with the power I kept at bay, which was just another reason that I hated magic. It forced secrecy and lies, denying to others part of the very essence of who you were. That couldn't be called a good thing, no matter which way you tried to twist it.

If you were forced to deny who you were, how could you ever accept yourself?

Nancy poked her head into the guest bedroom to see how I was feeling an hour later. The room was comforting in all white. The slow-dripping fountain in the far corner by the double balcony doors added a subtle calmness that soothed my rattled nerves. Not that I'd ever been to a spa, but I imagined it would be just like this.

"Your mother called to check on you," Nancy said, bouncing beside me onto the bed, and my spa-like feelings shattered. "She's worried."

"Good," I said, unmoving as I laid on my back staring at the ceiling. "She's lying to me about something big, Nance. I overheard her and Zach talking. There's something wrong, and it has to do with my abilities, I'm sure. She won't rebind my powers, then she spouts that she won't ruin my last year of high school by forcing me to accept them and whatever comes along with them. It's confusing."

"Comes along with them? What does that mean?"

"Who knows?" I shrugged. "She won't tell me before graduation because she's given me until then to accept my abilities. They said that I needed to know the truth so that I could protect myself." I shifted to meet her gaze, confused. "Do you have any idea what that means?"

"No." She exhaled. "But I think you should sit down and talk to your mother. She is the only one with the ability to help you clarify whatever is going on."

"You think I should talk to her? After all her lies?"

"If you want to know what they're keeping from you. Unless Zach will tell you?"

"She ordered him not to."

"And he listened?" She seemed awestruck at yet another example of my mom's authority. "Then you have no choice but to talk to your mom."

"Not tonight. I need to calm down, but I will talk with her tomorrow if she wants," I promised while crossing my fingers in my mind. "It's one thing to be okay with being vulnerable when I'm clueless, but it makes me feel helpless when I know that I am weak without knowing why."

"I wouldn't know."

"Well, I need to know."

Nancy nodded and crinkled her face into the rare expression of serious thought as she tried to piece together what I'd told her. How did it all relate? I couldn't help but chuckle. She was a real piece of work, which was the reason that she was my best friend.

"So, just out of curiosity, if whatever your mother says is like, super major, would you consider having your powers unbound?"

I considered it as I sat up. She just said the exact thing as Zach had, only coming from her, it wasn't irritating. Did I not like the idea because he'd said it first? My distaste for him ran so deep that it was possible. If the reason my mother had for not telling me whatever it was that she was hiding was legit, maybe. I couldn't imagine being selfish about this if wanting a normal life could be dangerous.

"It would depend, I guess."

"On what?" Nancy folded her legs beneath her on the bed so that we were facing each other.

"It would depend on what she is hiding and whether it would hurt others. You and I both know that I couldn't live with myself if somebody was hurt because I didn't want to man up and use the power I was born with. Then again, why should I be forced to take responsibility for others when it was a gift I didn't ask for?" I smiled. "I know! How about I decline my powers and bestow them on you? That sounds great to me."

"Hallelujah!"

Nancy hugged me and we laughed some more.

It was a nice thought, in theory. We both knew the way things worked. Whatever gifts that had been given to me were mine alone to bear. There weren't such things as takebacks or tradesies with magic.