Edge Becomes a Witch | [Half Bad Fanfiction]

A Photo Album

We're visiting the family who lives the closest first; My aunt Deborah and her family. She lives in a town called High Wycombe, which is about thirty minutes from London by train. We just got on one, and I'm sitting by the window beside Arran. Gabriel is sitting across from us. We got mango smoothies for lunch, even though it's already evening in England. Arran bought them after asking me what I wanted.

I hadn't got the chance to ask Gabriel about what happened right before we left the Phrontistery. While fidgeting with my smoothie cup, I ask:

'So... you and Nathan?'

Gabriel nods. 'Did that surprise you?'

'Kind of... yup.'

Gabriel looks out of the window, half smiling.

'How long have you been together?' I ask, and stop fidgeting, afraid I seem too nervous.

He's still looking out the window when he answers.

'Seventeen years.'

I think about that for a moment while sucking on my straw, not getting any smoothie because it's too lumpy.

'So, you got together with Nathan while mom was pregnant with me?' I ask, hoping I don't sound too confrontational and weird.

Gabriel turns to me now.

'We didn't know she was pregnant.'

'When did you find out?'

'A year after you were born. When Annalise had married Ben. After Ben's lawyer-brother had removed all Nathan's custody rights.'

'Uncle Frank? Huh... But because Nathan was a serial killer, right?' I take off the lid and straw, and drink straight from the smoothie cup instead.

Gabriel stares at me, not knowing what to say.

'Or, I guess; "a war hero",' I correct myself, struggling not to roll my eyes.

'It's complicated,' Gabriel just says.

'No, it's not. It's simple. The sixth commandment.'

'Sometimes bad things are necessary. Or simply misfortunate.'

'So when Nathan killed, it was simply necessary and misfortunate?'

'Yes.'

We're quiet for a few minutes and I look at Gabriel. It's hard to guess his age. I know he must be over thirty, despite having the skin of a young surfer. He's handsome.

'What magic trick can you do, Gabriel?' I ask.

He laughs. '"Magic trick"... My original Gift is shapeshifting. I can turn into anyone. I can also do healing and some mind reading.'

'Are you listening to my thoughts now?' I ask, more curious than suspicious.

'No, I never listen without permission,' He says.

'And Nathan? What's his Gift?'

'Original one was animal transformation. Now he's got over two hundred Gifts. A few from his father, most discovered in study with other witches.'

'Woah...'

'He's dedicated.'

I have coverage on my phone again, and I have three missed phone calls from dad, and even one from mom, that they'd made while I was still at the Phrontistery. I don't want to talk to them with Gabriel and Arran around, so I text instead, which takes a long time because I'm bad with words.

20:14, SAT, 25/06/32

Me

sorry there wasn't coverage at the china place. i'm going with Arran and nathan's boyfriend to gather blood from biological family. in the uk now and drinking smoothie;) love you

It doesn't take more than a minute before dad replies.

20:15, SAT, 25/06/32

This is not Mike, keep scrolling: Hi, Edge! Have you asked Arran about the coverage? Why are you gathering blood?? Just stay close to Arran all the time and keep away from Nathan's boyfriend, he's not good if he's with a killer, right? I love you, too, so much. -Dad (PS: Can you tell Arran to reply to my texts?)

20:18, SAT, 25/06/32

Me: we're gathering blood cuz they need it for a ritual. i hope i don't have to drink it

I tell Arran to reply to whatever dad has sent him. The rest of the train ride I spend finishing my smoothie, then asking Gabriel for his; he hadn't even touched it. After finishing his too, I finished Arran's because he was full.

'I need to pee,' I tell them when we're finally off the train.

From the bathroom at the station, there's only a ten-minute walk until we're there. The brick house is tall; three stories, but very narrow. I'm reminded of the townhomes in New York, the exception being the lack of connected buildings, making it look sort of odd standing alone. Also, unlike the New York townhomes, it looks very old and English.

Soon later, we have two tubes of blood. It wasn't hard to convince them to help us. It's a family of four; Deborah - Nathan's sister - her husband David, and their children, my cousins; Daisy, who looks my age, and Dean, who looks about eleven.

At last, it's Dean's turn, and he looks scared. Arran presses the needle into his arm, making him scream in horror the next five seconds while it's in. Daisy shakes her head, and turns to me.

'He's going to hate you for this.'

'What?'

'I'm kidding,' she laughs at my reaction.

'Oh.'

She stares at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, before finally saying; 'I want to show you something. Come.'

I follow her up some narrow stairs to what I'm guessing is her bedroom on the third floor. It's small, but cozy, with a nice skylight on the ceiling.

'Arran said the contract doesn't mean anything anymore, so I might as well show you photos. It'll be fun,' she says, grabbing a photo album from her bookshelf.

'Uh... ok...' I say, a little confused. Why does she want to show me photos? That's so strange.

She gestures for me to sit beside her on the bed, and I do. She's about to open the album, but hesitates, and looks at me. 'You don't remember me at all, do you?'

'I'm pretty sure we haven't met before,' I say, trying to shake the tension in the room with a chuckle. Daisy sighs, and opens the album.

'This is the two of us in the summer of two-thousand-and-twenty-four.'

I look at the photo she's pointing at, and immediately recognize the long-haired, six-year-old me. I'm sitting beside a girl the same age, and, I admit, she does look like a younger version of Daisy.

'What is this?' I ask, taking the album from her.

'So they haven't told you...?'

'Told me about what?' she's hesitating to tell me, so I jump up and throw the album at the bed as if a reflex.

'I'm afraid you'll freak out if I tell you-'

'Tell me! Tell me everything you know, I'm so done with secrets!'

'Ok, ok!'

Daisy looks nervous. I realize it doesn't help that I'm standing over her like this, so I sit down again, and wait for her to speak.