The Last Witch

Into The Jungle - Ep 5

"Aliss, please wake up", a soft voice pleaded, "if you don't wake up now, they're going to call your Dad. Please, Aliss". She identified the voice to be Kimmy's. Aliss's eyelashes fluttered. "Oh my gosh! Thank goodness you're awake", Kimmy sighed in relief, "can you see and hear me?"

"Yeah", Aliss groaned and sat up, "what happened?" Her head felt like it was run over. I didn't get into another accident, right? She hoped. "You didn't get into another accident", Kimmy rolled her eyes, "stop looking so panicked. You just fainted in the cafeteria after screaming really loudly". "Oh no".

The ground opening up to swallow her would not be enough to make Aliss feel less embarrassed. She was already a  sob story and now, the whole school had seen her have a 'mental' breakdown. "Do I have to move to another town?" Aliss asked about the damage on her reputation.

Kimmy shrugged, "I don't think so", she replied, "but there is someone that you should talk to. He was the one that carried you. You're light but not light enough for me to carry alone". Aliss pulled her hair, "please don't tell me it's who I think you're talking about". "I won't tell you but I'll go get him". Kimmy was out of the room at lightning speed.

In two minutes, a head peeked through the half open door. "Hey", the guy gave an awkward smile, "you okay? I can come back but Kimmy said it was cool". "Yeah. I'm okay to talk". Aliss made a mental note to kill Kimmy later.

The guy was Kobe McCloskey. The history between the two was very complicated and Aliss barely remembered any of what had transpired. Kobe was a handsome young man. He had black curly hair in a buzz cut and the cutest hazel eyes which stood out because of his smooth light brown skin. He was a good 5ft10 and he was more muscled than every other guy in school. He also used to be Aliss's stepbrother.

Aliss was a mess after spending five years with her mother. Her mother spent all her time dating instead of raising her daughter. Her mother criticized her Dad about everything and slowly, Aliss believed her lies. Aliss knew her mother did not love her but the hardest blow was when she revoked her custody over her because her boyfriend said he hated children.

Aliss was a confused kid who had no clue on how to reconnect with her father after being fed with so much resentment towards him. Things between them were rocky but it got worse when they went to an ice-cream court in the mall.

"You wanna be a good Dad then let's get ice-cream". Aliss crossed her armed and frowned. "I don't think it's such a good idea and remember that daddy's lactose intolerant?" "I don't care! We get ice-cream or you can have fun explaining to the cops why I'm living in the mall. Hopefully, they'll send me back to Mom".

Jim gave in to her demands. Aliss had ordered for three scoops of cherry lime ice-cream. She had not waited up to five minutes before getting impatient. She yelled at the seller and cursed at her Dad when he tried to calm her down.

"Jim?" Someone called from behind them in the heat of the moment. It was a tall dark skinned who had a boy Aliss's age standing beside him. The boy was too busy playing Mission Impossible on his tablet to notice anything. "Lawrence! It is you!" Jim happily embraced the man. "I haven't seen you since high school", Lawrence was equally excited to see her Dad, "you've definitely found a happy place. You look just as beautiful as I remember".

Months after that encounter, both male got married. According to Kimmy, Aliss blamed Kobe's Dad for being the reason for her parents' divorce. Lawrence and Kobe tried to be kind to Aliss even when she was constantly making their lives miserable. When Aliss got into the accident and the doctors stated that she might suffer a memory loss, Lawrence decided to leave Jim so that he and Aliss would be happy.

Aliss was always grateful that Kobe was in senior year so that they didn't have to interact in school. She could only avoid the inevitable for so long. "Thanks for bringing me here". She spoke first slicing the thick tension into two. "It's what I do", Kobe responded, "I really hope you feel better, Aliss".

He stood to leave but Aliss stopped him. "I'm sorry", she let the words pour from her mind, "I know my apology means nothing but I truly am sorry for how I treated you and your Dad. I can't even remember any of it but it was wrong and I was wrong". Kobe yanked his hand from hers and sneered, "like you said your apology mean nothing. The damage had been done".

"You have every right to be mad at me but my Dad has been miserable ever since you guys left".

"And how would you know?" Kobe faced her angrily, "you just said you don't remember anything". "Yes, I don't remember how we were but when I see the photos of your Dad, I remember the laughter; yours, your Dad's and my Dad's. They were happy together".

Kobe relaxed and resumed his seat on the bed. "I'm not gonna lie. You hurt us bad but my Dad has been miserable too", he sighed, "he was hoping that if we left, it would save whatever bond you had between you and your Dad". "I was a stupid young girl who was so obsessed with a perfect family that never existed that I hurt everyone around me. I'm really sorry". "I can't forgive you right away but we're cool".

Aliss smiled and hugged him. "Whoa! I said we were cool not that buds. Hands off!" Kobe joked. "Sorry", she chuckled, "I'm just really happy to have that off my chest". "Me too". Another wave of silence passed before an idea clicked in her head. "Why don't we get them back together?" "Excuse you?" Kobe raised his eyebrows. "Come on! Your Dad is sad so is mine. Since I split them up, I should bring them back".

Aliss jumped from the bed, "we can't make it obvious", she paced and stroked her chin, "how about the first place they met?" "They met in high school in some town up coast". Kobe was starting to think her memories were not the only thing missing. "Not there, dummy. The ice-cream place", she smiled widely, "I can throw the same tantrum from that day which would set the mood and you have to get your Dad there at the perfect time. It'll be too much of a coincidence for them to walk away".

Kobe rubbed his nape, "I don't know Aliss", he expressed his worry, "I don't want to get hurt again". "I promise that I'll be better", she begged, "please, let's be a family again". "If you think it's gonna work, fine", he agreed, "but be sure you want me as your brother and not your boyfriend 'cause there's no going back". "What? No! Eww! You're so not my type", she nudged his side, "did you really think I split them up because I had a crush on you? Never! Ever! I see you and I'm like gay. I feel nothing". "No need to stress the point. I know I am good looking". "In your dreams".

"Aww", Kimmy jumped in, "you guys are already acting like siblings". "You were eavesdropping, weren't you?" Aliss wore a bored look. "To be fair, the door was open and you guys weren't exactly whispering". Kimmy put up a solid defense. "I have to get to practice but I'll text you, Aliss or you can text me when you're ready", Kobe went to the door, "just laying it out there, I know how hard it is to see your Dad married to a woman and suddenly, he's gay. You weren't totally at fault".

The best friends were left to discuss the real reason for her blackout. Aliss pulled her sleeves to show Kimmy the black web. To her horror, it was not just on her wrist but all over her arm. "Any idea what it means?" Kimmy asked while admiring the symbols. "Nope. Not a single clue". Aliss was disappointed.

"I'm glad that you're trying to get your family back together", the black haired wore a stern expression, "but if you don't get this under control, you'll have extra people to worry about you". "Why are you right about this?" Aliss brushed her fingers over her arm, "we need answers and the only place we're gonna get them is the woods". "So..." Aliss looked up and said, "so, we're going hunting".

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Serious warning to all who are homophobic - this is my story and I write what I want so please do not mess up the comments section with bad vibes, okay? Love isn't about a person's genitalia but about the personality of the individual. Got it? Good!

And before y'all come at me for the 'going into the woods' bit, you have to understand where these two are coming from. They literally have no idea what to do next and ignoring it didn't work. How will it play out? Find out!

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