Page 222 of The Harbinger

“Get out of the car, Mia.”

“Will you just give me a minute, please?” I hung my head, then stared at the house, which looked vaguely familiar to me.

Vlad stepped out of the vehicle, disregarding my request to gather my wits, and flung my door open. He reached inside, grabbed me by the arm, and yanked until my feet hit the ground and he could slam the door shut. “I don’t care what you do anymore. This is where you’ll stay because it is what he wants.”

Vlad released my arm with a rough shove, and I gripped the smarting flesh as he slid back into the driver’s seat, his face set like stone.

“Vlad, wait,” I called out after him, but he slammed the door shut and sped off.

I chased after Vlad, my shoes hitting the wet pavement with a thud, dirty slush splashing around my ankles, and soaking my jeans until my chest hurt, and my side ached. But he was already gone, leaving me alone in the middle of the street with houses lining it. I gasped for breath, my hand digging into my side, trying to ease the pain. The frigid air turned my lungs into ice crystals, my nose chilling with each inhalation. I was alone, abandoned once again,

My binding sigil tingled with the reminder. The promises he’d broken, the heart he’d stomped on.

I trudged back to the two-story house, my chest throbbing with each step as the frigid wind sliced through my body. The plush winter jacket Vlad had given me on the airplane was no match for the bone-chilling gusts that whipped through the street. My teeth chattered uncontrollably as I reached the front door, my hand trembling when I rang the doorbell.

“I’ll get it.” Lexi’s voice leached out from behind the door, and my heart skipped a beat.

The lock on the door flipped, and the knob turned with a mechanical click then the door cracked open.

My aged sister, who had always appeared to be about eight in my memories, glanced at me with wide, shining eyes. A smile reached across her face, her mouth gaping in surprise. “Mimi?” She screamed with excitement and rushed toward me. “Mom, come quick.” She wrapped her arms around my neck, the parka a nice cushion for my bones.

“Hi, Lexi-bear.” The nickname spilled from my lips as though by muscle memory, and I wrapped my arms around her when my mother pulled the door open further.

“Who is it? What’s wro…” My mother covered her mouth with her hand, then stepped forward with tears in her eyes. “Mia?” She stretched her arms wide and hugged me, sandwiching Lexi, who had outgrown me, between us.

“Hi, Mom.”

“I’ve waited for this day for so long.” She wrapped her other arm around me as Lexi groaned, then wiggled to my side, her arms never leaving me.

“I’m sorry.”

Her hair was still the same as I’d remembered while lying in bed, her floral perfume hung in the air with a hint of familiarity.

“No need to apologize, honey,” she choked out. “It’s freezing out here, though. Come inside where it’s warm.” With a gentle nudge, she shuffled us through the doorway and closed the door, shutting out the biting wind. “Your father’s still at work,” she continued, her eyes meeting mine. “But he’ll be home in a few hours.”

I swallowed and glanced around the house I’d called home my entire life yet didn’t recognize. It was as though I’d walked into a stranger’s home that just so happened to have pictures of me hanging on their walls.

“Why don’t you have a seat in the dining room? I’ll go call your dad,” Mom said with a pinched smile.

“Okay.” I shucked off my shoes and jacket, then looked for a place to hang it, not finding a coat rack on the wall or around me.

“In the closet,” Lex said, interrupting my visual search as though she picked up on my confusion. She pulled her brows together and cocked her head to the side. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, of course.” I nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be?” I opened the closet door situated under the staircase and grabbed the first free hanger.

“Just making sure.”

I hung my jacket up and closed the door when Lex grabbed my hand and dragged me into the dining room.

It was strange hearing her voice for real and not as some hallucination. It made me second-guess answering her out loud when she spoke.

“You sit here.” She pointed to the chair next to the window, looking out at a vast open backyard with a few trees. It stood in stark contrast to Sacha’s, which had a purpose for every nook and cranny. “Remember?”

“Uh.” I took the seat she pointed to, then rested my elbows on the table. “How come you aren’t in school?”

“It’s winter break. We don’t go back until Tuesday.”

“Right, I knew that.”