The Crystal by Jones M (the chimp paradox .txt) 📕

shock. I raised an eyebrow with a side of my lips turned upwards. A blush slowly crept onto his cheeks.

"Yeah, why wouldn't you allow her in?" Harry asked with the same expression as Ethan.

'I hope they don't know that she paid me not to let her in.'

My eyes widened in disbelief. I looked around to see if the boys heard the thought of the guard, but they all seemed confused.

Damn it! They didn't hear it!

I swiftly turned to face Bianca who was looking nervous from where she stood. There were only two girls in the room, and it took no-brainer to figure out which girl he was referring to.

Unbelievable! Bianca paid a guard to stop me from entering the suite?

I was furious, but I managed to hide it under my façade of amazement.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" a woman's voice shouted at the entrance. She swiftly came in, body checking the guard as she entered.

"Ow!" the guard exclaimed, but he was ignored.

The woman who had entered had wavy brown hair that reached her shoulders. Her face had light wrinkles, but they did not deter her beauty. Her creamy skin was lightly tanned, and she had worn a red-violet blouse and dress.

I couldn't help but feel I had seen her before.

The guard went to move the woman out of the suite, but he was stopped by Zane.

"Mom?" Zane asked in surprise. My eyes widened in astonishment.

That was his mother?

"Honey!" the woman yelled as she approached Zane. Her son swiftly walked towards her and embraced her in a hug. The guard turned to leave the room. I gave him a glare, but he did not meet my eyes as he was leaving, closing the door behind him.

"I can't believe you're here!" Zane said with a mixture of disbelief and happiness, dragging my attention back to him and his mother.

"I wanted to surprise you!" she replied. Then she turned to face everyone else in the room.

"Hi, Mrs. Marsh," the rest replied. I found myself mouthing the words, hoping no one saw that embarrassing moment.

"Who is this?" the woman asked as she turned to face me with a curious expression.

"Ah, that's Emery," Zane replied while he nervously scratched the back of his head.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I greeted the woman with a smile. I had given her my hand to shake as part of the greeting. She did not release it as she studied me. I maintained my smile, but I felt it start to get weary by the nonstop stare from the woman.

"Oh yes! I recognize you."

My eyes shot up in surprise.

"You do?" I questioned.

"Yes! You used to be in the same high school as my son, right?"

I nodded my head in confirmation, still shocked by what she was saying. My attention turned to Zane, who was looking anywhere but at the ongoing exchange between his mom and me.

"Uhm, how long are you staying Miss Marsh?" Bianca, who had been quiet for a while, asked. Miss Marsh's face turned into one of contempt.

Was it me or did she not like Bianca?

"Bianca... you're here?" Zane's mother asked. Bianca frowned.

I think I love this woman.

"Mom!" Zane chastised his mother with a frown. At that, the woman smiled.

"Oh! Where's the bathroom?" she asked. Zane led her away while the rest of us remained.

"Poor Bianca," Liam said with a shake of his head as if pitying the girl.

"Why are you saying that?" I inquired.

"Couldn't you tell? Zane's mom doesn't like his girlfriend. She says she usually has a feeling of the people around her, and she gets a bad one from Bianca. I don't know."

I shrugged my shoulders, delving into the thoughts that were playing through my head.

A feeling. People can't just know that a person is bad just through a feeling. Unless she was an empath...

Yeah... no. Wait.

At times, I wondered about the origin of the boys' powers. Maybe they had ancestors who were also witches, probably their grandparents or great grandparents. I needed to check on that the next time I went to Crystalia. 

But honestly, I saw myself forgetting about that in the future.

About thirty-five minutes later, we had all settled around the dining room table. Our dinner had been ordered, and so we were devouring it while engaging in small talk with Mrs. Marsh. She caught up with the boys and their lives. I smiled throughout all of it, not knowing what else to do.

"Back to what we were talking about. Emery," Zane's mother called out to me. I swallowed my food before turning to face her with an expectant look. She was two seats away on my left, and Liam and Logan occupied those seats.

"Zane used to talk about you a lot when you were in high school."

"Mom!" Zane groaned as a blush took over his features. I felt some kind of giddiness seeing Zane reacting like that. It rattled my nerves.

"Really?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes! And he wouldn't stop mentioning you. The whole family thought he was in love with you."

I felt my cheeks turn crimson red.

"But then, he fell in love with that," she continued, motioning her spoon to Bianca. Zane gave her a stare that said 'behave'. I wanted to laugh, but I covered it with a cough. Bianca, however, saw through it, and she glared at me. I rolled my eyes in reply.

"So, Emery, what did you get in high school?"

"A B+," I replied, earning looks of amazement from everyone except Bianca. She just glared at me.

"I think I heard Zane complaining about you being a bookworm and not noticing his undying affection for you."

"Mom!" Zane screamed with a shrill voice. I could not hold it in anymore, and neither could the other boys. We all laughed, and Zane continued to blush in embarrassment.

Once we had all cooled down, his mother resumed talking to me.

"What do you plan to major in?" she asked.

I slowly chewed my food, thinking of what to answer to her.

"Medicine," I replied. She made a sound of amazement.

"But doesn't that take about eight years or something? I'm sorry if I'm too nosy, but why didn't you start last year?"

Liam, who was sitting beside me, gave me a concerned glance.

"Uhm, my mother passed away last summer," I spoke as calmly as I could, looking at the food that I was passing around on my plate with my spoon.

She gasped.

"I am so sorry," she said with a sad smile, reaching for my hand. I reached for hers, and she squeezed. I squeezed back.

"Most of my time was spent with taking care of the funeral and... and stuff that needed completion."

I felt tears threaten to blur my vision.

I gasped as I took in a deep breath to avoid the waterworks from coming.

"But I'm okay," I said, retracting the hold she had on my hand to fan the tears that threatened to come out.

We talked about lighter, happier stuff after that incident. 

Then something had to happen.

"Bianca, dear, what do you plan to do with your life?" Mrs. Marsh asked Zane's girlfriend. She had been silently seething throughout the dinner, sending me glares when Zane's mother talked to me.

"I'm planning to be a model," she replied with a cocky smile. Zane's mom rolled her eyes.

"What if you lose that figure? What if someone happened to cut or burn your face?"

At the last question, I turned to face Zane's mother with a confused expression.

"Why would my face be--" Bianca went to ask with a confused stare, but she was cut off.

"What would you do when all your good looks run out?"

"Mrs. Marsh--"

"I can guarantee you, Bianca. I do not plan to have a gold digger marry my son."

"I am not a gold digger you stupid woman!" Bianca shouted, standing up from her seat.

Okay...

"Your looks say otherwise, bitch."

My eyes widened when Mrs. Marsh said those words. Bianca gasped, tears threatening to escape her eyes before storming off the dining room.

"Bianca!" Zane called out, but she didn't turn to face him. Then he stood up, facing his mother with a glare.

"Why do you do this, mom? Why do you always insult her when she's around?"

Oh. This wasn't new?

"She's not good for you, that's why!" Zane's mother shouted as she too stood up to face her son. "I want what is best for you, but that woman is not."

"And how do you know what is best for me?" Zane yelled.

"This person right here is what's best for you!" his mother yelled while pointing at me. My eyes widened. I did not want to be dragged into their argument, more so be at the moment. So I pretended not to have heard them, slowly chewing my food.

"I am an adult, mom! I can do whatever I want, and I can certainly pick whoever I want to date! I don't care whether you approve of her or not because I love her! When will you see that?"

With that, Zane stormed out of the dining room, probably going after his girlfriend. Mrs. Marsh sighed before sitting down on her seat. The rest and I remained silent, not knowing what to do or say.

"Am I the only one who realizes she called her stupid?" I asked after a moment, referring to Mrs. Marsh.

"The guys and I have something..." Liam started to speak.

"You can all go," Mrs. Marsh interrupted. He and the rest had no need to be told twice. They all quickly got up and left, leaving me with Zane's mother.

"Mrs. Marsh," I began talking, searching for the right words to say in my mind.

"Trisha," Mrs. Marsh corrected. "Call me Trisha."

"Trisha," I began again, walking towards an empty seat beside her. I remained silent, not knowing what to say after that.

Then she bent her head forward, chuckling. I felt suddenly uneasy sitting next to her.

"He hates me," she finally said, raising her head to face me. Tears were brimming in her eyes, almost close to streaking across her face.

"He doesn't hate you," I tried to console her. She released a sarcastic laugh, shaking her head while staring at me.

"I would if I were me. What kind of mother does not accept the person her child loves just because of a stupid feeling?" she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

The feeling she had was not stupid, but I did not want the boys to dislike me.

"A caring mother, that's the kind you are," I answered with a small smile. She gave me her own before embracing her arms around my form. I hugged her back. We stayed like that, and I relished the moment, having missed my own mother's hugs.

Then we retracted the hug with the woman still staring at me.

"I wish he never met her."

I laughed as a reaction to the words she spoke.

Me too.

"What is up with you and her anyway? I could see her glaring like a toddler at you!"

"We sought of had a fallout today," I emphasized. "She thinks I would take her boyfriend, and so she insulted me. I slapped her, she caused a scene and the boys believed I insulted her."

"I knew there was a reason to not like her! Why didn't you tell the boys?"

"I did, but they would not believe me. Therefore, I had to apologize for the slap minutes before you arrived."

"That bitch," she commented, and I laughed again.

"I really wish he never gave up on you," she spoke again before getting up and walking towards one of the rooms in the suite.

What did she mean by that?

If there was one thing I knew about Zane, it was that he was my high school bully. He punched and tormented me. There was no way he had feelings for me at that time. He did not have a crush on me. 

Right?

CHAPTER 34

Selena’s P.O.V

I was making my way towards the entrance of Crystalia’s castle. The guards situated at the entrance’s sides nodded their heads in greeting, and I smiled back at them. Erick had called me to talk to him about something serious with his brother. He told me that he had also called the members of the Ordinary Brothers, which meant that it was very important. 

Lucky for me, I had a free day.

Ever since I signed the contract Simon offered me, my schedule had been filled. I hardly had time to talk to anyone I knew because I had been very busy building my image as a musician. That included coming up with songs for my first album with a group of writers and having TV interviews. I wanted to tell Emery about that, but I didn’t.

I was afraid of her.

Ever since Erick relayed his recurring nightmares to me, I had a hard time trusting Emery. She called, and when she did, I would make it short and