Bedlam Chapter Sampler

“And? When are we going to meet him?” It was on the tip of her tongue. It’s not a him . So easy. Such an easy sentence to say. All she had to do was open her mouth and say it. But she took too long, and now her dad was nudging her mother’s shoulder. “It’s your fault,” he said. “She won’t bring him home to meet us because she’s afraid you’ll embarrass her. This is always a problem when you have one really cool parent and one lame parent.” Melissa shook her head. “I preferred you when you were grumpy.” “I wasn’t grumpy, I was dark .” “I’m going to say hi to Alice,” Valkyrie said, turning on her heel. “We’re not finished with this boyfriend stuff !” her mum called out after her. Valkyrie retreated, away from the possibility of disappointing her parents. Even though she knew they’d understand. They were liberal, progressive people, after all. They’d handled the truth about magic without unduly freaking out – she was sure they’d have no problem with the whole girlfriend situation. But, even so, it made her tummy flip as she climbed the stairs.