Feeling Empty ▷ Jeremy Gilbert

prologue

Twelve-year-old witch Stella Parker was finishing up her dinner with her brother and sister, Luke and Olivia. Their parents were out on a date night, and they left the twins in charge to take care of their younger sibling. Luke and Olivia were bickering aimlessly while Stella picked at her food, moving the green beans around with her fork.

Suddenly, Luke turned to her. "Stel, you've got to eat them." After no response, but more scraping of the fork on the ceramic plate, Liv reached over and grabbed her sister's hand.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" The blonde teenager asked, concern written all over her face. Her sister had been acting odd lately, and not as cheery as she usually was. Stella looked up at her sister and didn't miss a beat as she spoke the name that sent shivers down the twins' spines.

"Kai."

After an emergency phone call to their parents, the Parker siblings' mom and dad were home and rushing to get candles prepared. Stella was terrified, trying to get away from her siblings who were holding her shoulders and hands down.

"Let me go!" She squealed, big tears rolling down her face like Niagra falls. It hurt the blonde twins to see their sibling suffering like this, but it had to be done. Stella didn't understand what was happening, but she knew that it wasn't good. "Please!"

Her father sighed and knelt in front of her, her body struggling from the hold her older siblings had on her. "I'm sorry," He whispered to her and began chanting.

Excruciating pain irrupted in the young girl's head, and she screamed in agony. Liv bit her lip to stop from crying and Luke looked away, his eyes glazing over. Her mother, on the other hand, was openly sobbing and muttering 'I'm sorry' over and over again.

Not more than two minutes past and Stella went unconscious, her eyes rolling into the back of her head. Her father sighed, wiping his forehead. "It is done," He looked up at the rest of his family in contempt. "She can never know him."