There's a week left until the desire arrow expires. 7 days until I can end this mess I caused.

But 7 days until Esma won't remember a thing. And I will loose my time with her.

So I will make the most out of it.

I explain everything to Esma the next day, and about my mother being a very likely suspect in all of this. She doesn't ask questions, she just listens to every thought, every word I have to say before there's nothing left to say.

"That... Well that's a lot to take in isn't it?" Esma finally says after staring at me for a solid ten seconds.

I nod, raising my eyebrows, "Sure is."

"I'll be fine Everton, you should look for your mother." Esma gets off the pink stool in her apartment. She walks over to me, I stand up straighter as she lifts her arms embracing me into a comforting hug.

"I wont go on a rampage looking for that guy. Hell I've even forgotten his name." she softly laughs.

"Are you sure? I'm worried in a few hours you will be. You don't understand the power of a desire arrow, Esma." I say as we pull away from our hug. Her hugs are incredibly addictive.

"How about I ring you as soon as I feel any strong urge." She says biting down on her lip. We are close enough to even...

"Yep, okay." I turn my heels and grab my jacket that's laying over the chair as an excuse of my sudden movement. I resist the urge inside that wants to feel her lips on mine again.

"I'll get going." I smile as I call for a pod to take me to my mother.

Esma doesn't move from where we were stood, she took a breath looking down at her hands.

~~~

About Half an hour later of me walking in circles outside a brown and red brick house house I finally walk up to the front door.

I knock, and after a few seconds the door opens. I frown as a young boy appeared.

"how can I help you?" he asks with a smile.

"Um, I'm looking for someone named Lillian, she knows where my mother is.."

He nods and smiles pointing to the house next door. "Lillian's our neighbour, quite a nice woman."

"Oh thanks, must have missed her by one house." I say flicking my hand up in realisation.

Once he closed the door, I sigh and slap my palm against my forehead. Idiot just spent 30 minuets stressing over the wrong house.

I walk over to the next house to the right, wanting to waste no more time, I knocked on the door straight away. I stood back waiting for the door to open when I realised whose house it actually was.

That lady I delivered my father's mail to. The same lady that I ran into in the halls of the cupid world. How does she know my mother?

On that thought the door opened to the woman in her late forties with hazel eyes. She instantly knew who I was.

In that half an hour I thought of multiple things I could say in this moment but right now, I had forgotten it all. "I'm here because you know-"

"I know why your here." she interrupted. Lillian holds the door firmer, slowly opening it wider. "Come in then."

She turns on her heel and walks into the house leaving the door open for me. I walk in shutting the door closed behind me. her house smells of baked cinnamon muffins, the walls are lime green with plants in every corner. It puts me at ease that she's not some creepy lady.

She sits down at her small round table without a sound, the light is blinding as I walk in further sitting down opposite to her.

"Lillian-" I start.

"My names not Lillian. That was a name I used to.." she pauses, I see the hurt in her eyes. "My real name Is Eiroleth. I am you mother."

"What?" I frowned studying her face, seeing any resemblance. Then I see it. I have her nose, I have her stern look when I'm serious.

"I'm aware your father told you what happened already because I couldn't." she sighed.

I nodded slowly, my heart pacing so fast that I'm finally seeing my mother after all this time.

After all this time.

My brain flickers back to Esma as I can imagine her pointing at me saying 'You just quoted harry potter!' as if I knew what that meant.

"He wants-"

"I know what he wants, dear." she sighs. Damn I can't get a sentence out with this woman.

I lean back in my chair taking it all in once again.

"I want you to know-"

I cut her off this time, "I know what you want me to know." I lean back forward. "And I want to tell you that I understand why you did it and why your doing this."

She looks at me surprised. "Everton, I'll never forgive myself, and I can't forgive your father."

I shake my head. "its okay, you don't have to." I think back to Esma. "But this is what cupids were born for, this is our life, our job and our home. As much as I understand you, you also can't take that away from us."

"How do you understand, Everton? how could you possibly understand?" She whispers.

"Because what happened with you and My father, I think its happening to me." I say suddenly, not even sure what I'm saying.

She falls silent, worry fills her eyes.

Before I can stop myself I tell her what had happened, about shooting the wrong person. About Esma. "And apart of me doesn't even want to see who she's matched with. I don't want to see who I'm with either... if its not her, then I'll be falling in love for no good reason."

She's silent, yet reaches her hand out placing it over mine. "I know I haven't been in your life, and every day I wished I had fought for you harder. But you don't have play their games. You have a choice."

I shake my head. "I do, but she doesn't. I want to love who I want."

"You can love who you want, Everton. But remember, so can they. And if her match is someone else, some other cupid will but firing that desire arrow, and it will be all over."

I shift uncomfortably in my seat trying to make sure I remember what my father had told me too.

"Our hearts can still get hurt by something we already saw coming, dear." my mother says pulling her hand back to rest against her chin.

"But they can also get hurt even more if we didn't." I realise. "Please, if you know how to bring the system back... you can't change how cupids live, your from a different world. I wont let anything bad happen to you if you do."

"Everton..."

I stand up, "just think about it please."

Before she could protest, my watch buzzes from my wrist.

"Sorry I have to take this." I walk myself out the house quickly before I answer Esma's call,

I walk to where the pod was hiding, stepping into the white seated area.

Esma's voice echoed through the phone, "Hey um, so I was just letting you know I'm at the markets picking up some stuff for dinner and well I found you know who... not Voldemort by the way,"

"Who the hell is Voldemort?" I question.

"Wow, okay, I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear you say that. Anyway, I found that dude, the dude I'm supposed to fall in love with. haha, anyway, hey I might go talk to him-"

I stood up from the seat. "Esma no, listen to me, remember what we talked about-"

"yeah, yeah, but I'll just see how he's doin, actually I think he just saw me, I think he remembers me too. Wow his smile is cute. Everton if you were gay you would totally be onto him too, I'm telling you. You know I haven't seen him this attractive, was he always lookin like this?" She kept rambling.

Wow his smile Is cute

I remembered my mother words, it can hurt even if you saw it coming.

"Esma I'm coming stay there."

"Okay I didn't mean the gay thing, I don't actually want you to be onto him you know. look I'm gonna go, he's coming over. I know he's not my match but I feel such an attraction- oh." she fell silent.

"Esma? what happened?" I say as I search up the nearest market.

"Everton the desire arrow is so strong, now I feel it."

"Don't worry I'm coming." I say as the pod loaded up, flinging me to the direction of the markets.