by K. A. Poe
He gave me a crooked grin and a shrug.
I hurled the ball in his direction and it hit him right in the shoulder. I jumped in victory and shouted, “Yay!” He began to laugh and so did I.
Mathias dropped me off at my door in Haven and stared deeply into my eyes, almost searchingly, and lifted a hand up to brush loose flecks of snow from my hair. “I’m sorry, again, for leaving you at the diner.”
“It’s fine,” I said, passing it off as jealousy over Noah’s flirtatious behavior — then again, it never seemed to have bothered him before. Flirting seemed to be a second language for Noah. “Thanks for breakfast, by the way.”
“Anytime,” he said and leaned in closer. I thought for a second that he might kiss me.
“Castus Forsythe, Castus Young,” Alan addressed us from down the hall. Mathias stepped back, his cheeks flushed. “You missed out on the celebration.”
I looked toward Alan who was dressed just as nicely as yesterday. “Celebration? For what?”
“For the newest witch to join our Clan,” he said and shook his head in Mathias’s direction. “You of all people ought to have known there is always a celebration in honor of new initiates.”
Mathias scowled. “I didn’t think that Madison was in the mood for a big party.”
“It isn’t your place to decide what Madison wants, now is it?” he asked snidely.
Mathias’s hands clenched at his sides, his discolored nails digging into his palm. “She wasn’t feeling well enough to —”
“But she was well enough to go stomping out through the snow with you? Regardless, you could at least have had the decency to tell the girl, who quite clearly seems to be clueless about the whole ordeal.” Alan looked in my direction, his eyes settling on my own. “I apologize on Castus Forsythe’s behalf. It was a shame that you could not be present.”
“It’s fine ... Mathias is right. I wasn’t ready for anything like that ... especially with it being a surprise.”
Alan looked a little annoyed but shrugged. “Very well. It is an honor to have you among us as a Castus Clan member officially. There is something I would like to give you, also.”
I perked up with interest — a gift? There was something inside me that always loved presents — big or small.
“No, Alan. I had hoped to be the one —” Mathias protested. I was surprised he hadn’t used his title.
“Nonsense,” Alan said, gesturing for Mathias to leave. “I have this covered.”
Mathias exhaled sharply, his fists still clenched at his sides, and he gave me a final look before flickering out of existence and vanishing down the hall.
“Was that really necessary?” I asked with a frown, wishing that Mathias had stayed — his company was comforting and he’d already been hurt enough for one day.
“It was inconsiderate of him to forget the celebration,” Alan countered and opened my door for me.
I stepped in reluctantly, noticing that my mom wasn’t there. I assumed she was probably out with Jason — hopefully looking for jobs and not actually out with him. The idea made me uneasy, especially when I knew my father was alive somewhere. I took off my coat and placed it on a hanger in my closet while Alan sat on the edge of my bed. He was handsome, there was no denying that. His hair was wet as though he had recently gotten out of the shower, and his clothes were clean and without wrinkles.
“You always look like you’re about to go to a dance or an interview or something,” I pointed out and he smirked.
“It’s how I was raised. My mother, being a corporate business woman, made sure that I always dressed in a presentable manner and talked properly.”
“That makes sense,” I said, looking at him with unease.
“Look, Madison ... I hadn’t meant to come off as rude toward Castus Forsythe ... I just felt that you should have been here when there was a party held in honor of you. I’m not sure he is thinking so clearly.”
I relaxed and smiled somewhat. “I get it. It’s okay. I appreciate you feeling that way, but really ... I’m not too fond of parties. Especially after the last one I went to.”
“I understand. Perhaps we could celebrate on our own,” he suggested.
My brows arched with curiosity. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re a Summoner, are you not? You could summon up a cake or something.”
I wanted to laugh, but somehow I knew that he was being serious and I held back. “Was there a cake at the party?”
He nodded. “A big, fancy one. Artemis had it ordered especially for you.”
My heart hammered in my chest and I wondered if he had, by some chance, ordered it from my mom’s bakery. “Oh.” I frowned and began pacing, feeling worse now that I knew my Clan leader had gone through the trouble of getting a cake and everything. “Is there some left? We could just go now …”
“Not a single slice.”
I nodded slowly and began thinking of two slices of white cake with strawberry frosting, and willed them into existence. On the small counter space in the kitchen sat a plain white plate with identical desserts to what I had seen in my mind. Two spoons appeared in my hand and I offered one over to him.
Alan smiled and stood up from the bed, then followed me to the kitchen area. “I realize you may not believe me when I say this, given what my gift is ... but yours is extraordinary.”
I shrugged and took a bite of cake — moist, sweet, and warm, as if it had just finished baking. “It does come in handy. What were you wanting to give me, anyway?”
He set down his fork and withdrew a polished silver object from his pants pocket; I knew at once what it was. “Now you can officially call this place home.”
He laid the slender ‘key’ in my hand and I admired it. “What is it exactly?”
With a shrug, he said, “Something Artemis had designed in order to keep us safe. No one can enter the premises without one unless they are allowed entrance from inside.”
“Thank you,” I said with a smile and wrapped my fingers tightly around the key.
After finishing our cake, Alan left the room, apologizing again for being rude to Mathias. I stretched out on my bed and smelled something. It smelled like cooking grease. I sniffed the arm of my shirt and coughed. The breakfast diner had left it’s stench on my clothes. I was surprised, yet at the same time not, that Alan had not mentioned it. I headed to the shower where I rinsed away my stress and smell alike. I changed into a pair of warm pajamas after drying off, then brushed my teeth and rid my hair of any tangles it accumulated throughout the day. With a final glance at my mom’s bed, I laid down in mine with the key tucked underneath my pillow and tried to fall asleep. Willow leaped onto the bed—she’d been curled up on my mom’s bed fast asleep up until then—and began kneading my pillow. Petting her soft fur helped me relax and I was soon fast asleep, only to be dragged into a dream I had hoped never to have again.
Chapter Ten
Serena sat across from me on the sidewalk outside of Jimmy’s Pizzeria, scraping a cigarette butt across the asphalt. I went to scold her for smoking, but there was no sense — she did this any time she was upset. She still hadn’t confided in me about just what was wrong, just sniffled and exhaled smoke into the air.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked, for what must have been the twelfth time.
She shrugged, her strawberry hair blowing in the wind that whistled past us. “My mom ... she did it again.”
“Oh, no,” I said with a gasp. “Did Cameron catch them, or ...?
“Yeah. They were making out on the couch, and he came downstairs to get a drink of water before bed ... Cameron punched the guy in the face, broke his hand ... my dad found out. So stupid. Right there on our couch with Cam home ...”
“Is he back from his trip?”
“H-he’s going to jail,” she cried and reached into her bag for another cigarette. I grasped her hand firmly and she went limp.
“Why? What happened?” I let her go and took her
purse, sitting it beside me.
“He shot the bastard my mom’s been sleeping with. He shot him. He’s dead.”
Sitting bolt upright, my heart hammering against my ribs, I blinked groggily at my cell phone which was ringing loudly. I was afraid to pick it up — I knew whose name would be displayed on the screen without having to look. I hesitated before lifting the device off of my nightstand and stared at Serena’s name. My finger hovered over the ‘Yes’ button to accept the call, but all I could do was stare. This time the dream was real. No. It was more than that; it was a vision. I knew it had to be. My heart pounded in my chest and my palms became clammy. I hit the button and heard my best friend’s frantic voice streaming through the other end.
“M-Madison? Something’s wrong. Oh, my God.” I could hardly understand her between sobs and sniffles. “I need you. Please. Meet me at —”
“Jimmy’s Pizzeria,” I whispered right as she spoke the exact same words. “I’ll be there as soon as I can ... are you okay?”
“No ... not really. Please, just meet me there.”
“Okay ... I’ll see you soon,” I said and hung up.
Mom was still away, which made me feel queasier than I already was. She wasn’t staying overnight with Jason, was she? Shaking my head to knock the thoughts loose, I extracted the key to Haven from underneath my pillow and quickly changed my clothes into something warmer. I gathered my coat from the closet, pulled it on and stuffed my new key in the inner pocket where it would be safest.
The hall outside my room was vacant and dark, save for a single light spreading out from underneath someone’s door. I didn’t bother to check and see which room number it was, there wasn’t time for making friends right now. My best friend needed me.
Jimmy’s Pizzeria was a red brick building with undecipherable graffiti painted across the side wall, a cracked window on the front, and a ‘FOR SALE’ sign pasted on the door. I couldn’t remember when the owners had shut it down, but Serena and I had stopped there a couple of times in the past after school for a late lunch when the cafeteria menu was unappealing. The scent of smoke lingered in the air and I could see the glowing red ember in the distance before I spotted the pink lips the cigarette loosely hung from.
Please don’t let this be real, please don’t let this be real, please, please, please.
Serena’s voice echoed inside my mind. It had been the first time I’d heard a voice since the Halloween party, and I wasn’t expecting it. Her eyes were glittering in the dim light of a street lamp, fresh evidence of newly fallen tears. My feet scraped silently across the sidewalk as I approached her. Strawberry hair billowed behind her in the breeze, flecks of snow mingling into the fluorescent shade. There was little to no snow on the ground surrounding us, but the sidewalk was still chilly and wet when I sat down beside my best friend.
“Hey,” I said quietly and glanced over at her. “What’s going on?”
Silence. She scraped the cigarette along the asphalt in front of her, just as she had in the dream. My heart began racing and I struggled to compose myself — I didn’t want her to know that I knew what had happened ... that I had apparently known it would for more than a week. I cupped my hands over my mouth to avoid inhaling too much smoke and repeated my question.
Again, she said nothing. She exhaled the smoke into the air and sniffled.
“Serena ... please. You asked me to come over here. Talk to me.”
Now that the dream was becoming reality, I realized that some things were developing differently — what was said, how it was said, actions. The future isn’t set in stone and things wouldn’t always happen as I saw them, just as Hannah’s vision of my parents’ child hadn’t been the real outcome.
“My mom ...” she started to say, then paused and shook her head. Strands of bright pink hair tickled my cheek with the wind’s guidance. “She was with him again.”
I pretended to be shocked — although, in a way, I still genuinely was. “Oh, no ... what happened? Did Cameron catch them or ...?”
She nodded and tugged absentmindedly at a lock of hair. “I guess they were making out on the couch when he came downstairs to get a drink of water or something. Cameron punched the guy in the face and broke his hand ... he’s at the hospital. Dad had called the other day and said he probably wouldn’t be home for an extra two more days than he had thought. Mom thought that ... she thought she was safe to … to do it. She’s so stupid! Cam was right there. And Dad ...”
“He came back early?”
“He’s going to jail,” she cried, wracking with sobs as she reached into her bag for another cigarette. I grasped her hand gently but firmly and she went limp.
“Why? What happened?” It felt almost like I was lying to her by pretending not to know all of this already. I released her hand and pulled her purse over to me, sitting it beside me.
“Dad shot him. He shot the bastard Mom’s been sleeping with. He’s dead.”
I pulled her into a tight embrace, letting her relieve her sadness into the fabric of my coat. All I could do was stroke her hair and whisper reassuring thoughts to her as she wept.
“It’s all — it’s all her stupid fault,” she whimpered and lifted her head. “If my mom wasn’t such a stupid whore, none of this would have happened!”
“Whoa, Serena ... I know what she did was wrong, but aren’t you being a bit harsh?”
“No! Imagine if it was your mom! Either one of them!”
I brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear and sighed. “Where is your mom now?”
“At the hospital with Cam or with the police, I don’t know. I don’t care.”
“Okay. Well, you can’t go back ho— … you can’t go back considering ... Just come to Haven with me, you can sleep in Mom’s bed, or share mine — whatever.”
Serena looked skeptical. “You think they’d let me ... even though I’m just some normal, stupid girl?”
“Serena, you’re not stupid. Why would you even say that? And besides, my mom is normal and she sleeps in the same room as I do,” I pointed out. “Come on. I know it won’t make things better, but at least you’ll be someplace where you can get away from it all for now. And I’ll be there. You can call Zach and talk to him, I can summon you anything you want — hot fudge sundae with no peanuts? You got it. Slice of cold pizza? It’s all yours.”
She tried to smile but it only half emerged from her tear-stained face. “You’re the best, Madison ... you really are.”
Says the girl who I technically just lied to. Could I have prevented this from happening? Had I gone to Mrs. Dupont and warned her about the consequences of seeing this guy, would she have listened? No. She never listened to her husband’s threats before, why would she listen to a teenager? Even if I had been her daughter’s best friend for the majority of her life, my opinion would be irrelevant. I helped lift Serena up from the sidewalk and hung her purse over my shoulder.
“You’ll be able to meet Mathias,” I said as further incentive for her to join me.
“Oh,” she said, trying to perk up, “in that case, I guess I have to go.”
We shared a feigned laugh before walking back toward Haven.
Mom was awake on her bed, staring blankly at her cell phone screen, when Serena and I entered my room. She gasped loudly and leapt from the bed. I was shocked to the point of freezing up completely when she embraced me tightly. Relaxing, I hugged her back; she was obviously worried.
“Where have you been? Why weren’t you answering your phone? What’s wrong with Serena? Are you two okay? Are you hurt?” Her questions came out in one long breath of panic.
Despite the circumstances, I laughed and pulled myself free from her arms. “You definitely sound like a mother now. There was an emergency,” I answered and looked over at my best friend who had sat down on my bed. She nodded at me, giving me permission to explain. “Serena’s dad was arrested for … for killing someone. And I was so caught up with what was happening that I didn’t even realize you cal
led. I’m sorry. I should have called you or left a note or something, but it was urgent.”
My mom looked over at Serena and strode across the room, sat on the bed beside her, and draped an arm over her shoulder. “Is everything okay? I mean, of course it isn’t but ...”
Serena’s lips twitched. “My mom ... she was cheating on my dad. He found out. He killed the guy she’d been with. It happened before, but she swore it never would again ... but my brother caught them and told Dad and he rushed home early and ...”
She began bawling again. Mom consoled her and I brought over a box of tissues before sitting down on my bed. “I’m so sorry, Serena. I’m glad you called and had Madison come and get you. You need someplace safe and comforting to stay right now.”
“Thanks,” she said with a sniffle. “I-I need to make another phone call ... can I go outside?”
I knew at once that she was going to call Zach. “Just go outside the door, or you can sneak into the bathroom for a minute. You could even just call him in here if you want; I don’t care.”
She nodded and went through the bedroom door. Only a few minutes passed before Serena came back in wearing a disappointed look. “I forgot he’s out of town ... staying with his grandparents or something so his parents can have a weekend alone.” She shuddered in disgust.
“You can stay here,” Mom suggested. “And not just for the night, either. Stay until you feel comfortable enough to go home. You can have my bed.”
Serena grimaced and climbed back onto my bed. “I’ll never feel comfortable at that place again.”
“Besides, where would you go, Mom? There’s only so much space in this room. I mean, sure, I could summon another bed, but we’d be so cramped —”
“Madison,” Mom started and frowned. “I can find someplace else to go.”
“What? No!” I shouted louder than I had intended. “There’s no way! We’ve barely seen each other since you got released from Littlehaven thanks to school and you ‘searching for a job’ all the time. If anything, I think we should both just quit those things and spend more time together.”