The 13th Witch Complete Trilogy (2 page)

“Are you ready to go?” A voice rang into my thoughts from behind my head. I jumped at the surprise of Jes's voice. I turned my body to get out of the seat to see her better. She was throwing her apron behind the counter as she talked.

“I'm going home now, Ricky,” She yelled to the back of the diner. I got up and started to follow her out of the front glass door, but not without one last glance to the seat that he had been sitting in. Maybe I thought he would magically reappear, but the seat was still empty.

I followed Jes down the sidewalk taking in the air of the day. It was barely three o'clock, but it seemed like it was later. I watched the new cars go by as we walked on down the way. It sure seemed like it was a long ways from the diner, but Jes swore it was closer than I thought it was. We passed by a few houses until we finally got to a beat up apartment house.

It was in an old white house that had been converted into several apartments.

“Mines upstairs to the left.” She yelled back at me as she bounced up the stairs. Her blonde hair swayed as she made her way up to the door. I followed without thinking much about it. Really, I was glad to see that she had somewhere to live now. We had been pretty good friends at high school and it was great to hang out with someone that you really did like. She stuck her key into the lock and opened the dark forest green door.

The living room was very small, but was painted a nice creamy color and the carpet was a light brown that matched the wall color. Jes didn't really have any furniture so the room was pretty bare. She had managed to get a hold of a couch somewhere and a small desk for her laptop computer. There was a small television to the center of the room in front of the flower-covered couch. She had told me once that her family lived north in Omaha, but they didn't want to have much to do with her. Jes had left her home when she was 17 because her mother really wasn't a good mom. She didn't talk about it much, but I knew that it was a hard time for her.

The kitchen was off to the left of the living room. It was a dark forest green color like the door that we entered in. The cabinets were bright white and stood out from the dark walls. There were a few dishes in the old white sink that sat in the middle of the wall surrounded by counter tops on both sides.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Jes said walking over to her computer desk to look at the DVDs that she had. “I have a few that we can watch while we hang out.”

“Okay, that sounds like fun.” I had already seen most of the movies that Jes had, but it was fun spending time with her. A lot of the time we would leave the movie running in the background, but would talk over it and never hear what was being said.

“How about this one.”

 

“I guess that would be okay.” Jes seemed happy to watch anything really.

She grabbed the movie and walked over to her small T.V. There was a DVD player built into the television. That made it easier than adding a DVD player to her tiny place. We sat down and watched the movie but ended up talking more about college and what we were going to do in two years when we were no longer there and had to be in the real world.

I glanced at the digital clock between laughing with Jes over everything. It sat on the counter in the kitchen.
It's almost 9:00 pm
. I had to get going or my dad was going to freak out. Even though I was over the legal age, my dad still watched over me like I was twelve. I didn't mind it because I cared about him and how he felt. The last thing that I wanted to do was make him worry.

“Jes, I got to go. It's getting late and my dad will get worried.” She smiled at me as I got up off the couch.

“I guess I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, that would be great.”

“Well, I got to wish you a happy birthday on your birthday, right?” Something didn't feel right in the way that she said that to me. I stopped on that feeling, but decided that it was stupid. I'd known her for a long time. Why would anything change now?

I smiled as I opened the door and started down the steps to the road. “I'll see you later, Jes,” I said and started down the road towards my house. The street was wet from the rain that we had a few hours earlier. The smell of it was still in the air and brought a smile to my face. I loved the rain.

The road was long and curved past the diner that Jes worked at. I was starting to get tired of walking and thought about stopping and getting another coke, but I knew that mom and dad would be mad if I was too late and walking on top of it.

“You shouldn't be walking alone at this time of night.” The voice was dark and a little foreboding. I turned to face the deep blue eyes that I had seen earlier in the diner. His black hair fell into his face and covered one eye partially. He was wearing a dark purple button down shirt and black jeans that flattered his thin frame.

“It's not really all that late.” I said stumbling on my words. I tried to catch myself so that I wouldn't give away the feelings that I was fighting with a man that I didn't really know. “Besides, I can take care of myself.”

“I don't doubt that'” He said flashing a slight smile.

“What is it that you want?” I said crossing my arms in the front of my chest. I decided to cut right to the chase instead of talking to him longer and making myself crazy for whatever reason I was.

“I just thought I'd say hi. I'm new in town and don't know my way around all that well.” He said moving a little closer to me.

Bullshit
. He knew his way around just fine. This place was so small you could never get lost. Not unless you wanted to. “Oh, well good luck. I have to be getting home.” I started around to be on my way, but I really didn't want to leave. There was something about him that drew me in.
Keep walking you idiot
. I was even fighting with myself.

“Lucy is your name, right.” He called after me. I spun around and looked at him suspiciously. He was right in front of me now. We were so close that I could feel his breath on my face.

“How did you know that?” I stood still. The last thing that I wanted to do was to show any fear, and I wasn’t afraid of him, but afraid to be too close.

“I heard the other girl call you by it this afternoon in the diner.” He said this nonchalantly, like he was waiting for a reaction from me.

“I see.” I said trying to figure out how to get out of this situation.“ I guess I'll see you around.” I said awkwardly as I started back down the road. I didn't know what to say to him, but figured I would see him again if he were living in this small town.

“You will.” He said under his breath as I walked away from him.
What does that mean and when?
Two

When I got home, I was mildly shaken from that encounter but at the same time, I could not get that man out of my head. He was attractive and those eyes seemed to hypnotize you. I walked into the kitchen and looked at the sink. The dishes had already been done. I figured that dad must have done it before I got home. I smiled a half smile at the empty sink.
I’ll have to do them tomorrow to make up for not getting them done today.
The stairs were dark, but I knew my way to my room, so the dark was not an issue. I thought about a time back in high school when I had stayed out till 2 am with a couple of friends. I was so scared that my dad was going to catch me, which he did, but not until I got up to my room and thought that I was off the hook.
Good Times.

When I got to the top of the stairs, I glanced in my parent’s open door. They had been watching the late shows as it was after 10 now. I could faintly hear the snore of my dad creeping though the open door over the TV. I just kept walking as quietly as I could so that I would not wake them up.

As I got into my bed, I wondered what they had planned for tomorrow. My parents always seemed to go all out when it came to my birthday. I thought maybe it was because I was the only kid that they had, and it probably was. They had always treated me well and really showed me love. I remembered my 9thbirthday when my mom had said that she was working late and pretended not to remember my birthday.

My dad took me for a walk around town, telling me what he was doing for the day. I remembered tears streaming down my face as I walked with him, knowing that I was not having a birthday party and that no one remembered. When we got home, there was a huge party in our backyard waiting for me. It was wonderful and I remember having the best time. I turned over and closed my eyes, I guess I’ll have to wait and see what they have planned for this year.

I woke up the next morning and looked at my ceiling for a moment. It was raining outside and the thunder was rumbling in the clouds. I sat up in my room. It was noticeably darker than other days, even when the clouds were thick and dark.

My feet fumbled for the floor. I stood up and looked toward my door. It was shut tight.
I don’t remember shutting the door last night.
I walked towards the closed door in the tattered t-shirt that I had chosen to sleep in last night. The doorknob was cold and a strange creak filled the air as the door opened in front of me.

The hallway was just as dark as my room was and the air was thick. It made it hard to breath. I made my way down the hall and glanced into my parents’ room. It was empty. The television wasn't even left on like it usually was when they would go down to the kitchen and get a bite to eat.
That’s odd.
I shrugged it off and started down the stairs to the kitchen.

There were no lights on in the kitchen at all. It looked as though there was no one that lived there. Everything was empty and the table had nothing on it. That was a big difference from the morning that I was used to. Normally my dad would be at the stove or washing the dishes that had built up in the day before. It felt odd to see that empty kitchen in the dark that had settled on the house. I turned the corner from the kitchen to the living room.

The room was pretty good sized and a lot of love had come out of this room, but tonight it was different. More clouded and distant.

The couch in the corner had been where I’d had my first kiss with the boy down the street, Sam. I was nine and it was at my birthday party, but he had turned out to be a jerk even at that age. A smile kind of kept onto my face at the thought of the awkward kiss. I was snapped out of my thought by the sound of something under my feet. It was a liquid that grabbed at my feet. Whatever it was, made it hard to walk and seemed to be getting worse.
I have to get to the light switch so I can see what this is. My dad will freak out with something on his new carpet.
I made my way to the nearest light switch that happened to be just a few feet from me. I put my hand out to it and flipped it on. My eyes looked down to see them laying there, my mom and my dad, blood under them and around their lifeless bodies. I closed my eyes and screamed as loud as I could.

I opened my eyes and was disturbed to find myself in my room. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. I looked around the room and tried to slow my fast beating heart. I heard the sounds of feet running up the stairs towards me.

“Lucy!!! Are you okay?” My dad was in my room first. He clearly had a look of concern on his face and was a white as a sheet. My mom followed on his heels looking out of breath and distraught.

“I’m okay, I… just had a bad dream.” I tried to pull a smile out, but was very shaken from the dream that I had. They looked at each other and I felt like I was missing something.

“When you’re ready, come down to the living room. We need to talk to you about some things.” My mom said this with a little bit of fear in her voice. She never sounded like this unless it was something big. I nodded to them as they started out my door. My dad smiled at me and shut the door as he left. I let my body fall back into the bed, shaken.
It was just a dream. I need to just breath.
I decided that the best thing for me to do was to get dressed and go talk to my parents. Doing something to shake off the dream would be better than sitting there thinking about it.

I thought about the dream with every step I took down the hall and the steps to the kitchen. When I got to the kitchen, I saw my dad sitting at the table with his hands in front of him. “Are you alright? Everyone is so worried about me, but you’re the one sitting here alone.”

He smiled slightly at me. “I’m fine. There is nothing to worry about, really.” I nodded at him and went toward the living room. There was that couch that Sam had kissed me on so many years ago. I couldn’t help but look down as I walked around the couch holding my breath.
Nothing there
. I let it out the air as I walked. My mom was sitting in her maroon colored lazy boy chair. She smiled at me as I sat down on that dam couch. She was wearing jeans and a very nice blue colored button down shirt. You knew that this was one of her days off, because she always wore a dress to the office. Her hair was tired back in a ponytail. She looked as though she could be a good friend or a sister. It was hard to believe that she was my mom. My dad had followed me into the room and sat beside me on the couch. He was wearing his usually get up of jeans and an old t shirt. He also had on that trucker’s hat that he loved so much.

“We need to talk to you about some important things.” My mom started and looked at my dad. “You know that you are adopted, but you don’t know the full story. I want to tell you a little about your parents.” I looked at her intently. This was something that was important to me. My adoptive parents were great loving people, but there was always that wonder inside me. “You were a surprise to everyone when you were born. Your birth mom and dad were not expecting to have any more children, but you were important. They were in a very bad place and couldn’t take care of you, so we took you in.” My dad pulled a small box out of his pocket and handed it to me.

“This was your mothers. It’s part of your family.” I took the box from him and glanced up to his face. He looked sad and unsure. I smiled a half smile at him and opened the box. There was a beautiful blue stone set in a white gold setting. The chain was also the same white gold and when it found the light, it seemed to glow.