Always and Forever (COMPLETED)

Chapter 23

"Where are you going?" tanong sa akin ni Val nang makitang nagmamadali akong umalis.

"I think I know who put that device on my necklace." sagot ko lumabas ng kwarto.

It must be him. He's the only one who came close to me that day, and I'm sure Alexa was not a witch when I turned her. My compulsion won't work if she is.

"I'll go with you." wika ni Val na kasabay ko ng naglalakad ngayon. "I still have a lot of questions that you need to answer."

I don't like the idea but I don't want her to doubt me. Tumango nalang ako sa kanya. Pagdating namin sa living room ay nag uusap pa rin sila Jassy at Josie. Si Kai naman ay kinakausap ngayon ni Mikhael, kahit nagsusungit pa rin siya. Kaylee is sitting on the couch, observing them. Nang makita niya kami ni Val ay tumaas ang isang kilay niya ngunit hindi nagsalita.

"Mommy!" sigaw ni Josie at lumapit sa akin. "Auntie Jassy is so funny! I like her!" ngiting ngiti na sabi niya.

Napangiti din ako. "That's very nice to hear, sweetie. Mommy needs to go somewhere so stay with her until your dad gets home, okay?" bahagya kong ginulo ang buhok niya.

"Okay!" she said before going back to Jassy.

"Where are you going, mom?"

Napatingin ako kay Kai nang tanungin niya ako. Nakakunot ang kanyang noo at nakatingin sa akin ng seryoso.

Nilapitan ko siya at lumuhod upang maging kapantay ko siya. "I have an important thing to do. Stay with your sister and don't ever go outside the house, okay?"

"You look bothered, mom. Are you okay?" muling tanong niya.

I gulped. Lying to him is hard.

"I am, sweetie. Don't worry about me." I smiled at him. "Your dad will be home soon. Take care of your sister for now."

Kahit halatang napipilitan ay napatango nalang niya. I kissed his forehead before heading out. Halos patakbo kaming pumunta ni Val sa sasakyan ko.

Papasok na sana ako nang bigla akong napatigil. "Don't follow us." matigas na sabi ko.

"What?" nagtatakang tanong ni Val.

Lumingon ako upang harapin si Mikhael na mukhang may balak sumama sa amin. "Stay here, Mikhael. And whatever happens, don't ever let Josie and Kai go outside the house." bilin ko.

Tumango siya sa akin at muling pumasok sa bahay. Pumasok naman ako sa sasakyan at ganoon din ang ginawa ni Val.

"He's really sired to you. Why didn't I notice that sooner?" saad niya matapos ang ilang minutong katahimikan. "How did he consume your blood anyway? I haven't seen you around before."

"We were practicing offensive magic." sagot ko habang nakatingin sa daan.

"Practicing? He didn't tell us you knew each other."

Kahit hindi ko siya nakikita ay alam kong salubong ang mga kilay niya ngayon. I'm driving as fast as I can. We're almost near Jireh's place. I need to confirm if it was him who put that listening device on my necklace and if he's connected to Gale.

"It's a long story, Val. I was teaching him a complicated spell that time but the spell backfired on him. As a result, he got injured and I made him drink my blood to heal his wounds. Then he was killed by Cole." I explained.

"How did you know that dumbass Cole was the one who killed him? We kept that as a secret because we didn't want other students to brand him as a traitor." mapang usisang tanong niya.

I let out a heavy sigh. "Because I was there when it happened." sagot ko at tinigil ang sasakyan. "We're here."

Lumabas kami ng sasakyan. It's still early so people are not here yet. I just hope Jireh's here.