by M. K. ROZE
“I’ll let that one pass, but don’t you ever hit me again.”
When we stepped inside the dim room, I narrowed my
eyes on the black walls and the lit candelabra that sat in the
corner of the room. It reminded me of a haunted house.
After a few minutes, the attractive couple emerged, led
out by an older woman with black and white hair. Her purple
gypsy outfit was perfect for Halloween. As she moved away
from the broken door, I caught a glimpse of a black candle
burning in the room. The woman said goodbye to the couple
and turned to us.
“Greetings, I’m Catalina. Enter if you dare and sit in the
chairs of past and future.”
We followed her into the small candlelit room, which
smelled strongly of incense, and the three of us sat down at
a roundtable. A black candle flickered in front of us, and a
pack of tarot cards was off to one side.
“What kind of reading would you like?” Catalina asked.
“It’s for her, not me,” Constin blurted out.
“Okay.” She turned to me. “What would you like?”
I shrugged. “What are my options?”
“I can read both past and future. Which one would you
prefer?”
“Give her a reading of her future,” Constin said and
slumped in the chair.
I squinted at him. “Really?”
He shrugged with a smug look.
“Is this what you want?” she asked me.
“Sure. He’s paying.” I tried not to laugh.
“Hold my hands. I want to feel your energy.”
I complied, but it felt awkward.
⁓
⁓
Constin cleared his throat, and Catalina looked at him.
When I turned in his direction, he was staring into her
yellow cat eyes, which I’m sure were contacts. Without
warning, she spoke in a language I didn’t recognize. She kept
her eyes on Constin while holding my hands tightly. For the
life of me, I couldn’t fathom what was going on.
After what seemed like a lifetime, she tore her eyes away
from Constin and glared at me. “Centuries ago, you were a
goddess who left your realm to come to Earth.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Me, a goddess? That’s
hilarious.”
She wasn’t smiling. “Where is the dagger?”
I gasped. “How do you know about my dreams?”
She squeezed my hands tighter. “Where is it?”
I turned to Constin. “Who told you about my dreams?”
He ignored me and kept his eyes on Catalina.
“Answer me!” I demanded.
“Release her,” Constin said in a low tone, almost as if
he was enjoying it.
“Constin, help me!” I pleaded, but he wouldn’t look at
me, so I forced myself to my feet, trying to get out of her
firm grip. “That’s enough,” I shouted. “Let go of my hands
immediately.”
“Release her now!” Constin repeated.
When Catalina jumped up and let go of my hands, I
grabbed my wallet and raced to the door. I paced back and
forth, not sure of what to do.
Constin casually stepped out of the shop. “Was that
woman crazy or what?”
My face felt hotter than usual, and my mouth couldn’t
hold back the expletives I had for him, so I let him have it.
⁓
⁓
He turned away from me, smiling.
“Why did you and that woman set me up? Who told you
about my damn dreams?”
“Who cares,” he mocked.
“Screw you and whoever told you about my dreams.” I
spun around and headed toward my car.
Someone grabbed my waist.
I whipped around, and Constin grabbed my face and
kissed me.
I pushed him back. “What are you doing?”
“What you want.”
“Oh please, you’re not all that.” I stormed off toward
my car trying to figure out who told him.
Constin followed me. “Forgive me for taking you into
such a place. Please, please, please forgive me,” he mocked.
I turned to him and pushed him. “You’re just like Clay.”
I continued walking but much faster.
At my car, he blocked me from getting in. “Viata, let me
come home with you tonight.”
I pushed him out of my way, got into my car, and
pressed the ignition button, but it wouldn’t start.
Constin slowly licked my window.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
He had no expression. His eyes bore into mine like he
wanted to kill me. I quickly locked my door and kept pushing
the start button until it started. When the engine roared, I
backed out, almost running him over. I didn’t care. I wanted
out of there.
Driving over the speed limit, I ran through a red light
and glanced in the side mirror. “What was I thinking!” I
pounded on the steering wheel.
⁓
⁓
At home, I rushed inside and locked the door behind
me.
“Kaylee!”
She came out, barely awake. “What happened?”
“I can’t believe you told Constin about my dreams. Now
he thinks I’m a nut and treated me like crap.”
“What? I never told him anything, ever.”
“No one else knows.”
“Liam and Maria know. I can’t believe you’d think I
would tell him your business.”
I went silent, thinking about who it could be.
“I didn’t say anything. I swear.”
“Alright, I believe you.”
“What happened tonight?” she asked.
I sat on the couch and told her.
“I don’t know about you being a goddess in your past,
but I swear he’s a vampire.”
I glared at her. “Will you stop messing around? This is
serious.
She lowered her head.
I hugged her. “I’m sorry for blaming you.”
“It’s okay. I’ll kick his ass if you want me to.”
“No, just let it go.” I walked to my room.
On the couch, I noticed it was before midnight, so I
called Liam. When he answered, I screamed in his ear,
accusing him of telling Constin. When he got upset and told
me he didn’t, I said sorry and ended the call. Maria was the
only other person who knew about my dreams, so I called
her, but she didn’t answer.
I texted her.
⁓
⁓
Thanks for telling Constin about my
business.
The next day, I got up and glanced at my phone, hoping
Constin had apologized, but sadly, there was nothing there
but old messages. I didn’t know what to make of him.
Still feeling sorry about our short relationship, but
deciding not to dwell on it, I called my mom. She picked up
right away.
“Hey, Mom, can I come over?”
“You don’t have to ask to come here. Is there something
wrong?”
I placed the phone down to my side for a second,
debating if I wanted to tell her over the phone. After a few
seconds, I gave in and told her about my date with Constin.
“You shouldn’t allow scum like hi
m to destroy your
life.”
“Mom, he’s not like that. Well, he wasn’t before last
night.”
She went silent for a few seconds. “Are you still coming
over?”
“Yes.”
“Good, I’ll tell your father.”
“Okay, I love you.”
“Love you more.” She ended the call.
I threw myself onto the bed and buried my face in the
pillow, crying uncontrollably. Constin hurt me, and I wanted
to know why.
After an hour, I drove to my parents’ house wearing my
pajamas. We talked for a while and ate dinner. Mom and Dad
were happy that I didn’t let a man ruin my day. Well, that’s
⁓
⁓
what I made them believe anyway. I put on a good act and
stayed with them until 7:30 in the evening.
When I arrived home, Kaylee was in the living room.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes.” I plopped on the couch and noticed Elena’s face
paused on the TV. There was a bouquet of red roses and a
small box to the side of it. “Those are beautiful. Do you have
a boyfriend I don’t know about?”
“Nope, not mine. They were left on the front porch
with your name on it.”
“Seriously?” I got up to take a closer look.
“Yup, and I’m sure we know who it’s from.”
I opened the card that was attached.
Please call me. Yours truly, Constin.
I tossed the card on the floor. “What a jerk. Did he
forget about what happened?”
“He’s crazier than I thought,” Kaylee said.
I took the roses out of the vase, ran to the front door,
and threw them out onto the sidewalk.
Kaylee laughed and clapped her hands. “You go, girl.
Screw that selfish jerk.”
I felt powerful, and I wasn’t going to let him ruin my
life.
“What about the box?”
I raced over and grabbed it, ready to do the same thing.
Kaylee got up and stopped me. “It might be worth
money. If anything, you can pawn it for cash.”
I smiled. “Good thinking.” I handed it to her. “You
open it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, just open it.”
⁓
⁓
As she lifted the top off, her mouth fell open.
“What is it?”
Kaylee handed me an antique silver hair barrette
covered in diamonds.
“This can’t be real.” I looked at it sparkle.
“Take it to the pawnshop. They will tell you if it’s real.”
“No, I can’t. There’s something special about this.”
“Okay, keep those bad memories.” She grabbed my
hand. “Come on. Let’s go to the mall before they close?”
“No, you go ahead. I just got here.”
“If we don’t go now, we’ll never find our evening gowns
for the wedding.”
“Oh crap, I forgot about that. We can go tomorrow.”
“No, everyone will be there looking for a Halloween
costume at the last second. Remember last year?”
“Yes, but it’s almost 8:00. The mall is closing soon.”
“Stop acting like you’re an old lady. We have plenty of
time.”
“You win,” I said.
“Good. Meet me in my car.” She raced out the door.
I walked to my room like a zombie, took off my
pajamas, and changed into jogging pants. Not something I
would typically wear out in public, but neither was my
nightclothes. I didn’t care at that point. I was still upset about
how Constin treated me, then ignored me like I was nothing
to him.
When I got into her car, Kaylee eyeballed me like I had
two heads.
“You should’ve kept your pajamas on,” she joked and
took off driving like a nut again.
⁓
⁓
At the mall, the dresses all looked the same to me. I
couldn’t decide, nor did I want to. I wasn’t in the mood.
We went to another store, and I received a text from
Constin.
Hey, gorgeous! Can we talk, please?
My heart leaped into my throat. I raced over to Kaylee
and showed her the text.
She frowned, shaking her head. “Don’t text him back.”
I grabbed a teal satin knee-length dress with silver
sequins off the rack. “I’m going to go try this dress on.”
Kaylee held out her hand. “Gimme your phone,” she
commanded.
“Don’t worry about me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine.”
I continued into the changing room and sat on the
bench that was inside. I looked at his text again and leaned
my head back against the wall. I missed him and couldn’t
help but want to talk to him. I had mixed emotions, and I
needed an answer as to why he had acted that way.
With shaky hands, I texted him back.
Why?
He replied immediately.
I need to talk to you.
I tossed my phone onto the rug in front of me, then I
took the dress from the bench and screamed into it, hoping
the shop’s music would help muffle my cry. I sat there for a
minute, taking a lot of deep breaths. Wanting to know why
he acted like an ass, I retrieved my phone and responded.
Fine, meet me at my work tonight at 9:30.
Okay. He texted back.
About to walk out, I stopped myself and erased the
messages I wrote to him so Kaylee wouldn’t see them.
⁓
⁓
Kaylee was waiting for me with her hand out. “You
erased it. I can see it all over your face.”
“I didn’t erase anything?” I followed her to the checkout
counter.
She turned to me. “Just stop. I can tell when you lie.”
I shrugged and paid for the dress. It was my size, and it
was pretty. I was confident I wouldn’t have a problem
wearing it.
Kaylee and I went to Macy’s and bought some high
heels to match our dresses.
As soon as she pulled in the driveway, I jumped into my
car and took off to meet Constin.
Constin was standing in the parking spot I parked in.
I pulled in and pushed open the door, hitting him.
“What was wrong with you last night, taking me to see a
crazy psychic? And how dare you bring me gifts after that.”
“Viata.” He took my hands and gazed into my eyes
without blinking.
I yanked them away. “Who told you about my dreams?”
He stumbled backward, leaned against my car, and
lowered his head. “Maria did.”
“Maria? Kaylee was right about her.”
“You need to stay away from her. She’s dangerous.”
A loud thump came from above the restaurant. We both
looked up at the same time. I turned back to Constin, but he
was still looking at where the noise came from.
“Maria might be a jerk, but she won’t hurt a fly.”
His jaw tightened. “Trust no one. Not even me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Is this your way of
breaking up with me?”
⁓
⁓
contorted like he was in pain.
“You have to what?”
He punched the palm tree near him. “I can’t.”
I ran in front of him and took his hand. “You can’t
what?”
He sighed.
I threw my hand in the air. “I’m done with your childish
games.” I ran to my car, got in, and slammed my hands on
the steering wheel until they went numb. “What the hell is
wrong with him?”
When I looked to see what he was doing, he was gone.
I backed out, almost hitting the building, and took off down
the road. At a red light, I tried to call Kaylee, but she didn’t
answer. I tossed my phone on the passenger’s floor, unable
to believe a man I was dating was acting like that.
When I arrived home, Kaylee was passed out on the
couch. I wanted to wake her, but it was late, so I let her sleep.
In the kitchen, I poured a glass of lemonade and drank it,
wondering what he was hiding from me. I went into my
room, fell on the bed, and thought of a million possibilities.
After I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him, I
heard animals fighting again. I sighed and placed the pillow
over my head.
⁓
⁓
he rest of the month went by slow, but I managed
to get through it with Kaylee and Liam’s help. Dr.
Wells advised me to take two pills instead of one.
The nightmares subsided but taking two pills made me feel
like a zombie.
I woke up late for school just like I did all the previous
days, still depressed about Constin. That didn’t diminish my
excitement about being eighteen.
Kaylee came into my room and jumped on my bed. She
hissed at me, showing off her fake fangs. “Happy Birthday.”
She handed me a card.
I smiled. “Thank you!” I took the card out of the
envelope, and a bear was sitting on top of a birthday cake on
the front that read: Happy Birthday!!!
I couldn’t stop smiling and opened it. Inside had pink
roses scattered everywhere.
Happy Birthday, Sis. My surprise for you is tonight, and one is
in the mail. I love you, Love Kaylee A.
“Aw.” I hugged her. “You didn’t have to get me