Page 25 of Scars Like Wings

“I can always count on you, Byrdie.” Simone gave me a finger gun with a click of her tongue.

“It’s astounding how much you girls know about each other,” Thompson said.

“Girls talk. Why do you think girls and gays get along so well, honey?” Everett joked, making us all laugh.

Simone continued, “Cole managed to find a buyer for the property with the gators gone, so he had to leave and I had to swim back to the dock to teleport home. We traded numbers, though.Andhe asked me to be hisgirlfriend. So, we are dating and so obviously in love. We have been literally talking nonstop since! Today has been the least we have talked, because he’s been getting the party ready. I miss him!”

“Well, maybe the straights are okay, after all,” Thompson said.

“Highly unlikely,” I said. “Simone is just a magical Disney Princess.”

“Hey! Is that a reference to me being Ariel? You know I can’t stand her. Even one of the Bailey’s couldn’t improve how horrible that representation is for mers.” Simone wrinkled her nose again.

“Is this the same party that you girls are going to? It’s at this guy’s house that you just met?” Uncle Everett asked, always thinking about logistics and safety.

Simone shook her head. “Not exactly. When he called to invite me, we only talked briefly about it. Cole called it a mansion party, and he said his brother was throwing it. He said his older brother looked for any reason to throw a party. He always goes all out.”

“Well, color me jealous,” Everett said as Thompson whistled in appreciation. “It sounds like fun and almost like you should trap this man. I’m totally kidding. Please donotfollow that advice.”

While Simone and I were chuckling from behind the last of our glasses of wine, Maisie checked her phone. “Well, the party will be fun if we make it. We need to get dressed, like, right now, if we hope to be any trace of on-time.”

I checked my smartwatch. We had a little over an hour to get ready, and I still had so much to do. I slid from the barstool and grabbed my dishes from the counter.

“No, ma’am,” Thompson said, his bright green magic tendrils taking my plate and glass from my hands. “You have a party of a lifetime to get ready for that I need to vicariously experience through you.”

“But the cook never does the dishes—” Thompson interrupted me with a look. “Even if heisa witch!”

“Well, now, that’s what Everett is for, obviously.” He patted Everett’s shoulder as Ever shook his head. “Now, skedaddle.”

“Heisright. We will take care of all of this, kiddo. Go get ready. Plus, Teddy will want to see the outfits.”

“I would, I will, and I’m going to want seconds, absolutely.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Crazy that you two are rushing me like this. I honestly would have thought y’all would be too exhausted for more after going all day, but I guess gays are just like rabbits.”

“Go, you fucking menace to my sobriety,” Everett said as Thompson’s face turned a deep red again.

The girls and I cackled on our way to my bedroom at the end of the hallway. Simone’s and Maisie’s bags followed behind us on a cloud of purple magic. I opened the cracked door wide for us to enter, Dinah scurrying in after us.

My eclectic and cluttered room was very Bohemian compared to the luxurious modernity of the rest of the penthouse. Most of my room was taken up by my king bed, and the colorful rug underneath in the far corner. My bed was drowned with pillows and blankets to make it beyond cozy. An egg chair hung in front of my bed with even more pillows and blankets. Plants outnumbered my pillows and blankets, sitting on my shelves above my bed and bathing in my string lights. More were on the windowsills of the massive, always-open windows taking up the far wall. Bookshelves full of books, manga, comics, and journals stood between two barn doors leading to my bathroom and walk-in closet. A desk with a chair was positioned next to my bed and to the left of my door. The gray walls were covered in pictures, string lights, and paintings of mushrooms, dragonflies, and cacti. The only thing that outnumbered my plants, blankets, and pillows were my crystals, charging on every free space: on my windowsills, on my desk, among my books, and even in the soil of my plants.

Within my room, the girls’ bags softly landed beside where they normally sat. Maisie’s settled near my full-length mirror right next to my closet, and Simone’s was deposited next to my desk. Maisie and Simone went over to their respective spots and started laying out their makeup tools.

“Cleo,” I called to the large smart crystal ball on my nightstand. Cleo could tell me everything from the weather to answering questions. She was bespelled to read my mood, and she could kick off all sorts of spells on objects with the appropriate runes on them. Her clear crystal lit up and filled with white smoke as she listened for my request. “Play theGetting Ready to Go OutPlaylist, please?”

Her smoke cleared as she said, “Of course! PlayingGetting Ready to Go Outnow. Enjoy!”

The beginning chords of “Pour It Up” by Rihanna filled the room as I made my way to my closet to consider my options, singing and bobbing along.

Flipping the lights on in my closet, I was confronted with a closet straight from a celebrity’s house or HGTV show full of possibilities—a dangerous spot for a Libra. Iadoredclothes, especially those that fit me, were comfortable, and made me look hot as fuck. Anything that did all three was hard to find, so I collected them like they were gold. With the bright lights andamount of clothes, it felt more like I was shopping than grabbing an outfit from my personal wardrobe.

“What are you girls wearing?” I asked, leaning against the dresser in the center.

“Lingerie and leather pants, the usual,” Maisie replied.

“Oooh, I’m doing something similar! Mine is a leather corset thing with lace! Instead of pants, I’m wearing a silky mini skirt.”

I nodded to myself as I finally decided. I had an inkling what I wanted to wear when I stepped into the closet, but their outfits made me sure. I pulled out the leather and lace pieces needed for my outfit and laid them across the bed. I returned to my closet to grab my duffel bag, along with a quick outfit for my overnight bag. My travel makeup, chargers, e-reader, and toiletries were still inside from my last trip, and I thanked my past self for being so helpful for once.

---