The Christmas Curse (The Christmas Curse #1)

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

C alyx hadn’t heard from anyone but Griffith yet. He expected the rest of his brothers to call eventually to demand an explanation or ask for help, and he was surprised they hadn’t yet.

Well, he was mostly surprised that Yancey hadn’t called yet. Shelby would probably find this hilarious, while Justin would be mildly interested and possibly decide to keep the colors. It would be like him to think they were pretty or something.

Calyx’s family was weird.

But they were family , even though they weren’t related by blood, which was why Calyx had done all of this. He just wanted his brothers to come home for Christmas. Was it too much to ask?

He glared down at his phone. It was taking everything he had not to pick it up to check again if there was a message or a missed call. He’d been spending more time focusing on that screen than on work, which probably wasn’t a good idea considering that today, he was supposed to handle ingredients that could explode if mixed a certain way. He wasn’t planning on mixing them because that wasn’t what he needed them for, but it was still dangerous enough that he needed to be focused.

It was impossible. With a sigh, he pushed away the container he’d placed in the center of his desk a few minutes ago. He didn’t want to destroy the house, which meant it would be better if he waited a day or two before doing this, maybe even until after Christmas.

The sound of a door slamming made Calyx jump. For a moment, he clutched the edge of the desk, his eyes wide as he looked around his office. He was still the only one here, but he could hear footsteps, and he was pretty sure that whoever it was would find him soon.

He scrambled to his feet at the thought that one of his brothers was home. Part of him hoped it would be Griffith, but he didn’t think so. The only one who would enter the house like this was Yancey.

Calyx was smiling as he left his office and rushed toward the foyer. He wasn’t wearing shoes, and his socks slid on the wooden floors. He was going so fast that he had to catch himself on the doorframe, quickly skidding through the door.

“Calyx! I know it was you, so come out!”

That was definitely Yancey, and he didn’t sound happy. It was what Calyx had expected, so it was fine. Yancey had always been a person who got angry easily and exploded, but Calyx was positive that, eventually, he would accept this and spend Christmas with them.

At the very least, he was counting on him not wanting to turn completely green, white, and red.

He finally came to a stop by the stairs. Yancey stood by the front door, glaring at him. From his expression, it was a small miracle that he hadn’t yet grabbed Calyx and tried to strangle him.

Yancey was the oldest of them. He was eight years older than Calyx, and Calyx had always seen him as a big brother. He knew that a lot of the time, Yancey had only barely tolerated him, especially when they were younger. They’d grown closer over the years, although Yancey wasn’t the brother Calyx was closest to.

That would be Griffith, and Calyx had feelings for him that were very far from brotherly.

Yancey pointed his finger at Calyx’s face. “What the fuck did you do?”

Calyx eyed him. He couldn’t see any weird colors on his skin, but most of Yancey’s body was covered. He was even wearing a scarf, so his neck wasn’t visible. “How far has it spread? It’s still early in the month.”

Yancey’s cheeks turned red, but that had nothing to do with the curse and everything to do with the fact that he was pissed. “I knew it was you.”

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

“Damn right, that’s why I’m here. Take this spell off me.”

“It’s not a spell. It’s a curse.”

“I don’t care what it is. I want it off. Why the fuck am I turning into a Christmas decoration?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Yancey spluttered. “How do you turn someone green not on purpose? What the fuck are you talking about, Calyx?”

“I’ll tell you everything, but you need to calm down.”

Yancey had never been violent, but he did tend to explode when he was angry, and Calyx was alone with him right now. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea, but it was too late for Calyx to leave or hide. Yancey wouldn’t allow him to. He was here for a reason, and if Calyx knew him, he wouldn’t leave until he got what he wanted.

“You want me to calm down?” Yancey snapped. “Are you turning green, too?”

“No. The spell was to bring you and the others home, and I’m already here.”

“Dammit, Calyx. Just take this fucking spell off me.”

“I told you, it’s not a spell anymore. I made some mistakes, and it turned into a curse. You lived with Caitlin long enough to know that curses can’t be taken off. They have to run their course.”

Yancey took a step forward. Calyx swallowed and moved back, hitting the stair railing. For a moment, he wondered if he should run upstairs, but he didn’t want to trigger Yancey. From the flashing amber in Yancey’s eyes, Yancey’s lion was close to the surface, and Calyx didn’t want to have to fight with that . Between the lion and Yancey, he’d choose his brother’s human form.

“Calyx,” Yancey said in a threatening tone.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything.”

“Why did you even cast this fucking spell? What were you trying to do?”

Calyx licked his lips. His mouth was dry, and he wanted some water, but he didn’t dare look away from Yancey. “It was a spell to bring you and the others home. You’re going to have to stay until after Christmas.”

Technically, they didn’t have to stay. The curse would lose potency after Christmas, which meant that Calyx’s brothers could stick it out and hide in their apartments as they slowly turned white, red, and green. After Christmas, they’d return to their normal color and to their normal lives. If Calyx told them that, though, they would leave, and he wasn’t ready for that. He didn’t want to lose Griffith and Yancey all over again.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Yancey asked.

“That you abandoned me.”

“What do you care? You have the house, don’t you?”

Yancey moved even closer, and there was nowhere for Calyx to go. He’d never been afraid of his brother, and he wasn’t now, but he was starting to think that maybe he’d miscalculated. Yancey didn’t take surprises well, especially surprises he didn’t like.

“What the fuck is going on here?” someone snapped from behind Yancey.

Calyx would have cried when Griffith strode forward and placed himself between him and Yancey. He was facing away from Calyx, but Calyx could see from his stance that he was serious. If he had to stop Yancey physically, he would. He’d protect Calyx, even though he was angry at him.

Calyx didn’t know how things would have gone with Yancey if Griffith hadn’t arrived, but he was glad he wouldn’t have to find out and that, like always, Griffith was on his side.

Griffith couldn’t believe what he’d walked in on. Yancey had always had an easy trigger, getting angry about stuff from big to small—from Calyx getting the house in Caitlin’s will to Shelby eating the last bagel. What Yancey had never been was violent. In all the years they’d known each other, Griffith had never seen Yancey hurt anyone. He got angry, yelled, and pouted, but he didn’t hurt people. He especially didn’t hurt his brothers.

Yet here he was, looking like he wanted to strangle Calyx.

Griffith wasn’t sure Yancey would have hurt Calyx if he hadn’t stepped in, but he was glad he wouldn’t have to find out. He stayed where he was, glaring at Yancey, and crossed his arms over his chest. Yancey might be a lion shifter, but Griffith was a bear, and if they were to fight, he could hold his own. At the very least, it would give Calyx enough time to run, which was all Griffith cared about.

Yancey sucked in a breath. “Do you know what he did? Do you know he’s the reason we’re turning fucking green? Or is it only me?”

“It’s not, and yeah, I know. I called him when my chest started turning green.”

Yancey yanked off the scarf he’d been wearing. “Look at this. How am I supposed to go on with my normal life when I’m turning into a fucking Christmas tree?”

“Christmas decoration, actually,” Calyx murmured.

Griffith quickly turned to glare at him. Now wasn’t the moment to be a smart mouth.

Yancey looked down at his scarf. Maybe he was wondering how tightly he’d have to squeeze it around Calyx’s throat to make him shut up. Griffith couldn’t say he blamed him. What Calyx had done was stupid and dangerous, but part of Griffith could understand why Calyx had cast that spell.

He’d been alone. He’d thought he’d lost his entire family. He’d still been grieving Caitlin, and he’d had to grieve his brothers, too, even though they weren’t dead. He’d listened to his feelings instead of his head.

And here they were.

Griffith raised both his hands. “You’re angry, and I get it. I’m angry, too, and I told Calyx that. Hurting him isn’t going to help, though.”

Yancey wrapped the scarf around his neck again. “I wasn’t going to hurt him,” he muttered.

“No? That’s good, but you looked like you were going to, and I think you scared him.”

He’d scared Griffith, too. Even though Griffith hadn’t talked to any of his brothers but Calyx in a year, he didn’t want to fight with them. He especially didn’t want to fight with Yancey, who he’d always looked up to. Yancey was the older brother Griffith hadn’t had until Caitlin had taken him in, and he didn’t want to lose him to a stupid fight that could have been avoided.

He understood why Calyx had done all of this. Griffith had missed his brothers over the past year. The only reason he hadn’t reached out to any of them was that he was a stubborn asshole. It was hard to admit he’d been wrong, but he and his brothers being wrong was what had led to this situation, so he was ready to do so.

He wasn’t sure Yancey was.

Yancey was still hurting over losing Caitlin and the house, and he didn’t want to be here. Unfortunately for him and the rest of them, they didn’t have a choice.

“You need to take this fucking curse off me,” Yancey said as he turned his attention back to Calyx.

“I can’t.”

Yancey raised a hand, and Calyx plastered his back against the railing. Yancey blinked at him, raked his hand through his hair, and glared as a look of understanding passed on his face. “I’m not going to fucking hurt you,” he snapped. “I just want this to be over.”

“It will be after Christmas,” Calyx promised.

Yancey stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t know what the fuck you were thinking, but you better find a solution because I’m not waiting until after Christmas for this curse to be gone. I have things to do and places to be, and this house isn’t one of those places.”

Calyx’s expression was one Griffith easily recognized, and he knew what was about to happen before Calyx even opened his mouth.

“No,” Calyx said. “I’m not letting you ruin everything. Besides, I already told you that I can’t do anything about the curse. Its purpose is to keep you here until after Christmas, and that’s what it will do. There’s nothing I can do about it, and there’s nothing I want to do about it.”

Griffith groaned. “Do you really have to provoke him?”

“He’s the one who started it,” Calyx complained. “I only ever wanted my family to be happy.”

Yancey snorted. “Like you’re happy with the house.”

“Why don’t you ask Caitlin why she left the house to me and not you?”

Yancey blinked. “Because she’s dead. That’s why you have the house.”

“Her ghost is here.”

Yancey gaped at Calyx while Griffith’s brain tried to make sense of the words. Caitlin was a ghost? She still lived in the house, and Calyx had been alone with her for a year?

Griffith’s heart broke for Calyx. Things hadn’t been easy for him, and living with Caitlin’s ghost wouldn’t have made it any easier. Griffith supposed that, in a way, he was glad that Calyx hadn’t been completely alone, but having to deal with their mother’s ghost had to have been complicated. Normally, Calyx would have turned to Griffith for support, but Griffith had left him, and that meant he’d had no one.

Griffith hadn’t thought he could be angrier at himself than he already was, but knowing what he’d done to Calyx made him feel awful. He had the urgent need to fix it, but how was he supposed to do that? The only way that would make sense would be for him to stay with Calyx even after the others left once Christmas was over, and he wasn’t sure he could.

The last thing Calyx had wanted was to hurt any of his brothers, but they were hurting him , so why shouldn’t he? Why shouldn’t he force Yancey to stay so they could talk and finally clear things out? Why shouldn’t he tell Yancey about Caitlin and about the fact that instead of being so angry at him, Yancey should be angry at her?

Calyx had gotten over that a while ago, but his brothers hadn’t known that Caitlin’s ghost was around. They were visibly shocked, and for a moment, Calyx felt guilty.

He’d just wanted a family Christmas, the first after their mother died. Was it too much to ask?

Yancey shook his head. “Whatever. I don’t care what you have to say, and I don’t want the house. I just want to go home.”

“You can.” Calyx didn’t want him to, but it wasn’t like he could stop him. The only way to do so would be to use a spell, and Calyx would never do that to his brothers.

He might have done it already, but he’d been grieving and scared. He’d done the first thing he could think of, which was using his magic to keep his family together. It hadn’t worked the way he’d wanted it to, but Griffith and Yancey were here, so in some way, the curse had given him his family back. They were missing Shelby and Justin, and Calyx hoped they would arrive soon. Shelby had always been better than the rest of them at calming Yancey down when he got pissed off, and that was what Calyx needed him to do right now.

Yancey’s eyes narrowed. “Am I going to continue turning green if I leave?”

“You will. I don’t know how bad it will be by Christmas day, but if I have to guess, I’d say that your entire body will be red, white, and green. Really festive.”

Yancey stepped forward again, but Calyx stood his ground. Now that Griffith was there, he knew he was safe. He didn’t think that Yancey would have actually hurt him earlier, but he couldn’t deny he was a bit spooked. Yancey was grumpy and had a fierce personality, but he wasn’t violent, or rather, he hadn’t been before.

Calyx wondered if something had happened to Yancey during the year he’d been gone. He thought so, and whatever it was, it had left Yancey worse off. Calyx desperately wished there was something he could do to help his brother. He doubted that just being there for Yancey and giving him time would help. No, this was more a force-Yancey-to-sit-down-and-get-answers-out-of-him operation, which was another reason Shelby needed to come home. He’d always been good at getting all of them to confess to their darkest secrets.

“I’m not celebrating Christmas,” Yancey said. “I’m not staying in this house, and I’m not faking being a family with you and the others. We’re not a family anymore, Calyx, and you need to accept that.”

Calyx wanted both to cry and to scream at his brother. He settled for glaring at him. “We’ll see what happens over Christmas. So you’re going home looking like a Christmas gnome?”

Yancey threw his hands in the air. “I can’t do this with you. You’re ridiculous.”

“I just want us to try, all right?” Calyx begged. “That’s all I want. We spent many Christmases together, so why can’t we do the same this year? Caitlin would want us to. You can ask her if you don’t believe me.”

“I’m not asking her anything, and I’m not celebrating Christmas.” He hesitated. “I’ll be in town, though. I can’t go home looking like this. You couldn’t come up with something else to drag us back here?”

“Oh, the curse was pretty bad at first. You’re lucky I changed it because otherwise, you would have died if you hadn’t returned home for Christmas.”

Yancey stared at Calyx for a moment before shaking his head and moving away. Calyx knew when to give up, and this was the moment to do so with Yancey. Asking him to stay and talk wouldn’t help. Yancey needed space to get out of his head and give himself a chance to think about what had happened. If Calyx pushed, he’d make Yancey angry again, and no one wanted that.

“I’ll leave as soon as Christmas is over,” Yancey said. “I want you and the others to leave me alone. That goes for you, too, Griffith. You guys haven’t been my family in a year, and I want things to stay that way.”

He stomped toward the door, and even though Calyx wanted to call him back, he didn’t.

Did Yancey really not consider them family anymore? Had it been as easy as Caitlin leaving the house to Calyx for that to happen? What did that say about the relationship they’d had before?

“He wasn’t serious,” Griffith said once Yancey was out of the house.

Calyx blinked at him. “He sounded serious.”

Griffith sighed and glanced at the door. “I think it’s pretty obvious that something happened to him, but I don’t know what. I haven’t had any contact with him over the past year.”

“Neither have I. Have you heard anything about Shelby and Justin?”

“Shelby might know something, but you know how he is. We won’t know he’s coming home until he’s here.”

In the meantime, Calyx needed to finish decorating and putting the house to right. Yancey might not be willing to spend Christmas with them, but surely Shelby and Justin would. At the very least, Griffith would be there, which was more company than Calyx had had over the past year. It wasn’t gearing up to be the best Christmas ever, but Calyx wouldn’t be alone, and right now, that was all he cared about.

Griffith could see that Calyx was disappointed, but what had he expected? Had he really thought that any of them would be happy to be dragged back home because if they didn’t return for Christmas, they’d turn into white, red, and green monstrosities?

At least they wouldn’t die. Griffith supposed there was a good side to every situation, and that definitely was a good side of this one.

He still didn’t understand what had gone through Calyx’s head when he’d cast the spell. Griffith wasn’t a mage, but how did a spell turn into a curse? It sounded far-fetched, but he supposed that anything was possible. He shuddered at the thought of what might have happened if Calyx hadn’t managed to change the curse. He did not want to die, especially not at Christmas.

Especially because of Christmas.

“Why is he like this?” Calyx asked. “I mean, he was always hotheaded and easy to anger, but for a moment, I thought he was going to hit me. It’s not like him.”

Griffith agreed that it wasn’t like their big brother, but he had no idea what happened to Yancey. “He’ll tell us once he’s ready.”

“You know him. He’ll never be ready to talk.” Calyx sighed. “He’s going to keep everything inside until he explodes, and we can only hope we won’t be anywhere near him when he does. I want to support him, but he kind of freaked me out.”

Griffith wanted to pull Calyx into his arms, but he didn’t dare. Calyx would be happy, but Griffith didn’t trust himself not to do something stupid. “I think the root of his problem with you is that he’s jealous.”

Calyx blinked. He looked like he couldn’t quite believe that, which made sense considering his personality. One of the reasons Griffith loved him was that he was always happy in his little world. He knew others existed outside of it, of course, but in his mind, no one had any reason to be jealous of him. They were brothers, which meant they should be close. He didn’t see things from Yancey’s point of view, and Griffith wasn’t sure he would ever be able to.

“I told him I would give him the house if he wanted it,” Calyx offered.

“He doesn’t really want the house. Look, I know Caitlin didn’t have a favorite, but try to put yourself in Yancey’s shoes. You’re the only mage she took in. You’re the only one who was like her, and she left the house to you . He’s jealous because you and Caitlin shared a bond that he could never share with her, even though she was his mother.”

“But there’s nothing I can do about that. I can’t change the fact that I’m a mage.”

“He doesn’t expect you to. I think that he got angry last year, said things he didn’t mean, and has been running from that since then. You know he would never admit he’s wrong, even though, in this case, he has to know he was. He probably doesn’t know what to do to fix things, and it’s easier for him to lash out.”

Calyx shook his head. “It’s ridiculous.”

“It might be, but it’s how he feels. You can’t dismiss that.”

“What can I do to make him see that I was never Caitlin’s favorite?”

“I don’t know if there’s anything you can do. Caitlin might be able to make him see the truth, but I’m not sure he’s going to talk to her.”

“Will you?”

Griffith had no idea. He wanted to talk to his mother’s ghost, especially after thinking that he would never get to talk to her again for a year, but at the same time, he’d done his grieving. He still missed her, and he always would, but she was dead. “I don’t know.”

“Well, when you find out, she’ll be around the house somewhere. She’s been great company over the past year.”

Calyx had always struggled to make friends, and once again, Griffith was reminded that he’d abandoned him. He’d left him completely alone with a ghost, which possibly explained why Calyx had cast that spell. Griffith didn’t think that Caitlin had pushed him into it, but the desperation of losing his brothers and the shock of seeing his dead mother again might have pushed Calyx off the ledge.

Griffith sighed. “Well, I can’t make any promises about Yancey, but I’ll spend Christmas with you.”

Calyx’s eyes glittered in delight. “You will?”

“How can I not?”

“Right, because you’ll turn green, red, and white if you don’t.”

“I could go back to town like Yancey and hole up in a hotel room until it’s over. I’ve missed you, though, Calyx. I want to spend Christmas with you.”

Calyx’s eyes were wide. He appeared a little shocked, which made sense since they hadn’t spoken in a year. Now that he was here, Griffith couldn’t resist the siren call of Calyx. If Calyx wanted him close, then he would stay close.

Even after he returned home, his heart would be here, in Calyx’s hands.

There was no way that Griffith wouldn’t fall for Calyx again now that they were spending time together—if he’d ever fallen out of love with him to begin with. The more time he was here, the more he’d want him. It would hurt like a bitch when he left, but maybe for a few weeks, he could forget that he had to.

Calyx had always loved Christmas, and Griffith would make sure he had the best Christmas ever. He didn’t have a clue what that entailed just yet, but he did know that Calyx wanted all five of them reunited in the house, and he’d do his best to make that possible.

That meant he had to call Shelby and Justin. Wherever they were, whatever they were doing, they would have to be home for Christmas. If they weren’t, Griffith would go out there and drag them home by himself.

Calyx wanted a perfect family Christmas, and Griffith would do everything in his power to give him one.