ForNever

Jayden sighs loudly. "I cannot help it if I love her. She is the only one who makes all of this worthwhile. This long life I have lived will only have any meaning once she is mine-as it should be, Kieran." He leans across and turns the volume up on the CD player. "I love this song. Anyway, you seem to be making a lot of progress. She is basically ready to tell you she loves you, so I suggest you find that spell breaker fast."

Kieran heaves a long sigh. "Also," he says as he slumps back into the chair. "The spell breaker I thought would work last time, after I went to see that senile old witch, will no longer work."

Jayden says surprised, "Why not? You said it was sure to work, if we could have gotten her over the threshold of her house before the shadows got to her." He smirks. "Although, you never know when she will decide to tell you and you cannot keep her imprisoned in her house." He mumbles softly, "Actually not a bad idea."

" The witch told me it will only work if it is a loving, caring home. If her mom and dad love each other, because then love will conquer the shadows-basically like the curse, true love will break it."

Jayden tightens his lips as he considers this. "Her mom and dad do not love each other?"

Dismissively Kieran says as he stares out the window to his side. "They are getting divorced."

" Well, brother, if you can recall, we have already dismissed that idea as not useful."

" I was considering it as an alternative, in case we cannot find anything else."

Every traffic light is green between Heather's house and theirs.

I walk into the lounge and my mom is fast asleep on the couch.

As I look down at her sleeping face, an immense deep sadness fills me. I glance around the room and my dad's leaving is glaringly obvious. There are gaps in the bookshelves, in the DVD and CD rack. A painting is missing over the fireplace.

I lean down toward my mom. I touch her shoulder sympathetically and I say softly, "Mom." I wait a bit and then I say again, "Mommy, come it's time to go to bed."

Her eyes flutter open and she looks up at me bewildered. Her blonde curls are messy and sticking up in wickedly wild ways. She smiles timidly. "Was I sleeping?"

I laugh. "Yeah, you were snoring."

She looks back at me insulted. Jokingly she says, "Now I can snore to my heart's content, without worrying that your dad will feel threatened that he does not snore the loudest."