Chapter 194: The Right Fit
Nina
I reluctantly returned home after my conversation with Myra. There was an undeniable lump in my throat; if Lewis really was watching me so closely, and if he truly was apparently so hell-bent on making sure that I couldn’t bring Enzo or Richard back that he would even go so far as to take Luke hostage and hire a witch to take away Myra’s ability to open portals, then I didn’t know what to do. I would have to listen to Myra and try not to look for Enzo until Lewis was gone; I only hoped that he wouldn’t do anything horrible to Luke before then, assuming he hadn’t. already.
When I arrived back at my dorm, I stopped in the mail room to see if I had received any letters. And, much to my surprise, there were two things for me: a letter from my mother, and a package I furrowed my brow at the package, as I hadn’t ordered anything recently, but decided to open the letter from my mother first. Maybe she sent me a care package and her letter would explain it.
I opened the letter with shaky hands, trying not to think too much about what Myra had just told me as I began to read.
“Dear Nina, I just want you to know that your brother and I arrived safely in England, and are now staying with your aunt. I’m sorry I haven’t called; I still haven’t gotten my long distance phone set up.
I’m not sure if you said something to him, but Richard sent me a letter recently. I was afraid at first to open it, but after a few weeks of it sitting here and staring at me, I finally decided to open it and give it a look. In it, much to my surprise, that old coot actually apologized.
Would you believe it? Now, I can never be entirely sure whether he’s being truthful or not, but when he apologized for what happened to Taylor and mentioned that he didn’t put a curse on him… Well, let’s just say that I was reminded of the same boy who I used to know in college, before he went berserk and power-hungry. Somehow, I’m inclined to believe him; but I want to know what you think. I know that you are incredibly close with Enzo, so maybe you can talk to him.
Speaking of which, have you learned anything about your heritage since 1 last saw you? I wished that I had more to give you other than that little baby blanket, but that’s really all I have. When you were left on my doorstep, there was no warning and no other evidence other than that blanket and the burned photograph. Hopefully, those two things can give you some sort of clue as to where your family might have come from, and what may have happened to your parents.
There have also been whisperings of the Crescents causing trouble. I haven’t heard much, but there is a community of werewolves here who seem to be at least somewhat aware of the situation. I hope you’re okay.
If you need to get out of Mountainview, I’ll buy you a plane ticket any time you want. I think your brother and I are going to stay here, in England, because we’ve found a witch who has been able to help Taylor a lot. His pain is almost entirely gone now thanks to her medicine, and he only has the occasional flare up.
I think that being in a new place is helping him, too. The town your aunt lives in is small and located in the countryside. There are rolling fields all around, and plenty of fresh air. I think you’d love it; right now, it’s a little bleak with winter coming, but your aunt said that it’s beautiful in the Spring when the wildflowers start to bloom.
You should try to come and stay for a while when that time comes. Bring Enzo, if you two are together then. I’m sorry that I wasn’t more welcoming before, but after seeing how much you loved him, I couldn’t help but be reminded of how much I loved Taylor’s father in college.
Anyway, just know that we’re doing okay here. Taylor is good. I’m good. We’re happier here, although we do miss you. I hope that soon, you and I can begin to repair our strained relationship. Even though you may not be my biological daughter, you’re still my daughter nonetheless.
Love, Mom.”
By the time I finished reading the letter, there were tears filling my eyes. It was such a relief to hear that my mother and Taylor were doing okay, and that my mother had such a change of heart about Enzo.
If only Enzo were here. Then, maybe we could leave this place and go to stay with my family together. The thought of the wildflowers and the rolling fields made me smile, but at the same time, I knew that it wouldn’t be so easy for us to just run away together. I had to find Enzo first, but it seemed that the universe simply didn’t want me to ever find him.
However, the letter didn’t mention any sort of care package, which made me furrow my brow in confusion. Who had sent me a package, then? There was no return address on it; in fact, there wasn’t even an official shipping label or anything of the sort. It only had my name on it, as though someone from campus had just slipped it into my mailbox.
My curiosity got the best of me. I quickly slipped my mother’s letter back into my pocket and ran upstairs with the box. Lori and Jessica, who were sitting on the couch and playing video games when I arrived, both looked over and gave me a strange look.
“What’s that?” Lori asked, nodding her head toward the box.. I shrugged and threw it down on the counter, then grabbed the scissors out of the kitchen drawer. “I dunno,” I replied. “It was just in my mailbox. There’s no address or anything on it.”
Equally as curious as I was, my friends paused their game and scurried over to watch me open the box. And when I did, my eyes widened.
“No way,” Jessica said as I lifted the contents out of the box.
Someone I couldn’t be sure who, exactly had sent me a replacement of the black dress that got ruined in the coffee shop the day earlier. It was brand new with the tags still on, and it was in my exact size.
“Maybe the new girl felt bad after all?” Lori asked, scrunching up her nose in confusion as I held the dress up with a growing grin on my face. Truthfully, I had no idea who bought me the replacement. Maybe Lori was.
