Laconic » a.i

0.9

//ashton//

"Home sweet home." Rebecca sighed as she led us through the door of her house.

It was a house that looked bigger on the outside. The area of it was in the shape of a square and all of the rooms downstairs seemed to be the same size and the same shape: square. All the lights were off except for the living room, which had a girl sitting in it. She was watching TV and didn't bother looking up when we walked in.

"Sabrina, look alive!" Rebecca barked in the girl's face, snapping her fingers in front of her face. The girl -- apparently named Sabrina -- jolted up; maybe she was actually asleep.

She turned around and a girl with Rebecca's dark hair and pale skin looked me over with brown eyes. "Is this him?" she asked, looking up at Mali-Koa.

So everyone's heard about me, huh? That was kind of weird to have people asking about me; that never happened.

Sabrina looked me over again and nodded with a shrug, "Doesn't seem crazy."

Oh, she's told people I'm crazy. Why was I not surprised? I chuckled and Mali gave me a sideways glance. Sabrina got up and walked to the kitchen, giving me a funny look, but didn't say anything. Rebecca walked after her, so Mali led me behind them.

"So what did mom say we do?" Sabrina wondered, digging through the fridge. She popped her head up and looked at Mali-Koa and I. "Want anything?"

We hadn't eaten all day, and while I wouldn't die without eating, it still got kind of uncomfortable to have no food. I nodded and she looked through the fridge some more until she shut it and grabbed the phone from the wall as Rebecca talked to her.

"We've come up with quite a few spells, so we should be testing those," she replied, noticing her sister looking through the numbers saved on the home phone. "What are you doing?"

"Ordering pizza," she stated, glancing up at her sister. "Keep talking, I'm listening."

She just rolled her eyes at her younger sister and sighed, folding her arms over her chest. "Basically, we just test things on him."

Last time that happened, I was turned into what I am now: a sociopath killer with a split personality. I was pretty reluctant to go through with this plan of their's. But I kept my mouth shut and just listened to Sabrina list off different toppings she wanted. Once she had the total and the time it would take for it to be done, she thanked the person on the other end and hung up. Then she looked over at her sister.

"This is going to interfere with Annie's training." she told her as she leaned forward against the counter, her forearms holding her up against the top.

Training? Like, witch training? That's only thing it could be, right?

Mali-Koa's worried sideways glance gave me other ideas.

I heard the front door close and shoes walk through the living room to the square kitchen. It was a boy with shaggy dark hair pulled back into a tiny bun on the back of his head wandered in. He was tan and had scruffy facial hair. I remembered him vaguely as Michael's friend, Marcus; Annie's current boyfriend.

"Where's Ann at?" he wondered, looking around the kitchen until his eyes landed on me. He squinted, studying me. "Do I know you?"

"I'm Ashton," I spoke up. "I was friends with Michael Clifford."

He nodded, not really caring anymore. He looked back to the sisters, "So, where is she?"

"With mom at the store." Rebecca replied.

"I thought she was training today?" he questioned.

"She's helping mom with potions and stuff," she told him with a tired sigh, "so you won't be needed here today."

He gave her a smirk, knowing he was annoying her, "Well, you kind of do. I have information," When the sisters didn't react, he continued. "That girl you brought back a little while ago? I saw her walking down the street with two guys -- a blond and a dark-haired guy. I don't think she lives too far away from here."

"Aw, yeah!" Sabrina cheered. "We've been trying to track her down since she escaped! Beck, this is fantastic!"

"I know," she told her sister, not breaking eye contact with Marcus, "but we don't need your help to catch ghosts."

Catch ghosts? This can't be good...

I decided to speak up, "What exactly is this training for?"

Everyone looked at me, including Mali who looked pretty pissed off and worried.

Sabrina smiled proudly, "We kill ghosts."

I nodded slowly, "Oh. Cool."

I'm fucked.

My vision began to cloud and I was wondering if I was going to pass out. I didn't think I was that scared.

"Don't look so scared," Rebecca gave a light laugh. "We don't hurt people."

I mustered up a smile and nodded, "Got it. Thanks for the...reassurance."

She smiled back and turned back to Marucs with a glare. She was so much shorter than him, but she still managed to make him take a small step backwards from her, "Now get lost."

I blinked furiously as my sight got worse and worse. This wasn't me getting lightheaded or something, there was actually something wrong. I looked to Mali, but she wasn't paying any attention to me.

"Fine," he smirked, "but when Annie gets back, I'm-"

"Hello?" Annie's high voice rang out through the house.

Marcus gave an evil smirk at Rebecca, who just scoffed and turned away, "In here, babe!"

"Marcus!" she squealed, and I could hear her pick up her pace.

What the fuck is wrong with my eyes?

I rubbed at them again and again, but everything kept getting blurrier and darker. I could hardly see Sabrina look in my direction and cock her head, "Are you okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah, um, it's just my...my eyes."

"What's wrong?" I heard Annie's voice closer to me and a small hand on my back.

Everything was completely black. I couldn't see anything. What the fuck was going on? I held my hands out in front of me, searching for someone or something; anything.

"I can't see," I said, trying to stay calm. "I don't know why, but I'm blind."