Fairest (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #2)(3)

“No, it’s not Charlie. He’s fine.”

Nan sighed in relief but then quickly asked, “Is it Sara?”

“No, Nan, it’s not my mom!” Mina leaned back into her chair in a moment of frustration.

“Well then, what is it? I give up. I will give you my favorite CD. No wait, my favorite pair of shoes if you tell me. No, wait. I’ll let you borrow my favorite pair of shoes.” Nan gave her an unconvincing smile.

Mina didn’t hear the rest of Nan’s attempt at bartering because the person she’d been waiting for appeared. Brody Carmichael rounded the corner with his gym bag slung over his shoulder. Mina’s breath caught in her throat and she forgot everything, even where she was.

There he was: perfection. Tan skin, square jaw, blue twinkling eyes, and blonde hair that curled slightly since it was still wet from the pool. Brody threw his head back and laughed at something his friend T.J. said.

Mina’s heart began to break all over again. Someone called out to the boys, and they turned expectantly and waited.

A girl of equal perfection, in a cheerleader uniform, ran up to greet them. Her naturally curled ponytail swaying side to side, and Mina had the distinct urge to take scissors to the offending blonde plait. Mina had no choice but to watch the exchange between them with narrowed eyes. It was obvious by the way Brody’s mouth turned down that he was beginning to lose patience with the girl. Mina wanted to scream encouragement through the glass and across the courtyard toward Brody. Apparently, the conversation was over because Savannah White flounced away smiling like a Cheshire cat. Brody’s shoulders were tense when he spoke to T.J.

Mina didn’t know it but sometime during Brody and Savannah’s discussion, she had left her seat to stand with her hands pressed against the window’s glass, trying to reach through to be as close to Brody as possible. The pain of knowing love and losing it was almost too much for her to bear. She breathed his name under her breath and was startled when Brody looked across the courtyard right at her.

There was no way he could have heard her whisper his name, was there? Brody’s frown turned farther down and his brows furrowed in confusion. Mina froze and then realized how silly she must look half pushed against the glass, staring at him like some kind of lovesick puppy. She let out a squeak and dropped her hands to her sides.

Brody looked at Mina and then at the back of Savannah’s retreating form and shook his head. He turned, opened the door to the aquatics building and stormed back inside. T.J. jumped in surprise at Brody’s sudden change in mood and followed quickly behind.

Mina’s cheeks burned with embarrassment and she looked back at the door that Brody had just entered. He looked at her! He actually stopped and met eyes with her. His reaction was not what she expected. A painful imaginary orb lodged in her throat making it hard to swallow, and her heart broke a little more for her once-upon-a-time boyfriend.

It wasn’t that long ago that she found out that her name was not Mina Grime but Mina Grimm and she was descended from the Brothers Grimm. Her mother had changed their name and moved constantly, trying to hide from the Story. But it didn’t matter; it had still found them. Mina was now tasked with completing hundreds of fairy tale quests was in order to end a generational curse on her family.

Her first fairy tale quests had been the most challenging. She had imprisoned an ageless Fae named Claire, defeated a wolf pack and saved her best friend’s life. All while secretly dating the hottest and most popular guy in school. But their whole relationship, the whole experience was gone. Completely forgotten, this was a horrible side effect of her curse. Apparently, the Story, to protect itself and the Fae from humans, could erase memories and alter events. And it did, to Mina’s horror, and she lost her boyfriend and the few blissful weeks they had been together.

Her mother, Sara had tried to explain it to her. “Well, honey, it’s similar to walking somewhere and being lost in thought and all of a sudden you arrive at your destination with no recollection of the journey. Your mind fills in the blanks, and it will fill it in with what is the most plausible scenario.”

“What does he think happened?” Mina asked in desperation.

“He thinks whatever the Story pushes him toward thinking. If he normally would have gone home after school each day, then that is what he did. Honey, at your age, hundreds of your days are so similar and repetitive that it is easy for the Story to make us believe we lived the same pattern over and over again.”

Mina’s lip quivered as she whispered, “it’s not fair!”

Sara reached over to her daughter and pulled her into a hug. “There’s no such thing as fair when it comes to the Fae and their tales.”

“Will he ever remember, Mom? Will he ever remember the dance, the rides to school? Will he ever remember he kissed me?” It was becoming too much for her to fathom.

“Sweetie, the Fae are powerful and so is the Story that drives all of the Grimms’ futures. But let me tell you that nothing is more powerful than true love. And until you find out whether he is your true love or not, I can tell you from experience that those caught in the Story’s web will have intense moments of déjà vu. So don’t give up.”

And that is exactly what Mina had been hoping for-- a chance, a glimpse, something that would spur a moment of enlightenment--and then he would turn to her, take her in his arms and say, “I remember!” But after a few days of awkward and confused glances, Mina began to think it wasn’t going to happen.