Witch (The Devil's Roses 4)

She ran from the class. Her feet were the only sound in the hallway as they pounded away from it all. She hadn’t been feeling right since playing with the Ouija board.

She ran until she reached home. With her back against the front door and the locks all turned, she slumped onto the floor and started to cry. She could never go back to the school again. She was a freak. She was for sure that weird Emily Rose movie.

She went to her hiding place, where she sat and read. She pretended everything was the same as it had been before the stupid party.

xxxx

“O? Ophelia you here?”

She felt ashamed as Abbey crept into her hiding place. Her beautiful face looked worried. She sat on her knees and reached her hands at Ophelia’s.

Ophelia looked at her over top of the book, “I hate you.”

Abbey smiled, “I heard it was just like the sleep over except you blew Phillip McNeill’s shirt right off his body.”

O watched her younger sister smirk. She couldn’t smirk back, “That Ouija board haunted me dude. I haven't been the same since that fucking sleep over. I hate your friends. They did something bad to me.”

Abbey put her hands up, “Hey you got mad skills dude. Mr. Paulson is off for the rest of this year and probably next. The whole class is in love with you.”

O shook her head, “No they think I’m a sweaty crack head. I’m starting to agree with them. I don’t even know what happened, the voices just got bad and then the windows broke and I screamed. I think someone slipped me something. Probably those bitch friends of yours Ripley and Lacey.”

"Those sluts are not my friends. They're acquaintances. They never have anything nice to say. No one listens to them O."

"They said I cut myself. Like you told people I was cutting myself."

She shook her blonde head, "No dude I never said that. Come on. You know those whores make shit up about everyone."

Ophelia put her face in her hands, "Yeah but they don’t have to make this one up. I destroyed the classroom. I'm going to die like Emily Rose."

Abbey laughed nervously, it was her thing, “I would have died to see it O. You’re like magic or shit. I’m jealous. Nothing happens in this stupid town. You're not going to die, maybe you'll be like Carrie at prom next week. You can kill Ripley and Lacey and the other nasty bitches.”

Ophelia cried into her palms with her book on her knees, “I wish I was like you.”

Abbey hugged her tight, “Ditto sis.”

Ophelia laughed a wet snotty ugly face cry into her sister’s shoulder. Ditto was their thing. They loved the movie Ghost.

“I’m going to Lance’s tomorrow night and I am dead assed certain Jake is going to ask you.”

She pushed her younger sister back, “Don’t be a dick. I already feel like death. I’m staying home and cutting myself for real and listening to sad eighties music.”

Abbey shoved her back, “Weirdo, you should come. It’ll be fun. Lance told me to ask you.”

Ophelia shook her head, “No way. Hanging with the angst twins and doing suicide pacts sounds like way more fun.”

Abbey rolled her eyes, “Stop joking, mom is going to think your serious and you’ll end up in an institution like aunty Marie who still swears she can’t see you.” She snickered and left the room.

Ophelia curled back in to her reading ball and continued with her book.

She ignored the garage door opening later, as the sun started to go down. She blocked out the voices in the house. Her workaholic parents would pop their heads in but she would keep her face in her book and pretend everything was normal. She hoped.

“Uhh Ophelia is there something you want to tell us?”

She cringed inside of the closet.

Her dad opened the door looking stressed. Her mom already had her hands on her hips.

Ophelia shook her head.

“Honey the school called and said there was an incident. You broke all the windows in a classroom and threw papers everywhere?”

She shook her head, “I never I swear. Ask anyone I never moved a muscle. I just yelled and everything went crazy.”

Her dad raised an eyebrow, “O.”

“Dad I swear.”

Her mom put her hands over her eyes, “Ophelia we have a meeting with the principal tomorrow. Prom is in a week and grad in two weeks. You couldn’t wait to smash windows till you were graduated?”

Her dad left and her mom dropped to her knees in the closet, “Baby if you’re sad or feeling bad about something you can tell me. You know that right?”

She nodded, “I swear I didn’t do it mom.”

Her mom nodded, “Okay baby. I believe you.”

It didn’t feel like she believed her, it felt like she didn’t want to deal with it.

Chapter Two

Sam

He paced around the room wondering when she would come home. It had been a bad idea to let her go. He had been giving her space. He hated space.

Roland entered the room silently, as always.

He cleared his throat, “Tea?”

Sam nodded, “Thank you Roland.” He took the tiny bone china cup and drank. He felt a twinge at the taste, his mother had made him drink it before too. It apparently helped calm the nerves but nothing would dull the pain he was in.

“You look as though you could use a walk perhaps.”

He looked up at the old man and laughed, “I’m going to kill her is what’s going to happen. Has she called?”

Roland shook his head, “Not in the last twenty-eight minutes since you last asked. Why don’t you just go to her?”

He sighed and dropped in to the over sized chaise, “I can’t. God I told her I trusted her. What a mistake. Aimee has her. She’s going to get her killed.”

Roland laughed, “I don’t think I can imagine anything strong enough to kill Miss Hanna. Beyond you.” His eyes glinted with knowledge making Sam blush.

“You flatter me Roland.”

Roland shook his head leaving the room silently, “I think not.”

Sam stood again, continuing to pace. He looked at the cell phone on the bureau and tapped his fingers against his legs. He grabbed the phone and flashed from the room.

He walked across the floor of Lydia’s house, looking for someone, anyone.

He walked until he found Lucas sitting on the couch, staring at the wall across from him in the largest of sitting rooms. He sat alone. He had been doing that since Ben had died.

“Hey man.”

Lucas didn’t even flinch, as he spoke without tearing his gaze from its spot, “Hey Sam. What’s up?”

“Oh, not much.” He slumped in to the chair across from Lucas. Lucas never met his gaze.

“You waiting for them to get back?”

Sam sighed and grinned, “Did Ari go too?”

He nodded.

Sam felt a sickening pain fill his stomach as he thought about Ben, the room felt empty without him.

“Why didn’t you go?”

An expression crept across Lucas’s face but it was gone when he spoke, “Not allowed. Lorri said no retaliation on this one. We’re dealing with something out of our league.”

Sam nodded, “Yeah I got the whole ‘no because you’ll want to defend Hanna’.”

Lucas’s lip lifted ever so slightly, almost into a grin, “Everyone wants to help Hanna.”

Sam threw a pillow at him, “Whatever. Asshole. Speaking of which how’s Dorian?”

Lucas shook his head, “Worse I think. He actually went to some vampire hideout in Brazil and killed everyone.” His sad eyes blinked away from the wall and looked at Sam, “Innocents and all.”

Sam whistled, “Wow. Daniel and the tards have no idea how pissed off they have made him. Wanna go hunt his dad?”

Sam’s eyes brightened, “Aleks’s?”

He nodded, “Lorri said no to Alaska, but not to Viking werewolf death.”

“Yeah. I’ll go. Any clue on where to start?”

Sam shook his head, “No, but I know where Aleks last lost the trail. It was in Virginia. Jonesville, Virginia.”

Lucas stood and put his hand out, “Take us to Jonesville.”

Sam pulled his phone out and Googled Jonesville. When the picture on the map came up he flashed them to a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Tumbleweeds rolled across the dusty road, as a wind picked up making waves in the hay field next to them.

Lucas looked around, “Where the hell are we?”

Sam shrugged and looked at his phone, “I’d say in hell, I don’t have any bars.”

Lucas growled, “Is that a Bison farm?”

“Look dude, focus. We are in Hillbilly County, someone is going to shoot your hairy ass if you chase livestock.”

“It’s hard to resist.”

Sam rolled his eyes, “Okay well maybe we can stop for a Bison burger somewhere. I’m not eating it raw on the side of the road.”

Lucas stripped his pants and shirt off and passed it to Sam. He phased instantly, sending shredded pieces of his white boxers throughout the air.

Sam waved his hands in front of his face, “Luke. Gross. Your underwear is everywhere.”

The huge dark wolf made a funny noise Sam could swear was a snicker.

Lucas sniffed the ground and began running. Sam ran after him, flashing to keep up.

Sam wondered how he had caught the scent so fast but soon even he could smell it. It wasn’t the wolf he smelled but Aleks. He ran as fast as his legs would allow as they walked their dead friend’s footsteps. His chest ached thinking about the scent they chased.

Chapter Three

Ophelia

She woke tired. She was a typical teenager. She liked to sleep till noon and stay up until two in the morning.

The difference that morning was a combination of two things. The lingering hope that her parents had managed to believe she hadn’t actually broken the windows and that everyone at school had forgotten she had broken the windows. She had fallen asleep praying no one would care or remember what she had done.