Page 88 of Scrooged for the Holidays
She nods and turns back to Greer’s mom when he’s gone, giving her an apologetic look. “Sorry. Their relationship is…”
“…complicated?” she offers, and Avery nods. “For what it’s worth, my relationship with my daughter is strained, but despite it all, I know she’d be happy for you, even if she won’t express it.”
“You really think so?”
Mrs. Mallory pauses before she nods. “You know better than anyone how she is. You’ve been there by her side, loving her like a true friend would. Greer wouldn’t have allowed you to stay in her life and work with her if she didn’t love you.”
“It doesn’t feel that way most of the time.”
The older woman sighs. “I’m sorry you feel that way. But I think you know that, ever since Greer was young, she’s had a hard time with feelings. She’d rather turn them off and pretend they don’t exist. But like I said, I have no doubt she loves you and would be happy for you.”
Avery swallows, her eyes turning watery. “For what it’s worth, I know she loves you both, too.” Her gaze moves between Greer’s parents. “She may not take your calls, but I’ve seen the way she looks when I tell her you’ve both tried calling or I bring up our gatherings. I think she wants to talk to you both.”
“You don’t have to give me hope, dear.”
Avery takes Mrs. Mallory’s hand and squeezes. “Like you said, Greer has a hard time showing her feelings. But if she can love me, I have no doubt she loves you both.”
“We’ll take your word for it,” Mr. Mallory says, his voice thick.
“I can only hope that one day she’ll come around, and we’ll be celebrating Christmas with her,” Avery adds.
Greer’s mom wipes a tear off her cheek. “I’ll try to keep that hope alive, especially if you think it’s possible.”
Avery smiles tenderly and hugs her again. “We just have to pull her away from work. I tried to call her again earlier.”
“Still no answer?”
She shakes her head. “She’s probably lost in evaluations and numbers.”
“That’s probably true,” Greer’s dad adds.
“Yeah.” She exhales a concerned breath. “But I’ll try again later and let you know if I hear anything.”
Mrs. Mallory pulls Avery into a strong hug. “Thank you, Avery. Now, go celebrate with Josh and enjoy your Christmas. You don’t get the time back.”
Avery steps away and hugs Greer’s dad before she excuses herself to go to Josh. My gaze shifts to Greer, unsure of what I’ll see. She watched the interaction in silence, her body still. She didn’t attempt to get me to take her away or make any snide remarks; she simply observed.
The red anger and shame from her aura are gone, and in their place is more gold mixed with soft blue among the remaining gray. My chest fills with hope for the future, not only because she’s healing but also that her gold matches the color of my aura and the blue matches Kai’s. In all my years, I haven’t seen my gold color on a human let alone mixing with another guardian’s shade.
I’m not sure what exactly it all means, but I won’t deny I like it. It makes me feel connected to her in an even deeper way than I already do—especially after being intimatetogether.
“This is really real?” Greer asks after another long moment, a hint of acceptance I’ve been waiting for in her voice.
“It’s real, love.”
Her eyes find mine, wide and glassy with emotion.
She doesn’t speak, so I fill the silence. “Your family, Avery—despite what you may think, they not only think of you, they love you.”
She looks down at her hands, which are clasped in front of her. “They shouldn’t.”
I snap my fingers so we’re no longer in the house but instead outside in the cold and snowy night looking in.
“Why shouldn’t they?” I ask.
“You said you’re a magical being. Don’t you know the answer?”
“I’d rather hear it from you.”
