Kiss of Fire (Imdalind, #1)(43)

I dressed in my red, birthday shirt and my only pair of jeans that weren’t ripped before making my way to the mirror to figure out something to do with my hair. I slipped Ryland’s necklace over my head and slid it into its normal place under my shirt.

I was reaching for my hairbrush when my eyes fell on the bright, purple bead. It looked so innocent just lying there on my dresser. I stared at it as something clicked in my mind. Kouzlo. Hadn’t my father used that word in his letter?

I whipped around to look at the small wastebasket next to my dresser and cringed to see it empty, the letter long gone. My life was turning me into a lunatic. Crazy father, hopeless crushes, and bizarre foreign friends; no wonder I was losing it. I had made something out of nothing. I grabbed the bead and shoved it into my pocket before pulling my hair up in a half-ponytail, making sure to leave enough hair down to fall over my ears and cover the mark.

I blotted on some lip gloss, blush and a little bit too much eye shadow before leaving the bedroom and declaring myself ready. My mom turned off the TV and turned to face me. She brought her hand to her mouth, her eyes glossing over. Great, she was going to be crying all day.

“Mom,” I said. I already felt out of place, and I didn’t need to be cried over.

“Oh, honey,” she said, “you are so pretty.”

Her arms encompassed me in a big, motherly hug. I could feel her body shake just a little bit as she leaked out tears of joy. I returned the hug, my arms hanging awkwardly on her back.

“Thank you,” she whispered in my ear before pushing me away from her. “Forgive your blubbering mom, will you? I’m just a little bit excited to show off my beautiful daughter.” She smiled before grabbing my hand and dragging me out the door.

We drove straight to the biggest mall in the city and wandered first into one of the few main department stores, much to my disappointment; I always enjoyed the smaller boutiques more. She led me straight to the misses department and began loading me up with graphic t-shirts and peasant tops. It was then that I realized what this trip was. I had been trapped in Dress-Up-Your-Daughter Day. I groaned, but hoped that I could finagle at least one pair of jeans out of her.

After I came out in my first shirt, I began to wonder if my mom was going to be able to turn off the waterworks at all today. She gushed at me in a bright, blue t-shirt emblazoned with Hello Kitty in camo gear on the front. Not the shirt that would be one to induce tears. I ran back into the dressing room and ripped the shirt off. It was cute, but I would never forget her crying over Hello Kitty-Goes-Army.

“Mom,” I begged from behind the door, “you can’t cry over everything I put on, please?”

“I know,” her sniffles breaking her voice a bit. “It’s just… I have always waited for this day...”

“Mom…” I pleaded.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

I tried to ignore her as I picked out my next shirt. I could hear her rummaging through her purse in the search for tissues.

“Oh! I almost forgot; Ryland sent this for you.” Her hand appeared above the door, holding a small envelope.

I finished putting on an embellished tank top before reaching up to take the envelope from her. I ripped it open, trying to ignore the flip of my insides. A VISA gift card was inside with a small slip of heavy-weight paper rested against it. The paper that the card was attached to announced that there was an available balance of one thousand dollars. Leave it to Ry.



Please, ignore that this is a large amount of money.

I want to spoil you. Buy yourself a pair of pants (or two!) and at least one hoodie.

See you tonight ?



I shouldn’t have smiled, but I did anyway; I couldn’t help it. As a result, I exited the dressing room grinning like a madman. My mom took that to mean that I liked the shirt, and I just let her think that. It was a nice shirt, and I wasn’t in the mood for a “stay away from Ryland” lecture.

I was pushed from dressing room to dressing room as my mom shoved shirts, pants and even skirts and dresses in my direction. I took it all in stride; what else could I do? She was so happy, and seeing her smile was addicting. I paid for most of our purchases with Ryland’s card, ignoring my mom’s prying to find out how much he had given me; probably the equivalent of a week’s salary, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. She would freak out.

We came out of the last store before our lunch break, laden with bags of shirts, dresses, skirts, pants and jewelry. I had purchased more pants than I had ever owned before. Mom made out with more than enough to compliment her stingy wardrobe, and I had even convinced her to buy shoes that didn’t have non-slip soles.

We sat down to food court pizza and soda, setting all the bags to the side of us.

“How’s school?” Mom barraged into her monthly question-and-answer session. One of the joys of having a mother who worked so often that I never saw her was every once in a while she would start in on the standard twenty questions. It drove me crazy.

“Fine,” I said.

“Did anyone say anything when you showed up without a sweater on?” She was eager, making me feel bad for deceiving her.

“Not really. I got looked at a bit more than usual, but nothing big.”

“Really?” she asked. “Any of them cute guys?”

“No, Mom. This isn’t a good thing. I don’t like being looked at; it makes me uncomfortable.” I wanted to shiver at the thought.