Chapter Text
Alex stares up at the house she hasn’t stepped foot in since she was seventeen. She knew she’d likely end up back here one day, but, if she’s honest with herself, she had expected it to be a few years later at least.
She had also expected her mother to live longer. Not to succumb to an illness Alex hadn’t even known Eliza had been suffering from.
Their relationship had been rocky for the past fourteen years. They hadn’t had a real conversation for as long as Alex could remember. They last spoke two weeks ago when Eliza had made her monthly phone call to talk to the daughter who barely spoke to her. Eliza had talked about how the shop was doing, and that Kara had recently started helping out there a few days a week and had taken an interest in Eliza’s various homemade herbal remedies. Alex had hummed and feigned interest in all the right places, and once Eliza finally accepted she wouldn’t get any further engagement, she told Alex she loved her and ended the call.
Now Alex stands in front of the place she worked so hard to get away from, thinking about how she won’t ever receive a monthly call from her mother again. About how she’d focused on taking time off from the hospital and getting to Midvale because she had to bury her mother.
Not ready to unpack her emotional baggage, Alex picks up her suitcase and walks to the front door. Nudging a small terra cotta pot out of the way with her foot, she isn’t surprised to find a key hiding in the same place it had been when she was younger. Unlocking the door, Alex steps into the house and immediately feels like she’s stepped into the past. Not much has changed. A few pieces of furniture have been updated or moved, but mostly the house looks just as it did fourteen years ago.
Alex knows the house is empty. Kara, the little sister she barely knows, is staying with M’gann, waiting for her big sister to get to town, to take care of her now that their mother is gone.
M’gann had been the one to call Alex to let her know her mother was dead. It was M’gann who told her that Eliza had been sick for a while, but that her mother hadn’t wanted to burden Alex with that information.
The house still smells as Alex remembers, a mix of white sage, rosemary, and lavender. Hoping to avoid any memories triggered by the herbs, Alex hefts her suitcase up the stairs and toward her bedroom. The door is closed, but the knob turns easily, and once again, Alex feels like time has moved backward. Her room is exactly as she left it. Every knickknack, every book, every poster is still in its place.
Alex puts her suitcase on the floor next to the bed and sits on the edge of the mattress, taking in the space around her. When she’d left for college, Alex had taken everything she didn’t want to leave behind, so most of what’s still in this room holds little meaning to her.
She’s scanning her old textbooks when something sticking out from between two of them catches her eye. Alex steps toward the bookshelf and realizes it’s a picture. Flipping it over, Alex can’t help but smile at the image of her and Lucy covered in mud from head to toe, grinning widely at the camera, arms wrapped around one another. They’d been thick as thieves through junior high and high school. When Alex had escaped to college, Lucy had fled Midvale to pursue her own adventures. They don’t talk or see one another as often as they once had, but they still keep in touch. The last Alex knew Lucy was partying her way through Italy.
Mind still reminiscing over the joy and innocence of the two girls in the photo, Alex jolts at the sound of a car door drifting up from the driveway and immediately steels herself. She knows it will be M’gann and Kara, having texted M’gann after she’d arrived at the house. It’s the butterflies in her stomach that surprise Alex as she moves to the window and sees M’gann leading Kara to the front door.
The number of times she’s talked to Kara in the past year alone can be counted on one hand, and she’d still have fingers to spare. It’s not that she dislikes her younger sister. Alex has a lot of excuses – their large age gap, for one – for why she’s never really gotten to know Kara, most of them used to make herself feel better about her own lack of effort.
She may not know her sister well, but Alex can read the slump in Kara’s shoulders and her downcast eyes for what they are. Even though her own relationship with Eliza hadn’t been the best, Alex knows how much Eliza had loved Kara. She’d been the only mother Kara had ever really known, or at least that she could remember.
Alex had been fourteen when her parents had received an emergency phone call from M’gann. They hadn’t given Alex many details, had just made sure she and Lucy had money to order pizza, and knew they were not to leave the house under any circumstances. By the next morning, their family had grown by one, and Alex was thrust into the role of big sister to a blonde two-year-old Kara. Her parents never gave much explanation beyond that Kara’s parents had died, and she’d be staying with them for the foreseeable future.
The foreseeable future had become permanent, and with one phone call Alex has now gone from big sister to legal guardian.
Hearing the front door open and close, Alex steps back from the window, laying the picture of her and Lucy on the bedside table. She moves toward the stairway, each step taking her closer to the teenager she’s now responsible for. M’gann had offered to look after Kara for her last two years of high school, but as much as Alex didn’t want her life to change, the idea of passing Kara off to someone else didn’t sit well with her.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Alex finds M’gann in the living room.
“Hey,” Alex blurts, unsure what else to say. “I heard the car pull up.”
Alex had been expecting disappointment, frustration, and even anger from M’gann. Kin and coven had been important traditions taught to Alex as soon as she was old enough to understand, but she’d broken both of those when she’d packed up her life and left. These values were indelible in the community, and breaking them meant betraying her upbringing. So she’s surprised to be met with warmth instead, as M’gann wraps her in a tight hug.
M’gann had been Eliza’s closest friend and eventual business partner. A presence in Alex’s life almost as much as her own parents, M’gann had been there through all of her ups and downs – especially through the worst of the downs. Despite the missteps Alex knows she’s taken in her life, M’gann has only ever shown her kindness and understanding.
“Alex, it’s so good to see you,” Alex can’t help but wrap her own arms around M’gann and feel a sense of home.“I’m glad you made it. Everything’s already been handled. Your mother had all of the arrangements in place, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Alex nods, unsure how to respond. Instead, she asks, “Where’s Kara?”
“Your sister needed a moment before coming inside.”
“Right. Of course,” Alex nods her head again.
Before her mind can overthink M’gann’s words and convince herself she’s the reason for Kara’s hesitancy, the front door opens. Kara steps inside, eyes downcast and duffle bag hanging off her shoulder, and Alex’s heart aches. She may not have spent a great deal of time with her younger sister, but Alex knows from everything Eliza had shared that Kara is basically the epitome of a ray of sunshine. So her current demeanor is proof of how difficult the past few days have been for her.
Alex’s mind goes blank, leaving her to stutter, “Hey, Kara.”
Body moving faster than her brain, Alex steps forward and wraps her arms around Kara in what might be the awkwardest hug she’s ever given. But that’s what family should do, right? They hug when they see each other after a long time away. At least that’s what Alex assumes is normal. She feels Kara’s hands press into her shoulder blades, and she counts to five before letting herself pull away.
“Alright, well, I hate to leave you two, but there are a few things I need to take care of before the funeral and feast tomorrow,” M’gann states. She gives each sister a hug before offering a quiet, “Take care of each other. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Much too quickly, M’gann is gone, and Alex finds herself faced with her new reality. She can sense Kara’s uncertainty and knows the two of them can’t stand by the front door for the rest of the night. Alex’s experience with teenagers doesn’t extend much beyond the ones she’s treated at the hospital. Even then, by the time Alex is called in, it’s an emergency situation, and she’s working to save their life.
Alex wracks her brain, thinking back to what she and Lucy liked to do together.
“How about we order pizza for dinner and watch a movie?”
For the first time since she laid eyes on Kara, she sees the other girl’s eyes light up. “From Bruno’s? Can we order potstickers, too?”
“Sure.” Alex can’t help but chuckle at the hope in Kara’s voice. “Why don’t you take your bag up to your room, and then you can pick a movie? I’ll get the food ordered.”
Kara steps past Alex and heads up the stairs, and Alex lets out a breath. Grabbing her cell phone, Alex looks up the number to Bruno’s and saves it to her contacts. If food is one of the keys to Kara’s mood, she figures it’s good to be prepared to order a lot of it for the next couple of years.
Pizza and potstickers ordered, Alex goes to the kitchen to rummage for drinks. She eyes a bottle of wine for a good minute before deciding she should probably stay completely sober on her first night as a parent. Instead, she pulls some cans of soda and bottles of juice and water from the fridge, unsure what Kara prefers.
Twenty-five minutes later, Kara and Alex are sitting on the couch watching Sleeping Beauty and waiting for their food to be delivered. Alex knows she hasn’t seen this particular movie since she was little. Aside from the idea of a young boy being betrothed to a baby, she’s enjoying the movie. Alex does have to hold in a scoff at the idea of a true love’s kiss, but the three fairies are endearing.
As the fairies decide it will be better to use their wands to make a cake and dress for Aurora, Kara starts giggling. Alex can’t help but smile at the sound.
“I wish it were that easy,” Kara remarks, eyes still trained on the television.
“What?” Alex asks.
“Using magic to clean,” Kara says, pointing at the television as Merriweather enchants a broom, mop, and bucket to clean the cottage. “I once tried to enchant the vacuum cleaner and nearly burned the house down.”
As Kara giggles again, Alex feels a heaviness in her stomach.
“Did you ever do something like that?” Kara turns to look at Alex.
“What?” Alex repeats, seemingly unable to say anything else.
“When you were learning magic, did you ever make anything catch fire or explode?”
The innocence behind Kara’s question is apparent, but the heaviness in Alex’s stomach suddenly feels like bubbling acid. Jumping to her feet, Alex stumbles a few steps back from the couch.
“You know what, I’m really tired. I think I’m going to go to bed.” Alex feels like an asshole at the confusion and hurt on Kara’s face, but she needs to get out of the room. She digs into her pocket and drops a twenty on the coffee table. “For the food. Eat as much as you want. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Alex turns and retreats up the stairs. She shuts the door of her room and leans against it, her head dropping back with a thud. Alex knew coming back to this town, to this house would be hard. She knew taking on a teenager would be even harder. She didn’t think she would want to run away from all of it before she’d even spent twenty-four hours here.
How the hell is she going to make it through the next two years?