There's Witches In Those Mountains

n i n e

*****************AUTHOR'S NOTE*****************

Here's a link to a playlist that accompanies this entire story, updated DAILY.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/40fNHonHOnIPYwby75jhmH

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November 26, 2018

~~~SIX A.M.~~~

Light cracked through the curtains on that cold November morning and Lydia opened her eyes, immediately closing them again because it was ghastly how cold it was in her bedroom. Thank heavens for carpeted flooring. She slowly pulled her comforter back and sat up, reaching for her sweatshirt and pulling it over her head. She pulled her braided hair out of the shirt and swung her legs over the bed. She slipped her house shoes on then stood up. She took a deep breath and stood up, quickly running to her bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

Lydia stood in the mirror and studied herself. The dark circles under her eyes had grown darker, like something was missing. Jacob and his family had been on vacation to West Virginia that week to hunt, so she had been by herself the entirety of Thanksgiving Break. But now it was Monday, and it was time for her to get back into a swing of gaining knowledge and wisdom. Jacob would be back from She turned the tart warmer on and starting getting ready for school. She turned the hot faucet on and waited a minute before plugging the sink and dropping a wash cloth in there. She bent down and reached under the sink for her face wash and toothpaste, setting them to her left on the sink. She rinsed her face with the wash cloth, letting out a sigh as the hot water steamed her face. She pumped out face wash and rubbed it in gentle circles on her cheeks, washing the sleep from her skin, then quickly rinsed it away with the wash cloth. She patted her face dry then brushed her teeth.

Lydia walked over to the shower and turned the hot water on then stripped down until there was nothing left to strip. She climbed into the shower and let the water pour over her. She whispered incantations to herself while washing her body, willing herself to have a a good day on her first day back to school. After she rinsed the shampoo from her hair, she quickly shut the water off, grabbed her towel, and wrapped her hair. She stepped out of the tub and wrapped another towel around her body, then opened the door and walked back to her bedroom.

She looked over at the clock and saw it was 6:30 and she needed to get dressed and eat break fast. She left her hair up in the towel as she pulled a long black skirt up her legs and tied it around her waist. She pulled a black sweatshirt over her head and down her body. She didn't need to feel overly pretty, just comfortable. She sat on her bed and pulled warm fleece tights up her legs to her thighs and put boots on over them. She walked over to the mirror, applied a little blush and mascara, then took her hair down and braided it, not even bothering to dry it. She pulled a toboggan over her hair and secured it with bobby pins. She grabbed her backpack and winter coat and walked down the stairs to the living room.

Her grandmother had already sat a bowl of warm cinnamon oatmeal and an apple on the table. "Are you excited for your first day back?" she asked her, sipping on a cup of ginger tea.

Lydia sat down at the table. "Not entirely, but only because I'm really tired. Oh, by the way, thanks for letting Elaina and Cassidy come over tonight for study night. You do remember that they are going to spend the night, right?"

Her grandmother nodded. "Yep, and I'm making that chili that they both love so much," she added, taking a bite of her oatmeal.

Lydia looked up at the clock. It was about a quarter until 7. She would need to leave soon. She finished her oatmeal quickly and grabbed her apple off the table, putting it in her bag. She grabbed her metal bottle of water from the fridge and put it in her backpack with her stuff and zipped it up tight. She picked up her bike helmet from beside the door on the floor.

"I'll see you this afternoon, MawMaw. I'll probably ride over with Elaina when she comes, so I'll won't be home until about four or five o'clock. Do you need me to grab anything from the dollar store before we come back from town?"

She shook her head but reached to the middle of the table to the money bowl for a ten dollar bill. She handed it to Lydia. "Make sure you actually eat something today before you come home. I know how much you love the chili." Her grandmother winked which made Lydia laugh.

Lydia grinned and put the money in her backpack. "I'll make sure I won't eat all of it." She stuck her tongue out at her grandmother then kissed her on the cheek. "I'll call you later, MawMaw."

Her grandmother smiled at her. Lydia put her helmet on then walked out the door to her bike. It was ridiculously cold outside, which only meant that the ground might be slick with frost, so she needed to be careful. After she slowly walked down the steps, she went over to her bike. She noticed a piece of paper attached to it. She ripped it from the bike and opened it, smiling at the familiar writing. It was from Jacob.

"Liddy,

My family got back home really early this morning, and I'm really tired so I won't be at school today. I'm sure you knew that, though.

I missed you so much while I was gone. I know you have a thing with your friends tonight, so I won't come over tonight or tomorrow morning, but I'd love to spend some time with you soon. Maybe even meet your friends, since I haven't had that pleasure quite yet. They're wonderful people from what I've read of their minds.

Give your MawMaw and PawPaw my best regards.

Love you a whole bunch, and I can't wait to see you soon.

Jacob"

Lydia smiled and put the note in her pocket. She mounted her bike and took off toward town. As she drove through the woods, she noticed that familiar scent of cedar and pine that she loved so much. He was nearby, but she didn't need to get herself distracted like she always did.