I’d hated Daniel over the last six years and treated him poorly to drive him away. Now, I wanted to reverse time and treat him better.
“I never told you before, because in the end, it seemed right that you were with your father, who was mad over his heels about you. Besides, how strange would it have been if a man you thought of as a complete stranger came along and told you that he’d tried to adopt you?”
“Yeah.” I rubbed the tears from my eyes. “I don’t think it would have won me over any sooner.” I sniffed, then laugh-cried. “You and Maurine were the foster family I spent my first year with.”
“Yes,” Daniel said.
I’d always looked on that foster family with anger, thinking I’d been dumped on them because of a mom who’d abandoned me. The truth was so different. It was hard to wrap my mind around. I looked at the photograph again, studying the love glowing in Daniel’s eyes. “Would you have told my father about me if Maurine hadn’t gotten sick?”
“As soon as I suspected, I told him,” Daniel said. “He would have been happy you were in a good home. He told me that once.”
I felt the truth of what he’d said.
“I have baby pictures of you if you’re interested.”
“Yes!”
“We can look through them when you get home.”
“Sounds good.” I hesitated. “Thank you for watching over me.”
“It’s been my pleasure and joy, Tara.”
Again, I hesitated, before blurting what I really wanted to say before, “Daniel, I love you.”
Cities away, connected through a cell phone call, Daniel started weeping. He took a deep breath to control it.
Maybe I could have two real fathers, after all.
Jack tapped on his window, and I waved him inside.
“Daniel, we’re headed home now,” I said, as Jack got in.
His voice was choked up when he responded. “Tell Jack to drive safely.”
Glancing at the house, I decided against returning right now. I had no desire to see Chiara. I’d come this weekend and spend more time with Gran when she wasn’t here.
Jack did a u-turn, but as he drove past the house, I made him stop. Grabbing his phone, I jumped out and did a quick selfie in front of it for Asher, before getting back in the car.
As we drove off, I texted the picture to Asher.
Met my bio mom for the first time. Happy to have the parents I have.
A happy energy burned inside me as Jack entered the freeway. For the first time in a long time, I was truly happy heading home. All my anger at Mom and Daniel was gone. It was time to really try to have a good relationship with both of them.
“So, are you going to tell me what happened?” Jack asked.
“Oh!” I grinned at him. “Remember how I spent my first year in foster care?”
“Yeah.”
“Turns out Daniel was my foster dad.” From there I filled him in on everything I’d learned.
Eventually, we lapsed into silence as I studied the picture of Maurine, Daniel, and me.
To think, if Maurine had lived, I could have been Tara Schuster, probably growing up as a Californian beach girl.
The man I’d spent six years treating like a doormat or worse had already suffered through so much.
The feeling in my chest fluctuated between tightness and warmth as I considered my guilt and the harshness of life, then the knowledge that there had been someone from day one who loved me. I hadn’t known it. For a long time, I’d even rebelled against it.
The blue Welcome to Indiana sign passed over the car, leaving the Chicago sprawl behind, replaced by forest on either side of the multi-lane highway.
“You know,” Jack said, “I still hear Mom pray for you several times a week when she blesses dinner or when we pray before bed.”
Hearing that tugged on my heart. The good things from my life passed before my mind’s eye. Over all of them was Daniel. I hadn’t been born in as awful of a situation as I’d always thought, and I’d made it worse with my attitude. Plenty of other people lived through worse experiences than I did. “I’ve been so ungrateful,” I said.
“It’s never too late to change,” Jack said. “Take that coming from the guy who learned the hard way.”
“I think I’m learning that in my own hard way.” I looked at him with a smile.
We both chuckled.
Our conversation had stirred a wealth of positive source. Placing a hand on his exposed wrist, I shared more than a little with him.
His eyes widened.
“That’s source,” I said.
“When I was younger, your dad told me you have magic inside you that sometimes makes you really happy and sometimes makes you really mad or sad. But he told me when I was like four, so I thought it was a story to help me not get mad at you.”
I laughed. “So you do know about me being a changeling?”
“Is that what you call yourself?”
I nodded, then told him about how positive and negative source formed inside me. I left out information on pure alvs and demons. I knew that alvs were controlling over those who knew, and he couldn’t see demons or be possessed, so no point in scaring him.
“That’s so fascinating,” Jack said.
“Hmm?”
He smiled. “I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it.”
I pushed the button, and immediately classical music began playing. “Believe it or not, this type of music stirs positive source.”
“That’s cool,” Jack said.
A huge weight had lifted off me. “I like being able to talk to you about source.”
Jack lifted up the drink container from Mom, giving it a shake, and his brows furrowed. “Is that why Daniel’s chocolate chip cookies taste so good?”
I peeled out in laughter. “Yes, but I’m the one changing them. Daniel’s a normal, natural human.”
“No.” Jack shook his head. “I would never call Daniel normal. It’s not the right adjective for him.”
“Yeah, I have to agree,” I said slowly. My thoughts turned forward to what waited for me at home. I’d never been this excited to see him, and I couldn’t wait to see the baby pictures he had of me. Too bad he was still at work.
28. Tripped
I hadn’t planned on going to school today, but as we neared the high school, I noticed the time. Lunch was in ten minutes. Maybe Asher didn’t have to eat without me after all.
Jack noticed my gaze on the school as we approached and turned into the second entrance.
“Thanks.” I grinned at him.
“Yeah, I knew that look of longing.”
I pulled down the visor to look in the mirror. Luckily, I hadn’t worn makeup that morning, so despite all my crying, my face was clean. “Go get better,” I told him as he stopped in front of the main entrance. Grabbing the rose and picture, I got out.
“Will do.” He coughed into his shoulder. “I’m feeling a need for a nap.”
Before shutting the door, I peeked in at Jack. “Could you text Daniel to let him know where I am?”
“Yep.”
“Thank you.”
“Get a phone, Tara!”
Walking toward the main doors, I waved at Jack and slipped the photograph into my pocket. I felt naked entering school without my backpack.
Stepping inside, I took a deep breath. Hopefully, any plans of revenge had been thwarted when Sam thought I wasn’t there.
As I signed in at the office, the bell rang.
Out into the center clearway, students headed toward the cafeteria for lunch.
Where’s Asher right now? I didn’t want to enter the lunch line alone.
I was pretty sure Asher had an art class before lunch and stopped by his locker, so I rushed down the stairs, left the flower in my locker, and navigated my way upstream through the junior hallway.
As I wound my way toward where I thought Asher’s locker was, I kept getting shifting glances in my direction and whispers.
/> The hairs on my neck rose. It was like they knew something I didn’t.
Maybe I was imagining all of the looks.
Folding my arms, I elbowed my way through a particularly bottled-necked section.
Afterward, Asher was easy to spot. He came my way, sketchbook tucked in the crook of his arm as he looked at a mechanical pencil and clicked it for lead.
As he glanced up, his gaze fell on me, and I grinned, but he kept walking, ignoring me.
My stomach plummeted.
I stopped and turned around, watching his tall, slender body disappear the other way.
He totally pretended like I didn’t exist.
Asher spun around and locked eyes with me, then a grin illuminated his face. In the same moment, the short girl walking behind him walked straight into him.
“Asher!” It was Isabel. “Watch out, please, for us little people.”
“Sorry.” He maneuvered his way back to me. “I’m sorry. I walked straight by you, but wasn’t expecting to see you. What are you doing here?” He rubbed the back of his neck. The pure happiness in his eyes at seeing me was enough to forgive his transgression.
“I got back a lot earlier.”
He stooped to whisper in my ear. “I kind of want to kiss you right now.”
“Just kiss her!” Kenny shot at us, as he slammed his nearby locker.
“Shut up, man!” Geoffrey said from his opposing one. “Leave them alone.”
Lydia bumped shoulders with me as she passed by. “You two really are the cutest couple.” She looked at me, eyes glowing, before hurrying down the hall to join a friend.
Asher slipped his hand into mine.
“Has today gone better than yesterday?” I asked.
“For the most part.” Asher bent to speak closer to my ear. “I feel like there’s an overall social restructuring going on across our grade. It’s weird.”
“We don’t hold that much social power,” I said.
Asher frowned. “Actually, I feel like there’s this divide of Team Sam, Team Tara going on.”
“No one was ever on my team.”
“But they are,” Asher said.
“That’s ridicul—”
My foot caught on someone’s leg, and I plummeted forward, ramming straight into the blonde princess who’d turned to look at me.
Sam.
Oh no.
She collapsed under my weight, and we fell to the ground, me on top of her. Her exposed mechanical pencil raked a scratch up my arm, making me gasp in pain.
Quickly, I scrambled off her, then looked at the blood dripping down my arm.
“Samantha, I’m sorry—someone tripped—”
Asher came alongside me, stripping off his sweater, leaving him in only a T.
“What the—” Sam screamed at me. She stood on her knees, clutching her wrist to her chest.
As Asher wrapped my arm with his sweater, keeping blood from dripping to the floor, David stepped between Sam and me. “Samantha, calm down, it was an accident.”
Sam swore. “She broke my wrist.”
Mrs. Wabash stepped out of her classroom. “What’s going on here?” Her eyes widened.
I should have stayed home today after all.
Silence descended on the hallway, and I realized attention had gone from me to Asher. More specifically the huge scar on his elbow and arm, which taking off his sweater had left exposed.
“What happened to your arm, Asher?” Samantha asked.
The distraction cooled the heated momentum.
“You both need to see the nurse,” Mrs. Wabash said. “Now.”
Minutes later, I sat next to Asher in the nurse’s office.
“The famous duo at it again, I see.” Mrs. Jay glared at me specifically.
I bristled and glared back.
Asher set a hand on my leg.
Standing in the corner, Sam clutched her arm to her chest. There were tears held back in her eyes, and she stood with her nose in the air.
“Let’s see you first, Tara, so you can stop dripping blood on the gentleman’s sweater.”
Asher unwrapped my arm, and the nurse peered closer at the scratch.
“Doesn’t look deep enough for stitches. That’s good to see. Are you up to date on your tetanus shot?”
“I think so.”
“Mmhmm.” She wiped it clean with alcohol wipes, then covered it with a large bandaid.
She was almost finished when Daniel arrived.
“What are you doing at school?” he asked, void of anger. His smile looked pained, and he rubbed his temple, as if he had a headache. “You’re supposed to be at home.”
“Didn’t Jack—”
“Yes,” he interrupted. He glanced at Sam, gaze descending on her wrist. “Dr. Evedon would love to see you in her clinic for that,” he said, being sarcastic.
She gave him a disgusted look. At the same time, her concern for her wrist seemed to decrease.
I tried so hard not to smile. I seriously doubted there was anything really wrong with her. She was being a baby. Faking an injury because her pencil had wounded my arm.
Who tripped me? Whoever it was, had they known they were sending me into Sam?
Finished, Mrs. Jay sent me over to the vice principal’s office. Daniel followed. Standing with arms folded, he fixed a stern glare on Mr. Dunkin.
“What happened?” Mr. Dunkin asked.
“Someone tripped me,” I said.
He glanced at Daniel before proceeding. “You were called out sick this morning, then show up in time for lunch, and happen to knock Samantha down?”
“I didn’t knock her down. Someone tripped me straight into her.”’
“The timing, considering allegations directed toward Samantha yesterday, is questionable.”
“I never said anything about Sam yesterday.”
“No, but others did on your behalf.”
“Who?”
“That’s confidential.”
“If she said she tripped, she tripped,” Daniel said. “I’m tired of this office bullying my daughter.”
Mr. Dunkin looked at Daniel, mouth dropping open a little.
“I’m going to check her out for the rest of the day. Let that be enough punishment.” He looked at me. “Come on, Tara.”
With a shaky sigh, I stood up. I’d really, really wanted to have lunch with Asher. Tears built in my eyes as I followed Daniel into the main part of the office.
Asher waited in a chair outside and stood up.
“I’m going home,” I said, as Daniel headed toward the attendance desk to sign me out.
Asher sadly smiled. “I was worried that was going to happen.”
He pulled me into a side-hug, and we walked over to Daniel. I traced my finger along one of his scars. It occurred to me that he always wore long sleeves, even on warmer days.
“Mr. Schuster,” Asher began. “Do you think I could borrow your jacket?”
Daniel looked up from signing my name, a little puzzled.
“I don’t like people asking questions about my scars.”
“I kind of ruined his sweater,” I said.
“Of course.” Daniel slid it off both arms at the same time. “Are we going to see you this afternoon?”
“Is that all right?” Asher asked.
“As long as you both keep your grades up, you’re welcome whenever you like.”
Asher grinned.
“You have to ask Tara first.” Daniel winked at me. “And you can’t stay past ten.”
Back at home, Daniel and I scooped bowls full of ice cream. I sat at the island eating mine as he disappeared into his room. When he returned, carrying a photo album, I realized for the first time that he was dressed not in work clothes but a pair of jeans and a dark purple Lakers sweatshirt.
“Weren’t you working?”
He set the album in front of me. “I wasn’t feeling well this morning and stayed home.”
If it weren’t for the treasure he put in front of me
, I would have asked him more.
“Here it is.” He smiled, opening it to the first page.
Professional newborn baby pictures of me that I hadn’t known existed. “When were you going to tell me you had this?” I asked.
“I was waiting for the right time.” He sat down on the nearest stool.
“Look at how cute I was.”
He chuckled. “You and Oops tie for first place, cutest baby in the world.” Daniel grinned. “Although, you were the first newborn I ever held…” His voice grew husky.
The first few were of me alone, but then began several of me with Maurine, then Daniel, and all three of us together. A low-lying anger stirred inside me that he’d held onto these for all these years, but I quickly pushed it aside. I wanted to keep this a happy moment. The rest of the album saw me grow through my first year with frequent trips to the beach and California’s national parks.
There was one of Daniel holding me as an almost one-year-old in front of an apartment building.
“Is that where we lived?” I asked.
Daniel nodded.
“This is perfect for my project with Asher.”
In the pictures, Maurine’s sudden departure sent a feeling like I’d swallowed a cherry pit into my stomach. There were several pages of Daniel and me, noses kissing, him helping me walk, feeding me baby food. For a little while, he’d been a single father.
“Who took these pictures?” I asked, a little confused, then turned a page and saw one of me with a younger version of Mom, both of us looking at each other and laughing.
My heart got caught in my throat.
Daniel tapped on Mom’s image. “I was a wreck after Maurine passed. Your mom had come out to see if she could help Maurine. Instead, she stuck around for a month to help you and me,” Daniel said. “The way you two naturally took to each other then, as well as two years later has always amazed me. It was like you were meant to be together.”
The Changeling's Source (Evedon Legacy Book 1) Page 31
