The Haven High Book Series (Wattys2017)

Chapter 11

When Kelly finally reached her apartment building she quickly ran upstairs to check to make sure her room was decent. She took a moment as well to tidy the front end of her apartment just in case something came up and they had to enter through that way.

She checked her watch thinking her dad must be out at an AA meeting he usually was at this hour, before she hurried back to her room to change out of her stained and ripped clothes.

She had just finished changing into a pair of yoga pants and a top when Lauren texted.

Are you ready for company? Is the coast clear? L

Yes my dad's not in, come on by. K

The port door opened on the wall next to her en-suite bathroom and Lauren stepped out holding Brenna's hand. They each had an over stuffed backpack on their backs which they flung off with relieved sighs.

And judging by the sound they made when they hit the floor both of the teen girls were packing some serious magic and they weren't afraid to use it. They got straight to work and nary a word was spoken.

Kelly took a seat cross legged on her bed to give them the space they obviously needed and watched as her room suddenly went from orderly to trashed in 5.5 seconds flat.

She knew her need for order and cleanliness was a holdover from her childhood, but heck she preferred her surrounding made sense. Having a place for everything and everything in its place gave her peace. It was a complete opposite of her disastrous childhood.

She couldn't control what happened outside her locked bedroom door: how much her father would destroy, turn upside down, or just plan demolish. She could however keep her inner sanctum from resembling the outer world of chaos and pain.

Someday she might get a therapist to work through those issues but it wasn't today. So as they unloaded the tools of their magical trade and left them strewn around her safe place she tried desperately not to fall back into an old habit of hers of chewing on her nails.

But when she unwittingly spit out a chunk of nail polish she began to see it for what it was: a losing battle. And in a minute she was going to have a boy in her room for the first time. Xan had never been invited to her home he hadn't even met her father, never wanted to, and yet she was going to be spending every waking hour with a person whom she knew, but who was at the same time, essentially a perfect stranger.

Kelly began to practice her deep breathing methods taught to her by their control and development teacher Helsing. She rested her relaxed hands on her upturned thighs and closed her eyes in a bid to center herself. And it worked for a time until Lauren interrupted her to say.

"I'm going back to fetch Donnie, the slip is ready, the circle is done, and I'll teach you both how to activate it when I return."

Lauren took Brenna's hand and they both waved a cheery goodbye before they left through the port door to head back to the school.

When next she saw her again she was holding Donnie's hand and he looked nervous to be coming through to her room. Or maybe he hated to travel like she did. Who could tell?

By this time the summer sun was setting in the sky and cast a reddish warm glow across her carpeted floor, and as her eyes panned the room, she thought now that the job was done, she could live with the results. It wasn't too disorganized nothing that a go around with the sweeper wouldn't fix. And having the circle of what she guessed was salt and the ring of various plants and leaves around it and the four lit candles, which she assumed represented the elements and the four directions at once, wasn't so bad. It even smelled quite nice.