Chapter 224

Tessa’s POV

“Her heritage is the reason my wife is dead,” my father said through his teeth. “I don’t want my daughter associated with that any of that shit, Pen.”

“You’ve been searching for a way to get rid of her powers for years with no luck, Rick. Eventually, her powers will grow, and she will be more dangerous than ever. Next time, it won’t be just your hand,” Penny said in a harsh whisper. “The coven already told you that there is no way to get rid of it. Why can’t you believe them.”

“Tessa wasn’t the one who broke my hand,” my father muttered, ignoring the rest of what she had said.

I heard enough. I couldn’t stay here any longer. My father was keeping more secrets from me and by the sounds of it, he knew who and where my mother’s coven was.

I didn’t bother waiting for them to emerge from the kitchen room. I didn’t bother telling them I was leaving. I managed to leave the apartment without them noticing.

As I walked outside the apartment building, I felt an overwhelming sense of grief. I grieved for the girl I thought I was. I grieved for the relationship I had with my father. I grieved the loss of my mother knowing how she truly died.

I grieved the coven I was never going to be able to know.

It was all too much to handle, and I needed to get my head on straight. I couldn’t be frazzle-minded on the day of my graduation.

I must have looked the part because Joseph was out of the car within seconds of me appearing.

“What happened?” He asked, rushing toward me and throwing his arms around me.

I cried into his chest, not caring that my makeup was getting smudged and that I was ruining his nice shirt.

I was just so done with being lied to.

“I overheard my father and Penny talking,” I whispered, fisting his shirt and refusing to let him go. “He knows where my mother’s Coven is and who they are. He’s been lying to me about not knowing them…”

“Did you confront him about it?” Joseph asked, kissing the top of my head gently.

I shook my head and peered up at him through my tear-filled eyes.

“I couldn’t. Not now. Not yet,” I told him. “I just have to get through the rest of the day and then I’ll talk to him.”

Joseph looked at me with such sincerity and worry that it tugged at my heart. The way the sun cascaded across him made him look like my personal angel.

The sun?

Oh, my God!

“You shouldn’t be outside, Joseph. It’s daylight,” I gasped, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the car door.

He laughed.

“I’m not going to explode, Tess.”

“Still,” I said, opening the car door. “I don’t need you falling ill right now.”

He laughed, but he didn’t argue.

Once he was secured in the car, I got into the passenger seat and took a deep breath.

“Ready?” Joseph asked, peering over at me with that worried look still on his face.

I nodded, forcing a smile.

“Ready,” I confirmed.

……

I was surprised by how many cars were parked in the lot when we arrived. I wasn’t expecting everybody to be here so soon. The ceremony wasn’t for a couple more hours and we were here early because I wanted to make sure the committee had everything ready before it started.

I instantly recognized Ruby’s car and I was thankful my best friend was here already. She probably had the same mindset as me this morning.

I quickly kissed Joseph before opening the car door.

“I’m going to run home so I can get my house ready for tonight,” he said against my lips.

“You’ll be back for the ceremony though, right?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he assured me. “Besides, I kind of have to be there. It’s mandatory.”

I laughed and shoved him playfully before leaving the car. I waved at him before turning and walking into the building.

It was flooded with graduating students and their families. Everybody was dressed so nicely, and they were eagerly showing their families around the campus. I couldn’t help but be a little envious of how happy they were with their families. Everybody looked so happy and carefree.

I went through the halls until I saw a familiar face and I paused when I saw the makeup streaks and tears on Ruby’s face.

“Ruby, what happened?” I asked, rushing toward her.

She seemed startled to see me. She was at her locker, staring at the locker mirror she placed when we first arrived at this school 4 years ago. Neither of us had cleaned out our lockers yet; we wanted to do this together.

It was obvious Ruby had been crying and she was trying hard to stop but to no prevail.

She turned and looked at me and I saw the pure pain in her eyes.

“What is it?” I asked, stopping beside her.

“I still haven’t heard from Carter,” she whispered. “He’s ghosting me completely, Tess.”

My heart broke for my best friend. I stepped toward her and wrapped her in a hug as she continued to cry.

“I don’t even know what I did wrong. He never told me. I thought things were great and then played that weird joke on me about him being a vampire. I haven’t heard from him since that. It was almost a week ago, Tess…”

“I’m so sorry, Ruby,” I whispered. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Has he said anything to you? Have you spoken to him. I mean, he’s your cousin… is he coming to the graduation ceremony?”

I knew what she wanted me to say, but I couldn’t.

I shook my head sadly as her face fell even more.

“I’m sorry, Ruby,” I said again.

“It doesn’t help that my family isn’t coming to graduation either. They live too far away, and they are too busy to come… the only other person who would come see me graduate is dead and I’m so sad,” she continued to sob.

Ruby rarely talks about her family, but I know her father was in politics and her mother was a businesswoman. For most of Ruby’s life, they were absent. Ruby always said she practically raised herself after her older sister, who was basically like a mother to her, passed away from a car accident.

Ruby was 15 when her sister, 19, died.

I knew she took that death hard. She mentioned her sister was huge into fashion and that was the reason Ruby wanted to be a designer. Her sister taught her everything she knew.

“It’s fine,” Ruby said, forcing a smile. “I’ll be fine.”

I wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince me, or herself. I decided to change the subject and tell her something I hadn’t told anybody yet, not even Joseph.

“I have some news that might make you feel better.”

She looked at me with wide and curious eyes.

“I could use some good news,” she said, turning back to her mirror to fix her makeup.

“I got an email this morning from Fable Magazine.”

Ruby paused her movements and peered at me through the mirror. She said nothing, so I continued.

“They are offering me a full-time position at their New York branch,” I blurted.

Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as she whipped around to face me. In her normal Ruby fashion, she started to squeal happily. Which was anticipated; all the sadness that was once on her face was completely gone and replaced with pure glee.

She threw her arms around me and started to hop around happily, making me laugh.

“Ruby,” I laughed, trying to get her to calm down.

“That’s stellar news, Tess!!” She squealed, clapping her hands together. “I’m so happy for you!! That means we can go to New York together! Maybe we can be roommates!!! I’m so happy!!!”

My smile faltered only a little and she noticed because her excitement started to subside.

“Or maybe it’s not good?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at my fallen features. “What’s wrong?”

I sighed.

“It’s Joseph. I don’t know if he’d want to go to New York,” I admitted. “He had his heart set on returning home to the mountains after this semester.”

Ruby’s frown deepened.

“You have to follow your dreams, Tessa. You shouldn’t follow a guy unless you’re certain it’s what you want to do.”

“I know. I just—”

The look on Ruby’s face changed drastically as her eyes wandered behind me. I noticed her entire body freezing and it made me stop talking entirely. I narrowed my eyes at her, confused by the sudden change until I turned to see what she was looking at.

My heart fell when I saw Joseph staring at me.

….

Joseph’s POV

I waited until Tessa was well within the school before I put the car in drive and took off. I hated how to hurt her because of her father, and I wished I could do something that could take away that pain.

There was a nasty feeling bubbling in the pit of my stomach, and I couldn’t shake it. But I didn’t want to worry Tessa over something that could be nothing.

Then I saw something shiny in the corner of my eye, bringing me out of my thoughts. and I frowned as I glanced down at the passenger seat ground. It was a black strap with small fake diamonds. I grabbed it and uncovered Tessa’s purse.

“Shit,” I muttered, turning the car around and driving back to the school. I parked the car and quickly made my way into the building.

I wasn’t really sure where Tessa would go; the ceremony wasn’t for a couple more hours and the halls were more crowded than I thought. Her scent was still fresh in the air, and it smelled amazing.

I decided to start with her locker, knowing that was usually the first place she went upon arriving at school. I know she hasn’t cleaned that out yet. As I neared her locker, her scent only grew, so I knew I was heading in the right direction.

Then, her voice became distinctive in the crowd of people, and I was able to hear her voice as if she was standing next to me. She was talking to Ruby and Ruby sounded upset. I heard Ruby saying something about Carter ghosting her and I could practically feel Tessa’s anger over the situation.

I warned Carter that this was going to happen.

Tessa and Ruby came into view when Tessa told her that she had some news that might make her feel better.

“I got an email this morning from Fable Magazine,” Tessa went on to say, making my entire body freeze. “They are offering me a full-time position at their New York branch.”