Circling Stars

🌟 Chapter 33 🌟

    "You can stay here as long as you want." Shirley lingered in the doorway awkwardly. It wasn't like this was the first time I'd spent the night at her house. Of course this time my stay would be longer and wasn't because of any happy circumstances. Shirley was such a good friend. When I called her in tears she'd canceled the rest of her spa stay and came straight home.

    "Thanks." Two duffel bags worth of stuff were all I'd brought with me. Plus the giant fox Jasper had won for me. I put him on the end of the bed and sighed. Mom and dad hadn't kicked me out, but I couldn't stay there. Every time I met one of them the arguments would start. Sean understood why I left but it still hurt seeing the disappointment he tried to hide when I told him. Once I assured him we could still do our language lessons over video chat he cheered up a little.

    My first choice of temporary residency was the Swans but I thought that might not be best considering. If I wanted my parents to come around flaunting my decision probably wasn't going to do me any favors. At this point I was just hoping they'd at least come to the wedding.

    "Will you help me with my tattoos?" Behind me I heard Shirley close the door. Gingerly I peeled off my shirt. It rubbed uncomfortably against my skin. They were healing nicely and only scabbed a tiny bit in some places where my skin was the most irritated. Carefully I un-clipped my bra and laid down on the bed. Shirley took the A&D tube and just as gently as Jasper had began applying the ointment. "Shirley?"

    "Yeah."

    "Would you be my maid of honor?"

    "Of course." She worked in silence until all the tattoos had been lightly covered. "Ever since we got back something's been bothering you, before that even. Is it just wedding troubles?"

    "No." I bit my lip. With my parents reaction to the engagement I hadn't gotten to bring up the arrests. I had finally found the courage to ask but I felt like it had been sucked out me. I redid my bra clip and sat up. "I found out something about my dad. Something that isn't good and makes me see him differently. He doesn't know that I know. I didn't go looking for it, it was pure chance I found out."

    Shirley raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" I picked at my jeans. When I didn't answer I saw a brief expression of frustration pass on her face before she wiped it away. "If you're not comfortable telling me, that's fine. I'm here for you." She thought for a moment. "You know our dads were friends long before we were born. If you need to talk about it, I bet my dad knows whatever this is."

    Shirley was right. Caleb Lin and Dimitri Halliwell had been good friends since middle school. If there was anyone who might be able to enlighten me it was Mr. Marx.

    "I'll go ask him."

    "Theo maybe you should put on a shirt first or you'll give my dad a heart attack." Her amused comment stopped me halfway to the door.

    "Right."

🌟

    Caleb Lin and Aurora Marx had caused one of the great scandals of Wendigo back in the day. She was the daughter of a wealthy family and on track to be a full time model after graduation. Amazonian tall, features of a goddess, and fluent in four languages. The woman was a force of nature and sole heir to a multi-million dollar fortune of her forefathers.

    Caleb was the grandson of Chinese immigrants who had raised him after his parents died. He came from a modest home and worked most of his life to become an architect. They met in high school and had a fated romance the stuff of Shakespearean legend. Aurora's family didn't approve and had tried to separate them. It didn't work.

    The two had run off to Vegas and eloped. Every time the story was told it changed slightly, once Aurora's parents had chased them to the top of their hotel and they just managed to escape by helicopter. In this telling Aurora threw her bouquet down to her parents with a kiss. In another the police and her parents had shown up just as the 'I do's' and kiss were done. In this version, there had been a high speed chase all the way down to the New Mexico border where they got on a private plane to Fiji. Fantastical tale followed fantastical tale but one thing remained the same throughout.

    The Marx family was very proud of their name. It required any men marrying into the family change their names or the couple would be written out of the will. Aurora apparently broke the news to Mr. Marx seconds after his proposal like this, 'If you want to get with this lose the name, honey.'

    Mr. Marx had done it gladly. Not because he was a fortune hunter but because he wanted to be with her. Even if her crazy family disapproved and had chased them all the way to Vegas and out again. They had been happily married ever since.

    I knocked on the door to his study and after being given permission from within, stepped over the threshold.