Witch Hazel Chapter 5.9

Witch Hazel 

Chapter 5 part 9

DING DONG 

The doorbell was a lot louder than Diego had expected and it startled him. This house was huge and he considered teasing his brother he must have sucked a thousand dicks to get it. He listened to the pounding rain as he waited for his brother to come to the door and hoped everything was well with them.

 He’d heard some worrying things through the grapevine and his brother’s call had been terse and urgent. Come over now, I may have to leave very suddenly and Rosa will need you. It didn’t leave much room for argument and he’d left immediately despite the argument it would cause with his wife.

Wife.  

Diego was still rolling that word around in his head, trying to get used to it. Not mate, he hadn’t bitten her. Just wife. The legal kind that gets half your stuff if you split.

“Hey you,” Leo pushed the door open. “Took you long enough. You have trouble finding the place?”

“A little,” Diego admitted. “I don’t have much of a sense of direction.”

“Well I’m glad you made it over. I haven’t heard from Benita so I don’t know if I’ll need to leave.”

“What’s going on, anyway?” Diego asked, perplexed. “Your call was pretty abrupt.”

“Not sure. You have some explaining to do, also,” Leo said. “But first I want you to see Rosa. She’s started walking and it’s amazing.”

Diego chuckled as he followed his brother in. The big tough Leonardo had become such a dad it was hilarious. “As you say. We’ll go see little Rosa walk.”

“Come to dada!” Leo said to Rosa as she wobbled two feet from him. “Come on, let uncle Diego see how talented you are!”

“Dada! Dego?” she tilted her head questioningly at her uncle. 

“Come here,” Leo beckoned to her. “Look at dada. That’s it. Walk over here!”

Diego’s expression was wistful as he watched his brother with little Rosalinda. It was too perfect and too sweet, almost nauseating actually. He felt a sadness he couldn’t explain well up in him as Rosa wobble walked to her father. Something terrible was missing from his life. How did he get it?

“Who’s daddy’s amazing girl?” Leo exclaimed. “Uncle Dego must be so proud!”

“You’re wonderful, Rosa!” Diego said, getting up and coming over. “Hi little baby! I bet you don’t remember me, do you?”

“….Dego?” she said against her father’s chest, questioning and shy.

“Yes, I’m Dego. I’m your dada’s brother.”

“Dada… dego?”

“No I’m not your dada,” laughed Diego. “Just Dego.”

“Oh no, here comes the CLAAAAW!”

Diego might be an immature, sometimes heartless idiot but he was good with kids and kids loved him. Rosa proved to be no exception, latching onto him with giddy pleasure as he made weird voices and played with her. All shyness seemed to have evaporated for uncle Dego.

“RAWWWRR!” the claw tickled Rosa, who laughed helplessly and flailed.

“No! No!” she squealed. “Down!” she pointed to her toys. 

“Ah, as you wish,” Diego chuckled and put the squirmy toddler back on the floor.

“We need to chat anyway,” Leo said, seeing the message from his wife that everything was well had calmed him down and allowed him to refocus. “Come over and take a seat.”

With a sinking feeling like that he’d gotten when his dad might have called him over to beat him, Diego trailed away from his niece to sit on the couch.

Benita lifted the bottle up and swirled it around experimentally. It was warm in her hand and a little tingly. The vapor smelled vaguely of something spicy and sweet, but not reminiscent in the way of food. It could have passed for a cologne, she mused to herself. Too bad she had to drink it.

Bracing herself, she raised the bottle up and chugged. It tasted awful like pouring vinegar and unripe grapes down into her mouth with something almost like honey but tainted with a nasty metallic flavor that permeated her whole mouth and made her choke and gag. It took her three tries to get the whole bottle down and it made her stomach burn painfully.

“Gods above!” she cried out as her veins lit on fire and every nerve in her body was shot with electricity. Her father started forward to catch her but her mother stopped him and made him wait beside her. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked, rising slowly from the tea table. She was shaky and used Harry to keep her steady on her feet. Evidently breaking through to read her daughter had indeed taken a lot out of her. 

“V-very tingly,” mumbled Benita. Her lips felt a little numb and she wondered if she’d bitten her tongue in shock. She looked at her arms and noted that all the fine hairs were standing on end. “A little like I stuck my finger in a socket.”

“That is a good sign,” Brigid said. She patted Harry’s arm and let him move away, finding her balance once more. “Remember when you were small, that trick you did to frighten ignorant village boys?”

“Th… the apple thing?” Benita managed, feeling out of sorts. Her vision was sliding in and out of focus and she was worn out, as if she’d run a marathon. Had she run here? She didn’t really recall.

“Yes, I want you to summon an apple like you did when you were small. It’s an easy enough trick, you already know how to do it and it should help you remember how to access your power. It is there, I can feel it now without even having to try.”

“You should get on home, now,” Brigid patted her daughter’s shoulder. “I’m sure your husband and child miss you. Be careful on your way home. It was good to see you.”

“Ah, right,” Benita was mystified and overwhelmed. Still a little numb from the potion, she managed only to make sure that her parents would come see her new home soon as she toddled towards the door. 

Harry saw her out and made sure she was fit to walk. “Do you need a ride?” he asked quietly. “Won’t take a minute to get a bridle on the horse.”

“I’ll be fine,” she smiled a little dazedly. “I just feel dizzy and a little frazzled. A walk will give me time to think.”

“I understand.” He patted her cheek affectionately. “That’s my girl,” he said, before turning and going back into the warm trailer.

“Do you want to tell me what you saw?”

“Harry, let it go. I shouldn’t breathe a word of it to anyone, you know how the future works.”

“My dear, I can see something upset you terribly after you finished that reading. I’ve never seen you look so devastated.” Harry frowned and considered his wife. They’d been together for a very long time and she’d always confided in him. “Is there anything we can do?”

“I’m afraid not,” she murmured. “I fear that meddling with it would only make her future worse. At least right now she has three out of four children growing up to be brilliant and good.”

“And the other?”

“I’m afraid Rosa is… not going to be so fortunate,” she admitted wearily. “I should lay down. I feel so very weak. Help me to bed, Harry, that’s a good man.”