The week had passed rather slowly after I made up with Reid and pinky promised him that I was not thirsting after Pogue Parry. Sometimes my boyfriend could be so insecure. At times, I would spend hours thinking of the best way to safely and maturely handle his emotions without hurting him or myself. Dating Reid Garwin was beyond frustrating but it was always worth it. It was early Monday morning and Tyler had arrived late to math again. I scolded him as always but he had ignored me.
"I just don't see what you're doing all night that you sleep so much!" I sighed and yelled at the same time.
His response was a terse, "None of your business."
Rolling my eyes, I dropped the subject easily. If he was studying too hard, that was fine. He needed to catch up anyway, he was definitely falling behind from what my brother had said the night before.
Classes were a breeze that day and before I knew it, I was standing at the bar and restaurant with my delinquent brother and his friends. Taking my usual seat next to my goofy blonde boyfriend, I reached for his fries only to have my delicate hand slightly slapped.
"Hey!" I groaned, miffed at the boy for not sharing his food.
He glared at me and said, "I'll buy you your own food but leave my French fries alone."
Of course, how could I forget how much of a drama queen he could be? Rolling my eyes, I ventured over to Nicky behind the bar and placed my order making certain that it was placed on Reid's tab. Only ten minutes later my food had arrived and I dug in completely. I nearly devoured the entire burger, taking time to savor the crunch of the lettuce and taste of the sauces. It was magical. Reid had pounded down his meal while I waited for mine so he was off by the pool table setting up with the boys while the new girl, Sarah, and her new bestie Kate giggled and did nothing interesting. I assume they were gossiping and giggling about clothes. And that was completely fine. Despite my previous actions, I didn't harbor any hatred for Kate or the new girl. I was just frustrated with the way they acted at times. I'd stopped bothering Kate and decided to groan about her to my diary instead. It was therapeutic.
Relaxing and watching the boys was my favorite hobby. As I chewed on the last of my beautiful hamburger, I felt a sinking feeling in my bones. Suddenly my body was chilled, filled with goosebumps. I looked closer at the boys to see their reaction. My brother had stilled for a moment, Reid stared at the eight ball entirely too long, Pogue stiffened next to his girlfriend. Tyler was sitting and chatting with a lovely girl at the bar when he shivered slightly. So, if it was none of my boys using their powers, then what exactly was happening? Even if I didn't know now, I was going to find out. I was lost in my own mind coming up with millions of crazy ideas to naturally explain what I had just experienced when all four boys came to surround me. They didn't seem too pleased.
"Uhm, hello boys?" I said, nervously. Clearly they thought I was the one using my powers.
"Courtney!" Caleb hissed, glaring darkly at me. He was quite intimidating like this. "What did you do?"
"Me?" I yelled and asked incredulously. "Why do you always think it's me?"
Reid looked slightly uncomfortable but provided nothing to the conversation. Everyone knew Caleb was like the alpha dog when it came to our powers. Tyler looked timid and Pogue just looked relaxed.
"I didn't do anything! I felt it too. It wasn't me." I vehemently protected myself.
"Do you promise?" Pogue asked with authority. Gone was the playful atmosphere as it was replaced by a tense and heavy energy.
"Of course I promise." I answered honestly. I gave the boys an awkward yet honest look.
"Damn it!" Caleb grabbed the nearest glass and smashed it on the ground. "What is happening?"
Suddenly and rather quickly, Nicky appeared and yelled at all of us to leave. Sarah seemed shocked and mildly frightened by Caleb's actions before he explained that it was family drama and he lost his cool. He apologized very maturely and asked for her forgiveness. She gladly accepted. Clearing my head of the current emergency, I followed the boys out of the preferred hangout and hopped into my brother's car. It was going to be a long night.
On the ride home, Caleb was the most tense I'd seen him. He was usually serious about matters within the coven, though he had never been this angry. I was absolutely terrified of the situation as well but I knew how to keep my cool. I was used to this. The ride was shorter than I remembered and suddenly walking into our esteemed home was a burden. Our mother had been drinking again so there was no way we could discuss tonight's events with her. Great. A drunk mother was exactly what we needed at the moment. Caleb, frustrated as ever, gently pulled my arm to lead me into the basement for a chat. I followed obediently as to not bother our mother. She had it rough.
Once I'd followed my twin down to the basement, we sat across from one another on separate couches. I'd seen him sigh deeply and run his hands over his face. He rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward to speak quietly.
"Courtney, this is a huge problem." He said, a little too calmly.
"What do you mean?" I was so confused.
"There's another founder witch out there. I did the research recently as I had previously felt disturbances. There's another witch."
My body chilled instantly. This was going to be literal hell.