Chapter 1

"The protagonist walks down a narrow street, dimly lit and mostly empty. Silhouettes can be seen through the pulled curtains of the houses, hushed conversations drifting through slightly open windows, the only noise besides her footsteps and her steady heartbeat. As she rounds a corner, she sees a car idling, windows tinted. As she passes, she hears a door open…"

I stop writing and read over the passage. Then, I crumple the page, tossing it in the bin beside my desk. It joins about a quarter notebook's worth of others. I sigh and turn to a new page but I can't think of anything original. Funny how I can live a life worthy of a movie scene but can't seem to write one anymore.

"Chloe! Could you come help me with dinner?" I hear Aunt Lauren call from downstairs. I check my watch. 5:38. I'd been trying to write for almost two hours with no success. I stood up and stretched, closed my notebook and headed downstairs.

Half an hour later, we were all seated around the table, too small for six of us. Simon and Tori were bickering, like usual. About what, I wasn't sure. I had lost track of the conversation a while ago, sucked into my own thoughts. Kit and Aunt Lauren interjected every so often when the argument would venture too far. Although we were in the same room, I felt like I wasn't really hearing the chatter. Disconnected, like I was just watching everything unfold on a muted TV. Apparently none of the talking was registering as it took Derek poking my arm for me to realize he had been trying to get my attention.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked me.

"Nothing"

"You've been staring off into space for at least ten minutes"

I shrugged, stumped. I hadn't noticed it had been that long.

"C'mon," Derek said, grabbing our plates and putting them in the dishwasher. "We're going for a walk."

We headed down the familiar oath through the forest behind our house. Derek slipped his hand around mine, still slightly tentative even after five months. When I squeezed his though, he relaxed, almost like he was waiting for assurance. That I wasn't quiet because I was mad at him. We walked in silence for a while until Derek stopped and turned to face me.

"What's going on?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"I don't know." I tried to find a way to explain. "It's like, something just doesn't feel right to me."

"About what?" Derek asked, worry creeping into his words.

"Not about us," I clarified, and I could practically hear him relax. "It's weird but something about all of this feels incomplete"

"Chloe, you're going to have to tell me what 'all this' means, you really aren't making sense"

"Sorry. It's hard to explain." I paused and tried to choose my words carefully. "I guess I feel like I'm not completely at rest. Like I've still got stuff to figure out."

"What stuff?" Derek looked like he had an idea.

"I don't know"

"Chloe…" I could see from Derek's face that he saw right through my lie. I sighed. He knows me too well.

"Okay. I want to tell my dad about me being a necromancer."

"Chloe, we've talked about this. Your Aunt doesn't think it's a good idea."

"That was when we were on the run. I hate lying to him."

I had been in touch with my dad for the last few months. Once Aunt Lauren felt we were secure enough that neither we or he would be in danger, she let me contact him. I thought back to our last conversation, the reason I was having this conversation with Derek.

"Chloe, I know I haven't been around much and… I haven't always been there for you." My dad had sounded very regretful at this last part. "But I want to be there for you now even if it's only over the phone. I've been doing some research, your Aunt sent me some websites, and I've been learning a lot about schizophrenia. I want to understand what you're going through. I want you to be able to come to me if you need it. I don't want to lose you again."

Yes, my dad still thinks I have schizophrenia. Aunt Lauren said there was no way to tell him I didn't without him questioning my meltdown at school from half a year ago and why I had gone to Lyle House in the first place. And even though I wasn't outright lying, keeping him in the dark felt wrong, especially when he was trying to understand, to help me. I couldn't even talk to him without feeling guilty.

"I can't keep lying to him. He's my family"

"He's barely in your life. I'd hardly call him family anymore" Derek was starting to get impatient.

"How can you say that? He still is"

"What about Simon and Dad? Your Aunt. Hell, even Tori." Derek's voice lowered. "What about me? Aren't we family enough for you"

"You are," I needed him to understand. "It's just something I have to do."

"You've already made up your mind haven't you?"

I nodded.

"Alright. We'll find a way."