Sins of the Innocent: A Novella by Jamie McGuire

right I did. And I’d do it again.” She hugged me, this time tighter.
    I held her as close as I could without hurting her, and then the moment I sensed she might cry, I let her go, but she kept hold of my arms.
    “You didn’t just come by to say hi. Ask me.”
    I hesitated. “Do you regret anything? Falling in love with Dad? Learning about his world?”
    “Not a single second. It brought me the two greatest loves of my life.”
    “If you’ve loved someone once … can you stop?”
    She shrugged. “People do it all the time, but only if they want to. What is this about, Eden?”
    “I’m afraid this all looks like a choice, but none of it really is. I’m afraid I’m being set up to fail.”
    “Fear isn’t real. Isn’t that what you always say?”
    “No, I think I got that one from Dad.”
    “No,” Mom said with a smile. “That one was all you. You’ve said it since you were five.”
    I thought about that. “Really? Kind of an odd thing for a five-year-old to say.”
    “You weren’t an ordinary five-year-old.”
    I sensed Bex moving farther away and Claire’s arrival. “I’d better go,” I said.
    Mom kissed my cheek. “I love you. I expect to be notified if anything changes.”
    “Like what?”
    “Oh, you know … news, an attack, war …”
    “I think you would know if there were a war.”
    A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “Not if your father could help it.”
    I laughed once. “I’ll see you at dinner. I’m sure nothing will change between now and then.”

I left Titan for the white light of the hot summer sun and the birds singing from their perch on the electrical wires and maple branches. Somehow, the blue sky and freshly cut grass couldn’t pull me from the storms inside my soul.
    Claire stood next to my Audi, her backside leaning against the front fender. Her arms were crossed, her eyes shielded behind enormous sunglasses with round white frames to match her platinum-white hair and skinny jeans. Her stiletto thigh-high boots were peep-toe and black, like her shirt. They were the only pieces besides her bright orange nail polish that broke up the glaring glow of the rest of her ensemble.
    She lowered her chin and looked at me over her glasses, pushing them down for dramatic emphasis. “You look like hell. That’s okay. Talking to Nina sometimes makes me feel that way, too.”
    I made a face, trying not to smile, while fishing my keys from my pocket.
    “You should have your keys ready. What if something attacked you while you were walking to your car?”
    “Then I would fight back.”
    “Keys make a great weapon.”
    I sighed. “Does it ever stop being a lesson?”
    She looked offended. “Have I ever talked down to you?”
    “You just did.”
    “I’m just being Captain Obvious. Get in the car.”
    I obeyed, sitting behind the wheel and buckling my seat belt, while Claire took her time to walk around and open the car door. She yanked off her glasses and blew her blunt-cut bangs from her eyes.
    My bottom lip trembled. I could handle a lot of things, but Claire being mad at me wasn’t one of them.
    “What?” she asked.
    “Haven’t you heard? Hell wants me dead, so I’m out of the way. Heaven is trying to teach me some cosmic lesson, and …”
    Claire smirked. “Your boyfriend’s back? Yeah, I’ve heard.”
    “I realize that, as a family, we’ve beaten impossible odds before, but this is overwhelming.”
    She waved me off. “Just stay away from him.”
    “What if he doesn’t stay away from me?”
    She shrugged. “Kick his ass. He’ll quit coming back.”
    “That didn’t work with Ryan,” I grumbled.
    “My husband is a very special man who is too stupid to realize his own mortality.”
    “Well, Levi was mortal and gave it up for me, so …” I wiped my cheek.
    “You can’t cry, Eden. Don’t give in to it. Our way of life won’t change,” she said, less than zero apology in her tone.
    “You mean, what’s left of mine?”
    “Feeling sorry for