Witch (Supernatural #2)

14: Nugget of Wisdom

Cougar, noun.
Also called mountain lion, panther, puma.

1. a large, tawny cat, Felis Concolor, of North and South America: now greatly reduced in number and endangered in some areas.

***

Over the days that followed, no one spoke about the charred remains of the pine tree. No one ventured outside to discover what had happened. But it was on everyone's mind. It was possible that those freaks who had gone after Mom had done this. Of course, for Noah and Grandma, it was only a faint possibility. They would still wonder how we had been followed all the way here.

If we had been followed all the way here.

I kept quiet, not wanting to believe that they actually knew where I lived. They had dumped those dolls in my locker, they had attacked me at the planetarium; it must mean they didn't know where I lived. If they knew where I lived, they no longer were a threat to only me. They were a threat to Grandma. They were a threat to Noah. Those were thoughts I wasn't ready to deal with so I did want every normal person would do.

I denied the obvious and pushed it deep into the darkest corners of my mind.

I was getting tired of not doing any physical activities. Like literally tired; I wouldn't do anything all day and be exhausted and crawl into bed around ten. I had asked Grandma why the mansion didn't have an indoor pool. I asked because I wanted to swim and I honestly thought there would have had been one. She looked at me, straight-faced as usual, and arched an eyebrow.

"No one would use it regularly enough for it to be worth to cost and hassle of construction and maintenance."

"I would use it every single day."

"And if you had moved in four years ago, or weren't going to college after the summer, I might have considered it."

Then she grabbed her mug and walked away. Like it was the end of the conversation. She hadn't even given me a chance to argue and try to convince her. The logical, not bored-out-of-my-mind part of me knew it didn't matter. Even if I convinced her, the pool wouldn't have been built before going back to school, and which point it wasn't such a necessity anymore.

On December thirty-first, I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to do something and screw the feet of snow outside. I decided to go for a run in the woods; my body needed the exercise or I would go crazy. Plus, I had gotten a glimpse of what Grandma was preparing for that night. Let me tell you, it's not a Weight Watcher's menu. It smelled delicious though.

Dressed in my running tights, long-sleeved shirt and hoodie, I went down the stairs with my sneakers in my hands. There was a pair of gloves and a beanie in the pocket of my hoodie in case it turned out colder than I expected. But I refused to let the cold stop me.

As I was coming down the stairs, Noah was just opening the front door. Standing there, waiting to be let in, were Amanda and some of her friends. Two guys I didn't know and another girl I vaguely remembered from my history class. They stood awkwardly in the front hall, taking everything in, reminding me of myself the first time I walked through that door. Now, whenever I saw the place, I just saw Grandma's ridiculously expensive home but thought nothing of it.

"Hey Isla," Amanda grinned. "You going for a run? It's freezing out there."

"I don't really care; I need to do something."

"She's been climbing up the walls with inactivity," Noah said with an eye roll.

Amanda giggled a little and wished me good luck. As I slipped on my sneakers, Noah led everyone down to the basements where one of the rooms had been set up as a massive games and entertainment room. I was out the door before their chattered disappeared completely.