Page 8 of Calling Quarters

She died from giving birth to me, or at least that's what I'd always been told. Could she have been hiding me to protect my life?

“It was a rough time, especially for my family. We were accused of helping the Counters and their families escape their fate. Grammy was all but cast out until my mom agreed to take over as the town midwife. Grammy was put on desk duty here at the hotel that her patents owned. Mom was only eighteen at the time.”

“Have any of the current Quarters found their Counters?”

Blaire stopped chewing again and looked over at me, her eyes going wide. “No. That's the weird part. They couldn't find any babies born on their new moons. It's the first time this has happened. The town is going a little crazy over it. Like, how did four children go undocumented and manage to slide under the radar?”

My skin broke out into chills. It was starting to make sense: my parents’ deaths, Aunt Ash's paranoia, the warnings from Officer Kyle and Tabitha.

Could I be a Counter?

No.Thatwas insane. I could entertain the stories and pretend all of this made any sense, but to suggest I had a role in any of it? That I was a part of this crazy town's history? That may have been taking it too far.

But I was here to find the truth about myself, and every possibility had to be explored.

Right?

“All I know is that the mystery over who the Counters are is splitting the town in half. Some believe they're a threat to the coven’s existence and need to be hunted quickly. The other half thinks it's time to end the Quarters’ reign over us and rely on our own magic.” She pointed a salty finger at me. “That's the movement Rayner has been pushing. His brother was suspected of being a Counter to the Forbes when they were younger. They executed his father in front of the whole town to make a point: You can't hide from the Quarters. They took his brother away to be killed in private since he was so young.”

My stomach flipped thinking of the poor boy and his father. How many people have lost their lives due to this silly tradition? How many children? Were they even sure that the Counters had the power over the Quarters that they were accused of having?

I wanted to ask what side she was on. To know if I could trust her with my crazy newfound suspicions about myself and my past. But just before the words made their way from my mouth, Tabitha opened the bedroom door and waddled in.

Her eyes lingered on me as she barked, “There's a customer at the desk, Blaire.”

Blaire walked out of the room wordlessly, leaving me alone with Tabitha and her withering stare. Once she was out of earshot, Tabitha finally broke our silence.

“She's a smart girl, but she's regurgitating fables that were told to her by people who only speak out of fear. I've warned her to protect herself from them, but does she listen?” She clicked her tongue disappointedly.

A tight smile was all I could offer. She was so intense, and I was afraid to admit my own thoughts on the matter, especially to someone who would be so unforgiving if she believed I was on the wrong side.

“I know what you're thinking, little girl. You cannot tell a soul about it,” she whispered. “Your parents died protecting your secret. You are either a threat or a pawn to these people—nothing more. If you want answers, you need to find them on your own. Don't trust anyone here to help you.”

“Grammy, no one was there,” Blaire's voice called out from the hallway as she approached her bedroom.

“They must have left,” Tabitha simply said, offering one last warning glare before she turned and left.

“She's really losing it,” Blaire sighed.

I didn't respond. I couldn't stop thinking about her warning—the same words Officer Kyle told me before even entering Beacon Grove.

Did they both know what I am? And who else in this town was privy to my past?

I purposely didn't bring the topic back up with Blaire and she seemed to have forgotten all about it, returning her focus to the movie and stuffing her face with popcorn. But my mind was too chaotic to pay any attention to what was happening on screen.

I had to find a way to get Tabitha alone and make her explain more. She told me I needed to find out on my own—that I couldn't trust anyone here—but did that include her?

Was she guilty of what they accused her of?

Was she part of the reason my father and aunt left Beacon Grove so suddenly?

Chapter 6

Remy

Ionce read about a study conducted on rats that tested their perseverance with the presence of hope and support. First, a group of rats were placed in a bucket of water and left alone to swim until they drowned. The process hadn't taken long, as they quickly gave up once they realized they weren't going to be rescued. The second time, the rats were brought out of the water just before they drowned, and then immediately placed back into the bucket to swim.

The study found the rats that were rescued lasted significantly longer than the ones that were left to drown. They'd pushed their bodies to swim past their limits because they had been introduced to the concept of being rescued.

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