dreams whisper through silence by mae 212

 

Chapter 212 

Ellie’s POV 

I wasn’t entirely sure why I decided to stop at the bookstore that day. Maybe it was because I felt like killing more time before returning home, where I would inevitably face Dominic despite tny best efforts to avoid him. 

Maybe it was also because of the giant yellow “50% OFF” sign in the window. 

Either way, I found myself pulling into the parking lot, then heading inside to browse the shelves. The inside of the store was quiet and smelled like an artificial paper scent from some candle, not that I was complaining. The girl behind the counter, about my age, looked up from the book she was reading, popped her gum, then looked away without saying anything. 

I made my way over to the table first, where some new books were on display. A couple caught my eye, so I grabbed them and tucked them under my arm. Then, I made my way to the history section. 

I had just finished reading that old book on Lycans today, so it was fresh in my mind, hence why my eye gravitated toward anything that could be related to that subject. 

Unsurprisingly, I spotted a few books on the topic. I pulled one off the shelf and studied the back cover. 

Just then, I felt a presence beside me. I looked up, expecting it to be the girl from the counter, but froze when I saw my mother’s face. 

I dropped the book to my side. 

“Mom.” 

“Ellie.” She looked at me, then at the books in my arms, then at my face again. “I didn’t expect to run into you.” 

I moved toward her without hesitating. “Mom, I wanted to say that I’m sorry for what happened the other day. For what I said.” She opened her mouth, but I quickly added, “I don’t think you’re stupid. I was just…” 

“Angry,” she said softly. 

I looked at my feet, feeling my face turn warm with shame, and nodded. 

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My mother said nothing for a long moment. I glanced up at her through my lashes, expecting her to chew my ear out for the things I had said. I certainly deserved it, even if I still meant what I said about Vivian. My mind would never change on that. 

To my surprise, though, my mother was smiling faintly. Without a word, she stepped forward and embraced me. 

I stiffened for a moment, surprised, but then sank into her arms and hugged her back. She smelled like vanilla and shampoo, and I let myself breathe her in, savoring this feeling. 

It was still hard to fathom sometimes that my mother was still here. Losing her in my past life had been harder than my own death, in some ways. And to think that I had almost lost her in this one… 

I made a silent vow to never speak that way to her again. The kind of vow a child always makes, but 

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probably won’t follow forever, because family is hard and people say things they don’t mean. But I knew I would try my best. 

When we pulled back, my mother looked at the book on Lycans again, and nodded to it. “Doing a little light reading?” she asked. 

“Oh. Yeah.” I laughed thickly and held it up. “I was reading a hook on the Lycans at the library. Did you know they probably had opal eyes? Like mine?” 

My mother stiffened. Her face went pale, like I’d said something wrong. 

“Mom?” I tilted my head. “Did I say something wrong?” 

She quickly shook her head, smiling once more. “No, not at all. I just… Um… I think I have a stomach bug. I should probably go.” 

“Oh. Okay.” I watched as she hurried away. She left the books she was going to buy sitting there on the shelf 

next to us. 

Well, that was weird. I grabbed her books and paid for them, planning to give them to her later. 

By the time I returned home, I knew I would run into Dominic; it wasn’t as late as usual, and besides, he always seemed to be waiting up for me these days, trying to talk to me when I really didn’t want to talk to 

him. 

What I didn’t expect, however, was to enter the house and hear the all too familiar sound of Vivian’s voice echoing through the halls. 

“No, not the red ones… Too dramatic… Maybe the cream?” 

Great. So she was here. My first instinct was to slip into my room unnoticed, because Dominic wasn’t waiting by the door like he usually was, but curiosity won out. I found myself moving toward the sound of Vivian’s voice, which was coming from the dining room. 

I poked my head around the corner and spotted her sitting at the table with Dominic. They had what looked like a pile of linens between them. One of the staff members was holding up a thick piece of cream-colored linen cloth, which let the light filter through it. 

୮ 

“Hm… Not that one, actually,” Vivian said, waving her hand. She reached into the pile, then rifled around for a moment before pulling out a length of sage green fabric. “Now this… This could work!” 

I wasn’t sure what they were doing, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to find out, either. Instead of entering, I quietly moved to leave. 

Unfortunately, I forgot that there was a creaky floorboard right next to the door. It groaned loudly under my weight, making Vivian and Dominic both look at me. 

“Ellie,” Dominic said. His tone was curt-I could tell right away just from the sound of it that he was still pissed about this morning, when I had abruptly told him off about the upcoming festival that he expected me to help plan. “You’re home early.” 

I suppressed a sigh and stepped fully into the doorway, clutching my bookstore bag to my chest. “It’s past dinnertime,” I pointed out. 

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Dominic’s expression darkened. “Yeah. That’s early for you these days.” 

I pressed my lips together, knowing that he was right but not wanting to admit it out loud. Vivian neatly folded the green linen and put it into a box at her feet that I was just now realizing to be labeled “Festival Supplies”. 

“What are you two doing?” I asked before I could stop myself. 

Vivian’s lips curved. “What does it look like?” she cooed. “We’re preparing for the festival.” 

My jaw tightened. I looked at Dominic. “You hired Vivian to do it?” I asked. I supposed I shouldn’t have been surprised, but a small part of me had still dared to hope that history wouldn’t repeat itself so closely in this 

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Well, I had hoped wrong. 

Dominic nodded, meeting my gaze steadily. “You wouldn’t do it,” he said coolly, “so I hired the most responsible person I could think of.” 

Vivian puffed her chest out at the praise. I bit back the urge to roll my eyes. 

“Well, I’ll leave you to it, then,” I said, honestly just wanting to get out of dodge. 

Before I could leave, though, Dominic called out, “It’s not set in stone though, Ellie. If you can prove yourself, then maybe I’ll consider letting you have the job back.” 

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