Chapter 57

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Vox

It’s been five weeks since my sister turned my world upside down. I’ve been struggling to come to terms with it but Nova has been by my side the entire time. When we walked out of that fucking hotel, I told her to pick anywhere in the world she wanted to go but of course, she fucking chose Washington DC, knowing her brother would end up here. Unlike her, I haven’t gone to see him once since he was flown here. They put him in a coma to help reduce the swelling on his brain but still, I never visited him.

I can’t.

“Vox, can you come down here?” Kelly calls out. I push back from my desk and decide to finish my college applications later. I know she has been trying to organize a surprise birthday for Nova and no matter how many times she tells her mother she doesn’t want anything big she refuses to listen. I enter the kitchen of our new home and freeze. Nova, Kelly, my mom and I all got a house together. Our moms thought it best to keep us close. My mom has flown back once to see Vivian, but my sister kicked her out and refused to allow her to stay. That shit has been hard for my mom to deal with but it's not the sight of them that has me stumped.

“Nova is going to kill you both,” I say. My mom waves me off while Kelly snorts. For someone who was drugged and locked away in a padded room she seems to be recovering well, her resilience reminds me of her daughter.

“Hello, Vox,” Olivia says and I shoot her a loaded look and shake my head before turning back to my mom.

“If you think I have a bad fucking temper then you clearly haven’t seen my girlfriend go the fuck off.” The three of them all smile as if Nova’s temper is something to be proud of, it fucking isn’t! She is a crazy fuck that likes to punch me in the balls if I snap at her. I fight to keep the smirk from splaying across my face, my little witch has a wild side and I fucking love it when she loses her shit because that’s when we fuck hard and I get to wear the mask. She loves it when I fuck her with my mask on.

“Ezekiel is being released from the hospital today,” Olivia says. I grit my teeth.

“Vox, Olivia has purchased the house next door,” my mom admits.

“Good, Nova and I are moving out,” I snarl, then turn to leave but Kelly rushes forward and grips my arm, halting my escape.

“Vox?” I reluctantly meet her gaze and the sliver of fear I see etched into her eyes gives me pause. “I know this is hard for you, it’s hard for me too. Nunu has no idea Olivia is moving in next door.”

“You haven’t told her?” I hiss.

She shakes her head. “She spends so much time at the hospital getting to know her brother and avoiding me.” I sigh, Nova has been avoiding Kelly but it isn’t because she is angry at her for not telling her she was adopted, it’s because she feels like shit about what happened to Kelly because of her.

“She doesn’t hate you.”

“I know my daughter, Vox, she has a quick temper and doesn’t trust often or even love easily. The fact you have been given more chances than any proves she may one day forgive me.” I spy Olivia out of the corner of my eye, dropping her gaze to the floor.

“Kelly, she isn’t mad at you she’s mad at herself.”

She reels back. “Why the hell is she mad at herself?”

I smile sadly down at her and place my hands on her shoulders. “She blames herself for what happened to you. She thinks all of this is her fault, you being taken and Waylen dying.” She shakes her head, trying to deny my words but she knows deep inside what I say is the truth. “She is still recovering from his death.” It still grates on my nerves that she pines after that little fuck but I get it, he was her best friend.

The night Nikoa took her, I went back and exhumed his body, paid off the right people and had him cremated. I gave her the urn the night we fled. She broke down in tears and clutched that thing for hours until I pried it out of her grasp and took her mind off things by making her ride my face until she came screaming my name.

The tattoo of his name and the numbers don’t bother me much anymore since she has a VH tattooed behind her ear. Seeing my initials inked on her forever always gets my pulse racing, knowing she is branded as mine forever.

“What do we do, son?” my mom asks.

“That should be a question you ask me, not him.” We all swing around to see my witch standing in the entryway, clearly she came in through the back door. I step away from her mom and raise my hands.

“I had nothing to do with this.” She rolls her eyes, I’ve learned the less I piss her off the more access I get to that pussy and fuck me, living with her and being able to fuck her whenever I want is drug I’ll never give up.

“Nunu, this isn’t what you think.” Her mom tries to calm her but it's useless.

“Mom, stop.” Olvia flinches but still won’t lift her gaze. “I know you think that by bringing her here it will help me but it won’t.” Kelly deflates. “I love you for trying but right now, all I want to focus on is getting Ez out of the hospital, getting into college with Vox, and then figuring out how to help Vivian.”

Olivia finally lifts her tear-filled gaze and looks at Nova. “Will you ever have time in your life for me?” she asks brokenly. The second her shoulders droop, I cross the room and wrap my arm around her. I won’t let her face this shit on her own, we have already worked out that trying to do things on our own only hurts us more, so we promised to always stay together no matter what. Nova looks up at me. I nod encouragingly, telling her without words that I’ll always support her like she has done with me even before we fled.

“I won’t lie to you, a part of me wants to know you.” Mom grips Olivia’s hand when she sobs. “But, another part is still so angry and confused.” Tears flow down Liv’s cheeks as she nods.

“I understand,” she chokes out, Nova sighs and pulls out of my hold and makes her way toward Olivia then grabs her free hand.

“I’d like it if you could just… I don’t know, maybe hang around more and let me wrap my head around this .”

Hope fills Liv’s eyes as she nods. “I’d really like that,” she whispers.

“I know you gave birth to me but I need you to respect the fact that Kelly is my mother and always will be, can you do that?” I’m so fucking proud of my girl. Kelly places her hand over her heart and fights back tears of her own. I know she has been scared that Nova would leave her for her birth mom and my girl just put those worries to bed for her.

Liv pulls her hand free of my moms and tentatively reaches out to cup my girls cheek. “Kelly is your mother in every sense of that word, all I want is a chance to know you . I swear I will never pressure you for more or want more than you are willing to give me, just please don’t shut me out,” she cries. Nova smacks her hands away and pulls her in for a hug. Liv breaks down in her arms, my mom and Kelly both begin to cry at the sight. The sight brings a smile to my face but pain starts to bloom in my chest.

I’m happy for Nova getting everything she deserves, but a huge part of me mourns for the loss of my twin. I’m used to being the one to save her and protect her from anyone and everything, but this time she took control from me and sent us packing. I haven’t spoken to Ez, Hayze or Arch since that night. Henry and Shane are still members so they go between Hollow Hills and wherever the hell they have decided to live. I stopped keeping tabs on Archer and Hayze, they broke my trust that night. Their masks fell and showed me everything I was too blind to see, my three best friends have been in love with my sister for years.

“Hey.” I shake my head to clear my thoughts and focus on my witch who stands here smiling up at me while our moms go back to planning her birthday.

“You caved, didn’t you?”

She huffs and nods. “Your mom pulled the whole my daughter got married without me, this would make me happy.” I laugh which earns a growl from my girl.

“She is going to keep using that line against you, witch.”

“I know!” she snaps. “You have to talk to her because she even mentioned me wearing a dress and heels and I am not okay with that.” My pulse quickens as I remember the dress she wore weeks ago.

“You look fucking sexy in dresses. Do you still have that one from the Night Of The Saints?” Her brows furrow until she takes in the look on my face.

“Vox, no,” she hisses. “Our moms are home and they’ll hear us,” she whisper shouts.

“Sick of biting pillows, huh?” She snorts out a laugh and smacks me on the chest.

“Ya think?” I wrap my arms around her and pull her against me, loving how she melts into me.

“I love you, witch.”

“I love you too.”

“Do you love me enough to blow me while I drive us to a hotel?” Her answering laughter has a smile tugging at my lips when she pulls back and nods.

“Pack the mask, I want two horns fucking me tonight.” She rushes out of the room to go pack while I stand here staring after her.

When I met her at the bonfire that first night, I never expected to fall in love with the witch who cast a spell over me. I never thought I would ever choose anyone over my sister or my brothers, but here I am, crazily in love with a witch.

I look down at my wrist and smile at my new ink.

4221 Witch.