Oblivion (6 page)

standing outside the car, on the stone driveway, and

the lights on the path il uminate his face.

“Yeah,” I say, “You know, on that TV show? The OC?

How Ryan lived in the pool house?”

“I never watched that show.” He starts to walk around

toward the back of the house. Alrighty then.

I start to fol ow him. I can hear the waves of the

ocean rushing up over the rocks as we walk, and the

sound is slightly soothing. But stil . I don’t know what

I’m going to tel my mom about her car. I don’t know

what’s going to happen if Raine comes back to

Santa Anna, or what’s going to happen when I see

Brody again, or Derek, or how what I saw in that

cave tonight is going to affect me.

It’s going to be okay,
I tel myself,
I just need a good

night’s sleep. Then Cam
and I will figure this out

together.

The pool house is set away from the main house,

next to a huge inground pool.

It’s like a smal apartment, with an open concept floor

plan and a huge bed in the middle.

Cam disappears into the bathroom and emerges a

few minutes later.

I go in after him, washing up and brushing my teeth

with one of the wrapped toothbrushes in the cabinet.

When I get out, Cam’s lying in bed, staring up at the

ceiling, and I climb in next to him. He wraps his arms

around me, and we lie there, not saying anything until

final y, we both fal asleep.

***

When I wake up, early morning light is pouring

through the windows, casting patterns on the dark

hardwood floors. The digital clock on the nightstand

next to me says that it’s 5:37 am. So much for

getting a good night’s sleep.

Next to me, Cam’s breathing is slow and even, and

he doesn’t stir as I get out of bed. I grab the

sweatshirt he tossed on the floor the night before

and pul it over my head, inhaling his scent. I slip my

feet into my shoes, then step outside, walking

around the pool and down toward the beach, hoping

that a walk by the ocean wil clear my head.

I walk for about twenty minutes in one direction. I

pass the occasional person with their dog, and nod

and smile as I do. Everything feels so normal, people

out for their early morning walks, seeming as if they

don’t have a care in the world.

I turn around and walk the twenty minutes back, and

when I’m back in front of Cam’s dad’s house, I sit

down in the sand, pul ing my knees up toward me

and inhaling the scent of the ocean. I take my shoes

off and let the water lap at my feet. It’s cold, but it

feels good, fresh and soothing.

I lay down on the sand, closing my eyes, knowing I

should go back inside so that Cam and I can come

up with a plan about what to do next.

After a few minutes, I open my eyes and sit up. And

when I do, someone’s standing in front of me. I didn’t

hear anyone walking toward me, and I gasp.

It’s Raine. She’s wearing the same sweatshirt she

was wearing last night, and her hair hangs in strings

down her face.

“Hel o,” she says, and grins.

I scramble up from the sand, wondering how loud I

would have to scream for Cam to hear me. But then I

realize it doesn’t matter. Cam can’t help me.

“Raine,” I say, trying to summon my strength, “what

are you – ”

But before I can finish my sentence, Raine holds her

hand out toward me. The ground spins beneath my

feet. And then everything goes black.

***

I open my eyes and Cam’s standing over me.

“I was looking al over for you,” he says.

“You were?” I sit up. My head feels woozy, like it’s

been stuffed with cotton, and my eyelids are heavy.

“Yes.” He sits down next to me. “Why were you

sleeping on the beach?”

“The beach?” I look down. He’s right. I’m on a beach.

There’s sand underneath me, and I must have taken

my shoes off at some point, because they’re lying a

few feet away.

“Yeah,” he says, “What did you do, go out for a walk

and then fal asleep?”

“I don’t know,” I say. I shake my head, trying to clear

it.

“You don’t know?” He grins. “Wow, you must have

been more out of it than I thought.”

I look around. Behind us, there’s a huge house, with

big glass windows, and a smal er house next to it.

The water of a pool glitters through a fence.

“Where are we?” I ask Cam.

“What?” The smile on his face starts to fade, and his

expression begins to change from amusement to

concern.

“Where are we? What are we doing here?” I try to

remember, to force myself to figure out how we got

here, but I can’t.

“We’re at my dad’s house,” he says. “Remember?

We came here last night, after we left the

compound.”

“The compound?” What is he talking about? A sliver

of fear starts in my heart and pulses through my

body. My heart starts to pound.

“You real y don’t remember?” he asks.

“I don’t remember any of it.”

Cam just stares at me.

And that’s when I scream.

END SEASON TWO

WATCH FOR SEASON THREE OF THE

WITCHES OF SANTA ANNA, COMING

SOON…

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six