Chapter 9
1491 Words
Elle
Ginny snuck her arm through mine as we walked upstairs to the second floor. She explained a few more house rules: everyone is responsible for their messes is a big theme. Everyone helps cook, though since retiring, Patricia has pretty much taken over the meals. She really enjoys cooking and is used to having a large family; she makes enough to feed an army. Once a dragon comes of age they’re expected to be added to the monthly rotation of chores. Ginny assures me the best job to have was garbage night because you get to incinerate it with fire breath.
“Okay,” Ginny stopped in front of the last door on the left of the spacious hallway. This one was also decked out with crazy paintings and fresh flowers. “This is my room, but just let me warn ya, I didn’t expect to be bringing you here so it may be a wee bit messy.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s fi-…” I started to say as Ginny opened the door to her room and let it swing wide. It looked as though a tornado and hurricane ripped through the small space. Clothes, towels, pillows were thrown around. “Holy crap Ginny! What happened?”
“It WAS clean but then I couldn’t find my red jumper and I needed that. So, I started looking and I got distracted and then Everett said you were here, and I got excited and even more distracted and started to look for something else…” Ginny prattled on. “Don’t worry, I always clean it up before I go to bed though. Or mum yells at me. But I found my jumper!”
“How are you going to find anything else?” I asked eyeing the chaos in front of me. Everett wasn’t kidding about her being destruction personified.
“Ah,” she chided. “I know where everything is, I need, come on!”
She pulled me into the disaster zone and closed the door. She started rifling through piles of clothes. Cussing under her breath when she didn’t find what she was looking for. After a few minutes and about six different piles later, I heard a muffled “Eureka!” And Ginny’s arm pops up from behind her bed. She squirmed her way out and tossed me a rolled-up pair of black yoga pants and a long-sleeve blue shirt. I checked the tags and assumed they would fit because I had no idea what I was in European size.
“You’re awesome Ginny!” I called out to her. She had disappeared again after tossing me the clothes. Suddenly I got hit with a pair of socks and heard a shoe bang against the floor and then the other. Ginny emerged from a different pile, breathing heavily from her effort.
“You can use the bathroom to change here if you want; I don’t mind. If something doesn’t fit just tell me and I’ll try to find something else.”
“Thank you, Ginny,” I said again. I wasn’t sure if she heard my earlier appraisals. I hurried into the bathroom to change. Aside from the shoes being a bit small, her clothes fit me well.
I stepped out of the bathroom and couldn’t believe the difference. Ginny was sitting on her bed breathing heavily and admiring her now spotless room. I stared around myself trying to figure out how she could’ve possibly done all that in such a short time. I looked at her in my shock and she smirked at me.
“Mum mind-linked me and said she was gonna be doing an inspection,” Ginny said breathlessly. “Whatever you do, don’t open the closet. Did everything fit yeah?”
“Yes, thank you! You really saved me from embarrassing myself walking around the mall in shorts, tanks, and flip flops,” I said with a smile. I eyed the closet doors, imagining Patricia opening the doors and a wall of clothes and pillows tumbling everywhere. “What are you gonna do if your mom opens the closet?”
“Hopefully, she won’t,” Ginny said with a nonchalant shrug. “Sometimes she just checks to make sure it doesn’t look like it did before and goes about her day.”
“I wish you good luck,” I said and gave her a tight hug. She gladly hugged me back.
“I’m so glad you’re here Elle,” she said softly. “I know it’s scary to learn about our existence, but we really aren’t monsters. Well, most of us. Like everyone else, there’s always some butt faces who ruin it for everyone.”
I took a step back and looked at Ginny. She was a sweet girl blossoming into a young woman. She looked very vulnerable right now and I wondered if she thought I’d reject her and her family.
“Ginny,” I said softly. “Are you afraid I’m going to leave you guys?”
Ginny thought about it for a second and nodded with a sad little smile. “I know you were angry with Everett and Elias. I didn’t want you to come and be too scared of us and run away.”
“I have never in my life walked into a place where I felt instantly loved,” I said to Ginny after a long quiet moment so I could gather my thoughts. “You and your parents and even Elias and Everett have been nothing but sweet and caring and kind. You accepted me on sight and have accepted me from that moment on. I have never had that before. I will never give that up now. No matter how terrifying this new life has started out. I won’t leave you. Any of you.”
I hadn’t expected to be so honest and once I started talking the words just came out. But I felt the truth to them. I knew I would love these people more than anyone I’ve ever met. Including my sad excuse for a family back in America. I shook my head out of the negative space and tucked that issue away for later. Now I needed to get to know these people who have seemed to have loved me even before I stumbled into their lives.
Ginny stared at me with watery eyes, but she didn’t let a drop fall. She was such a strong girl even in her youth. I wanted to change the subject though. I felt I had been a little too honest and the silence is making me nervous.
“So, Ginny,” I said, my voice a full octave higher as I tried to hide the fact that her tearing up was making me choke up. I blurted out the first question that popped into my head. “What’s it like turning into a dragon?”
“I can’t yet,” she said smiling and blinked her eyes quickly to get rid of the moisture. “I’m not of age. I’ll be able to in a few months when I turn sixteen.”
“Oh!” I said surprised. “Well, it does make me feel better knowing I’m not the only one with no wings and fire breath. At least for now.”
Ginny’s smile tightened when I said that, and I was unsure of the reason. Did I say something wrong? Was she nervous about changing? Before I could ask, I heard a knock on the door. We turned to look and saw Patricia open the door with a warm smile.
“Are you ready dear?” She asked while looking at me. “You look lovely! I’m so glad Ginny could find you something in that horrendous pit of hers. Yes, I saw you’re room before I told you about the inspection. And based on the lack of time you had to clean it, you better empty out that closet and put everything in its rightful place, young lady!”
Patricia glared at her daughter whose face was now a beet red. Ginny nodded and sighed deeply. She looked up at me and smiled before giving me a quick hug. I left her to clean out her closet while her mother supervised her from the doorway. I could hear Patricia loudly yelling something in her thick accent and quick speech and I knew Ginny had opened the closet door.
- Writer
