Authors: Holly Hood
Next was
Dads,
I knocked before entering. But he
too
was nowhere to be found, my feet clicked soundly across his floor as I took a seat on his bed. I grimaced at the picture of Lynette in a dark oak frame beside his bed. This ended my tour of Dad’s
room. I
peered into the wastebasket—his usual spot for hiding his whiskey bottles, there was nothing but discarded mail.
I pulled his door shut behind me and opened my own door. I shook my hair free of the
barrette
and set it down. I opened my closet and pulled out some sweat pants, slipping out of my shorts.
I hit the button on my
iPod
and
su
ng along to the music as I ran my brush through my hair.
Gotye
-somebody I used to know
, oh how it soothed my hurt pride to sing something so true to the heart.
I replaced the brush and wiggled into my
sweat pants.
Now it was time to sleep, to forget all the events of the day and just tune the world out. I set my phone to silent and tossed it on my
nightstand
, sinking into my bed and my fluffy comforter. Just as my head settled into my pillow a rattle
coming from
my window set me upright. I cursed to myself at the sight of Slade working
his way
through my window.
I turned on my lamp. Pulling the covers up to shield myself from my unwanted visitor and whatever the reason was he came to see me.
“It’s been almost three days since we spoke. Were you planning on caving anytime soon?” He pulled up my computer chair and took a seat in front of me. “Or are you that stubborn?”
I was that stubborn. He had no clue how
headstrong
I was. “I would have talked to you when I was ready.” I pursed my lips
,
avoiding his
stare,
which was more like an
annoyed
scowl. Who was he to scowl at me? I was doing what was best for my heart.
“Why are you not ready to talk to
me,”
Slade demanded. His eyes darkening as the words escaped his lips.
“Why do I have to explain myself?”
“Because
it’s polite, a
nd I would think you would want to explain yourself to me.” He
shrugged, h
unkering down
on his legs like he was some cowboy about to shake the truth out of me. He sanded his hands together waiting for me to say something.
“Yeah, well
,
I am only
considerate
to those that deserve my
consideration
.”
There that showed him.
He laughed. “Since when don’t I deserve it?”
I laughed as well, an amused chuckle.
“Since when,
hmmm..
.
s
ince you decided to use your magic to
torment
innocent people.”
“Oh, please.” Slade retorted
,
rolling his eyes at me. “
I beat the shit out of Tucker you didn’t care about that.”
My mouth dropped open.
“You only care because of Audrey, because she came to the bonfire. Because you
think,
I was flirting with her. I heard it all from Karsen and Kidd, so you can sit
t
here and deny it all you
want,
or you can tell me the truth.” He leaned back in the chair, resting his hands on his stomach, pleased with himself. With his words that he probably thought hurt me or something.
I glared at him. His jaw flexed tensely. I glared some more. “I don’t need to explain myself to
someone
who
doesn’t care.”
Slade stayed still, his eyes locking on mine. “I do care. Why would I come over here if I didn’t care?”
I shrugged.
“Maybe you’re the one who doesn’t care.” Slade told me. “Did you ever think of that?”
“No, I haven’t thought about it. I was
too
busy feeling sorry for myself or whatever it is you think I have been doing. I don’t like Audrey, just like I didn’t like your
dead
girlfriend, Ezra.”
“What do you want me to do about Audrey?” He sighed, shaking his head. “
You’re
so
complex
and emotional. It’s either all or nothing with you.”
I was the one shaking my head now. How dare he tell me I was
emotional?
You
weren’t
supposed to
string girls along. Tell them how much you wanted them, take their
virginity and then drastically morph into an uncaring asshole and
just
think that it didn’t matter.
Slade stood up. “You aren’t competing with her.”
“Did you hear anything I just said?” I
snapped. I
crossed my arms. “It’s not just about her. And don’t pretend you don’t see that she wants you.”
Slade sighed. “So that
automatically
means that I want her then too
,
right?”
“I didn’t say that. But
can’t
you see why I would be insecure. You don’t tell me how you feel about me. I don’t even know what this thing between us is. Am I just a fling? Do you want to be with me? Do you even care?”
Slade came closer, his hand
heading
for my
hair; I
pulled away. “
You’re
not going to touch me and think everything is going to be forgotten. You can either explain yourself or leave.”
He sat back down.
“Before I explain
myself.
Why
don’t you tell me what you
have been
doing
while you
were ignoring
me?"
I
huffed. My
face grew warm at his accusations or
insight. I
wasn’t sure which. For all I knew Karsen informed him of my attraction to Hutch. I was an honest person, I never felt like I needed to lie about anything.
W
hy
was it so hard to tell him the truth?
My knees started to feel like they were going to give so I took a seat. My body was tingling and I hardly could breathe. “I had lunch with someone.” There. It wasn’t a
lie;
I didn’t have to explain the second encounter that e
nded with me being almost
outed
.
I was a big girl
.
I could deal with that on my own.
He didn’t react like I expected. He didn’t react at all. “
The guy on the beach I assume.”
I stayed quiet. He
already rolled
a fiery log in Hutch’s direction and beat up Tucker. I didn’t want to give him reason to do anything
on top of that
. Would he?
He rolled
over to me in my
chair. He
grabbed
my face, refusing to let me look away. My legs
were
pinned between his. I
squeezed
my hands together
anxiously
, waiting for whatever it was he was about to say to me. The close proximity ma
de
me feel intimidated.
His thumb stroked my cheek, calming my
mind
. Slade leaned in and planted a kiss on my lips, and then the corner of my mouth. His fingers clamped tight to my
chin
. He pulled back
,
ending our kiss. “Do I care about you?
Absolutely.
Yeah, I don’t say it as skillfully as other guys out there. But I do. I wouldn’t come around if I didn’t.”
I sighed, m
y heart melting.
“I didn’t visit you when you were away at school because you never asked me to. I thought you wanted to keep this world and your new one apart.” He stroked my bottom lip with his fingertips searching my eyes for understanding.
“And Audrey means nothing to me. I don’t like
her; I
can’t stand her. I like you.” He accepted my kiss, letting me climb into his lap. I wrapped my
arms
around his neck and
rested my head on his shoulder relieved to hear him explain everything to me. “It’s never been easy for me to say how I felt on the inside
to anybody
. That’s why I like singing.”
“But why?”
“That’s just how my family was. My parents
were wrapped up in their career, i
n music, if there was something you needed to say you wrote about it and sung it to a crowd.
You didn’t sit a
t
home and talk about it or dwell on it.” He explained.
“I understand. And I’m sorry for being such a bitch.” We
kissed
,
a slow melting kiss that deepened in intensity as seconds ticked by
. I pulled
away. Something
was on my
mind,
and Slade was the perfect person to discuss it with.
“I don’t think I can be a part of this lifestyle. All those rules and Audrey,
it’s
too
much.” I just wanted to be the Hope I knew before this change, before I became what I was—a witch. I didn’t know how to be a witch or why I would even want to.
“I told you I didn’t want you concerning yourself with it. You are who you are now, there is no changing that. As long as you play by their rules they will leave you alone. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.
Nevertheless,
it’s not something you can quit, Hope.”
“I don’t like their rules. And what if one day they want something from
me, something
I am not willing to give?” This was the part that scared me. Sure, I could
keep a low profile
and not kick up dust, but what if one day I was asked to do something or be a part of something I didn’t agree with. I was just supposed to say yes?
“All of us have made it work for a long time. Don’t think about that, just don’t worry about it.” Slade
said
dismissive.
He
trailed
a hand through my hair.
“How do I do that? Audrey is
always
around anymore. She even stole Karsen away.”
I sighed, p
oor Karsen, although she didn’t seem
too
miserable on the phone.
“I will deal with Audrey.” He kissed my cheek and I got up from his
lap,
so he could
stand.
“Get some sleep. And try not to worry about the coven.”
It was the first time I heard him call it
the
coven
. And this made everything feel real. “Did any of you ever think about breaking
away?”
Slade’s face darkened. “I am indebted to the coven because they gave me my life back, you
don’t
be disloyal to
the person who gave
you
life no matter who they are.
Go to bed, Hope.
” He slipped out
of
my window leaving me confused.
Maybe the coven gave him life, but they didn’t give me life. I didn’t owe them anything.
I beat my pillow angrily and slipped into bed.
After some
time,
my body relaxed enough to allow the anger to slip
away,
and I
fell
asleep. I was awakened to a high pitch screech that
flooded
my ears and knock
ed
me back into reality.
I opened my eyes, searching the room for the source of the
racket
. Elliot and Easton were screaming for me to get out of the house.
I jumped out of my bed and ran into the hallway
in a panic. The air was thick with smoke. I
t
immediately
filled my lungs and made me cough. I dropped to my knees, going for Dad’s bedroom.
“
Come on,
Hope,”
Elliot yelled from the hallway floor.
His
face
was damp,
and his shaggy hair
was
pinned to one side of his head. “Dad’s not here.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, fear of leaving him in the house while it was burning making me unable to
move
. “What about Easton?”