Curse of the Oak

Chapter Three

The ringing of her phone pulled Des out of her daze. She quickly shook her head, wiping away the tears that had fallen. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw Griffin's name appear. She wiped away the remaining tears that were now dried on her face, leaving streaks behind. She swiped across the screen and put it to her ear.

"Hello," she mumbled, trying to hide the sorrow and pain in her voice.

"Where in the world are you?" Griffin started in. "I have been looking all over the school for you. You didn't come to first period, and then you completely ditched all the rest of them."

Desiree fell back against the stone, she could hear the worry and fear in his voice. She didn't mean to upset Griffin. It wasn't like she meant to disappear for the day, but it's still not an excuse to use. He asked her earlier if she was going to be okay, and she lied. Des was never going to be okay.

Not ever.

"I'm sorry. I came to the cemetery, and I guess I lost track of time," she said, hoping to smooth things over.

"Well, at least you're not dead. Why didn't you ask me to go with you?" Griffin asked, wanting to be there for his friend in any way he can.

Des stood back up, dusting the cement powder away. She turned around, and leaned against the wall. "I don't know," she said honestly. "It was a sort of an in the moment type thing."

"Next time, could you at least leave a note," Griffin said over the phone. "I thought that someone kidnapped you and basically murdered you!"

"Oh, please," Des said rolling her eyes. "You are so dramatic."

"Says the girl who went to the creepy cemetery," Griffin remarked, almost forgetting the reason she's there. "Crap... I didn't mean it like that."

"It's fine," Des said quickly, a little annoyed with his remark. However, she couldn't deny it either. Her mother was the only reason she came to the cemetery. In the beginning, she would come all the time, everyday almost. Her Nan used to bring her, wanting to keep an eye on her. It was almost normal, talking to the stone as if it was her mother.

Then one day, her father showed up, catching her out of the blue, and completely obliterated Des with his anger, demanding that she needed to move on and stop living in the past. Des had never been so hurt before. She wanted to hang on to her mother for her entire life and never let go. Although, she let her father's words sink in, embedding it into her mind.

So, as the only solution, she began to come on her own, never telling her father or Nan when she was coming. It was a small secret she shared with Griffin.

"Look, I'm going to finish up here, and head back to work. Meet me there in an hour?" Des asked, wanting to move on from the entire conversation.

"Sure," Griffin said. "I'll grab your books so that you can do your work."

"Ha," Des laughed, knowing what Griffin was up too. "You only want me to do your work by doing my work."

"Okay, sure," Griffin said sarcastically. "I'll see you in a bit. Later!"

"Later," Des said, hanging up her phone.

Des let out a heavy sigh and leaned her head against the stone wall behind her. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine what her life might have been like if her mom didn't die in the fatal crash. Her mother would most likely still be researching ideas and theories around legends for a new book and most likely, exploring new places, dragging Des along with her. And of course, her father would no longer be the isolated beast he is known for today. He would be the kind and over-protective father whose greatest fear would be seeing Des go off with some boy.