Locked With the Damned
Chapter Eight: Swing Life Away
I woke up in a cold sweat again. That was the seventh nightmare tonight. I sighed and turned over to look at my clock. Ten in the morning, early enough to get up and reluctantly start the day. I turned back over on my back and stared at the white ceiling. I put my hands behind my head and just thought. I wondered if I could actually do this. If I could actually cast a circle, having absolutely no magic background. I'd never held a spell book until a few weeks ago when I bought the damn thing. I didn't even believe in magic until a year ago.
"Whatcha thinkin about?" Tate suddenly appeared beside me and I jumped. I gave him a small glare and then smiled.
"Just wondering if I can actually do this." I sighed.
"You can do anything." He said, moving closer to me.
I laughed and turned to him. "What makes you so sure?"
He moved his face closer to mine, his nose touching mine. "Because, you're you."
"I'm me?"
"And you can do anything." He kissed my nose and then pushed me out of the bed.
"My god, how many times are you going to do that?" I shouted from the floor.
"Well you needed to get up!"
"Doesn't mean every time I need to get up you have to push me out of the damn bed." I stood up and jumped back on the bed, then I pushed him backwards off.
"What was that for?" I leaned over the bed and smiled at his pouting face.
"For the many times you've pushed me off the bed." I smiled triumphantly.
He smirked at me and then grabbed my arm and pulled me on top of him. "I win." He whispered in my ear. I grunted and glared at him. He kissed me on the cheek several times and then on the lips. I scrunched up my face and got off of him. "Where are you going?" He asked sadly.
I turned to him and stuck my tongue out. "I gotta get ready and go get the things for the circle to hopefully get the ghosts out of here."
"When are you going to do it?" He asked, standing up and sitting on my piano bench. He played a few notes and then watched as I went through my closet to figure out what I was going to wear today.
"Tomorrow night." I answered, picking out a green long sleeved shirt with a grenade on it and a pair of dark wash jeans.
"Who's going first?"
"Violet and her family. I figured I would punish Hayden, Chad, and Moira since they've been bugging me so much. Everyone else has been so patient; why not let them go first. I mean, I understand why the three of them have been so antsy; it's just been so annoying. I actually thought that Violet hated me…" I trailed off and turned to him when he was being so quiet. His face was stone and chalk white. "What did I say?" I asked. And then I realized. "You like Violet…" I should have known. She was pretty, a lot prettier than I was.
"No, I don't like her." He said quickly.
"But you used to like her." I mumbled.
"Well," He got up and walked in front of me. "Yes, I used to like her. I…used to love her."
"Love?" My eyes grew wide.
"But she didn't love me. It was ten years ago, I'm over it now."
"Are you sure?" I looked up at him with hopeful eyes. He stayed quiet and nodded. I smiled slightly and hugged him. He hugged me back.
"I'll let you get dressed…" He said and then disappeared. How thoughtful of him to leave. I sighed as I held the air and then threw my clothes on my bed and took off my pajamas. After I was done getting dressed I grabbed my messenger bag and walked out of my room to the bathroom. In the hallway I bumped into Autumn. She stared at me for a few minutes, neither of us moving.
"Hey," Once I spoke she stepped aside from me and walked into her room and slammed the door shut. I exhaled a disappointed sigh and walked into the bathroom, mimicking her attitude and slamming the door shut. I stared at my hand for a few seconds, admiring the thick, shiny scar. Ever since that night at the lake with Tate I hadn't painted anything. Not even after my hand healed. I didn't have to drive to paint anything anymore. It saddened me, too. I didn't have any inspiration. That wasn't like me.
After I was done with my bathroom routine I headed down the stairs and bumped into young Moira. I felt like she was waiting for me. Creepy. "Where are you going?" She asked.
"Headed back to the magic store… I think I found something."
"That can free us?" She asked hopeful.
I rolled my eyes. "Well duh, what else would I be looking for in a magic book?" I asked sarcastically.
She ignored my sarcastic tone and said, "Just hurry back!" And then she disappeared, probably to tell Hayden and Chad about my findings. I wondered how pissed off they would be when I told them that I wasn't going to perform it on them first.
I smirked at myself and walked out the front door.
I rode with my head in the clouds to Blake's Magic Shop. When I got there I put my bike in the alleyway and walked in. Blake was behind the counter, talking on the phone with someone. He looked like he was in a very heated conversation with whoever was on the other line. When he saw that I had entered the shop though, he slammed the phone down on the receiver and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Didn't expect to see you back so soon." He said, walking from behind the counter, his arms still crossed over his chest. "Miss me?" He asked with a white toothed smirk. I shook my head and scanned the room for the things that I needed. I finally spotted the white candles in the back corner of the store. I walked past Blake to the table and grabbed five candles. I placed them on the checkout counter and went back for the incense that were placed beside the assortment of colored candles. I found the rest of the things I needed and waited at the counter patiently for Blake to come back. When he came back around and saw the things I had picked out he sighed.
"Problem?" I asked, pulling out my wad of cash and unrolling it.
"These things…you found what you were looking for?" He asked, snatching the candles and ringing them up.
"Like I said, problem?" I propped my elbows up on the counter and gave him a hard stare.
"You have no idea what you're getting yourself in to, Wynter." Once he said my name he froze. My eyes grew wide and my eyebrows rose. I could feel my pulse skyrocket.
"How did you know my name?"
He finally unfroze and held his head down. He continued to scan the things that I was buying and said, "I just do."
"Yeah Blake, sure. I'm sure you just know." I grabbed the bag and threw the money I owed on the table. I walked to the door and swung it open.
"Wait!" He shouted. I turned back to him. "Listen, I'm not a stalker or anything. I just know, okay? There are a lot of things that are hard to explain, I'm sure you know that. But Wynter, are you sure you want to do this?"
"I'm not sure about a lot of things, Blake. I'm not sure if I can do this. I'm not sure if I should do this."
"You shouldn't!" He snapped.
"But I am!" I snapped back.
"But why? Why are you risking all of this for them?" He asked in an exhausted tone, running his hands through his long, black hair.
I looked away from him. "Because…believe it or not, no matter how badly they piss me off and get on my nerves, they've become my family. A really weird, fucked up family. But a family none the less."
"There are more than twelve of them in that house, Wynter, do you know what could happen to you?" His voice was urgent, begging me to reconsider and just give it up.
"Yeah, I know what could happen to me, what probably will happen to me."
"And you still want to do this?"
"I don't have a second option."
"There is always a second option."
"Not for me." I said and then walked out of the store and quickly got on my bike and pedaled away before Blake could run out and patronize me some more. Why he was so concerned about me I had no idea, but it bothered me. He had no reason to care so much. He had no reason to care at all. So why did he?
I pondered everything that just happened as I rode back to my house. When I got there I saw someone sitting on the porch swing. When I reached the house I realized that it was Constance. I cursed under my breath and parked my bike. I put a fake smile on my face as I walked up the steps to the porch. She cocked her head to the side and tried to see through the black bag I was carrying. Feeling defensive, I swung the bag behind my back and smiled wider at the nosey and annoying woman. She glared at me slightly and stood up from the swing. She pulled a cigarette out of her purse and offered me one. "I don't smoke." I said.
"Smart girl." She mumbled and lit her drag. She inhaled deeply and then blew it out directly in my face. I waved the grey cancerous smoke away and backed up against the door.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Just came to check up on you."
"You know you don't have to do that every day." I mumbled, fixing the heavy bag behind my back.
"Oh but your mother insists, just to make sure that you're okay."
"I'm always fine."
"She said you'd say that. I just have to make sure. She told me what happened last year." She said solemnly. I looked away from her and felt a lump form in my throat.
"Alright, well let's not talk about that, okay?" I croaked. She nodded and I opened the front door and walked through the threshold. "I'll see you later, Constance."
"Right…what's in the bag, Wynter?" She tried to see the back behind my back.
I shrugged. "Feminine products." I shut the front door and locked it. I watched as she walked off the porch and towards her house before I turned and got scared by old Moira in my face. "Fuck…" I breathed and stepped away from her and starting up the stairs.
"Did you get it all?" She asked and began following me. I stopped and she bumped into my back. When I turned to face her she was young Moira, the one I hated to talk to. The one that was so absurdly annoying.
"Yes, I got it all. But you won't be the first to leave. Or Hayden. Or Chad." I said. Her eyes grew wide and then Hayden and Chad appeared in front of me.
"Are you fucking serious?" Hayden shouted, grabbing my shoulders.
"Yes, I am fucking serious." I gave her a hard look. "Tomorrow night I'm performing the first circle, and the Harmon's will be the first to leave."
"So you're punishing us?" Chad asked.
"Yeah, if you wanna look at it that way, I am punishing you. All three of you!"
"Why would you be so childish?" Old Moira asked.
I began laughed. "Me, childish? Me? Childish?" They gave me strange looks as I laughed more and more. Then I grew serious again. "Because you have all been loud, annoying, rude, pushy, and you've kept me up most of the night with your goddamn shouting!" I dropped the bag and threw my arms up in the air. Their eyes grew wide and they gave me hurtful looks.
"Wynter…" Moira mumbled, touching my shoulder as Hayden let go of me.
I picked up the bag and continued up the stairs. They didn't follow me this time. "I'll get you out of this house, but now you have nothing to yell at me about or argue over because I've found the solution. Just leave me alone now." I walked down the hall and into my bedroom. Tate was sitting on my bed, listening to my iPod. When I entered the room he perked up and yanked my ear buds out of his ears.
"Wynter, I have to talk to you." He said. I rose my eyebrows at him and set the bag down.
"What?"
"I was just listening to this song. This Time Imperfect by AFI, and I realized that it sounded a lot like you and I. Our situation…and the way I feel about you. Wynter, I love you." My eyes grew wide. "And…I don't want you to make me leave." He got up from the bed and stood in front of me. "I…want to stay here with you, until I'm the last one left, and then I will leave. But I want to spend as much time with you as I can before everything is over, okay?" He asked, gently placing his hands on my shoulders. I nodded, speechless, staring up at him. He hugged me and I hugged him back.
I didn't know what to say. I didn't know if I should tell him I love him back, because I didn't know if I would mean it.
I wish things were simple.
A/N: Gotta say, I was overwhelmed by all the reviews for the last chapter. Haha. Thanks guys! I'm glad you like the story so far. :) Maybe another chapter before I go to bed, but if not there will be one tomorrow! Review for another chapter!
Please review and let me know what you think!
