Curse the Curse... not me...

Four
It’s been a year since then. I’ve lived with Ny and Jonathan, as if we had been family for what seemed like forever. Jonathan and Nyack had arguments that seemed like they occurred every 2 minutes and I was always the one solving the arguments and cooking and cleaning. Nyack spent most of his time in his room, reading and writing. Sometimes, though, I can hear him throwing things around, shouting curses at his unfair banishment. Jonathan usually is the one who goes outside and gets the food and information we need to survive. I, spend most of my time sitting in the kitchen, tracing circles with my finger on the table, whispering to myself, pointless, personal things. Every month, during the period of Pure light, Ny takes me out into the forest and chains me to a tree far from the house. He comes back a week later. We haven’t told Jonathan about this yet. We’ve lied to him. I hate to lie to him. He doesn’t deserve it… but it’s the only way we can keep him safe. Jonathan… Jonathan… he’s so kind… he’s done so much for us; given up his home, his family, and his friends… he’s handsome too. Ack! Did I actually write that? Well, I guess I’m right. He is sweet… ah! What am I doing? I shouldn’t be writing this! Jonathan’s a friend, that’s all… I think… maybe I do like him… Argh! Stop writing, Raven, stop! Think about something else! The house… we are lucky to still have it. This little family of ours has had a lot of luck. No Cursed members have come to take the house back. No humans have found out Jonathan’s treachery. Nothing bad has happened to us. Yet.

* * *

“IF YOU’RE SO CONCERNED ABOUT IT, WHY DON’T YOU JUST GO DO IT YOURSELF THEN!?”
“NO! IT’S YOUR TURN TO DO IT TODAY!!”
“I HAVE ENOUGH DUTIES TO DO OTHER THAN JUST GETTING DINNER FOR TONIGHT, JONATHAN!!”
“WELL, NY, DID YOU EVER THINK THAT I MIGHT HAVE OTHER DUTIES AS WELL? HMM? BUT YOU NEVER SEE ME COMPLAIN!!”
“YEAH RIGHT, LIKE YOU NEVER COMPLAIN!” Said Ny’s muffled voice through the ceiling. That was it. I had enough. I stormed upstairs and flung Jonathan’s bedroom door open.
“WOULD YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP FOR ONE MINUTE?! I’M SICK AND TIRED OF YOU TWO SHOUTING AT EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME!! RIGHT, NY, IT’S YOUR TURN TO GO GET DINNER SO GO GET IT, AND JON, STOP TRYING TO BE SO PERFECT!!” I shouted at them, then slamming the door again. I heard Jon blow a raspberry from inside the room. I blew out and retreated back to the kitchen. I sat down at the table and stared out the window.
“You’re much less fun than you were, you know.” I heard a voice from behind me.
“Well, the war’s gotten more critical now… and my condition.”
“That’s no excuse to get serious, is it?” Ny said, sitting opposite me.
“We’ve got a new member now, Ny, and we need to be serious for him. He’s going through a lot now… he left all of his family… his friends… to save us…”
“We’re his friends now, Raven. Look, I know that we’re putting a lot of pressure on him but…” He paused. As if he was looking straight into my soul. “You like him, don’t you?” I didn’t reply. I didn’t want to tell.
“Maybe.”
“Oh come on! You can tell your big brother.”
“But you’re not my big brother. Besides, how will I know whether you tell him or not?”
“So you do like him!”
“I never said that!”
“Yes but that last question implied you did!” He grinned. I blushed. There was an awkward pause in the dialogue. I summoned up enough courage to ask the one question I had been wanting to ask Ny for ages.
“You think I’ll stand a chance?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.
“To be honest with you, Raven, I don’t know. But I won’t tell. Promise.” He said casually.
“Promise?”
“Promise.” There was silence. “You know, you two, like them two people in those books you used to read… what was it called again? Harvey something…”
“Harry Potter.”
“That’s the one! You know, you being Herminony or however you say it and him being Ron…” He laughed. “I guess that makes me Harry!” I laughed back.
“We are not anything like the Hogwarts gang. I’m not smart enough, Jonathan isn’t clumsy enough and you haven’t got glasses!” I said, trying to stop laughing. “And plus… you’ve got no scar!” We stopped laughing. That was a stupid thing to say. Ny turned serious again.
“I have a scar on here.” He said, tapping his left wrist. He didn’t need to say what he meant.
“You should go get dinner.” I said, looking out the window again. Ny stood up and exited the room. I heard the front door slam behind him. I sighed, recalling the times of when I could mention the Cursed without Ny storming off. Although, I didn’t blame him for being angry. He had done so much for them… and then they just got rid of him… it wasn’t fair. I stood up and got a glass of water to take my mind off things. Many things buzzed round in my head although most of them had nothing to do with each other. Why was Nyack banished? Do I stand a chance against Jonathan? The cold water slid down my throat. It was chilling. How long do we have until we’re found out? How long do I have until the time of Pure Light? I took another sip. I gulped. I was in between the war. I was not on either side, stuck in the middle. If either of them won, my family would still be in ruins. There was no chance. I continued to stare out the window. The forest stood still.
“Not being all mysterious again, are you?” I heard Jonathan say from behind me. I turned around and saw him with his arms folded, leaning in the doorway. I smiled.
“Not as mysterious as other times.” I said, putting the glass down by the sink.
“Speaking of mystery, what happens when you go out for a week, you know the time when you go somewhere for like a week?” Something inside of me screamed. I knew I had to tell Jonathan at some point. But should I tell him? Ny wouldn’t want me to. But I didn’t want to lie to him again… I took a deep breath.
“Cursed stuff. Just meetings. Keep them out of suspicion, you know.” I looked down, ashamed of myself. I hated lying. He raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t think you’re telling me the truth, you’re a horrible liar, you know.”
“I don’t want to tell you.”
“We’re family, Ray, just tell me and I won’t mention another word of it.”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No. You don’t want to know.” He sighed, admitting he was defeated.
“You can tell me when you want, Raven, I’m not going to force you to.” He said, turning around and heading up the stairs to his room.
“You forgot something, Jonathan!” I called after him.
“What?” He asked, coming back into the kitchen, giving the same confused, cute looks he always gave. That made something in me click. I ran up to him, and kissed him on the cheek. I rushed up the stairs, into my room. I closed the door and locked it. I giggled; then sighed a dreamy sigh. It was cliché, but it was so cliché it had to work. I smiled to myself. I just hoped Jonathan felt the same way I did.