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“I have jobs lined up for an annoying while, but the second I have time, I am coming to Mountain Vale.” Alana’s voice crackles through the speaker of my phone as I hit a semi-dead zone on my way back home. “I want to meet all the faeries. Magical world tour.”
“Is that possible?” I ask Ollie.
He slumps a little deeper in the front seat. “If we try to bring her into Faerie, she’ll be surrounded by things she can’t perceive properly, and she will go mad.”
“What did yippy chihuahua man say?” Alana chirps.
I chew my lip. “We can meet with Ollie’s friend. And Willow.” Probably. Movie night seems like a very open invitation. I hope Willow won’t mind. “But I don’t know about a magical world tour.”
“Darn.”
Ollie pulls on the seat lever, flopping the rest back. “It’s not built for humans.”
Tapping the mute button, I say, “But Alana’s my sister.”
“Sunshine, we’ve been over this.”
“There has to be something we can do, right? Could…could Zy turn her into a vampire? Or could you t—”
“Brittny.” The hard tone makes my mouth snap closed. “This is not a game. Or a tour. Or a moment. Think about what you’re saying. That kind of request…” Closing his eyes, he shakes his head and rolls over, putting his back to me. “It’s a lifelong decision, sunshine. More than that, it’s an eternal one. It’s not the kind of thing you should suggest for a visit. It would completely rewrite her life.”
“I’m sorry.”
He hesitates a moment, then he murmurs, “It’s okay.”
The vacant country road before me stretches among mountain ridges of sheer, sparkling stone. I swallow and try to find better words to apologize with.
“Hellooo?” Alana calls. “B, can you hear me?” Alana begins singing an opening song to one of the shows she watches, and her voice soothes the aching in my chest. All throughout our childhood, Alana’s songs have lulled me into safety. Maybe they’re the reason I find such comfort in Ollie’s now.
They feel like home.
Regaining myself, I turn the mute off. “I’m here.”
“There you are. Did I miss anything? I haven’t been able to hear you for a minute.”
Glancing at Ollie’s back out of the corner of my eye, I say, “I’m looking forward to when you’ll be able to come visit for the first time.”
“Me too!” She clicks her tongue. “Hold on. An owner is calling… I’ll talk to you later, B. Be good.”
“I’ll try.”
Silence sweeps in, reminding me with every second that passes exactly how many hours I have left before I’m home. But even being home won’t change the tension in the air right now. Ollie and I live together. If we don’t clear things up now, this horrible feeling will persist for who knows how long.
Heart trembling, I say, “…Ollie?”
“Yes?”
“Are you mad at me?”
“I’m not mad at you.”
I chew my cheek. “Are you disappointed?”
He sighs. “Not in you, beautiful.”
“In…who?”
“Myself.”
