Yeah, Liam and Bracken had gotten me a few handy Visa gift cards, but I didn't want to spend all of it on clothes. I might need it for other things. Or maybe, this was just me wanting to hoard it as some kind of fallback plan. It was just that the idea of having a little something when I might need it was new, and I really didn't want to blow it all in one go.
So I quickly found jeans my size. Next, I flipped through the available shirts and tried to pick which one I liked most. Finding one with a killer bunny on it, I decided that would do, but my eyes drifted to the wall on their own. There hung pajamas, loungewear, and more. Never mind the racks of adorable clothes I'd love to wear.
There were so many cute things, but I was not about to become the greedy girl the Sparks had accused me of being. All I needed right now was at-shirt. Combined with my jeans, it counted as an outfit, right? This should be more than enough. Something to wear on my days off was all I really needed.
Tucking them under my arm, I turned to find Liam, but my shadow was stretching out, looking like it was getting taller. It was also doing that shimmering thing again.
"Stop!" I hissed at it, trying to keep my voice down so none of the employees would hear.
There were a handful of salespeople wandering around in here. This wasnotprivate. I also couldn't remember the rules for talking about the fae to others! Did they even care? Was this some big secret we were supposed to protect? Was that how someone earned the title ofcaradil?
I should've asked before I got out of the car, but I'd been a little focused on the shadow magic and new dads. Now, the damned thing was acting up again, and I could only think of one way to control it. If my shadow was anything like my crow, it should love shiny things, right? Maybe my shadow would get interested in what I was looking at if I kept shopping? If it even worked that way!
Turning in the opposite direction, I wandered to a table with the most adorable lounge pants in polka dots of various colors. I was trying to forget how my shadow had just gained a life of its own. I was also fighting the urge to run to Liam and beg him to fix it. Nope, I was trying to focus on shiny things.
And the clothes here were adorable! There was a tank-and-shorts pajama set in a flower print. Aspen would like it, and it wasn't too revealing. Then there were slippers and all sorts of girly things I'd never been able to have before. Things like lingerie in a rainbow of colors. Stuff like this was what the cool or popular kids had. Not foster kids pinching every penny.
For me, night clothes were sweats or a tank and shorts. Matching sets? Those were always considered too expensive. Bulk packs made more sense when stretching a budget. I'd heard the lectures a dozen times. So many that I'd stopped daydreaming of getting such things, and now that I had what was basically cash in my pocket? So tempting! So many very, very tempting things.
For a moment, I thought my plan was working. My shadow came back, but it didn't bother sticking around. The thing waved at me - yes, waved - and then flitted across the clothes and floor again, almost as if a bright light was spinning around me to make the effect. Yeah, I turned, watching it in something between horrorand awe.
In the middle of the floor, it gestured like it was summoning me toward it. Both arms curled - or at least looked like a shadow of someone doing that. Then it shifted back some more, pausing just before the wall to look at me and crook a finger.
That was when I realized this thing had eyes. Or, well, it had holes of no-shadow areas where the eyes should be. Ok, that was a little creepy, but when one of the sales girls looked my way, I gave in and headed over to stand on my shadow's feet.
"Happy now?" I grumbled as softly as I could.
My shadow simply pointed up. Naturally, my eyes followed.
There, hanging right before me, was a gothic set of pajamas. The perfect ones for me. The shirt and pants were all black, but with a dark print on them. The pants looked like a million crows flying - or maybe they were ravens - and the shirt had a single golden eye visible right in the middle at the top, as if the bird's portrait was judging me.
"Fine, you win," I breathed, snagging a set in my size. "Now can you behave until we're out of here?"
The thing lifted its arms like a shrugging emoji, but when I stepped back, it stayed attached to my feet. Hoping that would be enough to keep me from getting noticed, I took my clothes towards the other side of the store where Liam had gone.
"Liam!" I called softly, hoping he'd look up, but he was focused on something else. "Dad!"
That made his head snap up and a smile took over his face. "What?"
"I need a third opinion. About the cute jammies I found. They have crows."
The wistful look was still on his face. "Crows? Then I think you need those. If you don't want to spend the money on them, I will. Oh, and come here when you're done."
So I quickly made my way over. Evidently, the man was in the middle of the shoe section. This time, he wasn't looking at heels for my uniform, but rather athletic shoes. A lot of them. There were basketball shoes, skater shoes, running shoes, cross-training shoes, and others with just a brand name on the tag.
"Uh..." I dropped my haul on the closest chair. "I just need the cheap ones. Oh, and my shadow found the crow jammies. You know, hence thethirdopinion."
His head immediately dropped to check out my shadow. "Ok, missed that when you called me 'Dad.' So it talks?"
"Points," I corrected. "Waves too, it seems."
"Uh-huh." Looking around quickly, he checked to make sure we were alone, then bent down to the ground. "Please be good until we get out of here? I'm trying to spoil my daughter."
"So it does listen?" I asked.
"No clue," he admitted, "but most fae things do, so I figure it's worth trying. Now let's find you some shoes real fast and take your shadow home?"
"Good plan," I agreed. "Which ones are the cheapest?"
