Tessa’s POV“Let me drive you home.”My entire body tensed when a deep voice sounded from behind me. I slowly turned to see Joseph standing before me. That same concern lingered in his eyes as he stared around my tear-soaked features.“I’ll call Ruby,” I whispered, dropping my gaze from his.“I don’t want you standing out here in the cold,” he said, his frown deepening. “Let me drive you, Tessa.”As much as I wanted to argue, I also really didn’t want to have to explain to Ruby why I was so upset. I knew she would ask me questions about why I was crying and what Joseph did to upset me now. Truth be told, I wasn’t upset with Joseph for sharing this information with me. I was upset about the situation.I was upset that I was left in the dark my entire life about who my mother truly was. I was upset with my father for lying to me about how she actually died.I was upset that I didn’t know I had a witch lineage.“We don’t have to talk,” Joseph added as if I needed more convincing.“Okay,”
Tessa’s POVClick My heart stopped.“Dad?” I said in a trembling tone.When he didn’t answer, I looked at my phone screen and when I saw my home screen, my phone slipped from my hand and landed on the ground.My father hung up on me.My entire body began to tremble as I fought the urge to burst into tears. As my breathing picked up speed, I bent and grabbed my phone off the ground. Instinctively I went into my contacts and scrolled until I found my dad. Clicking on his name, I put the phone back to my ear and waited. It rang several times before I got his voicemail box.I hung up the phone and slowly lowered myself until I was sitting on my bed. My whole head was in a daze.I couldn’t even comprehend what had happened.I just asked him if Mom was a witch, and his response was to hang up on me. I went from being shocked, to being straight-up furious. Was I ever going to get the answers I sought? Was this it? Was he just going to hang up on me whenever I asked him a question?Tears bri
Tessa’s POVAs my father’s name flashed across my phone screen, my entire body stilled. Joseph was watching me with a frown on his face.“Are you going to answer it?” He asked, furrowing his brows together as he studied me.I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and swiped the green “talk” button.“Hello,” I said, trying to keep my tone calm.“Tessa?” My father’s voice was gruff like he had just woken up. “Hey.”“What do you want, Dad?” I found myself asking; my voice came out more bitter than I wanted.But I was hurt, and he had to have known that. He hung up on me when I asked a very important question. He was too much of a coward to answer me, so he ran away.“I deserved that,” he murmured, and I wasn’t sure if he meant for me to hear it. “I wanted to talk to you. Do you think we can meet somewhere for dinner tonight? We can meet midway between here and there. I think there are some things we need to talk about.”My heart felt like it weighed a thousand pounds in my ches
Tessa’s POVI stared at my father with my mouth hanging open.“What are you talking about?” I asked after a long pause of silence. “I don’t have magic.”I stared down at my hands with my face heated; I started to feel ridiculous. Was he lying to me? Why would he make me feel foolish like this?“I never wanted you to find out,” he said sadly, and this time, he met my eyes. “I wanted to find a way to get rid of it.”“Get rid of what?”“Your magic,” he answered in a whisper. “I didn’t want you to end up with the same fate as your mother. Magic is a dangerous weapon to yield, Tessa. It’s the reason your mother is no longer with us.”My entire world stopped moving around me; tears brimmed in the corner of my eyes at the mention of my mother dying because of magic. My mind was whirling from this information, and it was taking everything I had not to stand up and walk right out of this restaurant.I wasn’t sure how much more I’d be able to hear.He sighed and leaned back in his seat as he st
Joseph’s POVBy the next morning, Tessa was still a bit out of it after finding out the truth about what she was. I couldn’t blame her of course, but I wished there was something I could do to help her. Then, I had a thought of reaching out to Bernard and Anna. He’s been on me about not returning to the village anyway and I knew Anna grew up around witches. She might be able to help Tessa.Tessa helped me make breakfast this morning and she tried to give me a happy smile and maintain positivity. But I could see through it. She was heartbroken and in shock.When we got to school, I didn’t see her at all until class time that evening. I knew she was busy doing her exams and I didn’t want to disturb her.I spent most of the day grading final projects while I waited for 6 pm. Per usual, Tessa’s paper was phenomenal. She had a real talent for breathing life into her characters and painting a picture with words.I admired that about her.It wasn’t until I reached the very last paper that ca
Tessa’s POVI followed Dean Miller across the school until we reached his office at the end of a long and narrow hallway. The walk to his office felt like an eternity long; I don’t think I’ve spent nearly enough time in his office, so I wasn’t really used to this walk. But I couldn’t help but feel like there was something seriously wrong.Ruby told me she would wait for me before she left so she could take me home. But I told her it was fine and that I could just walk home. It’s not like it was a far walk and she looked utterly exhausted after the exams today.I didn’t want to keep her longer than necessary.Once we finally reached his office, he nodded at the receptionist who sat at her desk just outside of his door. She returned the nod and then her eyes shifted to me. I couldn’t help but think she was judging me for something.The intensity of her stare caused heat to rush to my cheeks and I fixed my eyes on the ground in front of me.Dean Miller pushed the door to his office open
Tessa’s POVGraduation has been put on hold. My blog has been suspended. It felt like the entire world had crumbled down around me. I sat in the passenger seat of Joseph’s car, staring out the window as the school got smaller in the distance. I couldn’t believe that just happened. I have been completely frozen since sitting in Dean Miller’s office.Joseph helped me leave the room without falling over and Jeremy stayed behind to speak with Dean Miller in private.Joseph kept stealing glances in my direction as we drove through the city and toward the suburban area.“I’m not going to let this affect you,” Joseph finally said as he reached over and grabbed a hold of my hand.I looked over at him through my tear-filled eyes.“It’s already affecting me, Joseph,” I said in nothing more than a whisper. “I might not graduate. My blog has been suspended….”I choked on a sob as I looked back out the window. I really didn’t want to cry in his car again, but tears soon escaped my eyes and rushe
Joseph’s POVTessa continued to sleep peacefully in my bed, which was exactly where I liked her. I transferred her to the bedroom where she could sleep more comfortably. I bent down and kissed the side of her face gently, watching as she stirred comfortably and tried to get closer to me.I adjusted the blanket to cover her more, not wanting her to get cold before sighing and sliding out of bed. I grabbed my boxers and pants off the ground and quickly put them on before turning back to Tessa to look her over one last time.I wished I could stay in bed with her and cuddle her all night, but I had some business to take care of. I had to ensure Tessa graduated from college and that my record remained clean. I texted Chief Mulligan before returning home from school earlier and asked if he could help me with Jeremy Evans’ situation.I knew the Nightwalker corporation would be able to dig up whatever dirt was necessary.Apparently, this wasn’t the first time Jeremy had cheated and plagiarize