"How's your mom going to handle snow over the winter?" Melissa asked as we pulled onto the long driveway up to mom's house. "I mean, this is a big driveway. It'd take hours to clear after a good snowfall."

I shrugged, "I'm pretty sure she'll hire someone else do it? Same as the lawn, she has some guys come by once a week to cut the grass."

Melissa parked her car next to mom's, and the two of us climbed out. We both grabbed our backpacks from the back seat then headed up to the side-door.

"Ok, that makes sense," she nodded. "I didn't even think about the lawn but yeah, there's enough of it she'd need a riding mower or something."

Mom's dream-home was about an hour north-west of the city. It wasn't a mansion or anything, though it sometimes felt like that to me after growing up in our tiny two-bedroom bungalow on its little postage-stamp lot. Now she had a four-bedroom place on about an acre of land. It was mostly all yard, with some mature trees in front and out back. She also had a big garden in the back that would be her hobby next spring and summer.

It was almost the middle of November now, the trees had lost most of their leaves and things were all kind of dreary and dull. The house still looked good though, and when I knocked on the door we immediately heard barking inside from mom's dog. It was Saturday and we were here to celebrate my best friend's nineteenth birthday.

A few seconds later we could hear mom talking to the dog about all the barking, then finally the door opened.

"Mara, Melissa, you're early! Come on in," she said with a wide smile. "You know you two don't have to knock? You can just let yourselves in, I keep telling you that. And happy birthday, Melissa!"

Mom was holding Farah's collar to keep her from jumping all over us as me and Melissa came in through the door.

"Thanks Ms. Carter," Melissa replied with a smile.

I added, "I know you keep saying we can let ourselves in, but I keep telling you that feels rude since we don't live here."

Mom rolled her eyes, "You both have bedrooms here, even if you only use them once a month it still counts. And Melissa, you can call me Emma you know? You don't have to keep saying Ms. Carter."

I grinned and nudged my best friend, "Oooh you're a grown-up now! You get to call mom by her grown-up name!"

Melissa blushed, "Thanks Ms. Carter. I mean thanks Emma. My birthday isn't technically till Tuesday though."

Once we were both in and the door was closed, mom finally let go of the dog. Farah immediately jumped up at me and started licking me while her tail flapped back and forth.

"Hi Farah," I gave her some pets and scritches. "Thank you for the slobber, I missed you too."

When she was done with me she did the same to Melissa, and got more pets and scritches from my best friend.

Farah was a black Lab, she was probably four or five years old but nobody knew for sure. She was a rescue dog, mom got her from the local pound along with her two cats. Pumpkin and Spice were a pair of tabbies, Pumpkin was orange and Spice was sort of orangey brown. They were a couple years old, and the pound figured they were probably brothers.

"Why don't you two put your things away then join me in the den?" mom suggested. "What can I get you both to drink?"

Melissa asked for a cola, I asked for water. Mom went to take care of that while me and Melissa headed upstairs together. Our rooms were side by side at the front of the house. They were a little bare and generic, since we didn't really spend much time here.

My room had a twin-size bed, a desk and a chair, and that was about it. The decor was sort of 'generic mom style'. Melissa's room had another twin-size bed, and two comfy chairs on either side of a little table. Both rooms had windows overlooking the front lawn.

I dumped my backpack on the chair and stuffed my phone in my hoodie pocket for now. Melissa left her backpack on her bed, then we both made our way back downstairs.

We settled in the den with mom, she was in her favourite wingback chair while me and Melissa sat on the sofa. There was a little fire going in the fireplace which made the room even more cosy. Farah joined us and flopped onto her bed beside mom's chair. Pumpkin and Spice were already in here too, they were curled up together on the other wingback chair. Two pairs of yellow-green eyes opened and watched me and Melissa for a moment, then closed again as the cats went back to sleep.

There was a glass of cola waiting for Melissa, and a glass of water for me, and mom had coffee.

Mom asked us how things were going with school and if anything new had come up since our last visit, when me and Melissa were here for thanksgiving. That was only a month ago, but I did have some news for her today. I wasn't going to tell her about getting drugged at a party though, I'd never hear the end of it if she found out about that. It was bad enough Melissa knowing.

"So I might have met someone," I said with a smile. "Her name's Susan, we first met at a halloween party two weeks ago? We've been on two dates since then."

Mom was surprised, and I caught her glancing at Melissa for just a half-second. I had a feeling mom still sort of thought me and Melissa were a couple or something. Then she smiled, "Mara that's wonderful! What's she like?"

I described Susan, and told mom how she was taking nursing and stuff. And that she was a couple years older than me.

Mom seemed happy, but also a little reserved about the whole thing. I'm sure part of it was age-related. Even though Susan was only two years and a half years older than me according to my ID, the truth was she was closer to three and a half years older. Still, I didn't think it was a big deal. We were both college students, it wasn't like she was a grown woman dating a high-school kid or whatever.

And there was still that thing where mom kept glancing at Melissa. Like she was worried my best friend would be jealous maybe, or upset or something. It was a bit confusing, like me and Melissa had been over it a half dozen times and she didn't want a girlfriend, so we weren't looking to romance each other.

Mom finally seemed to let it go, then asked Melissa how things were going for her and if she'd met anyone yet.

"Same as I said at thanksgiving Ms. Carter," Melissa replied. "I'm not really looking for a relationship at the moment? I'm going on lots of dates though, having fun and being social and all that."

Then my best friend asked my mom, "How about you? How's the psychology course going?"

I added with a grin, "And have you met anyone yet? Gone on any dates? Or been to any parties?"

Mom gave me a look, "Mara almost everyone in my class is your age. The only people I see who're even close to my age are the profs. And even some of them are too young, the rest are too old."

Then she answered Melissa, "My classes are going well. I've finally got back into the student mindset this month I think? Like I was saying in October, it was a big adjustment after being out of school for over twenty years."

"Do you think you'll start seeing patients or something when you're done?" I asked. "Like will you start working as a therapist or whatever?"

Mom shrugged, "I still don't know yet, to be honest. I'll get a chance to try it, to see if I enjoy it? The last semester is a co-op placement, so we'll see."

Not that she needed to work, thanks to Lily. And mom was being super careful with the money, she took an online course over the summer and learned about money management and investments and stuff. She had things set up so she could basically live off the interest or whatever.

We all talked about school for a while more, then mom changed the subject. She looked at my friend and asked, "Melissa have you heard from your family at all?"

"Just my brother," she replied. "Me and Sam text each other once or twice a week, and we talk on the phone now and then."

Mom looked a little sad as she asked, "Nothing from your parents?"

It was hard to tell if Melissa was upset or not. If she was, she hid it as she shrugged "Nah. Sam talks to them, they still don't know he's gay? Though he said he might come out next month. He said he's spending christmas with his boyfriend, and if mom and dad want him to visit them he's bringing Troy with him. So they're going to find out about that one way or another."

She shrugged and added, "Sam said my folks yelled at him last time he mentioned my name. And they don't even say my deadname anymore. He said it's like they're pretending I don't exist, and acting like Sam is an only child."

"Melissa I'm so sorry," mom said with a compassionate look on her face.

"It's ok Ms. Carter. I kind of expected it?" Melissa shrugged, "And anyways, it's their loss. Maybe in a month or two they'll have no kids left at all, if they freak out at Sam the same way they did to me."

Eventually it got near dinner time, and the three of us moved from the den to the kitchen. We weren't having anything fancy, mom made up a casserole earlier so she just had to stuff it in the oven. She'd make a salad or something later to go with it.

She offered me and Melissa some wine, since it was a celebration and all that. Melissa had a glass of wine but I stuck with water.

Then mom excused herself and went into the dining room to tidy up and set the table. I followed her in there, and saw she had a bunch of books and things spread out over the dining table, and she was just starting to gather them up.

I offered, "Hey mom, need a hand with that?"

She glanced up at me as if I'd startled her, but shook her head "No that's fine thanks Mara. Why don't you keep Melissa company while I take care of this?"

She was holding a couple thick books tucked under her left arm, and had a stack of loose paper in her right hand. I figured she was using the dining table as an office or a study room or something. Some of the books on the table looked like psychology texts.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I don't mind."

Mom shook her head again, "It's ok hon."

She was standing still on the far side of the dining table, like she was waiting for me to leave before she continued what she was doing. I don't know why but I suddenly got the feeling she was trying to hide something from me, like there was something there she didn't want me to see.

We both stood there in awkward silence for a few more seconds. Mom stayed sort of frozen in place waiting for me to leave, and I stood there there feeling conflicted about how my mom was acting. Then just like that I saw it, and my stomach lurched.

It was one of the books she was holding under her arm, trying to keep me from seeing what they were. The spine was facing towards me though, and I saw the title. A History of Witchcraft and Demonology.

My eyes flicked to the dining table and I looked at the book closest to her, the one she was probably about to grab next. An Encyclopaedia of the Occult. My heart started racing as the pieces began to fall into place.

I scanned over the rest of the books on the table. They seemed to be psychology texts, but some of those caught my eye as well. There were a couple books about multiple personalities. And one more that made my stomach lurch again. Psychosis: Case Studies of Demonic Possession.

She wasn't studying psychology because of some old dream from her youth or whatever. She was studying it because of me and Lily. The only thing that wasn't clear was if she thought this was somehow all in my head, or if she knew Lily was real but thought she could somehow separate the two of us. Like if she thought she could 'save' me or 'cure' me or something.

I looked up from the table towards my mom again. Her face was pale and I could see the fear in her eyes. She knew I'd seen the book titles. She knew that I knew what she was up to.

And she looked as scared as I felt.

PurpleCatGirl

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