The Snake Queen

Chapter 28

Dedicated to partytimegirl

My dad never answered my call. He didn't even return my calls. I haven't heard from my mom either. The whole two weeks I was at Skye's, it was radio silence from both of them. That only worried me more.
"You sure you wanna go home?" Skye asked as I threw my wadded up pile of clothes in my bag.
"I have to, Skye. I haven't heard from Mom or Dad the whole time I've been here. Something's wrong. I know it." I threw my bag over my shoulder.
"Okay. Lemme know what happens." She hugged me goodbye.
I reversed my car down the street to my house. Both my parents' cars were in the driveway, which meant they had to be home. I grabbed my bag and braced myself for whatever disaster I was walking into. I took a deep breath before turning the knob. They were both at the kitchen table.
"Dad." I dropped my bag and ran to give him a hug.
For the first time since I was a kid, I actually attacked my dad with hugs. Same with my mom.
"What happened, Dad? I called you dozens of times, but you never answered or returned my calls. Mom wasn't even answering."
"Honey, sit down. We need to talk." I looked at them cautiously and sat down. "What are you doing, Mag?"
"Umm, I just got home Skye's. I was gonna go unpack my stuff."
"No. I mean about the curse, Mag. What are you doing?" He clarified.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?" My mom repeated.
"Well, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise to you. I've been saying I don't want any part of it for months. You both knew about that."
I saw a look flash across my dad's face that I couldn't identify if it was disappointment or heartbreak. Either way, I hated seeing it on his face. Very rarely did I ever see it because I've never really given them a reason for it. I was hurting my father and I knew it.
"Sweetheart, you know you have to. You heard Tombutoo. If you walk into that battle with absolutely nothing, things won't end well. I understand you're gonna be seventeen, and you want to do your own thing. But the closer we get to your birthday, and the less I see you doing anything about it, the harder it is to forget that I might not have much more time with you. I can't bear the thought of losing you. You're my little girl." I watched tears form in his eyes.
Without realizing what I was doing, I ran out the door. I kept running. I kept running until I hit desert. When I finally stopped running, I broke down. Skye had been right this whole time. I was hurting my parents, moreso my dad. I spent so much time trying to ignore the curse. I haven't down anything I was supposed to.
Me not doing what I was supposed to was ruining everything. Dad was right. I was walking into a battle. A battle I was nowhere near ready for. If I keep ignoring it, this won't end well. If I keep ignoring it, they won't have much time with me left. It was like bringing a paper clip to a gun fight.
I thought I was doing more by ignoring it. I thought I was doing more by not putting everyone through two different possible outcomes. I realized I'm doing more harm than good by running away from it. I'm only setting them up for heartbreak. I couldn't put them through that. I couldn't do that to Mom and Dad, my friends and Ryan.
"Tombutoo." I called. "Tombutoo, I need you!"
I kept calling Tombutoo but I got nothing. Normally, he was right in front of me. Why did he have to pick now to listen to me? When I needed him the most?
"Tombutoo!" I screamed.
"Nice to finally get a call from you for once rather than having to track you down."
I smiled a little. I've never been so happy to see him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of being called? Usually you're yelling at me to get away from you."
"I never thought I'd be so happy to see you." I hugged him as tight as I could.
Hugging Tombutoo was like hugging your best friend after a huge fight and not speaking for days on end. I never thought I'd say that. I'm glad he heard my calls. He was my one chance to fix everything.
"You spoke to your parents, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I did. I should've been listening to you this whole time. I know that now. I'm hurting everyone by dowing what I've been. I thought I was sparing everyone by not putting them through it. I was wrong. I'm only doing more harm than good. I can't do that to them. I can't do that to my parents."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
I thought about what I was about to do next. I couldn't let everyone suffer for my mistakes. Not anymore. I wouldn't let them. I took a deep breath. Suddenly, I found myself saying two words that could fix everything. Two words I never thought I would say.
Help me.

Y'all can thank me later in your own ways. My wrist hurts from this.