Sighing, North tapped the button and tried to summon up a smile for his mother’s scowl. The woman’s dour face was too close to the screen, allowing North to clearly see the large pores in her too-pale skin. Her brown and grey hair was scrapped back in a severe bun. She wore minimal make-up. He’d tried once to get her to shake up her routine with a cute bob and some softer colors to accent her eyes, but he could only guess that no Southern mama wanted to get make-up advice from her son. Even if he did do it a fair bit better.
“Hey, Ma,” North said. He scooched up on the bed until his back was against the headboard. This wasn’t likely to be a short call, and his adventure to find Warin’s room was put on hold indefinitely.
“Freddie! Where the hell are you?” she screeched, causing North to lose hold on his weak smile. “The last we heard from you was that you were in London, and then your grandpa told us you were in Brussels. Where the devil is that even?”
“Belgium. I—”
“Belgium! Why would you ever go to Belgium?”
“The same reason I was in London—trying to track down a dragon using the scale,” he replied wearily. He’d been having this same conversation with his mother for a few years now. The only difference was that an ocean separated them instead of a kitchen table.
“Nonsense. It’s all utter nonsense. We never should have let you go.”
Which was the same answer he’d heard from her every time he’d brought up this trip. It was sad they were having the same talk while he sat in Germany. He took this as a clear sign that nothing was going to change with his family. His mother was bellyaching at him now, but it could have just as easily been his father. The only one who’d ever believed in dragons, magic, and their mage heritage was his gramps.
“I’m in Germany now—”
“Germany! What’re you thinking? Do you think you’re some spoiled son of a millionaire who can just tromp across Europe without a care for his family? Do you think we’re made of money?”
“No, Ma, but I need—”
“What you need to do is come home this instant! It’s nearly Christmas, Freddie, and you should be home with your family.”
“Yes, I understand, but—”
“There are no buts, mister. Family is important. It’s the only thing you’ve got. I raised you better than this.” She sucked in a breath through her mouth and almost snorted it out of her flared nostrils. How many calls had he missed to have her work herself into this froth? “Just running wild across Europe like you don’t have a care in the world. God only knows the kind of trouble you’re getting yourself into without us there to watch over you. The people you’re meeting. I shudder to think if you catch some disease. The shame it would bring on this family—”
North closed his eyes for a moment and turned her ranting voice down to a dull roar. It was the only way to keep his sanity when dealing with his mother. His father was nearly as bad, but he wasn’t the type to rant. That was left to his mom. No, Dad just sort of frowned down at him, as if everything about his person was a disappointment to him, the family, the state of Georgia, and all men everywhere in that order.
“Mom! I found dragons!” North blurted out, cutting her rant to an abrupt halt.
“What?” she said, her voice softening for the first time.
“While I was in Brussels, I met a pair of dragons. They brought me to a castle in Germany where an entire clan of dragons are living with mages.”
“Oh Freddie, you need to get out of there. Those aren’t dragons. They are going to kill you or sell you for sex. I saw a documentary on that—”
“They are! They are dragons. And mages. Gramps and I aren’t the only mages left. I’ve met them. I’ve seen them doing magic. All the old stories Gramps heard are true.”
A groan nearly escaped North when he saw his mother’s dark, skeptical look. He wasn’t sure if she didn’t believe him or simply didn’t care. Dragons, magic, and the family’s mage heritage had never meant anything to her. It was all about what she called the real world and the family’s image to the community, which already had a black eye because of North.
Boys weren’t supposed to like other boys.
Boys weren’t supposed to wear make-up. (Especially better than their own damn mothers.)
Boys weren’t supposed to like bright colors.
Boys weren’t supposed to be soft spoken.
The list went on and on and on. North’s entire person seemed to break every rule she had for what a boy was supposed to be, and he was so damn tired of trying to cram himself into the box she painted for him with all her rules and expectations.
This trip had always been about more than finding dragons. It was about getting away from all of his family’s rules and finally being himself for just a little while. It was about being able to breathe.
“Freddie, it’s time for this nonsense to end. You’re coming home tomorrow,” she announced in her firmest voice.
Now it was his turn to screech. “What?”
“No more galivanting off around Europe. Your spoiled brat routine is over. You’re not some entitled little prince who gets to have his way at the cost of his family.”
“No, not yet! I’ve been gone only a few days. I just found the dragons and the mages. Tomorrow, I’m working with the head mage. She’s going to teach me some new magic. We’re going to talk about the clans and what happened to the dragons. This was the whole point of the trip. I can’t stop now.”
The world was crumbling beneath his feet. No matter what he said, he could see his mother’s stern expression grow more resolute. “What about your family? Have you forgotten about your family, Freddie?”
North gritted his teeth. Every time she called him Freddie, it was like someone scraping a cheese grater across his nerve endings. She refused to call him North. All of them did. Except for Gramps. He respected that his grandson preferred to be called North.
“What about them? I haven’t forgotten my family. I just need to do this.”
“And all you’re thinking about is you. With this entire trip, you’ve only thought about you. Have you even considered what this is doing to your family? The cost burden this has been for us?”
“I’m using my own money. I saved for three years for this trip. You’ve only paid for a couple plane tickets.”
“And what about the money it’s costing us not to have you at the office? What about the family business?”
It was all North could do to not make a face and cringe at the mention of the family business. Concrete.
At the office, his entire world was grey and dirt and rocks. It was hard, ugly, cold, and a horrible fit for who he was. But his family didn’t care about who he was, only what they wanted him to be.
“You know we can’t keep covering for you. People deserve time off to be with their families at the holidays. We need you here. I still don’t understand how you could be so selfish as to run off on this stupid trip and abandon your family.”
“I’ve planned this for years. We discussed it. The only reason I went now is because we lucked into those super discounted plane tickets. I can’t drop everything now,” North argued, but by the look on his mother’s face, it was clear she wasn’t hearing a word he said.