The next morning, we took another cab to my house. My stomach sank as we pulled into the familiar driveway. There was the pomegranate tree my parents had planted before I was born—the messy flowerbed overrun with weeds because Dad never had time to weed. The lopsided stones, uneven from the many minor earthquakes the house had weathered…

  “S-should we come in too?” Aidan asked.

  “No. That wouldn’t make sense,” Finn answered.

  “I mean, you guys are in the picture with me.” I sighed, wishing for some sort of excuse to bring the boys with me. I never liked confronting people on my own.

  “Have you decided what you’re going to tell them?” Zephyr asked.

  “More or less.” I bit my lip as I slid out of the car. “Um…” I glanced back at the four of them who were also getting out to meet me. I quickly looked away. “Can I give you guys a hug before I leave…? I mean, this is probably the last time I’ll ever see—”

  Arms wrapped around me as I was pulled into a tight hug. Aidan was squeezing onto me for dear life. “I’m sorry about what happened back at the manor. I’m sorry for not sending you home sooner.”

  “I-it’s fine.” I gently hugged back. “It’s better this way, really.”

  “I’m sorry I almost killed you.”

  “Uh, that’s fine too…”

  Once Aidan released me, Finn was next. “Thank you for everything, Elaina. You’ve made a bigger impact on my life than you know.”

  I had…? I hadn’t even noticed. I hugged him back. There was something about him that felt warm and familiar, making me wish we could stay like this for just a little bit longer...

  “We could, if you’d like.” He winked at me and I instantly pulled back—the mood forever ruined.

  Zephyr gave me an awkward hug, and it was only now that I realized that hugs weren’t really his thing. Instead of the long hugs I had given Aidan and Finn, I decided to make it a quick two-second hug. “I’m sorry I nearly took your life.”

  “Can you guys stop bringing up killing me?!” I threw my arms up. “This is a time for sappy goodbyes, not reminding me how I almost died!”

  Zephyr nodded and straightened his glasses.

  Maverick was last. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, and I was convinced they were never coming out. It felt awkward trying to hug him after all we had been through.

  He looked at me, sighed, and pulled his hands out of his pockets to hug me. His arms were oddly stiff around me, and it felt more like he was trying to hold me in place instead of trying to embrace me.

  “Dude, you’re scaring her,” Finn said.

  “Shut up. It’s called a hug,” Maverick shot back.

  “Yeah… I think that’s good enough.” I pried myself out of his clutches. He huffed and looked away, clearly offended. Maybe that’d been a little mean. I was the one who had asked for a hug to begin with.

  “So, how do you guys know each other again?” The cab driver rolled down the window to ask us. All of us chose to ignore him.

  “It’s time.” Finn looked me directly in the eyes.

  “I know,” I said softly. “…Goodbye.” I pursed my lips, debating whether or not to say my thoughts out loud. Screw it. “I love you guys.”

  With that, I bolted for the front door, not daring to look back at my friends. I was finally home, where I belonged.

  Where I belonged.

  I sucked in a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Would my dad be smiling when he saw me? Or angry? Would I be relieved to see him or remain terrified? I shook my head. That didn’t matter now.

  I rang the doorbell and held my breath, waiting for my dad to answer. I had long since lost my house key when Maverick had kidnapped me. Had it come with me to Meridia? I didn’t know.

  The sound of the door unlocking startled me back to reality. The door creaked against the wood frame and swung open, revealing my disheveled father.

  “Elaina… It’s really you!” He was quick to pull me into a hug. Dang it… I’d missed his hugs so badly. I immediately let myself melt into his arms as I hugged him back.

  “Dad… I’ve missed you so much.” I cried into his shoulder.

  “Where on Earth have you been, Elaina?” The irony of his statement.

  I bit my lip and looked past his shoulder. Or rather left of his shoulder, considering he was quite a bit taller than me.

  “Right… Come inside.” He quickly stepped out of the way to let me in.

  We walked down the hall that had several family photos. Some of them still had Mom. Unsurprisingly, none of the photos at Mom’s house were of Dad.

  I sat down on the couch as he sat in his favorite armchair across from me, his elbows bent on his knees with his palms propping up his chin. It was a posture he assumed whenever giving his full attention.

  I pursed my lips, going over the multiple options I had. I could be truthful and risk Sylvis’ wrath, I could lie and inevitably be caught, or… I could be half truthful. “Why didn’t you ever tell me I was adopted?”

  My dad’s hands folded down onto his lap as his eyes widened in surprise. He sputtered for a moment, and I could’ve sworn I heard him coming up with some excuse or deflecting the issue. “I was going to tell you when you turned eighteen. I’m surprised your mom never told you.”

  “Eighteen? Seriously? Most kids find out before that.” I grabbed a fistful of my shirt, upset that my parents really had adopted me.

  “We didn’t want you to think we thought of you as anything less than our daughter. We consulted several friends and relatives, and we all agreed it would be best to wait until you were at an age you could handle it. …Of course, no one else in the family had any experience with this kind of thing.”

  “Clearly,” I said, unamused.

  “How did you find out?”

  “I met someone who knew my birth parents.” Or knew of them, at least. “They were able to show me where I was from, tell me about my parents, stuff like that…”

  “And you… just trusted them? Despite not knowing you were adopted?” He looked shocked and almost hurt, and I didn’t blame him.

  “They worked with an agency,” I lied. “They had been looking for me for quite some time.”

  “And they were at Carol’s party?” His brows furrowed as he contemplated this.

  I nodded. I couldn’t tell how believable my lie was, but I wouldn’t have any other reason to think I was adopted, right?

  “You didn’t think to call to tell us where you were? That you were safe?” He started to raise his voice, and I could feel myself shrinking into the couch.

  “I lost my phone at the party. And honestly? I was a little hurt that you didn’t tell me the truth.” I bit my lip, hoping it came off convincing.

  “Elaina…” He pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously disappointed in me. Disappointment was better than him knowing the truth. “What were you doing putting on a magic show in New York?”

  “It’s… a long story. I had to do a favor for someone in order to come back here.”

  “So, they kidnapped you.” His voice suddenly softened as my eyes grew wide in alarm. I should’ve known this wasn’t going to work.

  “Kidnap is… a strong word. But when you put it like that, I suppose they manipulated me…?”

  “What were their names? I’m going to file a police report—”

  “Don’t.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “Elaina!” he snapped. “You have been missing for the past two months, all because someone took advantage of you. You’re still a minor. You can’t legally consent to going with someone—”

  “I don’t care about the law! If you file a police report, that just complicates things more! I don’t have a last name or an address or any identifying information. I made a mistake. But what’s important is that I’m safe and nothing happened. I’m sorry for causing you so much worry. It was stupid of me not to call. I’m sorry for just showing up at the door like that.”

  My dad inhaled sharply and let out a long exhale through his mouth. “You’ve obviously been through a lot. Why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest while I process this? I’ll give your mom a call and let her know you’re safe.”

  I nodded. “Would you tell Rose, Carol, and Matt too?”

  “Yeah.” He smiled at me, but I could tell it was forced.

  I nodded again and went upstairs.

  My room was exactly how I had left it the night of the party. My makeup was still on my dresser, and I realized we had never capped the eyeliner. The blanket was still on the floor from when it had fallen off the bed earlier that night. The only thing different was that the TV was off when I was sure we had left it on that night.

  I sighed, falling back onto my bed. Things were already off to a great start. If it got any worse, I’d have to cave and tell the truth…

  I pulled out my phone absentmindedly as I had done many times in this room. My eyes began to tear up when I remembered the only contacts I had in my phone were the boys. I switched airplane mode off, and notification after notification popped up about missed calls from numbers I barely recognized. So, he had gotten my text after all…

  I decided to open the group chat and send a text.

  Ella: I don’t know if you guys can see this, but it would be great if we could keep in touch this way.

  Sent.

  Now to just wait…

  I sat beside my TV and filed through my games. My fingers paused on one I remembered playing with Aidan. I wondered if he had brought any of his board games back with him? I also wondered what happened to our stuff at the apartment.

  A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. Before I could reply, my dad had already opened the door, as was typical of him. “Your mom and your friends are going to stop by for dinner,” he explained.

  “Really?” My face lit up at the thought of seeing my friends again. And my stomach immediately sank, remembering I’d have to explain where I was.

  “Carol’s parents will be coming too, so we can get to the bottom of this.”

  “Do we have to right now?” I whined. Carol’s parents wouldn’t have the slightest clue what I was talking about.

  “I know you’re probably tired, but as your parent, I’m worried about you. I have to take care of you.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  I hated this. Not being able to tell the truth.

  I did my best to pass the time until dinner. I cycled through several different outfits before settling on a pink and white dress. I cycled through twice as many games before giving up and playing the same puzzle game Aidan had loved. I couldn’t help but cry while playing. How long was this going to hurt?

  There was also the fact that I’d soon stop aging. How was I going to hide that? I doubted looking into people’s memories would give me the answer. Well… I should be moving out long before anyone would become suspicious.

  But where would I go from there? Would I be like those fictional vampires that moved from town to town because they didn’t age? Planning my life based off of a crappy YA novel didn’t sound promising. Had I really screwed myself over staying here?

  The doorbell rang and I rushed out of my room and down the stairs. Mom was the first person to arrive, surprisingly. I considered greeting her immediately, but part of me wondered if eavesdropping would be the better plan. I quickly turned the corner and kept an ear out.

  “An adoption agency? Seriously?” Mom said.

  “She didn’t specify, just that whoever took her was working with an agency,” Dad explained.

  “She’s obviously lying to you.”

  “…I don’t want to think that. She’s never lied to us before. She’s had no reason to. Which means if she’s lying to us now, someone has something on her. That’s why I invited Carol’s parents over so we can get to the bottom of this. Maybe one of the other parents knew Elaina’s birth parents.”

  “I doubt it.” Mom snorted. “She probably ran away.”

  “Why would she do that? And how would she even know she was adopted?”

  “Maybe she got into your filing cabinet. Teenagers run away for all sorts of reasons. I know I did.”

  “Elaina isn’t like you,” Dad said sternly.

  “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Elaina has friends and family she can count on. Why would she run away? It would make more sense that she got kidnapped.”

  “Ah, yes, she got kidnapped and put on a magic show in New York City. Do you hear yourself right now?”

  A tiny snowflake formed in the palm of my hand—this one intentional. Part of me thought about showing them right now. I could put an end to all of this. I wondered, was Sylvis still watching me? I guess I’d never know.

  I closed my fist and turned the corner. “Mom!” I exclaimed as I ran to her and gave her a hug. Her arms were stiff around me, as if she was forcing herself to hug back.

  “Elaina, where have you been?” My mom asked incredulously, playing dumb as if my dad hadn’t just explained it to her.

  I bit my lip, not wanting to go through the whole song and dance again. “I wanted to come home sooner, I really did,” I answered cryptically, which only seemed to fuel my dad’s theories.

  “Your dad says you were kidnapped. Is this true?” Mom asked in a way that implied she didn’t believe this was the case.

  “I wasn’t kidnapped. I chose to go along.”

  “So, you ran away.”

  “That wasn’t my intention.”

  Her eyes rolled up, lingering on the ceiling before coming back down. She was clearly frustrated with me. “Elaina, stop speaking in riddles and tell us what happened. You were gone for two months, surely you must have some stories?”

  “I’m still processing what happened myself.”

  Dad pulled her away and lowered his voice to where he must have thought I couldn’t hear. “She just got home. She’ll tell us what happened eventually, but not if we keep interrogating her.”

  “Fine,” Mom answered loudly, obviously not caring whether or not I heard.

  It wasn’t long before the others arrived. Rose and Carol had arrived at nearly the same time, and both ran to hug me as they asked their hundreds of questions. Thankfully, Dad was there to mediate and slow them down. Carol’s parents apologized profusely for letting me out of their sight, and I had to keep insisting it wasn’t their fault.

  The only person who wasn’t there was Matt.

  “You did tell Matt I’m home, right?” I asked my dad.

  His expression softened, and I could tell what he was about to say next would hurt. “I did. Matt took it hard when they couldn’t find you. I don’t think seeing that picture in the news helped. He said he might stop by tonight, but didn't make any promises."

  My heart sank. My own boyfriend didn’t trust me enough to ask for the truth.

  We sat down in the dining room for dinner. Once a room that had been used weekly, it had become a room used only for special occasions after the divorce. I was used to eating here for birthdays or holidays, which made it feel strange to use it for my return home. Dad, not being much of a cook, decided to order pizzas. Much like the fateful night we were sure to talk about.

  “Do you know if any of the parents at the party knew Elaina’s,” he cleared his throat, “birth parents?”

  “Aren’t you her birth parents?” Carol’s mom’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

  “No. It’s not something anyone outside of the family knows, but Elaina was contacted by someone who knew them at your party.”

  My stomach sank as all eyes turned to me.

  “I was certain that only high school kids were at the house,” Carol’s dad added. “There were adults there?”

  “One,” I explained. “They weren’t invited either. They came looking specifically for me.”

  “Why would they come looking for you at our house instead of your own?” Carol thought aloud.

  “I don’t know.”

  “How did they know you would be there?” Carol’s mom asked.

  ”I don’t know!” I wish I had thought to ask Maverick!

  “What agency had they used to find you?” My own mom asked.

  “I don’t know! Probably Who’s Your Mommy or whatever!” I was starting to crack under the pressure.

  “You don’t seem very sure about this.” Mom crossed her arms and tapped her fingers across them.

  “And you said you didn’t get their name or address?” My dad asked, accusation in his voice. Ugh, so long for him helping me.

  “I didn’t.”

  “You were gone for two months, didn’t call, and didn’t want to come home?” Rose asked, also turning against me.

  “Of course I wanted to come home! To call! To do anything! I couldn’t! They wouldn’t let me!”

  “So they kidnapped you,” my dad declared.

  “I guess? It’s… It’s complicated.”

  “Why aren’t you telling us the truth?” Mom demanded.

  “Because the truth is that I come from another world and have magic I couldn’t control, which is why they wouldn’t let me come home!” I screamed, losing it.

  Well, that obviously wasn’t the right thing to say.

  Everyone’s eyes were on me, except for my mom, who was already leaving the table. My dad pulled out his phone, and I was certain he was going to call someone who would detain me again. If I was lucky, it would be Greg.

  “I’ll prove it.” I sighed, trying to calm myself down. I held out my palm in front of me and pictured a snowflake and…

  Nothing.

  My eyes widened, and I could feel my body shaking with fear. Why wasn’t it working? It was working just a few minutes ago. I tried again, but nothing.

  My dad brought his phone up to his ear as everyone else stared at me. Rose got out of her seat and walked over to me, hugging me. “I’m so sorry. You must have been through so much. I can’t imagine what you must have gone through.” Her words were light.

  I wanted to hug her back, to thank her, but I was too scared. I just got out of a facility, and I didn’t want to go to another one. I pulled myself out of her embrace and ran to the kitchen and shut the door. I opened my palm and… of course, the snowflake was there now. Why wouldn’t it be?

  “You know, at least the pizza in New York was tolerable.” A familiar voice caught me off guard.

  I couldn’t believe he was just standing there in my kitchen. He wore his signature black leather jacket, and he smirked at me just as he always had.

  I cried. Hard.

  ”Take me home!” I shouted as I threw myself at the immortal boy that stood before me. I had unintentionally knocked the slice of pizza out of his hand.

  “You’re already home, Elaina,” he whispered quietly to me.

  “My real home. Meridia.”