Gossamer (13 page)

“You are a changeling.”

“I thought I was a faery? Half-faery, whatever.” Changeling sounded familiar, but I couldn’t immediately place where I’d heard it.

“You are, but you are a changeling as well.” Before I could question him, he continued, “A changeling is when a mortal baby is taken and a faery baby is left in its place. Your case is a bit different.”

“Why would someone leave their baby? And why did my family want a baby that wasn’t me?” The intermingling of confusion and hurt sat heavily on my chest making my breath catch then slip through my lips, almost like a sigh. Grant’s mouth turned down as if bothered by upsetting me.

“You were wanted. Very much.” He lightly squeezed my hand. “Being a changeling protected you.”

“All this time my parents, or well, whoever they are, have been unwillingly raising a faery baby, while their baby had been stolen?” As if surrounded by a bubble I heard the words but they seemed far away, not connected to me. I watched someone else’s life. This couldn’t be me. It didn’t make any sense.

“No, not at all,” he said vehemently. “Not all changelings are like the faery tales. No one stole any babies, nothing sneaky happened.”

“Stop, okay, this is too much.”

Tears threatened. My best birthday ever had gone downhill, fast. How was I supposed to handle the news that my real parents didn’t want me and switched me for a mortal baby and the people I thought were my real parents probably wouldn’t want me once they found out my real identity. My head hurt even thinking about it.

“You’re right, this is hard to hear, and I don’t want to hear anymore. I’m done. I think you two should leave now.”

Grant’s lips parted and a deep crease formed between his eyebrows. His gaze settled on me for a moment, he finally stood. “Okay, I understand.”

“What?” Conor shot up, his eyes wide. “Grant you can’t just leave her here. It’s not safe, just tell her the rest and then let’s get out of here.”

“Whoa, I am not going anywhere with either one of you.” I put my hands out in a defensive gesture.

Grant calmly looked at me. “Just take some time to digest this new information. There is still a lot we need to tell you, but we have some time.”

“Are you crazy, Grant? If anything happens to her, we are so screwed,” Conor yelled.

Grant finally lost his cool and shouted back. “Do you think I would let anything bad happen to her?” He pointed at me.

“Well you
are
leaving her unprotected.” Conor spat back.

“She won’t be unprotected, if
you
do your job right.” His words burned with anger.

I didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t intended to start a fight.

Conor and Grant stared each other down. Finally Conor spoke up, “
I
always do my job right.” His cold voice matched his icy stare. He then walked out of my room and slammed the door behind him. I flinched.

Grant faced me looking very apologetic. “I’m sorry about that.” My words failed me and I remained quiet. He smiled. “Take some time to think about things. I know this is a lot to take in. There is some stuff I need to check on anyways. I can tell you the rest later.” He ran his hands through his hair, mussing it up a bit.

He opened the door, then stopped abruptly, “But, Kyla, you can’t take too long okay?” His eyes were pleading. “I have to keep you safe. You are–just–really important to a lot of people.” As he left my room, I could have sworn I heard him add, “Me included.” My heart fluttered.

I sat there shocked for a second. This was too much. I didn’t want Grant and Conor fighting, and I definitely didn’t want to get either of them in trouble. Especially, not Grant. I sighed and ran out of my room. I raced down the stairs and caught up to him as he pulled my front door closed.

“Grant, wait!” He stopped and turned to me with a curious expression. “I need time to process this, but it’s obvious you two don’t feel like I have much to waste. So, just come back tomorrow evening. Okay? I just need some time. I promise I will hear you out from start to finish.”

He gave me a gorgeous smile. “I’m glad to hear that. Thank you, Kyla.” His clear blue eyes bore into me causing my heart to leap. All I knew–it’s a good thing they sent a gorgeous grant to tell me this. Had he not looked this good, it would have been a lot harder to convince me to ever let him back in my home.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” I smiled.

“Tomorrow,” he repeated. He closed the door softly behind him.

Chapter 10

That night I found myself in a familiar place. I knew I was dreaming since I’d had this dream so many times before, but as always it felt real. I shuffled over the thick forest floor of leaves and branches. I never knew what I was supposed to find but as always something pulled me in. Silently wishing for more light, I looked up at the tall canopy of trees overhead as I maneuvered around the massive trunks. The lack of sunlight gave the entire forest a hazy appearance as usual, but this time it left me unsettled. The pull, stronger than I remembered it being, led me deeper into the forest.

A large oak tree loomed several feet in front of me and immediately, I knew that’s where I headed. After all this time, I would finally reach the tree. My stomach twisted into knots, whether from excitement or nerves I wasn’t sure.

I approached the oak tree and ran my fingers over the rough casing. My fingers tingled where the bark grazed them. The sensation reminded me of the way I felt around Grant. The only difference being that with him, the feeling thrilled and excited me, but right now it induced a familiarity I found somewhat comforting although it was laced with a strange undercurrent of danger. The tree itself posed no threat. It pulsed with life under my caress, assuring me of my safety and acting as a barrier to what waited beyond. But, what would I find past this tree? My heart pounded and my breathing grew rapid. What triggered this fear?

I stood, frozen, my hand on the tree, fighting an internal battle. As long as I touched it I could stay anchored there but the pull to keep walking never ceased. Somehow I knew that if I removed my grasp, I would take the last steps toward whatever called to me. Though unsettling, the pull overwhelmed me and I shifted to release my hold. A raven swooped by, squawking loudly as it flew past me, and my heart slammed into my chest.

My eyes flew open, and I stared at the ceiling of my bedroom. My fingers still tingled, and conflicting emotions somersaulted within me. But more than anything I burned with the curiosity of what was behind the tree.

“Hey, honey.” My mom peeked her head past the door. When she noticed I was awake, she came in. “Are you feeling okay? You were already in bed when we got home last night, we didn’t have a chance to give you your birthday present and you didn’t touch your cake.” She frowned a bit. “Are you upset that your dad and I missed your birthday? I really am sorry. I just couldn’t skip the fundraiser.”

“No Mom, not at all. I was just tired and a little under the weather.”

“Do you need to stay home from school today?” She wore a concerned expression.

Did I ever?
I decided to take advantage of the opportunity. “Well, maybe I should. I would hate to get behind at school, but I just don’t feel one hundred percent. I would probably fall behind even if I did go to school today.” I frowned, hoping to assure her of my misery. “I guess I should probably rest up today so I can get back tomorrow.”

“Absolutely. You don’t want to make things worse. You will just take that much longer to get better. Stay home today and we’ll see how you feel tonight.” She brushed my hair off my forehead and her expression softened with tenderness. “Do you need your dad or me to stay home with you?”

My eyes stung as tears threatened. Just hearing her parental concern made me sad as the realization of who I really was settled in. If I wasn’t the child she thought, would she still love me? Why would she want a child like me if even a faery mother didn’t?

“I’ll be fine,” I said with a weak smile.

She eyed me over as if deciding if I was well enough to stay home alone. “Okay then, if you need anything, call me.” With a benevolent mother’s touch, she patted my leg through my quilt. “Before I go, I wanted to give you this.”

My mom produced a small box and placed it in my hand. I opened the lid and found small diamond earrings. “They’re beautiful.”

“Your dad gave these to me on our wedding day. They were his grandmother’s, and, now, we want you to have them.”

Guilt clawed at me. They should be passed on to their real daughter, not me. I couldn’t meet her eyes as I spoke. “This is too much. These are special to you. You should keep them.”

“They are special, and so are you, which is why we want you to have them. I know I’ve been crazy with this whole birthday thing,” she smiled sheepishly, “but I want you to know how much we love you and every time you see these earrings I want you to remember that, okay?”

I met her gaze, she smiled lovingly at me though her eyes were glassy.

“I can’t believe you are eighteen already. Where did the time go?” She sighed. “Well, try them on.”

I obliged, wondering if she’d want them back when she discovered the truth.

She lifted my hair to see them better. “Perfect. Just like you.” She leaned forward giving me a hug. “I’ll let you get some rest now.” She walked out closing the door softly behind her.

* * * *

After both of my parents left for work I attempted to busy myself. After forcing my body out of bed and into the shower, I went downstairs for breakfast only to discover my appetite non-existent. The white cake box, which yesterday allured me with all that chocolate goodness, now made me bitter.

Why me? Why was I some sort of mutant baby? The sense of not really belonging had been present several times in the past, but didn’t all teenagers feel like that at one time or another?

The sad part was that since Grant entered my life only a few short days ago, I thought I was finding myself. Now it couldn’t be further from the truth. He wasn’t helping me, he pulled the rug right out from under me.

I sighed. The blame shouldn’t be placed on him. It wasn’t his fault who or what I was. Besides, he had been nothing but nice to me and maybe that better understanding came from not being human either. Maybe I belonged in his world.

I shoved the cake box along with all my insecurities out of sight. “Who knows, who cares?”

This over-thinking had to stop. I needed to engross myself in something, anything that would take my mind off of things.
Homework.

After retrieving my Physics book from my bottomless pit of a book bag and turning to the assigned page, I pulled out several sheets of notebook paper and a pencil. I wrote my name across the top of the white college ruled paper then stared at my book. A steady beat drummed as I tapped my pencil against my desk. My gaze shifted to my hand, and I realized my pencil needed sharpening. Once the graphite had a needle-like point, I returned my attention to my assignment. The pencil tapped rhythmically again this time joined by the tapping of my foot. Halfway through the instructions I paused, realizing I had no idea what I had just read. My textbook might as well been written in a foreign language, my brain read the words but my mind couldn’t focus enough to interpret. I stared at the page for a few seconds longer, then closed my book.

Since homework was clearly a no go, I pulled out my iPod and popped in my earbuds. I selected a playlist with upbeat songs and began to tidy my room. Unfortunately, it was already pretty clean so the task didn’t consume nearly enough time. I searched the area for something else to straighten. The white bed quilt was smooth, even the abundance of throw pillows, which my mom was convinced every bed needed, were arranged perfectly. The books on my shelf were lined up neatly enough to pass a Barnes and Noble inspection.

I scanned the floor. My plush white carpet was free of clothes and clutter. I sighed. My room could have come straight from a Pottery Barn catalog. I tugged out my earbuds, tucked them into my hoodie pocket and switched off the music.

I plopped on my bed and brainstormed ways to stay busy. Then I had a great idea. I could call Lexie. It was getting close to study hall and if she saw I was calling, she would surely sneak out to take the call. At least I hoped she would. Grabbing my phone off the nightstand, I called her. She could talk about nothing for a very long time and right now that’s all I wanted to hear, plus I promised to talk to her today, and she would be wondering where I was.

“Come on Lex, pick up,” I pleaded into a still ringing phone.

“Hi, you’ve reached Lexie. I’m either busy right now or screening my calls and don’t want to talk to you. Leave a message and I might call you back. Bye!” Her perkiness made her voice mail comical. Only she could insult someone with that much zeal.

Being her best friend I knew she never checked messages. I hit end. Summoning some super secret faery power I hoped to have, I willed my phone to ring. I stared anxiously at the screen. No such luck.

I set the phone back down and stared at my ceiling. “A faery. A freaking faery
with
no super secret powers!” I grumbled, then groaned
.

As if that wasn’t enough, I couldn’t forget the part about being a changeling
.
I tried to come up with various scenarios as to why I was swapped for a human, but nothing came to mind, well besides the obvious, ‘we just don’t want you’ scenario. It depressed me.