Wicked

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The sun rays crept through the curtains, revealing the morning. Slowly, I opened my eyes, cringing at the bright light. It seemed abnormally light in my room, that's when I noticed my room light was on. I stretched out, then recoiled deeper under the covers when I saw a figure standing in the doorway. It was my mom.

"Good, you're up. Come downstairs." She wasn't using her usual curt voice, but a monotone stunned voice. She was still wearing her pajamas, which only happened a handful of times. 

"Um, is everything okay?" I rubbed my eyes, as I stumbled out of bed. Despite being so groggy, I could feel that something was up.

"You should really come downstairs." She wrapped her robe tighter against her, then turned to leave. I followed her, down the stairs. They creaked under my bare feet, which were cold to the bone. Gran's house was so old it didn't have heat, but she had the fireplace on as much as she could. Like this morning, she had a roaring fire going. Everyone was in the living room, squished on the couch, facing the TV. 

I was just about to ask again what was going on. Then the commercial ended, showing a man in a suit and tie. It was the news. Gran reached for the remote and turned the volume up so loud it caused my head to throb. 

"If you haven't heard, a body was found near the docks. Police haven't released a name, but they have confirmed it is a teenage girl. They told reporters earlier today, the body was nearly drained of all blood. They suspect it is in connection to the two previous attacks. Our condolences for the family." 

What did this mean? We had saved Kellie Jones, right? Despite feeling numb, I raced upstairs to get my phone. I heard my mom and Gran call after me, but I didn't stop. I dialed Ivelyn's number, knowing she would have more information. She picked up on the second ring.

"What the Hell? Did you see the news? What did we do wrong?" When we had left Preston Park, the Draug or whatever had been injured. There had been no indication the thing was even alive. I knew we should have went after it, but I had been so tired. 

"Of course I saw the news, everyone is talking about it. It's the first murder since our parents were in high school. Don't worry, it's not Kellie Jones." I wanted to scream. It didn't matter who it was, someone had been murdered because we weren't strong enough! I sunk the floor, the phone pressed up against my ear.

"Ivelyn, this is our fault." My tone a hushed whisper. Ryan had been right, our Coven wasn't strong enough and this was the consequence. I was starting to believe it really might have been a Draug. 

"I know," for once her words weren't dripping with confidence or soaked with arrogance. Today, she sounded grounded, as if this was a slap in the face to everything she thought she knew. I knew the feeling, that's what was happening to me. I thought my plan was foul proof. "Listen, we're meeting up later at Kate's. Do you need a ride?" My mind was running a mile a minute. Before I could respond, Daniel's number popped up on the screen.

"Sounds good, text me. I gotta go." I heard a brief "whatever" before I clicked off the phone. "Daniel?" I knew it was him, but I was curious about what happened to him last night. Was he calling to see if I was the girl that had been murdered? Or was he going to explain what happened after the game?

"Hey, Corn, I'm glad you answered." Sure he was, bitterly I thought. I couldn't help it: I was stressed and Daniel seemed like a good target. 

"'Cus of what's on the news?" I asked him callously. I picked at my cuticles, wondering how I had become this. I hated feeling this way, especially when I had more important things to invest my energy in.

"What do you mean? Oh, the girl they found dead." His cold response caught me off guard. I even looked around the room, wondering if this was a joke I just didn't get. My silence was more telling than Daniel's words. He cleared his throat. "It's sad, I can't believe it happened at the Docks -- I was just there." So, he had been at the party after the game.