My Hockey Alpha

Nina

I reluctantly returned home after my conversation with Myra. There was an undeniable lump in my throat; if Lewis really was watching me so closely, and if he truly was apparently so hell-bent on making sure that I couldn’t bring Enzo or Richard back that he would even go so far as to take Luke hostage and hire a witch to take away Myra’s ability to open portals, then I didn’t know what to do. I would have to listen to Myra and try not to look for Enzo until Lewis was gone; I only hoped that he wouldn’t do anything horrible to Luke before then, assuming he hadn’t already.

When I arrived back at my dorm, I stopped in the mail room to see if I had received any letters. And, much to my surprise, there were two things for me: a letter from my mother, and a package. I furrowed my brow at the package, as I hadn’t ordered anything recently, but decided to open the letter from my mother first. Maybe she sent me a care package and her letter would explain it.

I opened the letter with shaky hands, trying not to think too much about what Myra had just told me as I began to read.

“Dear Nina,

I just want you to know that your brother and I arrived safely in England, and are now staying with your aunt. I’m sorry I haven’t called; I still haven’t gotten my long distance phone set up.

I’m not sure if you said something to him, but Richard sent me a letter recently. I was afraid at first to open it, but after a few weeks of it sitting here and staring at me, I finally decided to open it and give it a look. In it, much to my surprise, that old coot actually apologized. Would you believe it? Now, I can never be entirely sure whether he’s being truthful or not, but when he apologized for what happened to Taylor and mentioned that he didn’t put a curse on him… Well, let’s just say that I was reminded of the same boy who I used to know in college, before he went berserk and power-hungry. Somehow, I’m inclined to believe him; but I want to know what you think. I know that you are incredibly close with Enzo, so maybe you can talk to him.

there was no warning and no other evidence other than that blanket and the burned photograph. Hopefully, those two things can give you

because we’ve found a witch who has been able to help Taylor a lot. His pain is almost entirely gone now thanks to her medicine, and he only has the occasional flare up. I think that being in a new place is helping him, too. The town your aunt lives in is small and located in the countryside. There are rolling fields all around, and plenty of fresh air. I think you’d love it; right now, it’s a little bleak with winter coming, but your aunt said that it’s beautiful in the Spring when the wildflowers start to bloom. You should try to come and stay for a while when that time comes. Bring Enzo, if you two are together then. I’m sorry that I wasn’t more welcoming before, but after seeing how much you loved him, I couldn’t help but be reminded of how

happier here, although we do miss you. I hope that soon, you and I can

Love,

Mom.”

hear that my mother and Taylor were doing okay, and

here. Then, maybe we could leave this place and go to stay with my family together. The thought of the wildflowers and the rolling fields made me smile, but at the same

the letter didn’t mention any sort of care package, which made me furrow my brow in confusion. Who had sent me a package, then? There was no return address on it; in fact, there wasn’t even an official shipping label or anything of the sort. It only had my name on it, as though someone from campus had just slipped it

Lori and Jessica, who were sitting on the couch and playing video games when I arrived, both

asked, nodding her head

drawer. “I dunno,” I replied. “It was just in my mailbox. There’s no address or anything