Free The Forest's Son by Cyndy Aleo Page B

are going to do now? ” she asks.
    “No, ” he says. “But I think Donovan deserves to be part of my decision. Don’t you?”
    “No classes for you today, then, ” she says, and disappears from his doorway, the ethereal Earth Mother returned.
    He knows now she is both, and has been throughout the ages, as are all her sisters. Her people are peaceful, in tune with the earth, which they call Matka , Mother. They know more about herbal lore than any other people on the planet. But when called upon, they can be the fiercest warriors as well, and it's that part of his mother she has called upon all these years to protect him and keep him safe when going against the most basic tenet of her people.
    He also knows what she is called, something mentioned only briefly in texts, and even then, only in passing, and completely misunderstood: Dziwozona .
     
    14: Unsure
     
    Donovan changes her outfit five times before leaving her apartment, and she's still a good 20 minutes earlier than her usual arrival time when she reaches Vance's house. She steps out of the car hoping that a short black skirt with attached crinoline and a quasi-military-look black hoodie with huge buttons and matching black tights and boots qualifies as an appropriate outfit for picking up your best friend the morning after you've spent three hours kissing the hell out of him.
    The truth of it is she has no idea where things stand with them. The define-the-relationship conversation never took place, so this morning, she's in a state of limbo.
    Was last night an aberration after the craziness of yesterday? Had he been feeling abandoned, and kissed her because he was worried she wouldn't come back for him this morning?
    Will she knock on the door this morning only to find everything back to the way it was? With his memory only a little bit better and the two of them back to a friends-with-no-benefits status?
    Donovan knocks, much less enthusiastically than yesterday. She isn't as sure she wants him to come to the door today. Plus, she's way early. Maybe he's still asleep. Maybe she should get back in the car and drive home. Maybe her outfit is wrong. Maybe she should go and get coffee or something to kill some tim e —
    When the door opens, she’s surprised to see Grace on the other side and not Vance. She doesn't think Grace has ever answered the door in all the time Donovan has been driving him to school. Grace opens the door and gestures for Donovan to come inside, then vanishes off in the direction of her greenhouse. As if Donovan isn't nervous enough coming over this morning, Grace has to go and change things up?
    Donovan isn't sure which way to go, so she heads in the direction of the family room. The couch is comfortable, and she figures she can wait there if Vance is still sleeping. She reaches the stairs, though, and can't help but glance up toward his bedroom. He's standing at the top, in the hallway outside his room, his hair still damp from a shower. He's wearing nothing more than a pair of black sweats slung low on his hips, the gray band of his underwear peeking over the top in spots.
    “Come on up, ” he says.
    Like she can do anything else. She climbs the stairs without blinking, unable to look anywhere else but at him. She stops a few stairs from the top.
    “I'm a little early.”
    “It's okay. We aren't going to class today. We have a lot to talk about.”
    Her body moves ahead of her brain, and she backs down a step before she even understands what he's saying. Talks are bad things. Talks mean things like “last night was a mistake ” and “look, I like you a lot, but ” and “we'll always be friends, but.”
    “Where are you going? ” he asks.
    She backs down another step. There’s still a way for her to save face here. She’s sure of it.
    “ Chodź tu , ” he says.
    “That's not English.”
    He shakes his head.
    “No, it's not. I remember, Dee. I remember. I remember everything , and English is not my first language. So if I