Page 31 of A Cursed Heart
Happy with that, Freya continued to eat her breakfast. I shared a look with my sister, both of us completely disbelieving what had just happened.
Neither Mal nor Freya seemed upset. I decided to let it slide. Netflix had done me a solid with that movie. Freya had found it a bit later than most kids since she hadn’t been interested in the TV much until she hit pre-K. Then it was a case of her catching up with the trends. I wished they’d hurry up with the sequel though.
I tipped my cup at Mal to reheat my coffee once more, which he did with a smile. Magic was so fucking handy.
Any reservations I had about letting Mal stay out of the gem and in my apartment with my kid, all melted away at how the two of them interacted over the rest of breakfast. It was like I wasn’t there. The two of them chatted away like old friends, with Freya telling Mal everything about her life in Daddy’s apartment and her new school. She hadn’t talked so much in months. This was a glimpse of who she was months ago, before this all happened. Back to how she was before Jasmine’s boyfriend entered her life and dulled her shine. I loved it. They even swapped food back and forth, with Freya trying other fruits she’d wrinkled her nose at only days ago.
Mal shone next to her, occasionally shooting looks my way, as if checking it was okay to take up all of Freya’s attention. As I enjoyed my fourth cup of coffee that morning, I realized I could get used to it being like this.
“Look, I’m sure you know what you’re doing, just be careful, okay?” Lydia warned before she took off for college. She had classes in an hour and wanted to get back home to shower first. With how often she crashed in Freya’s room, I would have thought she would have left some clothes here. Nope, she wanted it to remain our space where she was just a visitor.
“Do you think I’m making a mistake having Mal here?” Lydia’s intuition about people was better than mine.
Lydia barely thought about it. “No. He obviously cares about you, which means he’ll treat Freya well, too. Unlike some of those girlfriends you’ve had.” Lydia held a grudge, and I didn’tblame her. “His magic would be useful too. He was so cute with her over breakfast!”
“Yeah, he was.”
“I know I don’t need to tell you this, but maybe you need to hear it. It’s okay if you catch feelings for him. He’s hot.”
A burning sense of… envy? That was the wrong word. Jealousy, maybe? I couldn’t name it. Still, it scalded my insides like hot lava. I felt a lump of something vile in my throat and had to swallow it down.
“Do you want me to set—” I attempted to offer.
“Don’t even finish that sentence, Ry. He likes you. Barely noticed me.” Lydia didn’t even sound offended, just amused.
“But he’s a man…”
“So?” She gave a careless shrug. “No one cares. Love is love and all that.”
“What about Mom?”
Lydia scoffed. “Mom wouldn’t care as long as the person you love treats you well. The dude has literal magic! I think she would be happy to have a demon for a son-in-law!”
“You really don’t care?”
“Not at all. Just be careful with this Salvatore stuff and be open with how you feel.”
I huffed out a laugh. “I’m not even sure I’ve got feelings for him.”
“Then this conversation doesn’t matter. As long as you know me and Mom will accept any partner you have. You deserve happiness, Ry.”
“So do you, Liddy. Now get out of here before you’re late to class and blame me. I’ve got to get Freya ready for school.”
Lydia called out a goodbye to Freya and Mal, not that they were paying attention. Freya was showing Mal her favorite movie on the big TV, singing along to the songs while Mal grumbled, “Those aren’t demons,” under his breath.
“Come on, Frey, you need to get ready.”
Mal trailed us to her bedroom, where I searched for a Freya approved outfit for the day, then helped her dress. She was getting the hang of buttons, but some of the fastenings on her clothes could be tricky for little fingers.
People stared at us while we walked to the school. We must have looked weird, two dudes, one with waist-long fire-red hair tied in a neat braid, walking with a little girl mangling Korean pop songs between us. It was the best start to a day I’d had in a long time.
At the school, Freya’s teacher greeted us. “Morning, Ryan, Freya. Who’s this you’ve got with you today?”
“This is Daddy’s friend, Mal,” Freya said confidently, her joy shining from every pore. “He is going to draw with me after school.”
“Well, that’s lovely! Nice to meet you, Mal. I’m Ms. Matthews, Freya’s teacher.”
Though Freya had joined the school later on in the year, she had settled in well because of Ms. Matthews. I kind of wished she could be Freya’s teacher for kindergarten, but that looked unlikely.
