Page 6 of Spellbound & Speechless
“You didn’t know?” Laurel rolls her eyes. “Wow. I guess you haven’t kept up withmeon social media.”
“Laur—”
“It’s fine.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder. “If youdon’t like my hair, that’snoneof my business. Keep your thoughts to yourself.”
“I didn’t say I don’t like it! I just thought you would be open to changing it by now.”
Idon’tlike her hair, but I still love my baby sister. She spent the least time with our Mom, and I can only imagine how that weighed on her. It’s the same way it weighed on me, I suppose. I left home right after high school and lost quite a few years with Mom as well.
“Enough.” Juniper sits at the head of the table where our mother once sat. “What happened, Aspen?”
“Strange way to ask what the hell she’s doing here,” Laurel mutters.
Maple pours five cups of tea.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say, pushing off the inevitable.
“You didn’t tell us you were visiting,” Juniper says, “and this doesn’tfeellike an ordinary visit.”
“Yeah. It’s not as if youevervisit,” Laurel says.
“Laurel. Please.” I sigh and drag a cup of tea over the wooden table, bringing it closer to me. “Look… maybe it’s not avisit, exactly…”
Rowan’s eyes narrow.
My steaming teacup rests between my hands. It’s hot enough to burn my fingers, but I won’t let go. “I lost my internship. It was supposed to bethejob. I thought it would turn into a paid position, but it didn’t, and then word got around the industry… and no one wanted me.”
“What do you mean?” Juniper’s lips part. “When did this happen?”
I press my mouth into a tight line. “A year ago.”
Laurel grins. “Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, huh, Juni?”
“Stop,” Juniper says. “This isn’t about me.”
Juniper lostherjob a few months before I did. Maybe I could have gone to her about it, and we could have bonded, but it was impossible to swallow my pride. I’m still struggling to do that now.
“What I mean to say is… I couldn’t find another job in the city.” The words flow from my mouth before I can stop them. Opening up to my sisters is too easy. “I tried for months, for nearly a year. I can’t keep doing it. My money ran out, I’m here now, and I used the last on the motel.”
Gods. I’ve never felt more like a failure. Leaving my job was necessary. If I had stuck around, I would have hated myself and my work. Why couldn’t I have found something else?
Juniper pinches the bridge of her slender nose. “You could have stayed here. You know that your room is waiting for you.Whywaste your money on a motel?”
“I was finding my courage.” I hang my head. “But I never found it. Not really.”
“Oh, honey. You don’t need courage to be here with us.” Maple offers me the kindest, warmest smile I’ve seen in months. She is a bonfire personified. “We’re just happy to have you home.”
“Yeah.” My shoulders slump. “I suppose I am home.”
But at what cost? They’re happy to see me, but it doesn’t bring the relief I’m hoping for.
“You’re moving back in,” Juniper says. “No complaining. No denying. You will not spend another cent at that motel.”
Based on her stiff voice, some people would assume Juniper is unhappy. I know the truth. She wants me here.
“Well, if you insist.” A big smile breaks out on my face. “I’ll stay.”
Chapter 3
