After Feodorvna

Chapter Nineteen

"Wait, what?"

"I said-"

I stood up to look into my dad's eyes. "No, I know what you said. How did you hear my thoughts?"

He tapped the side of his head. "Very carefully."

"Dad." I said, my mind going everywhere. "Dad, I can't deal with all of this. I makes no sense. Nothing has made sense in the longest time."

"Like what?"

"Like what? Um, I don't know...Holden freakin' killed one of my best friends, tried to kill my other best friend, but killed her mother instead. That's what. And I've got Billie running around doing rituals in the middle of the forest and summoning ancient Greek deities while trying to convince me that it's all for my boyfriend."

"Well-"

"I feel like I'm losing my mind!"

"Maybe that's why I can hear your thoughts...because they're everywhere."

"That makes no sense."

He threw his arms up in exasperation. "I don't know."

"Goddess, what the hell! No one ever frickin' knows anything around here! No one!" I scrambled past my dad and grabbed my bag, my phone, and my skates from beside the little table next to my door. "I'm done."

"Wait, Stella. Honey, you can't just leave."

"Watch me." I said as I dialed Holden's number.

I brushed out the door, ignoring the stuttered pleas for me to stay and the voice in my head that told me to stay as well. For all I knew, I was hallucinating. I was definitely trippin' somehow.

My phone in my hand rang and clicked, drawing my attention back into the world.

"Hello?"

I let out a strangled sound. "Holden, thank the goddesses."

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay! I'm anything but okay! Just...just pick me up as soon as you can, alright? I'll be at the little tea shop right outside of Camdenville. It's called Geisha Tea. Meet me there."

I ran down to the end of the street, out of view from my father who could be watching me out of the window. Once I settled myself onto the bench at the bus stop there, I laced my skates up and took off further away from the woods.

I was so thankful in that moment for the streets being the way they were because if they weren't as smooth, skating would have been out of the question...especially for Massachusetts streets. My skates were my freedom. The same way some people received their freedom on their sixteenth birthdays through car keys, I received a long-desired box of my childhood dream.

I could go on and on about my skates forever, but there are more important things to inform you about. Like how Holden was so disheveled when he picked me up, and was trying to conceal his little gasps for air. Or how his car was covered in little dents and scratches that had disappeared from sight once we got out of the car again. Absolutely nothing made sense anymore.

"So, darling, what's wrong?" Holden asked.

I shrugged. "I don't even know anymore."

~

I slept over at Holden's that night. It wasn't until I woke up that I realized I had never been to his house before. And by the time I woke up, the house was empty except for the both of us. I realized then, too, that Holden rarely talked about his own life. Maybe it was because things were moving too fast or just the fact that we had only known each other for a week, but there were far too many plot holes in his life. I didn't know his parents' names or even if he had any siblings. Somehow knowing each other and immediately falling in love with each other was enough for him...for us. Oh, I knew our relationship didn't make much sense, but I had somehow found love so I went with it.