Sneak Peek: Superstition S3 (4)

“Your mother?”

She nods, “I don’t speak about her a lot. She died when I was very young. Young enough for me not to miss her presence but also to remember that she was there.” She pushes some of her hair out of her face and sighs, “the pack would follow the traditions of the tribe we descended from, making dreamcatchers for the children to be hungover their beds.”

“To chase the bad dreams away?”

“Kinda. From what I was told, the original purpose was to act like a spider’s web. They were hung over the bed or cradle to catch anything bad that may linger in the air. Be it dreams or spirits or magic.” She nods to hers, “I was trying to find one that had a more spiderweb design to it, but most of the ones around now are just beads and feathers. I don’t mind, but it makes me miss the one I had.”

“You don’t talk about her a lot.”

“I didn’t know her enough to. Half of the thoughts I have about her, I think I made up to make me feel better. Most of what I know was told to me by others. Her beauty, her personality, what she turned into.”

“What did she turn into?”

“Same as me, Australian Shepherd. My dad turns into a Collie, a pretty one too, but I’m happy I got at least that from her.” She sighs and leans back on the wall, letting the books in her hands come to rest in her lap. I peek at the title of one and chuckle, raising a brow.

“Fairytales?”

<<if $ARomance >=10 and $amari >=50>>\

“Don’t make fun of me,” she sneers, the expression hardly lasting as she smiles widely. She gathers the books and places them in front of her so that I can see them clearly. “These stories helped me through dark times. And yea, I know it’s childish, but it was all that I had. I would read them when I was alone in motels and imagine that I was them. I wasn’t alone. I was just waiting for my Prince or Princess Charming.”

I raise a brow, “do you want me to save you from a tower, Amari?”

She produces a snort-like laugh, hiding her face in her hands to calm herself, but I lean forward, grabbing her wrists and moving them away so I can see her. It isn’t until I’m performing the action that I second think myself, wondering why I had done so to begin with. Our eyes connect, and I realize how much I missed her. How much I missed this radiant ball of positivity and happiness. Her smile, her demeanor, everything about her sets me at ease, and I could only hope that I made her feel even a fraction of that.

“$name,” she murmurs, her eyes never leaving mine.

“Yes?”

“Kiss me?”