HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! It's been a great day, I'm really tired, but I'm registered for classes next semmester. I therefore finished writing this in celebration. Have chapter 27

Chapter twenty-seven

I flinched away from the chilled edge of the sheet, rolling back into the warmth of the bed, and collided with something. My body froze up; I was lying next to something warm. My head throbbed and my muscles screamed in protest as I adjusted myself in the bed. Moving was certainly not an option. My mouth felt parched, dry as a destert in endless famine, and my brain felt as if it had been replaced by cottonballs with needles hidden in the soft downy puffs. I needed to figure out what was next to me, but my eyelids felt heavy and refused to open. Why does everything hurt so much? I moaned to myself. I wanted to go back to sleep. Sleep away the pain and the heaviness. I let out a deep labored breath, feeling my chest collapse quicker than it had risen. Blinking a few, albeit difficult, times, I managed to get my eyes open just enough to take in the room around me. I was staring at a dark mahogany ceiling, a sliver of light creeping into the corner of my vision. It burned my eyes, so I quickly shut them, and rolled painfully onto my side, feeling my insides do and awful flip.


I felt like vomiting. Why did I feel so awful? My recolection of the night before was fuzzy. I vaugely remembered being with someone... Suddenly there was a hand on my hip. My bare hip. My eyes shot open; I felt then like I had been hit by a truck and survived. When my head stopped spinning and I could see straight, my stomach dropped. Vance's bright blue eyes and signature smirk greeted me from the pillow beside mine.

"Good morning, beautiful." he purred.

I swallowed, trying to think of something to say. My thoughts were jumbled and incoherant, even to me.

"M'rning..." Something told me I should be more concerned about lying here in bed with Vance, but I couldn't be bothered with anything but getting rid of the awful stinging in my head.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, his voice smirked for him. "No offense, but you look awful."

"I feel awful..." I muttered, curling into him, and then my brain made the connection. We were naked. I went stiff, and he could feel it. "Vance. What happened last night?"

"You told me about your problems back home, we heard about Tony's accident..." he paused, allowing me to process the information, which made for a few tears sliding down mhy cheeks. I remembered calling my mom and learning about Tony's death. Then I cried in Vance's arms for who knows how long. Then things started to get fuzzy. "We had a few drinks and came upstairs, and you asked me to unlock your powers."

"My... powers? Vance, that's the worst euphimism for sex I've ever heard."

"It's not a euphimism, love." He touched a finger to my temple, and my thoughts were suddenly clear. "It's reality. I helped you unlock your powers last night. The sex was just the route we chose to take."

I remembered now. I remembered everything; my face flushed. Vance truly had unlocked my powers. The air didn't feel charged anymore. It felt like I could unthread the molecules in the air. Everything was heightened--including the aches in my muscles-- and I felt as if I had been reborn. He had explained that I was a sorceress, an ancient one that had been forced to be reincarnated every one-hundred years or so depending on the life, and at this point in this life, my powers were beginning to manifest. He helped me awaken them, and explained that the memories of my past lives would slowly begin to come to my rememberance. My past lives with him. I was meant to be with him, we were created for each other. He had said one other thing before I had fallen asleep. "Stitch will try to destroy us if he finds out. You must not let on that you have unlocked your powers until I can teach you to properly use them." Last night I had a nightmare about a past life. I was being burned at the stake, and in the crowd, Stitch watched, a wicked smile on his face.

"I remember now... that's so cool!" Excitement rushed through my body, and despite the hurt, I enjoyed the feeling. "But how am I supposed to avoid letting Stitch know I can use my powers?"

He kissed my head, and the groggy feeling came back. "With a hangover, it will be the perfect disguise. We'll work out a better plan later."

I could barely see the clock over his shoulder. "Crap!" I pushed myself away from him, shivering from the sudden cold. "I'm late for class!" I threw my clothes back on, having to hunt around the room for some of them, and ran out the door.

Vance joined me moments later, having suddenly appeared at my side. He swept up my bags and helped me out the door. I labored to drag myself sluggishly to the car, wishing I didn't have to deal with the hangover, but if it was the only way to keep Stitch from knowing, then so be it. He tossed my bags into the back and crossed over to help me into the car. The second we were situated, he ripped out of the driveway and raced toward the school. We arrived in record time, much to the displeasure of my throbbing head. When we arrived at the school, Vance pulled right up to the doors and helped me out. He kissed my forehead and told me he would take my bags to my room. I nodded, and moved as quickly as I could to my class.

Arriving nearly an hour late, I slipped into the back of the lecture hall and slumped over onto the table.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Price," Mr. Lauri said loudly, drawing all the attention in the room to me.

Jay, sitting two rows in front of me, turned around. He seemed relieved, but disappointed. Moments later I got a text message. Where were you last night? We looked everywhere for you. What did I tell him? It would be obviously a lie if I said I was home, but I couldn't tell him I was with Vance either. So my response was this: I'll explain everything later. He didn't reply, just shook his head disapprovingly. I set my head down on the table again and listened idly to the lecture until I got another text message. This time it was from Daniel. Girl, you look like you've been hit by the hangover train. A weak smile crossed my lips. You know it. I replied. Once class had ended I slipped out of the room before Jay could catch up. This was going to be a long day.

Having a hangover was the one thing I didn't miss about my darker days. The hangovers... the highs... they all brought lows, and this was definitely one of those lows. I'd never felt so awful since I cleaned myself out. It had been a long process, and I had just destroyed everything I worked for. Never touching that stuff again. Ever. I told myself, running a hand through my hair. It was entertaining how quickly my resolve had fallen apart. It only took a drink and I had ruined two things in my life. One, I had tasted alcohol again after three years, and two, I had sex with someone outside of marriage. My mom had always raised me to be abstinent until I was married, and here I was no longer a virgin. I couldn't tell her either, that was the worst part. With this thought, and many others, I had drifted from class to class in what seemed like a haze, barely aware of what was going on around me. I knew people could tell I was hungover, but I didn't care. It wasn't something I was proud of, but I couldn't let Stitch know what had happened. He would destroy me. That was what Vance had told me, and I believed him. Vance had told me the truth when Stitch had kept that from me, despite knowing all along what was happening with me.


He had given me that butterfly necklace as a way to keep track of me, to halt my magical development, and stupidly I had worn it, thinking it was nothing more than a kind gesture. I could never have been more wrong.
All this time I had let his magic blind me into thinking he was the perfect stranger, and I had fallen for him. But none of that was real; it had all been a lie. And now, I had awakened from the dream and could see clearly through the haze, and Stitch was the enemy. He would always be the enemy.

After classes I had dragged myself up to my dorm, and had barely taken a step through the door before

Kitty assulted me, slapping me on the shoulder with a dour glare.

"Where in the name of all that is holy were you last night?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You leave with Vance and then just don't come home? Excuse me for being suspicious, but what on earth happened? You've got a hangover, so explain yourself miss."

I glared, pushing past her. "You're not my mother," I grouched.

She grabbed my shoulder and forced me to look at her. Only then did I notice the others sitting in the living room. "Explain. Now."

"I don't have time to explain this. Besides, it's none of your concern." The thought of Tony's death came to my memory and I started to tear up. "You wouldn't care."

"I think you would be surprised, Laela. Just tell me what happened."

I felt the tears slip down my cheeks, making the pounding in my head return. The room started to spin, and I knew I needed to sit down, but I wouldn't sit out here where they could continue to harass me. I shook my head, and turned for my room again. This time Kitty let me take a few steps before blocking my path. She said nothing, just gazed at me with stern eyes. I couldn't tell them about Vance and I, but I could tell them about Tony. That would keep them from asking many more questions until I was ready to answer them. As my emotions got the better of me, the sky outside darkened, and a storm hit almost instantaneously. Fearing they would become suspicious, I thought back to the weather today. It had been glum, and the sky threatened rain at any moment, so I couldn't be sure if the rain had been caused by me, or if the weather had occured normally. Cam and Stitch glanced out the window, and then at me.

"What's wrong?" This time the voice was Cam's. "Laela, you can tell us. We're your mates, we'll listen."

"It's Tony..." I choked. "He's..." I couldn't finish. I couldn't say the word. It seemed too soon for him to be gone. I fished my phone out of my pocket and handed it to Kitty after pulling up the message from my mother. "I was with Vance...and my mom... she...I couldn't come back....too hard." I sobbed.

She read it to herself, and gasped, her hand flying to her chest. "Oh Laela," Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm so sorry."

She opened her arms and I threw myself into them, losing all control. She rubbed my back in slow circles, holding me close to her. My body shook with uncontrolled sobs, and the rain outside grew heavier. The boys had remained in the living room, just looking at us, waiting for an answer. After a long moment, Kitty pulled back and told me to go take a shower and let the warm water wash away everything. Nodding, I wiped away the black film that had been left on my cheeks from my mascara and ducked into my room. As I closed the door, I heard Kitty tell the others.

"Tony is dead, she found out last night."

There was a gasp from the group as I stepped into the bathroom. Stripping down I set my phone on the counter. It buzzed, sending it onto the floor from the force of the vibration. The unknown number. It was back. A loss of control only leads to loss of much more. Your emotions can't get the better of you. Who was this?! And why the heck were they just assuming they knew me? How would they know if I had lost control unless... Stitch. I left the phone on the counter and stepped into the shower, glaring at the wall. The water felt wonderful against my skin. It loosened the tightness in my muscles, and allowed me to relax.
For a moment until my phone started buzzing incessantly. With a glare I stepped out of the shower and lifted the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked, my voice was flat, and hopefully unentertained.

"How's the head?" It was Vance. "You wouldn't happen to be responsible for the storm outside, would you?"

Somehow I felt a smile creep onto my face. "Maybe? Could I do that? You know, control the weather?"

"One day, you'll be able to control it better, but yes." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Are you busy?"

"No, I just got out of the shower. I told everyone about Tony..."

"I'll be over in twenty minutes, wear something warm." The phone clicked off, and I smiled, rushing into my room.

I rummaged through my things for a shred of warm clothing. Coming from Florida hadn't left me with many winter clothes, but I had a few I had accumulated from the few weeks a year we spent in Wisconsin with my grandmother. I threw on a sweater and some skinny jeans and my boots and grabbed a jacket just in case.
Turning for the door I heard it open and Kitty stepped inside, with Jay and the others in tow.

"Laela, are you okay?" She asked. "Where are you going?"

"Out. I... I need to go somewhere less crowded to think..." I replied lamely. My lip twitched, like it always did when I lied.

"Where are you going?" Cam asked, "You hardly know the town."

"I'm just going for a walk. I don't really have a destination, jeez, lay off would you?"

He threw his hands up in front of him. "I'm sorry... goodness."

They stood in the door of the room for a good ten minutes, just staring at me in silence. I fidgeted, uncomfortable from their stares. Why were they looking at me like that? It was as if they were waiting for me to tell them what I was really up to. But I wouldn't tell them. I couldn't tell them. They didn't have magic like I did. They weren't one of us. But Stitch was, and I needed to be careful. There was a quick rap on the door to the apartment. Cam stepped out of the back and around the corner; I heard Vance's voice and I knew my lie had been unravelled. Cam came into the room, standing behind Vance as if he were somehow inferior to him. Vance smiled at me, his eyes were warm and welcoming.

"Ready to go, love?" he asked me, extending his hand toward me.

I glanced at the others in the room, sensing their disappointment. But there was one other thing I could feel. It was a deep feeling, like there was pressure building up in my chest that couldn't be released. It made me feel sick and dizzy; I put my hand on my stomach, glancing at Vance, and then at Stitch. My eyes locked with Stitch's, and for a moment it seemed that everything had stopped. His eyes grew wide with sudden realization.

He knew.

Vance took my hand and lead me out the door. But one thought haunted me now.

He knew.