I've been waiting all day to see Kath. To talk with her and see how she is doing. It's been a long time since we just… talked. Then before I can even see where she is at our table someone comes and grabs my arm. I jump out of reflex and notice the five foot elf in front of me. Her dark hair is completely straight and in two braids – on one side her bangs are pulled together in a bow barrette. Her skin is icy pale and her hair is a strikingly deep and bright red. I try to move around her but she moves also.
"Hello," she said in her musically high voice. "I'm Hayley," she smiles friendly enough. "Hayley Willis." She grabs my arm and leads me to a table. A table where a few other people are. Hartley Rush, the tall blonde with the full lips and pale skin. Her skin has a distinct glow to it unlike Hayley's. Beside her is a guy who isnt Adrian who is batting his long eyelashes and flirting with her. Then there is this really hot guy who looks all sad and emo across from them. Holding his hand is another five foot elf who shares his caramel skin tone.
"Everyone this is Eden," she told everyone as she motioned for me to sit next to her. Stealing a glance back to Kath I couldn't see her. Two teachers and a cop were in my way so I couldn't see what she was doing. Probably reading a book. I won't be missing anything…
"Eden?" Hayley asked to snap my attention back.
"Hmm?"
"This is Hartley; she's in our gym class."
"Wait – you're in my gym class?"
"Yeah, eighth period. Mr. Hanson. Right?"
"Right," I agree. Staring down at my food I frown. Burnt mac and cheese with lettuce in it, a salad that has more water in it than my water bottle. The only edible thing to eat is the apple.
"Well, this is Hartley's second to first guy, Erich. Oh, and this is Isaac," her hand motions to the hot emo guy. His black bangs fall in front of his light green eyes. Breathe, breathe, breathe I remind myself. "And those two love birds are Alicia and Luis." I smile friendly enough and get another copy cat from Alicia and a cold, confused look from Luis. "This is Eden LeBlanc, she's dating Wyatt." His eyes become more oriented as he acknowledged the information.
"Uh, actually," I brushed my hair back with my hand, "we're not dating. We're not." I assured her. She didn't look too convinced. Looking down I took a bite out of my apple and planned on leaving as soon as I could with out too much attention.
Wyatt comes and joins us with his friends, Adrian and Cole. Adrian sits between Hartley and Erich and embarasses him with a few smart ass comments. Cole just sits next to Luis on my right while Wyatt wraps one arm around my waist and sits on my other side. Practically connected by the hip. Oh yeah, Hayley is definitely going to believe me now.
Hayley is my partner during P.E. when we do our fitness tests. She comes over to help me get ready for the movie. Letting me borrow these laced up high heel boots. That and lime yellow capris with those suspendor thingys attached to them with a thin gray top with the same shade of yellow hearts. Walking down the stairs my dad whistles as he notices us. Making me blush and making Hayley whistle back. I dart my eyes at her. Her bright red hair in two tight French braids. She is in a black and red rib tank and brown leopard skinny pants.
She's like my very own Amber.
Dad takes us to the movies and Hayley preoccupies much of his time. Yeah, my parents are young. They had me when they were just nineteen and got married a year after I was born. And yes, some girls who don't see how madly in love my parents are do compliment my dads looks – and I still find it very creepy. Arriving at the movies Wyatt is already there waiting with Cole and Adrian. Hartley's arms are already around Adrian's neck and she's hanging onto him as if he is a life support – only with a mellow and tired look on her face.
"We've been waiting for, like, ever!" She complains as she sees us and darts her eyes at me and Hayley.
"Sorry, we had to get pretty, unlike someone I know!" Hayley pokes Hartley's arm and she growls in return. The thing is Hartley does look really pretty. Her full lips red from what looks like an entire bottle of lipstick. Her brown eyes are shaded with dark eyeliner and brown eye shadow. She looks absolutely model like. She doesn't even need high heels…
"Well someone here looks gorgeous," Wyatt compliments me as he walks toward me. He holds my hand without question and kisses me on the lips. He tries to slide his tongue in but I pull back before he can. Yeah, that didn't make him look too good with his friends. "Come on," he says warmly as he guides me into the theater. His arm around my waist like before.
This should make me happy right? Well, what if its all just a little too… strange. I don't know if its my wiccan powers telling me something is off tonight or if I am just nervous that an actual guy who I have no relation to is so close to me. I'm going with the nervous teenage girl part. Wyatt leans down to my ear to whisper something silly and romantic like Adrian did to make Hartley smile a few seconds ago but I pull away too quickly as I notice a blur of a person here.
She's in a pink miniskirt and a blue cloud button tank top.
The same thing Lilly wore the day she died.
"Lilly?" I gasped out loud.
"What?" Hayley asks as she peers over at me.
"Oh, uh, nothing," I tell her. "Just… seeing things." Yeah, dead people. Then again she is there before me. Sitting on the counter before the cashier. The blood on the back of her blonde head and her pink lips mouthing words over and over again.
"So deep that it didn't even bleed and catch me," she sang. "So deep you can't find a way out. So deep your eyes are burning. So deep that no one will help. So deep that it didn't even bleed and catch her." And she disappeared with a giggle. I take out my cell phone impulsively and dial Kath's number but Wyatt takes my phone away from my ear.
"No phones in the movie theater, Miss. No phones allowed. Only lemonades, twizzlers and lots of teenage PDA." He stuffs my phone into his pocket and takes my hand again.
Man, I wish I listened to Amber when she was teaching me how to pickpocket.
The movie is an action packed horror with lots of guts and blood flying around. Adair Tishler isnt even in it half the time. Everyone is just trying to protect her so she is contained for more than half of the movie. My head rests on Wyatt's arm and I get the feeling he likes it a little too much so I pull back and lean on the seat.
After the movie my dad comes to pick me up. Not Hayley. Hayley has a ride with Cole and his new girlfriend. The other one blew him off but I don't think he cares. His new girlfriend is like five foot and five inches and has black hair with bright blue highlights in them. She is dressed in this halter top and layering tank top that should not be meshed together and washed out skinny jeans.
Her name is Wendy.
Wyatt kisses me again before I leave and I don't think there is anyway my dad didn't notice it. Pulling away I ask him.
"My cell phone?"
"Oh yeah…" he fishes it out of his pocket and hands it over with another light kiss. "Just don't forget to tell him that I'm a better kisser." I don't figure out what he means until I'm getting undressed for bed later that night.
The next day I sit with them and Joan comes over and sits with us a little and then come back with her boyfriend. Kath doesn't show up to lunch so I skip my biology class and go to her study hall. She isnt there either. Heading out of the school I run into Hayley and some people I don't know. This medium height asian dude who they call Moey and another Spanish girl who isnt as much of an elf as Alicia was. And much prettier. Besides her is another girl whose skin is just as porcelian as Hayley's and her hair is as dark.
"Eden!" She exclaims in excitement.
"Hayley…" I so don't want to deal with her right now. Hayley has a tenancity to talk… a lot and so fast that I can barely understand her.
"Is everything okay?"
"No, I-I have to go. My friend – she –"
"There's a bus stop not too far from here, I'll take you," Hayley says with the most sincerity I have ever seen. Nodding I take a hold of her arm and halfway there my vision becomes a little unstable. First everything goes black and then a lighter shade with blue in it. Opening my eyes again I see something before me… water? Something wet. It's depressing and… deep. As if I am under something. In a basement I think.
"Stop!" I yell. Not just at Hayley but at Kath as well. "She's at the school, she has to be," and I start to run as my vision comes back. I don't know what to do or where to go but I know someone who does. Someone who has a very easy class to skip. P.E.
And Joan is just coming out of the locker rooms as I find her.
"He-ey girly! Want a starbucks because I could so use some juice-"
"Joan, shut the hell up already," I snapped. My head was spinning as half of it was with Kathleen right now. "We need to help Kath, she's somewhere – in the basement of her house or something?"
"She lives in an apartment, her basement is a garage full of cars."
"Well then why don't you help me!"
"O-okay, I will. Okay, where else would Kathleen go? She doesn't get out much so it wont be that hard."
"There's water there and – and desks, all huddled up in a corner."
"Oh, well that is the school basement. Parties are held there all the time and a pipe burst this one time and it turned into this wet t-shirt party!" I grabbed Joans ecstatic hands and held them by her sides.
"Shut. The. Hell. Up." I told her coldly. "Just take me there already," and she did with a smile on her face. Probably thinking about that wet t-shirt party that she didn't take me to. I'll think about how she is going to pay later…
"Eden, come and play…" I heard Lilly sing as she ran in front of me to the lower gym. I walk after her in my magickal stance.
"Eden? Where are you going? Eden!" Joan yells at me from behind. Still walking I go through the doors and keep walking to the other side. On the doorknob there is a chain linking it shut. "What are you doing?" Joan yells at me as she runs up to me. "I thought you said we had to help Kath."
"I did," and I look up to Lilly beside me. She nods and I start tugging at the chains. Working at my hardest force to pry them open.
"Eden!" Joan exclaimed. "Ugh, what are you doing?" Hardly listening to her I try harder. I hear Joan shuffling her feet and then trying to hold my arm off and then resovles to shoving the crowbar into my hand. Angling it the right way I break the chain. "Whoa," is all she says. The room is dark and in a deeper area of the rest of the school. It's the old pool that was cut off years ago because someone drowned in the deep end when the P.E. teacher wouldn't listen to the fact she couldn't swim. It only stays fill because the swim team needed some place to practice while the other pool is remodeling.
"Holy shit," Joan whispers behind me. She slaps me on the back of my head and I yelp. Then I focus my attention forward. There in the water is Kathleen, sinking to the bottom of the pool. Without thinking I run to the edge and slip off my shoes in automode before diving in. The water is bitter cold and pierces my skin with electricity. Kathleen lays lifeless as the water moves her deeper and deeper. Swimming the hardest I can I reach for her and grab her jelly like arms and push her up. She's heavy but completely still. Joan has to jump in to help me get her out. We sit her down on the side of the pool.
"Oh hell, she's bleeding Eden, I'm going to get the nurse." Still numb I hold her hand as Joan runs out of there. Looking up I see Lilly before me.
"Why are you still here? Just leave already, I don't need her to die. She cant die. I promised her, I promised her that no one would die because of me again," Crying I look up to her sympathetic eyes. "Don't take her," I whisper weakly.
Then I look back down and hold her sweet head in my lap. She is bleeding. Right where I saw it in my dreams… Oh God, please don't let her die. I wont live with myself if she dies too.
"Don't go, please don't go," I whisper as the tears escape from my eyes. I bury my face in her hair and stay there, sobbing until the doctors come. They pry me apart after a while of fighting on it and take her on a stretcher. Trying to follow, I do, someone stops me. I don't know who but someone. Looking down at my hand I read a piece of paper that I took from Kathleen's hand a moment ago.
So deep you wont catch me, not enough blood to disgust, the pain will dwell and numb, this life ends as fast as it came. Always and forever at the end, Kathleen M. Weatherly.
And magically writing, in the same hand writing begins at the bottom.
Goodbye
Crying I fold the paper in half and over again and again until it is just a piece of crumpled paper and throw it into the water.
