Page 113 of Unbound By Shadows
There weren’t many photos from her childhood, so Selene studied the picture for several minutes. When she realized how the image summed up the dynamics of their family, a lump rose in her throat.
It had taken her a long time to accept her family’s dysfunction. She had an absent, workaholic father and a co-dependent mother with substance use disorder. They would never be like the families on TV or the families of anyone she knew. Selene had done her best to protect Cass and Evan, but now they were grown. It wasn’t her job to nurture them anymore. It was never her job to begin with.
Selene placed the photo in the pile of things going to Aurelia, yet she kept coming back to the face of her fifteen-year-old self. She wished she could hug that sweet girl and tell her not to lose hope. She would tell her to stop trying to please everyone because it would never be enough. It was okay to disappoint people and let them go, if necessary. She wanted to tell her how one day she would find someone who only wanted her to be happy and would give her the freedom to discover what she wanted.
She would make young Selene understand the lesson it had taken her thirty years to uncover—she didn’t have to be bound by anything but her own desires.
Selene decided it would be best to break the news of her upcoming “move” by taking her family out to dinner. If they were in a public place, she reasoned there would be no yelling, and there would be a clearly defined start and stop time to the whole experience.
She had reserved a private room at a Middle Eastern restaurant near her apartment. Selene was the first to arrive, andher nerves were humming. Get it together, she told herself.If I can kill a vampire, surely I can break this news.
Eventually, she heard the click-clack of high heels approaching. Then there was her mother, standing before her. She wore a sleeveless dress and had pinned her blonde hair up to show off the designer scarf around her neck. A frown pulled at her mouth. Still, Selene felt gratified to see her mother after so long.
“Hey, Mom,” Selene said. She hugged her, breathing in the familiar scent of Chanel No. 5 perfume.
Vivian stiffened at the uncharacteristic affection. “You look different. Have you been using that serum with the green tea I gave you?”
Selene had no idea what product her mother was referring to. She had a drawer full of rejected skincare items her mother had given to her and Cass when they failed to achieve the desired results. “Yes,” she lied.
“Well, it’s working,” Vivian said. “You look less defeated. Around the eyes.”
Her father appeared a moment later, wearing a suit and tie. “Hi, Dad,” Selene said. “Did you come from work?”
“The airport. I was at a conference in the Quad Cities.”
“Robert likes any excuse to get away from me,” Vivian said tartly. She sat down, then asked, “Seleney, where’s Kevin?”
Here we go.On to the first in the series of bombshells she was about to drop. “Oh, um, we broke up.”
Vivian gasped. “Why?”
“It wasn’t working.”
Her mother’s eyebrows climbed toward her hairline. “What do you mean? Poor Kevin must be devastated!”
“You dumped Kevin?” Cass asked eagerly, interrupting Vivian as she entered the room with Evan. “I knew you’d wise up one day.”
“Did he cheat on you? I’ll kill him,” Evan said after he sat down. Vivian reached out to smooth his shaggy brown hair, but he pushed her hand away.
“No. We just grew apart,” Selene said. She took a deep breath. “Our breakup actually has to do with the reason I wanted to see everyone tonight.”
Vivian glanced at the menu. “Couldn't we have gone someplace less… foreign? Like a nice steakhouse?”
“Don’t start,” Selene’s father said. “Isn't it enough that our daughter wanted to take us out?"
“I was only making a suggestion—”
“Nothing is ever good enough.”
“That’s rich coming from you,” Vivian replied.
Evan turned away from his sparring parents to grin at his twin. “So, Cass. Bigfoot versus Mothman. Who would win in a fight?”
The “versus” game was one that Selene had made up when they were children to distract them during arguments. Not missing a beat, Cass said, “It’s a toss-up. Bigfoot has stealth, and Mothman can fly. Though of the two, Bigfoot seems stronger.”
“Yes, but can he see in the dark?” Evan asked.
Selene wondered if she’d ever get to tell them the truth about Bigfoot, Mothman, and the other Aurelian queens, but her anxiety was too high to chime in. The splintered conversations continued until Selene blurted out, “Listen to me! I’m leaving Nashville. Tomorrow.”
