The Witch Next Door

TWND-Chapter Two

Copyright © 2012 Dionne Tuttle

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Chapter Two

     I let myself into my house, amazed that I wasn’t completely dry from the heat that my anger was giving off. Why hadn’t he said anything sooner? I threw my key on the table by the door and stopped to consider. Why had he said anything at all? He knew that I would realize it when I went to change. He just wanted to get under my skin. He was doing a good job of it too.

     I called out a hello as I made my way to the bathroom to grab a towel. The only sound in the house was the meow of my black cat, Snowball. She briefly lifted her head to see what I was doing before going back to watching some birds out the window.

     I bet you’re wondering why I named my black cat Snowball. Everyone asked me that but the answer is simple. I like things that are the opposite of what people expect. If you hear the name Snowball, chances are that people will expect that your cat will be white or have fur of some similar light color. I like to throw people off balance occasionally. Keeps them wondering what you’re up to.

     “Nice to see you too,” I said to her. She blinked and gave me an annoyed look, like I had interrupted something important. Then she yawned and settled down to take a nap.

      “Rough day, huh? I can relate.” I couldn’t imagine what Snowball did all day to be so tired. Sleeping, eating and watching birds out the window must be harder work than it looked.

     I walked into the bathroom and grabbed a towel. I peeked into the open door of Lily’s room as I made my way to mine. It was empty. Huh. Lily must still be at the animal clinic. Just as well, as I was in a bad mood.

     I walked into my room, peeling off the offending clothes as I went, and grabbed a pair of sweat pants and an old t-shirt. I got dressed in record time and was just toweling off my hair when the phone rang. I briefly considered letting the answering machine get it but decided that I just couldn’t ignore it. Besides, maybe it was Kyle calling to say that he’d changed his mind. Not that I would take him back but I wanted a chance to see him crawl. I made a lunge for the phone, banging my knee against the bed frame in the process. “Ow! Hello?”

     “Jane, where have you been? It’s almost six o’clock.”

     “Mom! Hi. I’ve been having the worst day of my life.”

     “Everything okay?”

     Okay. Where to start? “Well, now that you mention it, no. My car broke down and Kyle dumped me.”

     “I’m sure that Kyle’s not that upset over your car breaking down.”

     I resisted the urge to slap my forehead. Did I forget to mention that my mother’s a little bit absentminded? “Actually, Kyle broke up with me first. Then my car broke down.”

     “Oh dear. That’s too bad. About Kyle, that is. The car can always be fixed.”

     I rolled my eyes.

     “Anyway, I just wanted to call about your birthday. You know, on Halloween?” she added just in case I had forgotten my birthday. How many people could forget their birthday, let alone one that just happened to fall on a holiday where little kids dressed up like monsters and begged for candy? Though some of the kids were monsters every other day of the year. My little sister Kayla came to mind.