Behind |First book in The Risen Saga|

Chapter Four|Ava - Stuck on the Verge

My only destination was my room. So, even though my mom attempted to talk to me, I ignored her and went straight there, seeking the comfort of the room—the only place that I truly felt at ease. 

I had completely forgotten about school until Tyson had brought it up. School seemed so out of reach with the new information that I had. 

What if what had happened at the depot happened during school? What if someone actually got hurt the next time? 

A normal life didn't seem possible anymore. At least, not with Emma still in the picture. And sure as hell not if I was actually a witch. 

I sighed, sprawling on my bed and looking up at the blank ceiling. 

After what had happened today at the depot, how could I still be denying the fact that I was something more than just human? 

I turned my head to the side, looking out the window as the sun began to recede from the sky, being replaced by a gentle darkness, giving way only to the speckles of light glimmering high above. 

There were two places I felt completely safe in the entire universe, and that was my room and the woods outside my grandma's house. 

The woods were quiet, unlike the woods closer to Chicago, which were littered with a variety of animal noises and, sometimes, things that didn't seem like just an animal. At night, the woods that surrounded her house were nothing if not comforting. 

No matter the circumstances—whether it was raining or snowing, or if it was just a clear night—the woods would be comforting, giving off a general feeling of home. 

And my room had always been my safe haven since before I can remember. I remembered when I'd get angry and storm off to hide in my room because I couldn't have ice cream for breakfast. But I guess it hadn't been as bad until my father passed away. 

After that, I'd always found myself hiding myself in my room, distancing myself from everyone. And when all my friends ended up leaving me, the only place I found myself in was my room, locked away reading a book or simply waiting for the day to be over. 

Now, with all this new information, I was too anxious to just lay there like I used to. 

So, I stood up and pulled my backpack out of my cluttered closet. Everything I needed was already in the bag since I'd put them in the day I'd bought everything. But I'd forgotten about school anyway and wasn't sure if I had everything. 

And it would be a good thing to get my mind off of everything. 

As I began reorganizing, checking off supplies as I went, I stopped at the colored pencils that Tyson had bought for me. 

He was an artist but I'd never seen any of his work and I'd never seen him in the process of working, so I wasn't sure how good he was. But since he knew so much about the "correct" writing utensils to get, I had no doubt he was, at least, decent. 

The colored pencils he'd gotten me were expensive—almost fifty dollars—but since his mom knew the store-owner, we'd gotten a discount. 

I smiled as I slipped the pencils into the bag, along with everything else. 

Both Tyson and I would be going into our sophomore year but I'd be turning seventeen in a little less than a month. 

I'd grown used to being the youngest in my class, but it wasn't like anyone paid attention to me anyway. After my father died, the only person that interacted with me was Tyson and he wasn't even in the same class as me. 

But what did I care? I had more important stuff to worry about than my age and my nonexistent friend group. 

I zipped up my bag and sat it at the foot of my bed, flicking off my lamp and only finding myself back where I started.