Blood Lineage(2015 Revision)

Chapter 14

I was finishing up my mid-terms the week of Thanksgiving and I still had not resolved the matter with Marcus. It has been four long weeks of missed calls and missed texts. It was like he knew when I wouldn't have my phone in hand. I patched things up with William after the first two weeks of pathetic apologies. He sent me flowers, balloons, stuffed animals, and cheesy cards everyday until I finally cracked. Gwen was warming up to the idea of him always being around, and he began to grow on me too. I started working nights at Aunt Cindy's store with Gwen, which gave us a lot of time to really get to know one another, and I got to read a lot of books, anything to take my mind of Marcus.

The day before Thanksgiving, Aunt Cindy told us to close early while she was home getting ready for the holiday. She was having a few friends over for dinner, so she let me invite Gwen and William so I wouldn't feel out of place. I wasn't really that in the mood for the group gathering thing at the holidays since I was still adjusting to mom not being here for them. I walked out of the back office through the shimmery beaded curtain into the large front room. Bookshelves lined three of the four walls, the last wall was at the very front and made of windows. I went to the register to close out for the day while Gwen locked the front door and pull the shades. After I put all the money into the cash bag, I locked it up in the safe in the office, then restocked a few candles. I told Gwen she could go ahead of me, I was going to stay and get a few things done. She nodded then got her bag and I locked the door behind her. I wandered back to the dreams section to look for a dream dictionary, I need to know the meaning of all my restless nights. I sat down Indian style and searched the racks for anything that could help me. After a few minutes I settled on Tony Crisp's Dream Dictionary:An A to Z

Guide for Your Unconscious Mind. I flipped to the sections I needed, but nothing I read was making any sense. I lifted myself off the floor and got my bag. As I headed past the front counter, I noticed a large book just sitting out. I knew it wasn't there before, and I was the only one here, so how did it get there?

I stood in front of the long black counter top and flipped the book around. It was bound in black leather and there was a giant red pentagram on the cover. The book looked brand new, just printed and bound today. Not a scratch or torn page, there was no title or author. I opened up the cover and started to read the first few pages. I became engulfed in the words, and before I knew it I was fifty pages in. I took a bookmark from next to the register and placed it in between the pages and closed the book, quickly tucking it into my bag.

I walked into the kitchen, and just like I expected, Gwen was there helping Aunt Cindy bake pies. I waved and went to my room to throw on some sweats and went back downstairs to see if there was anything I could do to help. Aunt Cindy told me to come on over and she would show me the family recipe for apple pie. I was excited to help, I always wanted to know how mom made it. We finished layering the filling and placed the top on. Aunt Cindy place four slits in the center and then squeezed some lemon juice over the top. I opened the oven and took out the first two pies and put the new one in. I helped them clean up the kitchen and went back up to my room. I pulled out the book, flopped onto my bed and began reading where I left off. I couldn't seem to put it down and I fell asleep sometime time around the two hundredth page.

I woke up late the next afternoon to the smell of turkey roasting in the oven. I went down the hall to use the bathroom, wash my face and brush my teeth before trotting down the stairs into the kitchen.

“Hey Aunt Cindy, anything you need me to do?” I strummed my fingertips gently across the counter.

“No, baby I got it, besides I heard of your kitchen horror stories.” She giggled.

“What horror stories?” I had no clue what she was talking about.

“Don't play dumb with me, Missy, you mother told me about when you tried to help you out that one year.”