Spellbound

Chapter Eight

Okay, I'm absolutely completely convinced now. I really am crazy. It couldn't have happened the second time. There was no such thing as coincidence. Maybe he's a ghost?

Is this the way my own mind process things?It felt like a big betrayal.

Oh, gods. My cheeks felt wet and I realized I was crying.

I'm instantly angry at myself. It was pathetic, really.

Stop, I pleaded with myself.

Soon, I was at my car and opened the driver's door.At first I didn't start the car, instead I just let my head lean on the steering wheel. A sunken feeling made way in my stomach. I wasn't ready to go home yet. There, all kinds of hell were waiting for me. The school probably notified my parents about my detention. A sigh escaped my mouth as I reluctantly started the car and drove out of the parking and in the direction of home. I prayed to whatever God was listening that I would survive tonight.

When I finally arrived home, I was not only in trouble about my detention, I'm sure as hell doomed because I'm late again. Cautiously, I opened the front door, hoping they wouldn't acknowledge my presence. Not hearing a sound from within the house, I made a beeline towards the stairs.

" Leah McAnne Gracion, where in the world have you been?" Great. Mom was using my full name, which is a very bad sign. Well. The not-caring-about-my-whereabouts parents were gone. Someone is seriously mad at me out in the universe.

My heart shrinked and my throat cloaked.

" I-I was..." Mom stood in the hallway, a few meters away from me with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. My mother wasn't the angry-type of person, but tonight was an exception.

"And this afternoon I got a phone call from school saying they never received the detention slip we were supposed to sign," Mom huffed out a breath, " What is the meaning of this all, Leah?"

I knew I wasn't going to win this, so I'm not even going to try to convince her otherwise. Besides I'm too tired to try.

"I got detention for sleeping in class and not doing my homework." I muttered and let my head hang low, my hair creating a barrier between me and her.

"Leah, what's going on with you? Please talk to me." Her voice sounded less harsh and more smoother. Her motherly instincts were taking over, I just knew. Even if I wanted to talk to someone, mom is the last person now. I'm not risking bringing up the shrink-thing now that we're finally over that. I just had to keep my insanity to myself now. My thoughts briefly wandered to Alice, but it was cut off by my mother's voice.

"Oh honey, why are you crying?" Surprised, I patted my cheeks, only to find them wet. A low whimpering noise escaped my mouth. Mom was at my side in an instant, engulfing me in a hug. I didn't even realize I was crying.

"I don't know mom. I think it's just stress with a little PMS." I said, realizing that I just couldn't tell her. How am I suppose to tell her something I hardly even believe?

"Tell you what, go up to bed and I'll make you a cup of your favorite hot chocolate and later I'll bring up your dinner, okay?" Mom gave me a kiss on the forehead and released me.

"Thanks, mom." I said, turning around and up the stairs.

" And Leah?" mom called before I could take another step and glanced back, " You're grounded for the weekend. That means no Alice too."

I let out a loud groan, but couldn't help returning the smile she gave me.

It could've been way worse!

That night, I was thrusted into the now-familiar dream again, and woke up with a gasp, a layer of sweat visible on my forehead. My body felt completely numb. It changed again. The dream. I gave a soft groan.

I could hear the soft purring of Snow sleeping on the mat and it took me a few minutes for my breathing to return to normal.

That awful, booming voice was back, with the exact same words as last time. But that's not all that happened.

The images were still fresh in my mind and it was easy to recall.

Everything went pitch black after the voice,leaving only the shapes of the trees in it's wake. A small orange light at the far end of the path came into my sight. It was so faint that at first, I thought I was imagining it. Until it became bigger and bigger. I could still feel the heat of it against my flesh, even now.

It was a fire, running in a narrow path, not touching any trees. Directly at me. Before I could burn to death, I woke up. I can cope with the first part, you know. Even the freaking crazy voice, but this? I didn't know how to handle that. What am I suppose to do now?

Nothing about this was normal anymore. Nothing about this scream PMS or stressed hormones. This was downright crazy. I let out a ragged breath and re-positioned my pillows. The clock on my nightstand read 05:02.

There was no way I'll be able to fall asleep again. Twenty minutes later, I couldn't take it anymore. I decided to take a very long shower to rid me off this feeling. I wished I could scrub away the dreams. Scrub away everything that started happening these past weeks. I just wanted to have things returned to normal.

The water was absolute bliss. It's a shame I had to get out and face the world.

No, actually. Not the world. I remembered that I'm grounded, so I can't even have Alice come over to distract me. She'd know how to make me feel better, even if she didn't know what's up. Except for the dream. She knows that. What she doesn't know is that I'm insane and seeing people. Having conversations with him.

Suddenly the shower didn't feel like bliss anymore, so I just stepped out and dried myself off with the big white towel. Quickly, I threw on a pair of sweats and a tank top and ploffed on my bed. Snow was still sleeping on her mat, and I felt a sudden pang of jealousy.

How pathetic. Jealous of a damn cat. But her peacefulness made me long for the same thing. I haven't had one good night's rest and my mind and body is absolutely exhausted. Everything was too much for me suddenly and I just prayed that it would end sometime soon.

A chill ran down my spine when glimpses of the dream came back to me.

Something told me that this, this is just the beginning.