Page 41 of Tyson (Ariel Kimber 4.50)

***

An hour had passed since Ariel and I had left my house. We'd stopped at a diner that was open around the clock and, even though she claimed to not be hungry, I forced her to order something to eat anyways. She was putting on some much needed weight but it wouldn't stick if she forgot to eat and skipped meals. I'd do my bit to make sure she continued to put on the pounds until she looked healthy like I'd never seen her look before.

Even though she'd claimed she hadn't been hungry, she still ate the food I had forced her to order and, the entire time, she acted like it had been her idea to order the shit in the first place.

We'd left the diner hand in hand after I paid for our meals and I escorted her to my Audi and opened the passenger door to let her in. She'd held my hand in hers sweetly as I drove us to my new shop. She remained quiet on the drive as she watched the scenery change out the window as we drove by. I had expected her to ask questions, to demand to know where I was taking us. It wasn't like her to be so quiet, so complacent. I took that as the rare gift it was as well and decided not to poke at it.

I parked on the street behind the twin’s giant black beast of a truck and got out. Ariel wasn't far behind me. She didn't look at the building but her eyes were instead glued to the vehicles lined up on the street.

Uncle Quint's sedan was in front of the truck, a black Camaro in front of the sedan and a big sliver SUV in front of the Camaro. They were all here and I assumed since they weren't all standing out on the sidewalk that Uncle Quint had unlocked the shop and let them inside. I hoped he'd gotten the tour out of the way as well because, even though renovations had started on the apartment upstairs, nothing had been done to that damn ritual room in the basement. I couldn't hire normal people, non-magical people into the basement to clean that shit up. Rain had offered, but I wasn't comfortable with having that freak down there when he seemed so fucking excited about it.

The man scared the shit out of me. I did not want to know what the hell kind of chaos he'd cook up down there and what the hell it'd mean for me or my newly acquired building.

"What's going on here?" Ariel asked as I took her hand, laced her fingers through mine and herded her towards the front door.

I didn't answer her and she remained quiet as the bell rang above our heads as we entered the shop.

"What is this place?" Ariel asked in quiet awe as she looked around with big eyes. I found myself looking around the space the same way, in awe.

It looked different when filled with my family and the people I loved. When I was last here, the space had seemed dark, gloomy and dusty, and I wasn't sure I'd really had any desire to return.

The twins were seated at the round table covered in black cloth and they were across from each other. Abel held the old blind broads’ beautiful deck of tarot cards in between his hands as he shuffled through them carefully.

Both their heads turned our way when the bell rang out above us. They smiled playfully at me, openly, before turning their eyes on Ariel where they lit up joyously. Abel said something quietly to his brother and Addison nodded his head before pushing his chair back and coming up to his feet. Without hesitation, he moved right towards Ariel. When he stood in front of her, his eyes skirted to the side and he stared at me in question.

My lips tipped up in a small smile as I nodded and let go of her hand.

Addison's hand replaced mine in hers and he gave a gentle tug on it.

She looked back at me questioningly and I grinned at her before patting her on the ass. She scowled at me before being dragged off behind Addison and her fake, angry gaze was lost to me.

I didn't mind losing her to my brother, though; she was in good hands.

I looked around the room, taking everything in. And, what I saw had warmth, which I hadn't felt in fucking months, bloom and grown inside my chest like a fragile thing.

I was lucky to have been born into the family I had. My mother and my father having been extraordinarily beautiful, loving people who'd been the best parents any kid could have asked for.

Then they were dead and I was lucky to have the family left that I'd been raised in, then smart enough to choose for myself.

Lately, I'd been so busy beating myself down, that I'd forgotten and lost sight of all the good things I'd also been blessed with in my life.

Right now, as I stood inside the piece of shit building I'd stupidly bought out of guilt, I took in the immense beauty that was my family.

Julian and Uncle Quint were at the back wall, standing in front of the many bookshelves. Their heads were pressed close together and bent over an open book Uncle Quint held aloft in his hands. His lips moved but the words were so quietly spoken that they didn't drift far enough my way for my ears to hear.

Something essential to life settled in my chest as Uncle Quint looked up at me, smirked, then tipped his head back down to his book.

I placed my hand to my chest with my palm over my heart as my eyes moved away from my Uncle and his best friend.

Dash was behind the front counter with Damien. He had his ass up on a wooden stool in front of the register, his feet on the bottom rung. He watched Damien move his hands around dramatically with a glimpse of amusement with patient eyes. Dash looked settled and like a man who was resigned to his fate, a few he was amused by but was going to pretend to be annoyed by.

I smiled as I looked away from them and my gaze moved to where it had started out, on the twins. The twins and now Ariel.

Ariel sat on Addison's lap with his arms wrapped around her middle. She was cuddled up to him, her head on his shoulder and her lovely green eyes aimed across the table at Abel who was cutting the tarot deck in half.

She was happy and about to get something she'd wanted for a very long time. And Abel was going to give it to her.

My eyes burned as I dropped my head down to stare at my boots, overcome with emotions. It had been what felt like forever since we'd all been together. And I couldn't remember ever having been so happy.

My family, my crazy fucking coven, were all kinds of awesome.

---