CHAPTER FOUR

CALEB (P.O.V)

I heard a knock on the door.

Mother said,"Who could that be? Honey, could you get that?"

I walked to the door, and opened it. To my surprise, Katia was standing there, drenched from the rain. How'd she find out where we lived?

"Katia?"I asked. "What are you doing here? Did you walk all the way up here? Come inside, quick." I stepped inside, letting her in, closing the door. I turned and faced Katia who had pushed off her hoodie.

"What are you doing here? Mother, get a towel!" I shouted as she protested.

I studied her. She was very beautiful for a freshman. Any guy would be lucky to have her. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Katia?" I prompted, waiting for an answer. Thank God the guys were upstairs. And thank God, I soundproofed those rooms. 'Cause I seriously didn't need to hear Pogue and Kate getting it on.

"Can you fix it? My face?"

Wait, what? Did I hear her correctly? I must've, because when I asked her what she meant, she replied, "Don't lie to me. I know who you guys are!"

Wait...could've she have... No. She's talking about something else. Keep a straight face, Caleb, I chided myself.

"And what might that be?" I asked, stotic.

"You're The Covenant," she said.

S***! She did.

She stared at me. I sighed, dropping my arms. Where was Mother with the dang towel?

"Can you fix my face or not?" Katia asked, staring into my eyes. I saw loss, hate, sadness, depression... hope in her eyes. Begging...pleading... I swallowed slightly, then carefully chose my words. Do what's best for her.

"No." I said, watching as her face fell. "I can't. I'm sorry, Katia."

She bit back tears, trying hard not to cry. She turned, walking towards the door. She opened the door.

"Katia... I'm sorry."

Ah, who was I kidding? I knew I could do it, so why was I lying to her? To protect her. She stepped outside.

"Don't worry. I won't tell, " she said quietly.

Wait, don't let her walk in the damn rain, you idiot! Drive her home!

"Wait!" I called out.I grabbed my jacket and the keys toTyler's van. He would kill me later for taking it out without his permission, but I didn't care.

I drove her home in silence, then I walked her inside to her apartment. I kind of expected her parents to come rushing out demanding where'd she been, but they never did. She must've snuck out really quietly. Even I couldn't do that unless I Used.

"See you tomorrow?" I asked, watching her. She nodded, smiling weakly. Without thinking, I pulled her into a quick hug. She broke down, sobbing. Man, I felt bad now. I patted her back, saying nothing. This really meant a lot to her. Well, duh. She pulled away, sniffling, walking inside, then closing the door quietly. I stared at the door before walking downstairs, getting back into the car, and driving to the house. How did Katia know? None of us Used in front of her. We were careful. And with Tyler Ascending in a few weeks... we couldn't risk that. I thought back to my Ascension. That night I thought I would lose Sarah... When my Father willed his Power over to me... That burst of unimaginable pain and energy I felt... I couldn't imagine what Tyler would feel like when he Ascended. We would help him through it... Just like we did for Pogue and Reid.

I headed upstairs to my room. My girlfriend, Sarah was already there. She was the only other person to know about The Covenant. I had decided to tell her the truth after a Creation(spider) spell had been Used. Pogue had been deciding on telling Kate about us, after the Creation spell placed on her had been removed... I still didn't know if he told her yet. I crawled into bed silently, kissed her forehead, and fell asleep. In what seems like minutes, I woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up in bed. Someone was Using and big time.

I stormed out to the hallway, and was about pound on Reid's door, when he yanked it open.

"It wasn't me. I felt it too," he said. I heard two other doors open, and saw Pogue and Tyler stepping out. I saw Kate, Pogue's fianceé looking over Pogue's shoulder. She was a pretty African-American girl, with shoulder-lengthed dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Pogue told her to go back to sleep. If it wasn't them...

We all exchanged looks and came to the same conclusion: We were going back to Ipswich.

I hugged and kissed Sarah, my beautiful green-eyed, blond haired angel goodbye. I told her she and Mother should stay here just in case we had to come back. I watched as Pogue kissed Kate, and held her for a really long time. Meanwhile, Tyler and Reid were standing by the wall, awkwardly. We got into Tyler's Black Hummer H2 after saying our goodbyes. I put the van into drive.

Pogue said,after a moment of silence:" I told Kate about us...The Covenant."

"And, how'd she take it?" I asked. Each other member held thier breaths as they waited for the response.

"Suprisingly, pretty well,"Pogue replied. "She said that she'd wished I had told her eariler, after the Creation incident. She kept wondering how the spider bites were magically there one day, then gone the next. So I told her."

I headed down a familiar street, then stopped in a familiar place. We got out and walked towards the aparment. We'd seen where Katia had lived after we followed her home to make sure no one beat her up along the way. I hesitated and knocked on the door.

KATIA (P.o.V)

I heard a knock on my door. I placed the bookmark on pg. 30 of Dark Visions:Book 1, The Strange Power (by: L.J. Smith). Very fitting, yes? I got up and walked to the door. I opened it to find Reid, Tyler, Pogue, and Caleb standing there. I listened as Caleb explained that they were leaving for a bit and wouldn't be back for a while. I don't know why, but I started crying again. Maybe because they were leaving and I would be on my own. Left to fend for my self.

"So... do you understand?" Caleb was saying.

Right. Covenant business, maybe. But I didn't dare say that aloud. The others didn't need to know I knew. I nodded, tears spilling out quickly.

"Hey, we'll be back, Katia. Don't worry," Caleb told me, pulling me into a hug. "We'll be back."

I pulled away, then hugged Pogue, Reid, then Tyler. Tyler and Reid both held me a bit second longer than the others. I pulled away again. I wiped my tears.

"I'll miss you guys," I said.

"We'll miss you too," Reid replied.

Caleb gave me a number. "Call us if you have any problems or if you just wanna talk," he said.

I took the paper. Then they pulled me into a group hug. I waved goodbye, then I retreated back into my room, flopped on my bed and cried all night.