Spellbound

Original Edition: Forty-Three

"Gemma, are you coming down to dinner or do you plan to hide in your room forever?" Mom called from downstairs, and I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they'd come out of my head. Why was it that everything that came out of her mouth was condescending? And I was the one who she accused of acting over dramatic.

I stuck my head out of my door at the top of the stairs. "I'm not hungry!" I yelled, my voice echoing down the imperial staircase.

"You haven't eaten in days!" my mother scolded, and I could hear her high heels clicking on the marble floor, coming toward the stairs.

"Actually, I have eaten, Mother. I just don't want to eat with you," I snapped, just loud enough so she could hear me. It was true; I'd waited until my family was in bed and snuck downstairs to eat alone in the kitchen, sometimes past midnight.

I wish she would have just left well-enough alone. The woman treated me as a child no matter how hard I worked or how responsible I was. But she lived for the moments when she could stick her nose in my business.

Mom came into my room without so much as announcing herself. "Oh, for Pete's sake, Gemma Diane. Snap out of it. The Reynard belongs to Raven now, and good riddance. Why can't you just let it go?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and blocking my doorway.

"I really don't want to talk about this with you. You and Dad ruined everything for me; do we really have to rehash it every day?"

And we did. At least once a day, either my mom or my dad brought up Raven, the Reynard, my lack of a job and my own apartment. I wondered if they got some sort of thrill out of bringing up my failures and praising Raven's abilities. If I was good for anything, it was a reminder that their lives could always be worse—it could have been my life.

Even Hunter didn't come around anymore; he couldn't stand to watch them treat me like shit, and he was needed at the Reynard. He called and checked on me every day, though, and if it weren't for him, I'd probably have lost my mind by now.

"Is it that disrespectful, meddling boy we met on Christmas Eve? Is that what this is about? There are other men, you know," she said, inspecting her long, fake fingernails.

My heart constricted, my chest burning with the urge to cry. "Don't. You have no idea what you're talking about."

She smiled, her too-perfect-to-be-anything-but-veneers grin unsettling. "Hit a nerve? Well, maybe you should've been more responsible. Then maybe you'd still be there. But you aren't. So, let's get up, get out of the house, find yet another new 'passion,' and stop acting like a child."

"Please get out of my room," I said through gritted teeth.

"Fine. But I mean it: Get off your ass and figure out a way to contribute or find a new place to live."

I laughed and ran my fingers through my hair. "That's all I want to do, Mother. Trust me, I'm working on it."

"We'll see," was all she said as she turned on her heel and left my room.

I sat down on my bed and punched my down feather pillow, my heart slamming against my rib cage.

Of course, my mother was right. I was upset about losing the Reynard, but it was more about Soren than anything else. I'd missed him so much over the past few weeks, and nothing cheered me up, not even online shopping or losing myself in my favorite book.

I'd had no doubt that Archer passed along my message to him, but I still hadn't spoken to him, and it was killing me. The guys only ever made calls out from their room. If I were to call and ask for the fifth-floor, nobody would know what I'm talking about. And the twins experience with virtual communication via social media or what-have-you was non-existent. They never had a need beyond calling for food delivery or ordering toothpaste online.

I was left to stew alone in the revelation that I'd had as I watched Soren walk away from me for the last time—I had fallen in love with him, and I'd fallen hard.

A half an hour later my mother came strolling by my door, talking on the phone.

"I can't believe that she is turning the festival into a bigger deal than it was originally going to be...A masquerade ball is a great idea. It's probably the classiest thing that has ever happened to that place... I wouldn't worry too much about her. You know how ambitious she can be, and I'm sure she is exhausted from putting her all into the hotel."

She made her way down the hallway to her room still singing the praises of Raven just loud enough so I could hear.

Of course my cousin was going to turn my fun night for the entire town into some fancy soiree. She would go over-the-top to prove that she was better than me...and Hazel. The idea that it was driving her mad while she was doing it was intriguing. I bet she was on the verge of some Carrie level meltdown. It was my duty to be there if I felt she could slaughter the entire town.

I threw on a pair of tennis shoes and snatched my purse from my dresser. "I'm running downtown to check on some prospects," I lied. Not that it mattered; no one around here cared unless I somehow gave them gloating rights.

If there was going to be a masquerade ball, I would be there with bells on. February 21st was the one night a year when Soren could leave the property. The only time I could see him without ending up in handcuffs. I couldn't pass this up, and I was going to make sure I looked damn good for it.