“Do you guys wanna go get coffee?” I asked, pointing at the Starbucks on the corner.
“Totally! I still feel like I’m on a plane. We are really outside, right?” Angela rolled her eyes.
We started walking to the coffeehouse, and I was grateful for my friends once more. I couldn’t let the grief begin to control all of my emotions. Otherwise, I’d have nobody left.
Chapter 7
Jenny and Angela were right behind me as we plugged along back up the hill to my house. I was happy I was doing the uphill climb with Jenny and Angela rather than Logan. We had spent hours at Starbucks, and it was time to leave the seats for someone else. We covered all the harmless topics that were appropriate for a public place, and I think they were saving the hard-to-ask questions for when we got back to my house.
The sun was slowly vanishing, leaving a welcoming shadow that was cast on the row of exquisitely manicured brick homes, leading the way to mine. I thought back to when my mom and I moved into our home. She was so excited to find this architectural style, and I had to say it wasn’t the easiest of finds in a town that made a habit of ripping down older construction. This particular street harbored a row of brick houses as close to Gothic as Seattle could get. With upturned archways and roofs that curled and spiraled like the descriptions in the greatest of fairy tales, these homes were truly eclectic, and it was a place I couldn’t imagine ever leaving.
My mom was so thrilled the moment she saw the foyer interior with rounded archways and coved ceilings, that she didn’t even care what the rest of the house looked like. She was just lucky it was all as wondrous as the entry hall. She was a little impulsive to say the least.
“What are you smiling about?” Jenny asked.
“Just thinking about when my mom and I first moved here. How special this place was,” I said.
“It still is!” Angela exclaimed. “These homes never go on the market.”
“Yeah, and I hope to keep that tradition alive and well,” I muttered.
Reaching our front door, I could smell the amazing pot of stew that someone had already started. The mixture of garlic, onion, and bay leaf came rolling out as I pushed the large, wooden door open.
“I still love this door knocker your mom put on here. It always makes me smile,” Jenny said, as she placed her finger along the cast-iron gargoyle, which looked like he had one too many.
“Is that you, Triss?” my aunt called out.
“It is,” I hollered back, “and Jenny and Angela.”
“Hi, girls,” her voice rang out. A pang of grief hit me as my aunt’s voice achieved the same melodious tone as my mom’s.
“Ellsy and I’ve made enough stew for the neighborhood, so we should have plenty to eat since they aren’t invited,” she said, laughing.
“It smells amazing!” Angela hollered, as we went up to my room.
It almost felt like old times as Jenny and Angela piled into my bedroom, and I closed the door behind them. One day we’re climbing the stairs as children and the next as adults.
“Where’s Logan at?” Jenny asked.
“That’s a good question. I would have thought he’d have said hi.” I shrugged my shoulders.
Angela and Jenny were silent and looking at each other.
“I know there’s something you want to ask, so you should just pop it out,” I said, smiling.
Jenny let out a sigh and sank onto my bed.
“What do you think is going on?” Jenny asked.
“With my mom?”
She nodded.
“My heart says she’s still around. Then my brain starts getting involved, and I come up with the same conclusion as everyone else.” I shook my head, staring at them both. I decided to sit on the floor and stretch out my legs.
“It all seems so hard to believe,” Angela whispered.
“I know,” I sighed.
“Are you planning on going forward with the ceremony?” Jenny asked.
She’d already completed hers. She was with a different coven, and Angela didn’t belong to a coven. I think she lived vicariously through us. She was curious, but only from a distance. I helped heal a bite wound she had gotten from her pet rat, and ever since then she was intrigued.
“I don’t know. I’m so annoyed with everything that they’ve pushed on me that I feel like I don’t want to. Plus, there’s that little part of me that hopes I’ll get my mom back, and I really wanted her to see me through it. What’s the worst thing that happens if I push it off?” My eyes fell to the wide-planked wooden floors.
Jenny shrugged.
“So what really happens when you go through the ceremony?” Angela asked.
“There’s all kinds of things getting accepted into a coven provides. One of the biggest things I’ve been looking forward to is being allowed to go into the library. You aren’t allowed in the library unless you’ve gone through the ceremony. My mom was looking forward to taking me in there. Also, as a witch you have the right to choose who you want your apprenticeship with depending on the skills you want to develop. There’s a lot more too, but those are the biggies,” I replied.
“You’ve been talking about getting into the library forever, Triss,” Jenny replied.
“Yeah, but I don’t think it will be the same without my mom,” I murmured. “She was going to show me everything about our lineage and past. It just won’t be the same.”
“That’s tough,” Angela said. “It’s so unfair. I feel so guilty. We’re off about to do what normal eighteen-year-olds do, and here you are facing the biggest challenges of your life.” Angela looked at me, and her eyes were filled with tears.
“Please don’t let this take away from your experiences, guys. I feel like there’s something else out there that will help me through it. I’m not sure what, exactly. But I know it’s waiting to guide me,” I told them.
“Could that be Logan?” Jenny giggled, pushing Angela a little. “I know you were thinking it too.” And Angela nodded.
We all started laughing, and I wondered if it could be him.
“Very funny, guys. Things never change with you two.” I rolled my eyes.
“You know you’ll miss our running commentary,” Angela said.
“So true,” I said.
I started thinking back to the encounter from the day before and wondered if I should bring it up. I started messing with the fringe on the shag rug near my bed.
“I got locked in our flower cooler yesterday,” I said, looking only at Jenny, but Angela piped up.
“Those coolers don’t lock.” Angela’s brow was furrowed. She and Jenny both had helped out during the summers at our floral shop for extra cash.
“What do you mean, Triss?” Jenny asked. “As a joke?”
I shook my head. “It was no joke.”
There was a light tap on the door.
“Come in,” I replied, turning my head toward the door, thankful for the distraction.
Logan swung it open, carrying in a tray full of snacks, and Jenny and Angela couldn’t hide their huge grins.
“Aww,” Jenny said, staring at me like she was trying to use telepathy to get me to start in the swoon fest as well. Instead, all I could do was blink at him. He caught my gaze briefly, and it looked like he was trying to stifle a chuckle.
He set the snacks down and turned around, heading back out the door.
“Thanks, Logan. Could I look forward to this all the time?” My lips tilted up slightly.
“Don’t count on it,” he flung his words back at me, not facing me, as he closed the door.
“What’s that about?” Jenny pried.
“Apparently before my mom’s disappearance she and Logan’s mom devised a plan for him to stay in the spare bedroom while he went to college.”
“You’re kidding?” Jenny’s eyes were huge.
“And now?” Angela asked.
“Not sure yet,” I told them, fidgeting.
“Looks to me like you are,” Angela replied flatly.
“Uh-huh. I agree,” Jenny confirmed.
“There’s positives and negatives to it, and I have a lot to think about. That’s the least of my problems.” I said, glaring at Jenny.
A chill ran through me, and I wondered if Logan ever actually went back downstairs, or if he might be listening on the other side of the door. I kind of hoped he was.
“He might be able to help take care of things around here, and it’s best if you don’t make decisions after a trauma like this, for at least a year,” Angela said regurgitating whatever latest thing she’d read on the grief process.
“I think my aunt wants me to move in with her for a while, but honestly, I don’t really want to. This is my home,” my voice was a little louder, just in case he was trying to hear.
“Well, if he’s not here, I kind of think you should move in with your aunt for a bit. If he is here then …,” her voice trailed off, and she smiled.
“It’s not like that, guys. I’ve known him forever and by the looks of him, I’d say he’s probably attached or something.” Still elevating the level of my voice.
“You didn’t ask him?” Jenny was shocked.
“I kind of did and he didn’t really answer. Besides, I don’t really care. I’ve got bigger concerns right now,” I whispered.
Jenny and Angela were happily building their apple and cheese delicacies, and the hunger that was almost making its way back, vanished again completely.
“So back to the cooler incident,” Jenny began.
Rats! I wished I hadn’t started down that path. I didn’t feel like talking about it any longer.
“It was just a little freaky. The cooler really did lock on me, and I had to call my aunt to get me,” I finished quickly.
Angela was eyeing me suspiciously. They both knew there was more, but I obviously wasn’t going to tell them, and I was thanking the heavens that Logan interrupted my first attempt with the snacks.
“Yeah, so I really don’t know what I’m going to do about the Logan thing. I mean even if I don’t live here, it can’t hurt that he does,” I sighed.
“I know you’re going through a lot and are dealing with things I can’t even pretend to imagine,” Jenny said, “but don’t start closing yourself off. It will only hurt you. Logan seems to be pretty supportive for someone you haven’t physically seen for years. He wants to be there for you. I’d take him up on the offer.”
“It would make me feel a lot better leaving town, knowing you’ll let yourself be watched over a little,” Angela agreed, nodding as she built another apple tower.
“By the way, you two, my aunt and his mom don’t know that I know that was the plan so please don’t bring it up. Now’s not the time,” I said smiling and reaching for some of the fruit Logan had so thoughtfully prepared for us.
There was so much I wanted to tell Jenny and Angela, but what was the point? They were leaving town, and I didn’t want to burden them. There’s nothing they could do. I hoped we would all stay in touch forever, and become those old ladies who would sit on rockers and tell tales of our childhood, maybe like the Golden Girls, only in Washington instead of Florida. But life, so far, had thrown a few curveballs my direction, and I decided it would be best to make their visit as normal as possible in case life took hold once more, and this was our last real time together.
Chapter 8
The morning came before I knew it. We had gorged on popcorn and Tim Burton movies, or Johnny Depp movies, however one might want to look at. I looked around the room and saw that Jenny and Angela must have woken up and gone downstairs already. I was still exhausted, or maybe sad. I was getting those emotions confused as of late.
I knew they would be leaving in only a few hours and forced myself up. I had a pair of light pink sweatpants on and a T-shirt. My hair was still piled on top of my head in a tangled ponytail, and I was sure I’d be making a memorable entrance.
Going down the stairs, I faintly heard Logan’s voice, and I panicked remembering what I really did look like, but it was too late. They could hear me puttering down the wooden stairs, and there was no turning back. I heard Jenny thanking him, and I wondered what the heck they were talking about because once they heard me coming, their voices stopped.
I rounded the corner near the kitchen and saw Jenny and Angela eating cereal, sitting at the table. I quickly turned to my left and saw Logan. He wasn’t facing me. He was looking out the kitchen window. He was wearing grey cotton pajama bottoms, and they were hanging a little lower than I expected, which made me look away quickly. Jenny smiled as she caught my reaction, and I did my best to stare her down to make sure she stayed quiet.
“Good morning,” I announced into the kitchen.
Logan spun around, and I immediately wished I had stayed upstairs. Having him here was really adding a complication to the already intense current of emotions that were running through me, but at least he was on my side in this mess. And anyone who was willing to listen to my theory was a godsend. A smile spread across his face, and he quickly glanced at Jenny and Angela and shrugged his shoulders, his eyes dancing with mischief.
“What?” I asked.
“We’ve decided that Logan definitely needs to stay here while he’s in college,” Jenny announced.
“Really, and do you plan on telling his mom and my aunt?”
“You might be surprised by their reaction. You never know. They may like the idea,” Angela said, smiling widely.
“Yeah, I’m sure they would love the idea,” I said, staring at them.
“Who would love what idea?” my aunt asked as she came in from the family room.
Glaring at Angela, I dismissively waved my arms at her.
“Nothing important, Aunt Vieta,” I mumbled.
“So you girls are sure you have to leave today?” my aunt asked them, too worn out to press me about our last conversation piece.
“Yeah, unfortunately,” Jenny grimaced. “We should probably leave pretty soon to get a start on it.”
The doorbell rang and Logan rushed past me to answer it, quickly sliding his hand along my waist to move me out of the way. A charge went through me, and I closed my eyes quickly to let it pass.
“Hey, mom!” Logan’s voice echoed down the hallway. “Let me grab some of those.”
“Thanks, dear. I was worried I was going to topple the chai or frapp if I tried to open the door,” she said. I could feel her smile all the way into the kitchen. My aunt went to help carry in whatever else Ellsy might have had, while I stood there like a zombie.
Maybe they would be totally fine with Logan moving in still. I’m eighteen, basically, and would be encountering complete strangers in a dorm. This would actually be a lot better than that, even though I wasn’t planning on going right to college. Regardless, this might be a solid plan. My hope was that I could gain enough courage to bring it up without the wrong reasons coming out.
“Triss,” Jenny whispered.
I looked over at her and Angela.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Logan told us about what happened to you at the florist shop.” My body stiffened. Why did he do that? I don’t need my friends thinking I’m going crazy right before they leave town. I felt the crimson begin making an appearance, starting at the base of my neck and working its way up.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” she continued. “If your mom really is only missing versus the other,” she couldn’t bring herself to say it either, “then I think it could be plausible, especially with the notes in her planner.”
“He didn’t leave anything out, did he?” My eyes finally meeting theirs.
“No, why should he?” Angela asked. “We’ve never kept things from each other. Why start now, Triss? This is exactly what I was talking about last night. Quit building up those walls, because they’re a lot harder to deconstruct than construct.”
Logan made it into the kitchen holding the first cardboard tray of Starbucks drinks for us all. I wanted to be angry with
him for divulging what we spoke about, but the anger didn’t come. He plopped the drinks on the table, and Ellsy was right behind him with another carrier, followed by my aunt with a brown bag full of what I’m guessing was to be some delectable pastries.
“Good thing I didn’t finish my cereal,” Jenny announced, pushing her bowl away.
“Right, because cereal is so filling,” I laughed. “It would have been tough to push through it.”
Logan started laughing, grabbing his drink out of the carrier, smiling at me. Ellsy was spreading out the cheese Danish, cranberry scones, and bagels on a plate when it occurred to me that maybe now wouldn’t be a horrible time to bring up the living situation. Having the support of Jenny and Angela might help the cause.
Logan was staring at me intently and must have sensed what I was thinking about because he immediately started smiling. Handing me a chai tea from the tray, his fingers skimmed mine, and I started thinking it was a bad idea. This wasn’t healthy, but before I had a chance to back out of my idea, Logan started speaking.
“Jenny and Angela told me that Triss wants to stay here in the house,” he began.
Ellsy sat down at the table, picking at her bagel and eyeing my aunt across the kitchen.
“We figured as much,” Aunt Vieta finally said. “Logan and Ellsy are going to be here for a couple of weeks before they head back, so you won’t be alone.”
I was frozen. I looked over at Jenny and Angela, who were grinning far too wide for their own good, or mine.
“We don’t think you should go back to the floral shop immediately, though,” Ellsy started. “Meredith is a good shop manager, and she’s got it covered. I’m on your mother’s accounts just as she’s on mine, so I can check on everything and make sure the money keeps coming in.”
“I’m fine to go back,” I said. My irritation level with others planning for me to this degree was beginning to soar. Logan must have sensed my annoyance and stepped in to stop any train wreck from happening.
“I was thinking I could take you out for a little road trip somewhere too. You know, to help you get far from everything,” his voice was so gentle, and his words touched everyone in the room the same way they did me. “Besides, we’ve got a lot of investigating to do.”
Lonely Souls Page 6
