Nina
The morning sun had finally risen high into the sky by the time my mom and I arrived back at the mansion. The morning felt jam-packed with activities, revelations, and emotions, but I was happy. Some paragraphs are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jobnib.com. Visit Jobnib.com to read the complete chapters for free. As we made our way back to the mansion with our bags, the noise and hustle of my father’s servants rushing around in preparation for the impromptu ball filled my ears.
But there was something else, too. I could hear Enzo’s voice carrying across the back lawn, and along with it…
“Is that Enzo and Tyler?” I asked, narrowing my eyes to get a better look.
“Sure sounds like it,” my mom said.
Curiosity piqued, I made my way around to the back of the mansion. And there they were, Enzo and Tyler, lost in a game of football. Tyler was running around with a youthful exuberance I hadn’t seen in ages, his eyes lit up, completely engrossed in the game.
“Wow,” I muttered, my eyes wide. “He looks so-”
“Healthy?” my mom finished, standing beside me.
“Yeah.” I nodded, feeling a mix of amazement and relief. “I just can’t believe it. When you first came here, he could hardly walk straight without getting winded.”
My mom smiled, her eyes misty. “I told you, the witch and her treatments have been phenomenal,” she said. “It’s only been a couple of months, and yet he’s like an entirely different person. After all this time, my boy can finally run and play. It’s like a miracle.”
“That’s incredible,” I murmured, the weight of my earlier worries dissipating as I watched Tyler and Enzo play. Enzo was still faster than him, but I could tell that he was going easy for my brother. It
was a sweet scene, seeing them play together like this.
“It is,” my mom agreed. “I’m so grateful we moved here. For Tyler, for you… and for me too.”
I looked at her, intrigued. “For you?”
She hesitated, her eyes shifting towards the mansion for a moment before meeting mine. “I never thought I’d say this, but your father, he’s… he’s a good man, Nina.”
A surprised laugh escaped me. “Wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
She shook her head, chuckling. “Oh, don’t get ahead of yourself. But yes, there’s a mutual respect and… perhaps some affection.”
I nudged her playfully. “Affection, huh?”
My mom laughed, her cheeks flushing a soft pink. “You’re impossible sometimes, you know that?”
I grinned, a teasing glint in my eyes. “I learned from the best.”
“Okay, enough about me,” she said, steering the conversation back as we continued to watch Enzo and my brother toss the ball, their laughter wafting across the air. “How do you feel about everything?
About being here, about the baby, about Enzo?” I paused, taking a deep breath as I absorbed her questions. “To be honest, mom, it’s a lot. It’s overwhelming. But like you said earlier today, it’s a new chapter. And despite the uncertainty, despite the fears, I’m hopeful.”
She nodded, taking a step closer to me. “And I’m here, Nina. Whatever the next chapters hold, we’ll navigate them together.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, my eyes meeting hers. “Together.” We stood there, side by side, watching as Tyler made a triumphant catch, his laughter filling the air. Enzo, sweaty but handsome as ever, spotted us and waved, his smile widening as he met my gaze.
“Look at them,” my mom whispered, her voice tinged with a sense of wonder and gratitude. “Just look at how far we’ve all come. Like a real family.”
“But we’ve always been a family,” I said gently, squeezing her arm. “Just… an unconventional one.”
My mom nodded and wiped a tear from her eye with her index finger, pretending that it was just something in her eye. “You’re right, Nina. We’re just
“Stronger now?” I finished for her.
She met my gaze, and the tears in her eyes sparkled in the early afternoon sun. “Yes. Stronger.
We stood there for a while longer, watching as Enzo and Tyler continued to play. Tyler never seemed to run out of energy, and was proving to be a good match against Enzo.
I grinned so much as I watched them that my face eventually grew sore, and it wasn’t until my mom spoke that I realized that I had been touching my belly the entire time, subconsciously connected with the little life unexpectedly growing inside of me.
“We should head inside,” my mom suggested, finally breaking the silence. “See if we can help out with the preparations.”
“Yeah,” I said, taking one last look at Tyler and Enzo, their happiness infectious and uplifting. ”
Let’s go in.”
And then it happened. Tyler stumbled, his legs buckling beneath him, and he went crashing to the ground. It was more than just a mere trip; it was as though his body just caved in on itself, like the exuberant, healthy young man had suddenly shifted back into the way he was before, when the curse that overtook his body ruled his entire life.
“Tyler!” My mom and I screamed in unison, already sprinting toward him. Enzo was already at his side, his face twisted with concern.
“Tyler, are you okay? What happened?” My mom reached him first, her hands shaking as she touched his face, checking for any signs of injury.
“I’m fine, Mom, really.” Tyler grimaced, trying to sit up but wincing as he did. “Just got a bit dizzy all of a sudden.”
Enzo helped Tyler to his feet, his eyes filled with worry but also a kind of restraint, as if he knew Tyler needed to explain this himself.
“Dizzy? That’s not ‘fine’, Ty,” I said, my heart pounding in my chest as I thought of all the horrific implications.
Tyler looked up, meeting my gaze, then our mom’s. “It’s the curse, Nina. It still messes with me sometimes, despite all the treatments. But I’m alright.”
My mom’s face blanched. “Did you take your medicine today?”
Tyler nodded and looked a little exasperated. “Of course I did. But sometimes, like just now, I lose all sense of balance, get dizzy, and-” he gestured to the grass where he’d fallen, “end up making a fool of myself. Medicine or no medicine.”
“Nobody thinks you’re a fool, Tyler,” Enzo said, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
“Yeah,” I chimed in, “you’re no fool, but this curse is foolishly stubborn.”
My mom sighed, her hands still cupped around Tyler’s face. “But you’re okay, right? No nausea? No blurring vision?” She held up three fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”
“I’m okay, Mom. Really,” Tyler reassured her, swatting her hand away. “It was just a momentary glitch. I’m fine now.”
But the atmosphere had changed; the
lighthearted mood was replaced by one of concern.
Could this curse ever be broken completely? Or would it always linger, an unwanted shadow in our lives?
“Do you think it can be broken?” I finally asked, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. “The curse, I mean. Completely shattered, so you won’t have to deal with this ever again?”
Tyler sighed, his eyes shifting from me to the ground. “I don’t know, Nina. That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? If it can be broken, no one here has figured out how to do it yet.”
“We’re still researching, Nina,” my mom interjected, her voice tinged with optimism but also caution. “The best minds are on it. And Tyler’s improvements are promising. This is just… a setback.”
“A setback that could happen again,” I mumbled, the fear creeping back into my voice.
“But less and less frequently, and less severely each time,” Tyler said, offering a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
My mom took a deep breath. “We just take it one day at a time, sweetie. It’s all we can do.”
“Yeah.” Tyler nodded. “One day at a time.”