Enjoying our evening meal t
ogether
I say
,
“
Dad, we should do this more often, but can we do it a little closer to home next time?
”
I continue
after I dab the napkin
along
on my lips,
“
I know you have a lot of coven business to attend to and that it takes you away sometimes. I just want you to know how much I appreciate our time together.
”
“
I as well, Alyssa,
I miss time with my little girl, well, not so little anymore.
”
He smiles at me with a look of fatherly love that almost b
rings tears to my eyes, as we drive
back to the hotel.
“
You know, Lisa freaked out when I told her I was leaving, almost a
s much as Marc did,
”
I comment absently.
“
Really, Lisa isn
’
t the type to
do that, what has her so upset.
”
“
The Prom,
”
I comment back.
“
The Prom,
w
hen?
”
“
This Saturday Night.
”
“
Does your mom know?
”
“
Yeah
, but without me there to try on dresses, it
’
s kind of hard to get it all set up the way she does things, you know how she is about dresses and dances.
”
“
Alyssa Lee Worthington
,
you will not miss your Prom, young la
dy, we are going dress shopping!
”
My mouth drops open
,
“
Really?
”
“
Really, first thing after I take care of some last minute business tomorrow.
”
“
Dad,
it
’
s
just another mundane event in the human world. I understand the celebration of the achievements and completing
h
igh
s
chool, but for me, I live in two different worlds. Knowing the witch world teaches me the true meaning of life. The experience of the human world has given me the understanding that humans fear, and with fear comes hate, and judgment.
”
My father is silent for a moment, thinking,
and then
he says,
“
I am glad you have the opportunity to be among the humans of today. Be glad that it is not back in 1692 when so many died needlessly.
”
I know he is giving me the Salem
W
itch tr
ia
l as an example of human
prejudice
, but
there are many horrific accounts. Just last week I read that a witch was beheaded for her practices in another county.
“
Back then no one was safe, not
w
itch or human, if suspected of anything related to witchcraft, all were at risk of death for just trying to live, nothing more.
”
He takes my hand and squeezes it,
“
Getting ready for the prom is just as entertaining as going, so we
’
re shopping tomorrow for a dress, shoes, and whatever else you may need. Before we leave
you will be ready for the prom,
”
h
e says grinning as we drive up to the hotel.
“
All you need is a
f
airy
g
od
f
ather.
”
H
e winks at me
.
I can
’
t help
but
feel
anything but
good w
hen
my
dad
is
around.
Marc and I talk
every night so far, but tonight I can
’
t get a hold of him, so I just leave a message
and then call Lisa,
“
Hey,
let
’
s get a three way call going with Megan.
”
“
Okay, hold on
.
”
Lisa’s
cell
c
lick
s
.
“
Megan?
”
“
Hey,
”
Megan’s sultry voice chimes in.
“
Alyssa?
”
“
Yeah
, I
’
m here.”
I flop back on the bed, and suck in an excited breath and announce,
“
Hey,
you will never guess wh
at
Dad
and I are doing tomorrow
?
”
“
Getting a killer tan at my favorite beach?
”
Megan
declares
.
“
No, come on, guess again,
”
I tease.
“
No
, I’m not guessing
, I miss Cali so much, the b
eaches, the guys, the shoppi...h
ey you
are
going shopping aren
’
t you? I hate you now
,
”
Megan pouts
back
.
“
Your a good guesser
,
sure your not psychic, Meg? Dad wants me ready for the prom when I get back tomorrow night.
”
“
That
’
s fantastic
.
”
Lisa
’
s voice betrays something
though
.
“
Hey, I couldn
’
t get in touch with Marc tonight, is everything okay?
”
I
’
m greeted with silence and that is not a good sign from these two.
Lisa
finally breaks in
with,
“
Kelly
’
s younger brother, Derek, died yesterday.
”
Now
I
’
m the one wordless
. I knew Marc had grown up around Kelly
’
s family and I guess he would be there for support for her
and her
family.
“
I understand, that
’
s very sad, how old was he?
”
“
Twelve.
”
“
If you girls have a chance to talk with Marc, tell him I will be home for the prom.
”
“
Text us tomorrow and let
us know how dress shopping goes,
” Megan
says
, but prolongs the conversation with excitement, “H
ey,
wait a minute I believe
Lisa mentioned something about a
l
imo
, Alyss
.
”
I push the worry down about Marc and match her vigor,
“
Be ready an hour before prom because the limo will come and pick each of us up at our houses.
”
Lisa and Megan
both
scream blissfully in unison
as I hold my cell away from my ear
.
* * *
The next morning my dad takes off on a few business errands and tells me, he
’
ll be back by lunch.
I
’
m sitting around the hotel room alone and I try calling Marc again,
and still no answer. My only option is to
leave another message. Finally, boredom
and
the
blahs
gets to me and I
decide
go down to the hotel spa an
d have a massage. Then on a whim, I
just
go all out and have the works, f
irst, a facial, a full body w
rap, a manicure, and a pedicure, hoping that in some small way it will occupy my meandering mind.
As I walk through the lobby feeling like I should be glowing
and not worrying
,
I veer off toward
the elevators I hear the word
“
Worthington
”
come fro
m a girl about my age, standing
at the front desk. She fidgets
nervously as the f
r
ont desk clerk refuses to provide any room information.
I walk over to this girl and with a tilt of my head I affably ask,
“
Hello, are you looking for Daniel Worthington?
”
The girl
’s eyes graze over me once holding a curious demeanor, but responds obligingly back,
“
Why y
es, yes I am.
”
“
Well,
perhaps I can help you.
I am h
is daughter
.”
I hold my
right
hand out and we shake the
Worthington
coven way.
She takes a small
timid step back and introduces herself
,
“
Hello, my name is Gwen.
”
She bows
slightly
and finishes with
,
“
love to all.
”
E
dging closer
to me
, she whispers,
“
Can we speak privately somewhere?
”
“
Sure, come
up with me
.
”
W
e walk to the elevators and go up to my room. I toss the key card on the desk and motion for her to take a seat.
“
So
,
how can I help you, Gwen?
”
“
It
’
s about Naomi, you
’
r
e
Alyssa right?
”
She
says with
wide eyes.
“
Yes, I
’
m Alyssa.
”
“
I
’
m so sorry a
bout what Naomi did to you, it’
s so wrong. Naomi use
d
to be my best friend, she was so funny and we got along great, but then she started hanging out with some guys from the Breechman coven and things became really strange.
”
Just the
n there is a knock on the door and
I shift
,
look
ing
out
the peep hole to
see
Dad
standing there.
“
Hey Dad, we have company,
”
I inform him as I open the door
. He walks in an
d greets our guest with a smile and
I quickly catch him up on the discussion we are having.
“
Don
’
t
let me interrupt, please go on,
”
he prompts
as he pulls a chair up.
“
Okay, like I
said, things got real strange.
Naomi didn
’
t have time for me anymore.
She stopped seeing everyone
,
family, friends,
but
those guys and then one day she quit seeing even them. She wouldn
’
t sleep for days and would scry like she was obsessed. I think she was taking something maybe? I
don
’
t know what
’
s going on, but my i
nstincts are telling me she might be in some kind of
danger....
”