Chapter. 24 Family Reunion

Diana groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. This is like the foster homes all over again. I was always the oldest, and the little kids always seemed to want me to be their mother figure. I couldn’t say no to those cling-ons either. As tough and independent as Diana was, there was a deep longing for family and belonging. This turned into a bitter longing when she started to recall her childhood and she hadn’t felt like she belonged back then either. Her mother adored her though. That love and devotion…Diana craved that connection. She mourned it when she learned that her mother had already passed 2 years prior.

Instead what she had was Anna sat across the table from her. A younger image of her mother, hazel eyes full of hope and holding her breath. …if she’s genuine with wanting to be sisters and not just use me to fix the walls then turn me lose in town, then…that wouldn’t be so bad I guess…

“Alright.” Diana folded her arms on the table and gave in. “What do you want to kn-”

“Anna!”

Diana and Anna both startled and looked out towards the main waffle house doors. Elaina came storming in and looked as fabulous as she did when they last met. Black heels, tight black dress with shoulder straps over a long sleeved red blouse. Her ginger hair was wavy around her face and her crimson lips tugged into a sneer. “I’m here, but I’m not alone. The word got out quickly and I couldn’t stop them.” Elaina apologised, angry at her failure, and then cast a worried look towards Diana. This did nothing to improve her mood. “They’ve come to see her.” The defences Diana had momentarily lowered to open up to Anna shot right back up. Well shit that doesn’t sound good. She sat back, arms folded and looking very defensive.

“Who’s coming to see her?” Anna sat upright and her hazel eyes swept to the front door. It opened with a chime and two women walked into the waffle house like it was uncomfortable for them to be there. Both women were platinum blonde and had long locks resting on their shoulders. Both had block fringes and one wore large black rounded sunglasses. The looked to have the same fashion sense as Anna, but didn’t strike Diana as the pastel colour types. The woman who didn’t take off her sunglasses wore an olive-green pleated dress, knee high, with a white collar and a jacket she wore hanging from her shoulders with her arms out of the sleeves. The woman without the sunglasses, and who led the charge, wore a golden brown bodycon dress with a turtle neck collar and a fashion belt around her waist. “Olivia.” Anna greeted her and Elaina strategically placed herself next to Diana in the booth. She shuffled up next to her but looked to the newcomers the whole time. Diana didn’t like being boxed in like this, but it also didn’t escape her notice that Elaina was shielding her from blonde 1 and 2. “Good morning.”

“Good morning Cousin.” Olivia was sickly sweet as she invited herself to sit beside Anna. Diana didn’t see the disgruntled way Knox phased out of the booth backwards to make space for the witch, or the way he glared at her. “Marvellous day for eating out for breakfast. You girl?” Olivia was crass as she addressed Jackie on her way to another customer. “Have you served my dear cousin yet?”

“Y-yes mam. I-”

“Good. Two more orders of whatever she’s having. Be quick about it.” She was so dismissive to poor Jackie, that Diana decided to take an instant dislike to this snob. In the name of all waitresses everywhere. There’s no need to be rude. She was serving someone else! “Dear cousin? Is this who I think it is?” Olivia spoke to Anna, arms still looped, but fixed her sharp blue eyes on Diana.

“I assume you know exactly who this is Olivia. Allow me to reintroduce you to Diana Couper.” Anna was so calm it irked Diana. She smoothly waved a delicate hand across the table at her. “Diana? This is Olivia Robinson.”

“Her beloved cousin. As is my sister, Jessica Robinson.” Olivia brought her sister into the conversation, but this didn’t make her sit with the rest of them. Jessica folded her arms beneath her jacket and sneered down at Diana with such venom it made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She couldn’t see through the black lenses of the sunglasses, but she was pretty confident that Jessica was glaring at her.

“It’s been a long time Diana.” Her voice came out like it had an undercurrent of pain and anger crashing through it. “After you ran off no one expected to ever see you again.”

“I didn’t run off.” Diana started, but Elaina shot her a warning look and shook her head with as much subtlety as she could muster. “…it has been a long time though.”

“Not long enough.” Jessica smiled with malice.

“But as you are here now.” Olivia cleared her throat and took the attention off her furious sister. “What brings you back to Salem?” Diana opened her mouth to answer the snooty cow, but Anna waded right in with far more authority than a 16 year old should wield.

“Near or afar, Diana Mary-Ann Couper is part of the coven, and she therefore came as summoned. It was about time she came home.”

“To answer for her crimes?” Jessica hissed, but Olivia silenced her with a raised hand.

“Crimes?” Diana fired a demanding look to Anna. “What does she mean crimes? I left when I was 13 and had no abilities. What crime could I have possibly done?”

“You know what you did you bitch.” Jessica stormed forward a step, but Elaina put both hands on the table and leaned over to bar her access to Diana and give her a very deadly look. The redhead said nothing, but promised to make her sorry for any move she made. “She knows what she did.”

“Jessica.” Anna chided her and raised pale brow at her cousin. “Calm yourself.”

“Yes sister, don’t embarrass yourself.” Olivia half heartedly agreed with Anna, but smirked with amusement. “My sources say she’s missing quite a few of her marbles.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Diana wasn’t above reaching over and slapping this woman if she didn’t watch her mouth. Being a foster kid, with night terrors, in therapy, and being called crazy, that Olivia Robinson was going the right way for a broken nose.

“Diana is currently unable to recall a lot of her childhood, yes, but I was not aware that the coven knew that already?” Anna retracted her arm from Olivia and gave her a warning stare of her own.

“Of course we are.” Olivia giggled and Diana mentally put a dart board in her head with her pretty little face on it. Twap. One dart in the eye. Twap. Now she had a set. “Which is exactly why there is little point demanding retribution for an incident the dear can’t even remember.”

“But I remember. Every single day.” Jessica seethed down at her sister and her sunglasses started to slide down her nose, she was that irate. She quickly shoved them back up and glared past Elaina to Diana. “I’ll make her remember.”

“You will do no such thing. Stand down Jessica.” Anna warned her with a raised brow.

“Yeah Jessica? Keep your hair on.” Diana smirked, glad that whatever this woman’s problem was, she was at least protected from her brand of crazy.

Diana was oblivious to the fast acting movement of danger dancing around her with those last four words. Jessica’s jaw dropped, and her spirit guardian sept in blue light out of her body to coil like a serpent with wings on it’s head. Gleaming eyes and sharp fangs extended with deadly intent.

Knox moved as well. His many reaching hands extended from his back and braced on the table to lift himself to hover over them all. Elaina nodded to her own spirit guardian, Yani, who stood behind Jessica with one hand raised palm up with every intention of casting something nasty on her keeper’s command. Or at the first sign of the shimmering blue serpent trying to strike.

The first sign to Diana that something she said had caused the shit to hit the fan, was Olivia pushing herself up to stand beside her sister. She didn’t see the pair of blue wings that burst from her back to shield Jessica and her snake from Yani’s line of sight. At her sister’s proximity, Jessica looked to her in angry horror.