A Vision of Green (Florence Vaine #2) by L.H. Cosway

my mind right now.
    I shrug, unable to think of anything to say in response.
    “ In a few weeks you'll officially be an adult, you can set out on your own then. You won't have to worry about him seeing who picks you up from the house. Flo, I don't like to be blunt with you, but once a hitter always a hitter. In my experience, abusers might lessen the frequency of their attacks every so often, they might even quit for years. But only in the rarest of cases will they completely abstain from returning to their old ways.”
    “ I know that,” I whisper, before doing my best to find my voice, “but that's always been my plan anyway. Once I turn eighteen I'm out of there.” My age shouldn't make me feel stuck, but it does. Every day a little bit of pressure on my soul loosens with the knowledge that I'm closer to my next birthday.
    Frank's smile practically lights up the room. He really does care about what happens to me, I hope not to his detriment. Sometimes caring for a person like me, who is so damaged and broken by their past, will only cause pain for the person doing the caring. It's why I often wonder whether Gran had always been selfish enough to sell me out, or if caring for a fuck up like my dad finally broke the goodness inside of her.
    “ Okay,” he concedes. “I'll pick you up at the end of your street. I'll send you a text when I'm there.”
    On my way out of the school I pass by Caroline, Christian and Lia all standing in a group laughing at some shared joke. Caroline calls me over to them. I give Christian and Lia a polite nod, they're some of the first people I met at this school, yet in the few short weeks I've been here I feel like I no longer hold a single thing in common with them. Their carefree laughs remind me how easy their lives are, how lucky they are to be unaware of the witches that once inhabited their town, or how their forest has suddenly come to life.
    “ We're all going bowling later, do you want to tag along Flo?” Caroline asks.
    “ Yeah, you should come, it will be fun,” Lia agrees. “We haven't hung out in a while.”
    “ I can't I have that psychic night to go to, remember?”
    Caroline face palms. “Oh right, I forgot, silly me. Sounds like it's going to be an interesting evening. I'd go with you if I didn't already have plans.”
    “ What's a psychic night?” asks Christian with a quizzical expression.
    Caroline rolls her eyes at her brother. “God Christian, sometimes you can be so dim! What do you think it is, it's a night – with psychics.”
    “ Yeah but...” Christian goes on. Caroline interrupts him by asking, “So Flo, have you spoken to Alex recently?”
    I'm glad she's diverting the conversation, because I'm in no mood to begin trying to explain being an Empath to Christian. Still, I speculate at to why Caroline's asking about Alex. I thought the two of them were best buds these days.
    “ No I haven't, why?”
    Caroline's cheeks redden ever so slightly. “Oh nothing, I was just wondering if he mentioned me is all.”
    “ You aren't going after Falco again are you?” says Christian, his tone a little condescending. “Remember how well that went the last time? If I recall correctly, I had to come and collect you from some party in the middle of nowhere, and it was all you could do to keep from bawling your eyes out after he'd turned you down.”
    If looks could kill, Christian would be six feet under by now. “Things are different this time,” she seethes at her brother.
    “ I'm sure they are,” he replies with a snide expression. I guess this is a sibling squabble at work. “Come on,” he continues, ignoring Caroline's arctic expression, “we'd better get going.”
    Caroline wishes me luck at the psychic night, whispering a reminder to let her know if Alex says anything to me about her. I tell her I will. Happy with my reassurance, she heads off to her car with Christian and Lia. I pull the straps of my bag close to my body and begin the walk home,