“Vamps?” Lilah looked at her uncle.
“Yes. Vampires.” He swiftly looked back at Abby regretting getting into the conversation as soon as he spoke.
“You are saying vampires are real,” Lilah asked incredulously.
Her mom started nodding slowly before finally saying it out loud in a hushed voice. “Yes.”
“They were real at any rate,” Todd saw how difficult it was for Abby being forced to have a conversation she wasn’t prepared to have. “How many are actually left is still unknown.”
Lilah was amused. Surely they were playing a trick on her. They were getting her back for eavesdropping last night. “Where did they go, Uncle Todd? Have you tried checking Transylvania? I hear they like to winter there.”
“Enough,” her mom’s voice returned loudly. “You wanted to know, so we are telling you. Now, shut it and listen.”
“The vampires are all dying off at an alarming rate,” Todd went on.
“We don’t know that,” Abby insisted.
Todd walked over and sat next to Lilah. “She’s right. We don’t know for sure what has happened to all of them, but they have disappeared. That is a definite.”
“Oh okay,” Lilah rolled her eyes. “Sure. The vampires are disappearing. Whatever you say, Uncle Todd. Next, you’re going to try and convince me the werewolves ate them, right?” Lilah said in a spooky voice while waving her fingers like she was telling a ghost story.
Her Uncle Todd looked baffled. “Why would the werewolves eat them? Water and Fire get along.”
Lilah looked at her uncle confused. It dawned on her gradually that maybe what he was saying was true, but she wasn’t sure. She crossed her arms over her chest, “I’m not falling for it, Uncle Todd. I know I’m still a baby compared to the rest of the family, but I’m not a kid anymore.”
Todd looked at Abby who opened her mouth to say something before looking down. “I think I’m going to leave the two of you alone out here for a minute,” he walked over and opened the screen door of the farmhouse then went inside.
Lilah looked at her mom leaning against the porch rail across from the swing. Her thoughts were racing. Her mom just stared ahead rubbing her hands together in slow circles. Lilah tried to focus first on her mom then on her Uncle Todd who was now in the kitchen. It was no use. She couldn’t pick up on their thoughts, and the only thought she had was the vampires are disappearing. Maybe even dying.
“That’s right,” her mom said, cutting into Lilah’s thoughts. “Some of them are dying and in record number too. We can’t be sure of the numbers because the rest seem to have gone into hiding.”
“Vampires,” Lilah said weakly, ignoring yet another mind invasion committed by her mom.
“Yes.”
“You told me–“
“I know what your father and I told you,” her mom broke her train of thought. “You were young. You had just discovered witches were real. The pop culture at the time…” her voice trailed off.
Abby closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “The pop culture painted all of us out to be so different than what we are. It still does. You were caught up in all the myths, legends, the school for magic, and the vampires that sparkled. We thought it would be best to break everything to you slowly. Knowing you, you’d have wanted a werewolf as a pet.”
Lilah gasped as the words slipped out of her mother’s mouth. Her mom looked directly at her, and Lilah said more to herself, “They’re both real.” Everything was sinking in.
“Yes. I didn’t plan for you to find out this way, but,” her mother didn’t finish her thought.
“But something’s happening?”
“Exactly.”
“What is happening?”
“I don’t know.”
“You know more than you’re telling me! Will you ever stop treating me like a child?” Lilah jumped from the swing and walked away from her mom. “I know at twenty-one years old, I’m still a kid compared to the rest of the family, but I’m an adult as far as anyone else’s standards are concerned. How old do I have to be before this family, before you, treat me like one?”
Lilah walked to the end of the porch and looked around. “All I’ve had to go through my whole life. No real friends because I can’t let anyone discover our truth. Not to mention we never stay anywhere very long! I couldn’t do anything like the other kids because if I got injured, I would heal too fast. People would ask questions.” Once she started to vent her frustration over not knowing the truth sooner, everything started pouring out. She stared down the field that ran along the driveway toward the road. Part of her wanted to run. She wanted to leave and never come back.
“What would that help anything?” her mother asked.
“And that!” Lilah yelled, turning back to her mom. “You are aware that almost every other person on this earth are allowed private thoughts, aren’t you? Just because you can eavesdrop in my head doesn’t mean you should! Much less, it wasn’t five minutes ago you told me you would stop!”
With that, Lilah ran inside the house and upstairs to her room. She paced the floor of her small bedroom for several minutes growing angrier by the second. ‘Vampires? Real. Werewolves? Real. They told me Water and Fire were different versions of us!’
The thought stopped her in her tracks. ‘Different versions of us!’ Her anger continued to boil. ‘All this time, I thought Water and Fire were different versions of Air and Earth, psychics and witches. They’re different versions of the Elements. Of course! Mom’s favorite game to play was semantics, so she can say technically she wasn’t lying.’
Lilah had never before felt this emotional. She was angry at her parents for not trusting her with the whole truth. She was embarrassed that she believed them blindly to the point where she would even doubt her Uncle Todd when he tried to tell her. She was humiliated that the whole family was probably downstairs right now laughing over how everyone treats her like a baby. She didn’t try to block her thoughts. She wanted her mom to hear everything that was on her mind if she chose to eavesdrop in on what she was thinking.
‘How could she lie to me like that? This isn’t just withholding information. Her favorite excuse is, “I didn’t LIE to you Lilah; I omitted something.” I asked you point blank if vampires and werewolves were real, and you said NO! You LIED!’
Lilah could hear the voices of her mother and uncle trickle up the stairs. They were in the kitchen now and obviously had no intention of trying to talk to her again just yet. Lilah sat on the edge of her bed not sure what to do. She only knew she didn’t want to be here in this house with them anymore. A cool air drifted in through the small drafty window and gave her a plan.
It wasn’t hard at all for Lilah to climb out of the window onto the roof of the back porch. She hung over the edge and lowered herself down until her toes finally made contact with the rail on the side of the porch. Lilah jumped to the ground and looked around listening closely to hear if anyone was coming after her for a minute.
They must be giving her some much needed privacy and not paying attention to her thoughts. No one seemed to notice her except the white squirrel who was eyeing her intently from the other side of the house. Lilah started slowly away from the house staying on the grass next to the gravel drive to not make any noise. Halfway down the drive, she took off at a sprint.
Lilah ran out onto the state road at the end of the drive and began the two or so miles toward town. She kept running until she could see the lights of Fairview growing brighter in the distance. She slowed her pace and only then became aware of her pained side and her chest that was working hard to keep up in the brisk fall air.
Slowing to a walk, she knew it wouldn’t be much longer until the restaurant came into view. It was the only place in town she knew. She only hoped she would have enough time to get there and calm down a bit before her mom realized she had left.
‘I hope she worries,’ Lilah thought. ‘I hope she goes to check on me and is scared when I’m not there.’
She was aware of the sound of an approaching vehicle behind her and knew it might already be her Uncle Todd with or without her mom. It was coming toward her fast. Lilah turned to look back just as the pickup truck took notice of her and swerved to avoid hitting her. She jumped out of the way and wound up falling into the ditch. The pickup swerved back and forth. Its tires screeching before the driver finally regained control. About half a dozen boys were in the bed yelling and laughing. High schoolers? College? Lilah couldn’t be sure.
Lilah tried to stand up, and a pain shot through her arm as she tried to push off the ground. She sighed in frustration. She managed to climb out of the ditch to the side of the highway. She sat down on the shoulder of the road and looked her arm over. It was already starting to bruise and swell, possibly broken. It wouldn’t matter. It would be healed soon.
The rest of the trip toward town continued at a very slow pace. Her wrist throbbed relentlessly with the vibration of each step, but she reminded herself with every second, it was already healing and would soon be back to normal. The pain was taking her mind off the argument with her mom and how angry she had been when she left. It also gave her a chance to realize how cold it had become that evening and made her regret not grabbing something heavier than a jacket to wear. It seemed to take forever, but she finally saw the restaurant come into view.
As she neared the parking lot, she saw the same full size red pickup that nearly ran her down not even thirty minutes ago. Her anger started creeping back. ‘Idiots,’ Lilah thought. ‘Why do people always have to go out acting dumb trying to impress their friends? They easily could have killed me tonight.’
Lilah stopped near the door of the restaurant and smiled devilishly. ‘Well, not me, but they could’ve killed someone.’
Her wrist still looked bad, so she pulled her sleeves down until she held the ends in her palms to prevent them from rising back up. The last thing she needed was for someone to notice the injury especially if she stayed here long enough for them to see that it healed itself.
She walked through the door of the restaurant and looked around. She saw the occupants of the pickup gathered in a corner booth. She would have known it was them even if she hadn’t seen their truck outside. The one with the blue hair and white hoodie was just as loud here as he had been in the bed of the truck as it was flying down the highway. She decided to sit at the counter on the other side of the dining room.
“You okay, sweetie?” the waitress asked as Lilah was pulling out her stool.
“Yes,” Lilah replied, assuming the waitress was only concerned about a young woman out alone and obviously upset.
The waitress looked her over before shrugging and walking away. Lilah looked after her puzzled. She turned to sit on the stool and saw her reflection in the front window. She was covered in dirt and grass from her tumble in the ditch.
Lilah headed to the restroom and could feel every eye on her from each table she passed. Once in front of the mirror, she took off her jacket and shook it out. Lilah brushed her jeans off and picked grass and leaves out of her hair. She wished she had brought a brush with her, but her decision to run out wasn’t exactly planned.
Heading back to the counter, Lilah could feel her anger boiling over again. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment from being the center of attention, and she was certain she would be the topic of small town gossip for days. Everyone continued to stare. She wished she could read their minds, but she really didn’t need that ability to know what they were thinking. Who was this stranger, and why did she look like she just fought a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield and lost?
The waitress walked up to her from behind the counter and handed her a menu. Lilah wasn’t hungry. ‘That’s a first,’ she thought. She continued to look through the menu while waiting for the waitress to return. The guys in the corner were being obnoxious, and she wondered if the rest of the diners were as annoyed by them as she was.
Lilah turned her head slowly toward the group. She glanced at them one at a time until she saw him. He was on the end facing her. Their eyes met briefly before he looked away, and Lilah felt the entire room move around her as though the stool she was on suddenly shot across the restaurant toward him. She didn’t realize her breathing had stopped until she gasped for air, and everything returned to normal leaving her a little dizzy. She wondered who he was. She could sense witches, but no one had ever had that effect on her before.
“Maybe she’s homeless,” Lilah her a voice behind her say. She whipped her head around to look, but couldn’t tell who was speaking.
Her waitress appeared again and asked if she needed a few more minutes. “No, I’m ready. Could I just get a chocolate shake?” Lilah smiled, “I’ll leave a good tip.”
The waitress nodded and took the menu. As she walked away, Lilah heard her make a remark about how she should have told her the milkshake machine was broken.
“If it’s too much trouble,” Lilah called out to the waitress’s back, “I’ll just have iced tea.”
The waitress turned to her and smiled. “It’s no trouble, sweetie. I’ll be back in a few.”
Soon the waitress was busy writing in her order pad. “All these kids ever want are milkshakes. They don’t care how long it takes for us to make them, or what a bother it can be especially when we’re busy. Leave a good tip my hind end. None of them know how to tip.”
Lilah stared toward the direction where the waitress had disappeared behind a divider. Her mouth open. ‘I can’t believe she said that! I guess I’ll be one of the kids who don’t know how to tip tonight.’
A throbbing pain in her wrist brought her thoughts back to the matters at hand. Lilah figured she probably got what she deserved for running off like she did. She was still angry and embarrassed, in pain and could feel a headache coming on from all the commotion around her.
The restaurant was loud. Everyone was talking, and Lilah wondered how anybody could follow their own conversation with all the noise around them. She could hear bits and pieces of everyone’s conversation. There was a woman who was worried about a sick friend. Another woman was actually talking about her husband cheating on her. Loudly. In public! She could even hear the group of guys in the corner talking about girls, homework, and football.
Then she heard it. Or rather, then she paid attention to it. One guy far off was talking about her.
“I’m going to do it. I’m just going to walk over there and introduce myself to her. That’s what I’m going to do. Just as soon as I can will my legs to move me in that direction.”
It was the same young guy she had noticed minutes ago. She didn’t remember seeing him in the bed of the pickup truck. ‘Maybe he was in the cab.’
He glanced back her way again and when he saw she was looking at him, he glanced down and nervously played with the straw in his glass. Lilah heard him, “She’s looking at me. You idiot! Go talk to her!”
He never moved. Instead he took a pen that was laying on the table and glanced at her again before writing something on the corner of the paper placemat. He ripped the corner off and looked directly at her. “Just go give it to her. You can do this.”
‘Wait,’ Lilah sat up straight. ‘He’s not talking. How can I…’
She turned away so as not to stare and tried to concentrate. He was mad at his friend. Kent? Trent. Trent was the driver. Trent hadn’t seen her walking, but he did. He saw her, and grabbed the wheel to prevent an accident. He felt horrible that his friends didn’t seem to care about their near miss.
Lilah slowly turned around and looked at the people in the tables along the front windows of the restaurant. She could hear bits of actual conversation and other pieces that she couldn’t be sure if the words were spoken or merely thought. She saw a man sitting alone and tried to focus on him without noticeably staring.
‘Nothing. It�
��s been a bad night. You’re upset and-’ Lilah’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard him.
“Might as well go home. Alone here. Alone there. What difference does it make?”
Lilah was watching the old man the whole time. His lips never moved. She watched him pull out his wallet and put some bills on the table. He got up and headed toward the door. Lilah couldn’t help but stare now. As he passed her, she watched as his mouth stayed closed, but she could hear him, “She’d be quite a pretty little thing if she owned a hair brush.”
Lilah looked down at the floor. Everything came at her at once. It felt like an entire stadium yelling not just a couple dozen people in a small restaurant. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to her mom, “Come get me. NOW!”
The room started spinning, and Lilah began to feel sick. Her stomach churned out a warning that she needed to get somewhere private immediately. She stood up and took a step toward the door thinking she should go outside to get some fresh air. One step was all she managed. The last thing she heard before passing out was the voice of the young man across the room, “Is she okay? Something’s wrong.” Lilah couldn’t even be sure if he said it or only thought it.
When Lilah opened her eyes, she was on her back on the floor in front of the counter. She lifted her head, but her mom stopped her. “Keep still, sis,” her mom said. “Don’t try to get up just yet.”
From somewhere behind her, Lilah heard a voice say, “Show’s over folks. Move on.”
Lilah looked around. She recognized a few of the faces from the restaurant, her mom and uncle, and then she saw him. On the other side of her mom was the guy from the pickup. As soon as she recognized him, her face flushed. Lilah glanced back to her mom then to him again.
“This is Jackson,” her mom told her. “Lucky for you he was here. He got you on your back and your legs raised above your heart before Todd and I arrived.”
Lilah started to move again, and this time no one tried to stop her. Instead, she felt her uncle’s hands move beneath her arms to help her sit up. She was only a few inches from Jackson now. “Thank you,” she said to him in barely a whisper.
Air: The Elementals: Book One Page 6
