Song of Sirens

Chapter 4

To be honest, the only black dress I had was my funeral dress. So that is what I was wearing. A V-neck with a high back, a thick metallic black waistband and then a skirt that went out below the band and hung to my mid-calf. Is this too fancy?  I add black converse to the outfit to make it seem less formal. And tie my hair back in a loose bun. Then put on a denim jacket. There we go. All better. Alice watches me get ready, then returns to her homework.

"Where are you going all dressed up?" She doesn't even look up from her work as she speaks.

"To be honest, I have no idea." I smile a little and raise my eyebrows, and then grab my phone, checking for any texts. None. Of course. No surprise there.

I sit down on the edge of my bed and rub the fabric between my hands, remembering when I last wore this dress.

I'm sitting on the green wooden bench next to Josh when I feel his hand lightly graze my thigh and I move away slightly. We hadn't been dating for long, and honestly, he was kind of creeping me out. I look over at him.

"I, um, I need to talk to Emily." He nods as I stand and we walk away to the bathroom for privacy.

"You okay?" My best friend's expression is worried and I shake my head.

"He's creeping me out. I don't even like him anymore, I'm scared." She grabs me and wraps her arms around me as I bury my head in her shoulder.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" I mutter a quick 'no' into her hair. "Liv, honey, you need to tell him. Or break up with him. Your choice."

I step back and nod, knowing she is right. But I don't want to. I don't want to hurt him. "But he's really into me."

"But, he is way overstepping his boundaries. It has been a week and a half Liv," she stares at me, hands on her hips and her long curly hair falls over her shoulder.

"I know, I'll do it. I have to," I nod, looking in the mirror at my sad eyes and fix my hair. "Let's go."

We walk out of the bathroom and back to where I left Josh. He stands as I approach. "Everything okay?"

Oh gosh, how can I do this? "I, uh, I, um, sorry."

I stammer and he stares at me, worry written all over his face.

Another friend steps in, saving me, I don't even know who. "She wants to just be friends."

I stare into those bright green eyes and watch them crack. Shatter. Into a million little pieces. Because of me. What have I done?

I snap back to reality with a gasp and find Alice staring at me.

"Are you okay? You completely spaced out then." She sits up her elbows and looks at me.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," I smile weakly to reassure her, but she doesn't look convinced.

A knock on the door saves me from explaining and I find Katherine standing there in a long black maxi dress with looses sleeves to her wrist and her hair out in wavy curls around her.

"Ready?" She smiles encouragingly and I nod.

A girl steps around her, Alice's friend from breakfast and they greet each other. I step outside my room and shut the door behind me. "Who was she?"

Kat works out I'm referring to the girl I just left Alice in the room with. "That's Zoe, my roommate."

I nod. "So, where are going?"

"It's a surprise," she smiles mischievously and her mismatched eyes sparkle as she looks at me, causing me to laugh nervously. "Just follow me as quietly as possible."

I do, and we walk out of the building through the side door into the freezing cold and to an old cellar entrance in the ground. Kat opens its and I see a set of stone steps leading down into darkness. She gestures for me to walk down and then follows, closing the doors and closing us in darkness. We continue down the stone steps as my eyes adjust and when we hit flat ground, braziers light up further down the hallway and we walk towards the light. When we approach a narrow archway, Kat walks through first and I follow.

I step into the circular stone chamber, a domed roof above us and stone floor below us, with braziers lit at equal intervals around the room. I finally notice the people, six to be exact, all dressed in black. All the blue and green eyes from breakfast. Alison, Victoria, Dylan, Rick, Isaac and Aaron. All staring at me. Some smiling, some expressions blank.

Kat speaks first. "We should start." Her voice is chipper, echoing through the stony silence and I stare at the ground awkwardly.

Then Alison speaks, running a hand through her long blonde hair. "Olive, we are the Sirens."