probably beside herself with worry. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to bring that up now. Chastising my niece now wouldn’t garner any true confessions; she’d feel judged and unworthy of my trust.
“Granny isn’t,” she said, “Granny anymore. It’s weird. But I think she’s someone else now. She’s not mean anymore. She doesn’t yell or scream or anything. She’s not nice, either, but she’s not mean. And she talks funny. Most of the time she’s sleeping.”
“That’s because she’s not your grandmother. Last week, when we last saw each other, after you saved my life, you weren’t able to save her.” Seeing her confusion, I said, “You saved her body , but not her soul. That’s when Zephora, the first witch in our line, entered your grandmother’s body. Now she’s in control of it.”
“So Granny’s dead?”
“Yes.” I didn’t feel the least bit of sorrow at her passing, since she had physically abused Celestina, manipulated Alexis at every turn, not to mention collaborating with Zephora beyond the veil in an attempt to return her to the land of the living, so she could rule every paranormal creature.
“Good.” Her eyes filled with tears, probably out of relief. She lowered her head, ashamed. “She was so…evil! I hated her!”
I pulled her in close and pressed her against my side, holding her tight, feeling her frame hitch with every sob. I watched as Kendall silently drew Lulu away with a toy, so my niece and I could have some privacy.
“Mom thinks there’s nothing wrong with Granny, but she slurs her words a lot. It’s because of all the drinking she does, isn’t it? I looked it up on the Internet. That’s what happens when you drink too much. And she drinks too much, well, all the time. She’s…an alcoholic.” Her cheeks flinched and her shoulders protruded, as though admitting those words came with a physical cost she hadn’t expected.
I didn’t dare contradict her or defend my sister. Doing so could confuse or upset Celestina, so I just held her tightly as she cried.
“Mom’s never around. She’s always working or taking night classes or exercising. Or out meeting men.” She remained silent for a bit. “Are you mad at me for coming here?”
That simple question pushed moisture into my eyes. “No,” I said, smiling as I pulled away from her so she could see how much I cared for her. “You are always welcome here.”
Celestina met my grin with one of her own before turning away, probably feeling shy for revealing happiness.
That gesture told me that she often hid her emotions from others, fearing that they might judge her feelings. It burned me up inside, although not in the flame-throwing sense, and I took a few moments to regain my composure.
“So this is your place, huh?” Celestina asked, glancing around my living room. Even though she’d never visited, our line had the ability to sense each other’s presence at any given time, allowing everyone but me (except while astral projecting) to locate each other.
“Yep,” I said. If Grams hadn’t left me her home, I wouldn’t have had any place to live. “Would you like something to drink? Water? Lemonade?”
“I’ll take a vodka on the rocks,” she said.
Shocked, I did a double take, unsure what to say or do at that request.
“Relax, Aunt Serena.” She grinned. “That’s Mom’s favorite drink…at least when she’s not drinking right from the bottle.”
I couldn’t help but smile in relief. “Lemonade it is.” I went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, got out the pitcher, and filled up a glass. I held it out to Celestina, who took it and swilled it as though she’d spent the last two days wandering the desert in search of something to quench her thirst. “Have you eaten?”
“Aunt Serena, it’s, like, two o’clock. I’m usually asleep by now.”
It was her attempt at trying not to inconvenience me. “How about a ham and cheese sandwich? Or hey, I make a mean peanut butter and
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