Because I’m in it.
I’m in some sort of cafeteria, seated at a large wooden table next to a boy with dark hair. We’re both smiling, and I have a cupcake in my hand. I’m not wearing a school uniform like the other kids at the table, but I look so happy and, for some reason, I knew I felt like I belonged. I run my finger over my face in the photo and notice the same black cat I remembered seeing in the school perched on a table behind me. There are two girls with red hair seated at the same table, but I can’t see anyone else’s face.
I stare at the photo for another few seconds and then close my eyes, trying to place the memory. Nothing comes to mind, and I start to get angry all over again at Aunt Estelle for taking my memories. Flipping through the photos a few more times, I go back into the kitchen and start a pot of coffee. I keep looking at the photo of myself hoping something will pop back into my head. I never knew too many other redheads as a kid, and the two girls with matching auburn hair definitely would have stood out to me when I was about nine years old.
“Morning,” Ethan says, startling me a bit.
“Morning,” I reply, looking up from the photo, coffee in my hand. “Look what Ruby sent.”
“Sent?” Ethan raises an eyebrow and crosses the room. He’s wearing sweatpants and nothing else, and I let my eyes linger over his tattooed chest for a few seconds before sliding the photos across the counter to him.
“Yeah. Through the fireplace. That is so fucking cool, isn’t it? I didn’t know magic worked that way.”
“It’s crazy, I’ll give you that. I still don’t get how it works.”
“I don’t either and I’m pretty sure it’s one of those things if you think about too much, it’ll just hurt your head.”
“No kidding.” He steps up behind me, his warm hand landing on my shoulder. “Is this you?”
“Yeah. Wasn’t I cute?” I tip my head up and Ethan gives me a kiss before looking at the photo again.
“Do you remember this?”
“Nope. Well, I remember feeling like I belonged. But I have no memory of being in that dining hall.” I shrug, not wanting to dwell on it. I already have for long enough. I’ve come to an it is what it is state of mind. “Oh, I almost forgot. Your dad texted you last night and it didn’t seem urgent, so I didn’t want to wake you.”
“Yeah.” His hand slides off my shoulder and I wait a beat, my heart in my throat thinking he won’t elaborate. “That hunter who was supposed to show up for the training hunt last night is officially missing. The Order thought maybe he was sleeping off a bender, but they found his phone and his truck with no sign of him.”
“They have no idea what happened?”
“I’m sure he’s dead,” Ethan says a little too casually. I raise an eyebrow and he shrugs one shoulder. “I know you don’t like hearing it, but hunting is a dangerous job.”
“You’re right. I don’t like hearing it. Where did they find his truck?”
“In Mineral Springs.”
“Mineral Springs,” I repeat, trying to place the town since I’ve only been in the area for a few months. “That’s along Lake Michigan, right?”
“Right. It looks like he was on his way back to the Order Headquarters in Chicago and stopped for some reason. Could have come across a demon and went after it even if it wasn’t assigned.”
“Is that common?”
“If we come across something we handle it, even if we’re not paid to.”
“Right,” I say, hating the Order all over again. “Should we be worried?”
He gets a coffee mug from the cabinet and comes back to me, wrapping an arm around my chest. “Not any more than normal. If there’s a demon lurking nearby, I’ll handle it. We will handle it. Having my badass girlfriend does help level the playing field.” He nuzzles his head against my neck. “Thinking of you killing that ghoul last night is getting me all hot and bothered again.”
I laugh. “I’m glad watching me murder someone turns you on.”
“As long as that someone is a demon, eh…it would depend on the person and I’d find that hot too.”
“It’s a good thing I love a slightly fucked up man.” I spin around on the barstool and run my hands over his chest.
“I might be more than slightly fucked up,” he replies with a cheeky grin and kisses me again. We go about our morning. Ethan heads to the gym, and I get dressed and go into the library, thinking twice before I light a fire. If anything was sent magically, it won’t burn…I think. I slip the photos of Aunt Estelle in the back of my Book of Shadows, and settle on the couch, leafing through a book on magical self-defense.