Chương 8: A month? That's too soon.

That's too soon.

"I'm getting kicked out?" Grim asked.

"You didn't know?" Chloe said. Grim rubbed her eyes. She did not need this right now.

"No, I didn't know."

"What was the Boonwitch like?" Jeremy asked, trying to interject.

"Already answered three questions," Grim said as she pushed past them; her relatively pleasant mood cratered as she stomped down the stairs. Jin and Louis were in the kitchen making lunch while the rest of her foster siblings ran around the house. She didn't pay them any mind; they were young enough that they thought she was still scary instead of just an asshole. Her foster parents turned as she shouted, "I'm getting kicked out? What the fuck."

Jin was the same age as Louis but more serious compared to his easygoing nature. She had high cheekbones and a meticulously groomed appearance. She didn't seem surprised and looked like she was carefully considering what she was going to say. She'd dressed down from the more formal wear she wore for her job to jeans and a button-up. Louis looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"You were supposed to talk to her last night," Jin replied.

"It was her birthday, it wasn't the right— look," Louis said as she turned back to Grim.

"We'd love for you to stay longer; we would absolutely love it, but after someone turns 18, we stop receiving funding from the government."

"So because you're not making money off me, I'm getting kicked out?" Louis scrunched his face, "It's not like that; surely you remember Carlos? He had to move out too to make room for Jeremy."

"He had months to find a place and work, I don't even have a job yet."

"You got a boon shard; don't be ungrateful. That will cover your expenses long enough for you to get steady work. Carlos didn't get that," Lin said. Grim hissed in frustration, "It's not about the money; I just wasn't... ready yet."

"This was a bit quicker than we wanted to, but we got contacted for a new placement, and this kid needs a stable home right now. He's in a crucial stage of development," Louis said, trying to soften the blow. Grim felt her eyes start to water, but she blinked it away. She would not cry in front of them right now. Her siblings were watching, and she'd already embarrassed herself enough today, "Fine, fuck you too, then." Grim turned and ran back up the stairs; Jeremy and Chloe were there watching.

"Hey, Grim, I'm really sorry—" Jeremy tried to say before Grim pushed past him. He hit the wall a little harder than she meant, and she felt a flash of guilt when he coughed in pain. She stopped before she slammed her door behind her, still feeling a little bad.

"I'm sorry. I just need some time." Jeremy was still winded, and Chloe looked scared, standing protectively in front of Jeremy. Grim closed the door before they could say anything and laid on her bed. She spread her arm out and stretched before curling in on herself.

"Fuck." A month? That was too soon. She'd fantasized about moving out, planned it even, but she thought it'd be on her own time, not because there was a deadline from her replacement. It had happened before, once with Carlos, but he'd actually been good at school, fit in and had friends. As soon as he could go to university, he did; a scholarship had paid his way in. Others had left too, the younger ones usually adopted by good families or returning to their biological ones once they had their shit figured out.

Nobody else in this house had lived here as long as she did; Jin and Louis had tried to find more permanent solutions and did everything they were supposed to, but a disabled and disfigured teenager wasn't the most desirable of adoption options. Eventually, they stopped trying, and a temporary option became permanent. She felt like she wanted to cry again, but a tug from her [Friendly Shadow] skill interrupted her before she could start. It was odd, like someone was knocking on a door inside her.

Grim felt around the skill and found that Hazel seemed much better than yesterday. She'd been close to being burnt out, but burning out a boon wasn't permanent. It would just take longer to recover. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. She ignored it. She was glad she seemed to be doing better now, but she wasn't in the mood for her Hazel-ness right now. She needed time alone to process and figure out what she would do next.

The knocking stopped, and she relaxed more in bed, trying to let her thoughts empty. Her ceiling had those glow-in-the-dark stars, placed there by her and Louis when she was younger. It had been her first week there, and she'd had trouble sleeping, so he'd put them there so it wasn't so dark. Jin had thrown a fit because she didn't want anything damaging the walls, but she'd acquiesced after a long conversation with Louis. Jin had always been more distant; if you were physically okay, everything was good.

If you weren't? Then that wasn't her problem. Unless you were one of the little ones, but once they got old enough it was like a switch flipped in her. Gone was the kind, caring mother and instead, here was Jin. Pragmatic and cold. She'd asked Louis once why she hated her when she was younger and pathetic. She still cringed at that memory. How Louis explained it wasn't anything she did. It was just once she or any of the kids got old enough, she couldn't pretend they were hers anymore.

The kids grew up and became a reminder of how she'd never have any. Grim had gotten the wrong message from his story; she'd thought she could change Jin's mind. She couldn't. She felt the tears start to come back, and along with it came the knocking again, louder and more insistent, rattling her from the inside. It was infuriating, and she grabbed the door before it could be knocked on again and yanked it open. Her shadow slinked from her body and gathered together like inky tendrils.

The tendrils grew from the ground and sprouted up and outwards before revealing Hazel's outline in black. Hazel pushed and stepped forward; as she did so, the colour came to her body, and she looked human again. She no longer had any visible wounds but her eyes had deep bags under them, her movements were stiff, and she looked exhausted.

"What do you want?" Grim asked, sitting up now. Hazel limped to the edge of the bed, "Can I sit?" Grim nodded; she was pissed, but she wouldn't take it out on her. Not after she'd saved her life. Hazel sat down beside her and rested her head on Grim's shoulder. She tensed up and side-eyed Hazel. She'd normally have pushed her away by now, but she looked so tired still. It was warm, the two of them so close and it… wasn't horrible. She'd let this slide, for now, but only because it looked like Hazel needed it.

That was it. She wasn't lying to herself at all. Grim sighed, "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty awful."

"You could've stayed in longer to heal, you know?"

"I know."

"Then what are you doing out here for? You're probably making your injuries worse."

"I wanted to see you."

"I'm fine, as you can tell. Is there anything else? I've got a couple of things I need to do today." Hazel used the least effort she could to push herself up, "I'll help." Grim prodded at Hazel's ribcage, prompting the other girl to giggle, "You can barely move. Come back into my shadow or skill or wherever you come from. People will look at me weird if I don't have a shadow."

Hazel batted Grim's hand away and stood up, "Nuh uh, after I got knocked out and returned to your shadow, I spent that whole time worried about you. They could've killed you, and I was too weak to help or do anything, and we were lucky to get out of that alive; now you're by yourself in your room upset, and I can't watch that when I can help." Grim leaned back, confused. She didn't know what to do.

She checked her room for the exits and found they were still there, like always, but if she left, she'd just run into Jin or Louis downstairs. She gripped her duvet, soft wrinkles forming on the fabric where she squeezed.

"You don't have to do anything for me; I can handle it," Grim said. Hazel blew a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"Yes, I do. That is literally my job, and I love you, and I want to help, and we're stuck together." That had Grim standing up, a foot closer to the exit. `"You love me? We just met."

"And if you put me back inside, I'll scream and annoy you until you let me out again. And yes, I love you. You're my…" Hazel froze for long enough that Grim thought she was broken.

"You're my what?" Grim asked. Hazel shook herself, her eyes unglossing. She crossed her arms as she talked faster, as if trying to make up for freezing earlier. Her hands fidgeted as she looked down, "I'm yours, okay? And I'd do anything for you, I've decided."

"You decided all that? Right now? Any chance I can change your mind?" Hazel shook her head, "No, well, probably if you wanted, but I'm not going to help you learn how to do that." Grim rubbed her eyes, and she thought through what she had just said. It was like a sense opened up to her, she could change her if she wanted. She felt around in the void between herself and her skill. It took a second of searching, but once she'd started looking for it, she found threads connecting herself to Hazel.

She tugged on the barest edges of one and instantly knew she could force Hazel to do whatever she wanted. Hazel stared at her as she plucked one, bending it slightly. She didn't react, so it seemed she wouldn't even know if it happened. She let the thread go. It was helpful to know, but not something she'd ever see herself messing around with. Hazel was... Hazel, but messing with her mind just had such an instinctive wrongness to Grim that she felt nauseous.

It helped, though, knowing she could change her if she wanted. She didn't know why Hazel said all those things, but if she tried to hurt her, she had a way of fighting back if she had to. Grim moved away from the door and sat down at her desk, Hazel close behind. She'd let her help, for today, at least. She had a lot of things to do, and it would be pretty distracting if Hazel were inside her, causing a racket. Just the thought of it gave her a headache.

"Fine, you can help, but you have to take it easy; if you hurt yourself again, you're going back in my shadow." Hazel grinned "Yay! What are we going to do first?"

"We're gonna see what's actually in that letter."