That Witch! (25 page)

“S
AY
cheese!” Cassidy’s mother held a camera up to her face as Nana posed Brynn and Cassidy in yet another exaggerated embrace at the base of the stairs.

“Mom, don’t you think you have enough pictures?”

Nana gasped. “We can never have enough pictures of your prom night! This is wonderful!”

“It is kinda epic,” Brynn chimed in, smiling.

She looked radiant. Even though she wore a black strapless gown, the color didn’t dull her shine. A series of thin, silver necklaces accentuated her collarbone, dropping in different lengths across the front of the satiny dress, all the way down to the empire cut. She’d dyed her hair a few shades brighter. Where it was usually cotton-candy-colored, it was now shiny, bright hot pink, and made an amazing contrast against her pale skin and dark dress. Cassidy was shamelessly ogling her—again, when Nana cleared her throat.

“Well, I don’t know about epic. In my days,
The Iliad
was epic. But this only happens once in your lives, so pipe down, Cassidy, and let your mom capture every detail of the moment.”

“Yes, Nana.” Cassidy shut up and wrapped her corsaged arm around Brynn’s small waist just like her grandmother insisted.

Admittedly, they looked amazing. Cassidy had chosen a vintage white Vera Wang cocktail dress that tapered off one shoulder and ended in a mock tuxedo cut in the rear. Her shapely legs looked killer in the matching heels, complete with rhinestone bows above the peep toes. When they’d first come down, Brynn had joked and said they looked like bride and groom at an altar, but despite the contrasts, they really did make a very pretty couple.

“Great, now turn to the side, and Brynn, wrap your arms around Cassidy’s waist,” Nana, the professional prom-picture-stager-person, demanded. But before the girls could strike another pose, there was a knock at the door.

“I think that might be my mom,” Brynn said, her tone joyous. It meant a lot to her that her mother said she’d come down to see her off before the limo picked them up for their big night.

Brynn hopped down from the bottom step before another picture could be taken. She practically bounced all the way to the door. Even though Cassidy saw her get that excited every time her mother came to visit them, the absolute thrill it gave Brynn made her smile. It made those little happy butterflies flitter beneath Cassidy’s skin.

Since Brynn still lived with them, her mother only came to visit once a month when she had PFLAG meetings with Nana and Cassidy’s mother, or if she happened to sneak away for something. Unfortunately, Brynn’s father hadn’t come around yet, and it was starting to look like he never would. Sad.

She watched as Pinky turned the knob and pulled the door open, and what she saw made every person in the room come to a dead stop. She even gasped.

Brynn’s dad stood just in front of her mother. Frankly, the man looked like he’d been through hell. It had been a little over three months since he’d kicked Brynn out of their house, and truth be told, it really didn’t look like the man had slept a wink since. His eyes were dark, bags hanging heavy beneath them. His five o’clock shadow had a five o’clock shadow. He looked just… bad.

“Brynn,” he said. His voice was hoarse, as if he’d spent the better part of a day fighting not to cry. He cleared his throat. “You look beautiful.”

“Daddy?” she breathed. “What are you… doing here?”

“I had to see my little girl off to her prom.”

Cassidy could see Brynn’s shoulders square, as if she’d inhaled or maybe she was fighting to keep upright and not fling herself at her father. And one of the things Cassidy had honed over the months was her ability to see auras. She’d come to learn when Brynn was her happiest, her aura shimmered and became more vibrant. When her Pinky worried or became nervous, her aura darkened. Never once had she seen Brynn’s aura dim like it did the moment she saw her father. Even the room seemed to chill.

“I’m going with Cassidy,” she said with a lot more resolve than Cassidy ever expected from her. Brynn hiked her hands up to her hips and glanced over her shoulder. Hopefully, she saw Cassidy’s pleased smile.

“I know,” he said. “I expected you to.”

“And you’re not mad?”

“Honey,” he said, “Your mom has taught me a lot… not to mention those pamphlets I’ve been mysteriously receiving in the mail for the past two months.”

Every head in the room turned to Nana.

“What?” She shrugged. “Didn’t we have more pictures to take?”

“Mom!” Cassidy’s mother exclaimed.

“Who said I did it?”

“Nana, c’mon. You’ve got more LGBT lit hiding around this house than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

Since Nana had decided to help jump-start the PFLAG chapter and youth group in Majestic Hills, the stuff had been arriving in boxes on almost a daily basis. Thankfully, Nana had bought her own place in the neighborhood, so Cassidy was slowly gaining the space in her room back.

“Well,” Mr. Michaels said. “If your Nana is to blame for it, I thank her.”

“In that case,” Nana said. “Yes, it was me.”

Cassidy and her mother both shook their heads.

“It helped. I didn’t know a lot of those things. The facts were… well, convincing. Anyway, I didn’t want my little girl hurting anymore. I know this life isn’t going to be easy, and frankly, it scared me. I don’t want you to be bullied, and I don’t want people judging you for loving another girl.”

“Daddy, you have to trust that I’m strong enough to handle it. I’m a big girl now.”

“All grown-up. I can see.” Mr. Michaels held out his arms. “Can my grown-up give me a hug?”

“Of course,” Brynn said as she stepped into her father’s arms. Behind them, her mother wiped tears from her eyes. They were happy tears, that was clear by the smile curling her pink lips. Even Cassidy had to fight back her own tears.

“Okay, I want pictures before there isn’t a dry eye in the place,” Nana declared.

A chorus of laughter erupted, and the chill that had once filled the living room dispelled and calm warmth rolled through. Everything was finally as it should be. Pinky was happy again, genuinely happy. Her joy showed in the sparkle of her eyes and in the way her smile pushed those precious dimples into her cheeks. It radiated in the glow of her skin and the bright, vibrant shimmer of her aura.

And Cassidy couldn’t be happier than she was in that moment, simply because Brynn finally had her peace.

“Okay, line up at the staircase,” Nana said as she waved everyone over.

Mr. and Mrs. Michaels stood at either side of Brynn. Nana, Cassidy, and her mother all stood back and watched the reunited family revel in their togetherness, and just before Nana snapped off another picture, Brynn’s father said, “Cassidy, why don’t you join us.”

Before Cassidy could reply, her mother spoke up for her. “She’d love to,” Miranda said, gently giving Cassidy a push from behind. Cassidy hesitated at first, but Brynn’s hopeful stare cut through her reluctance. She slowly made her way over, where Brynn’s mother made space in between her and her daughter so Cassidy could fit in.

“What a lovely picture!” Nana said happily. “The portrait of a young, LGBT-accepting family. I might be able to use this for one of our PFLAG brochures.”

“Well, hold on just a moment there…,” Brynn’s dad spoke up, voice uncertain and not a little uncomfortable.

“She’s kidding, dear. She does that a lot,” Cassidy heard Brynn’s mother whisper behind her.

“Oh. Of course.”

They spent a few more minutes posing for pictures, some with just Brynn and her parents, others with Cassidy, Nana, and her mom. Brynn suggested setting up the camera’s timer and tripod so they could have a snapshot of everyone together, and that took about fifteen minutes. Either Nana set the tricky timer wrong and the camera caught them unready or someone smiled goofily, got caught close-eyed, and one time they even got caught bustling to stand in place, resulting in nothing more than blurry bodies in the shot. Finally—at about the seventh take—they managed to produce a beautiful family portrait.

Just in time, too, because the moment they all agreed the picture was finally perfect, the limousine Cassidy’s mom had hired for the night beeped the horn outside.

“They’re here!” Cassidy exclaimed excitedly.

Everyone scrambled into “go” mode. Nana rushed to grab the clutch purses the girls had picked out. Brynn’s mother and father hugged Brynn, reminding her to be safe and to call them in case of any emergencies, and Miranda stood in front of Cassidy, smiling as a well of unshed tears brimmed her lashes.

“I’m so proud of you, Cassidy. You’ve grown into such an independent, freethinking young woman. Have fun tonight, sweetheart. You deserve it.” She pressed a kiss to Cassidy’s cheek, and then turned to Brynn as she approached the door. “You too, Brynn. You look absolutely beautiful tonight. Have fun, honey.”

“Thanks, Miranda.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Brynn and Cassidy spoke in unison. They laced their fingers together and headed out to the dusky evening, where the sleek, black limo waited at the curb, complete with a white-gloved driver standing at attention, holding the door open for them.

“Good evening, ladies.”

Again, in unison, they both greeted him and entered the confines of the limo’s plush backseat. Inside, they were greeted by Leah, Jenna, Tara, Michelle, Sandy, and her date, Eric, all cheerleaders—minus Eric—who had become good friends with Brynn over the past few months.

It turned out that Tara and Michelle discovered they were also into girls. Well, they discovered they were into each other, and that led them to figure out their sexuality. Leah’s boyfriend was in college so he couldn’t go to the prom, and Jenna was happily single. Sandy and Eric had been dating since freshman year, so they were happy to have survived the four levels of hell to celebrate that night.

Much to poor Eric’s obvious dismay, the ride to the hotel where the prom was being hosted was spent talking about dresses, shoes, and corsages and the predicted prom king and queen, who everyone swore would be Cassidy and Zeden Scott, the captain of the football team.

Since the nomination rumors started swirling a month before the prom tickets even went on sale, Cassidy had repeatedly assured Brynn that she and Zeden had been friends since elementary school, and there wasn’t anything
at all
between them. However, Brynn’s lips still pursed together at the mention of her girlfriend dancing with a jock or, really, any time Cassidy’s and Zeden’s names were mentioned in the same sentence.

Nothing changed now. Brynn sat up with all but a scowl on her pretty lips.

“Brynnie, it’s tradition,” Tara offered, smiling softly at Brynn.

“Yeah, Brynn. I’m sure Zeden’s girlfriend would love to rip the crown off Cassidy’s head, ya know?” Michelle laughed.

Cassidy scoffed. “As if that troll could even reach my head. She’s, like, four feet nothing.”

“Brynn, if it makes you feel better, I’ll dance with you while Cassidy and Zeden are dancing.” Eric winked, then shrieked as Sandy stomped on his foot.

“Who will
I
dance with then?” she demanded, a playful pout on her face.

“Nah, it’s cool,” Brynn said, taking Cassidy’s hand in hers. “I just hope they don’t pick some cheesy love song for them to dance to.”

“Oh my gawd, I’d refuse!” Cassidy gasped.

They all laughed and kept talking, and before they knew it, the limo slowed down and came to a stop in front of the hotel’s luxurious, palm-tree-lined entrance. The driver opened the door, and all the girls scrambled out, with Eric catching up from the rear.

Inside the hotel lobby, they gave their tickets at the table and signed their names in the guest book. Natasha Ramsey, the junior in charge of the welcome committee, informed them that they were taking complimentary pictures to the left of the ballroom entrance. Cassidy was eager to get inside, but at Brynn’s request for an official picture, she followed behind her girlfriend to the small roped-off section the school had designated as the photo area. There, at the end of the short line, stood Laura with her nerdy boyfriend, Norman.

Over the months, Brynn and Laura had slowly begun talking again. They weren’t as close as they once were, but they recently reached the point where all four of them went out on a double date to the movies. Cassidy was far from being Laura’s BFF, and Laura wasn’t making shopping dates with her any time soon, but they were friendly to each other for Brynn’s sake. Cassidy knew her efforts were something Pinky appreciated, so she fought back the commentary about Laura’s green dress resembling baby vomit as they came to stand behind the now brunette Laura and Norman, whose tie matched Laura’s dress.

“Hey, you two look great,” Brynn said, smiling brightly as she tapped Laura on the shoulder.

She spun around and offered Brynn an equally bright smile. “Oh, thanks!”

Norman turned around, smiled, and commented on how pretty their dresses were.

When it was their turn to take pictures, Norman suggested they all take a picture together. Cassidy obliged, standing next to Brynn while Norman and Laura stood to their left in a picturesque embrace. Laura and Brynn took a picture together, and finally, each couple posed for their official prom photo.