Aftermath

by Jenna-Lynne Duncan

  Chapter Thirteen

  Hayden told me to go to school and not to worry. His parents were coming to town and this whole thing would be sorted through. This was one of the hardest things I had to do yet: continue to carry out my normal activities like nothing had happened and nothing would happen. I was relieved that Mr. and Mrs. Boudreaux would be coming. I knew Elizabeth had probably missed her boys like crazy; I just wished their visit was under different circumstances. It was about an eleven hour drive from Tampa, which would bring them in late at night. If they chose to fly, there would be a good chance they would be there after school. I wished it were the weekend. I thought about asking Zack to cover for me or calling in sick to Mr. Christian, but I didn’t know which option I dreaded more. So, now I would just have to put up with this nagging feeling all through school and work. Worse, I would have to face Christian. Would that be even possible after seeing him murdered in my dream? No, I told myself. That wouldn’t happen. Hayden wouldn’t allow it, I wouldn’t allow it. Even if Luke wouldn’t listen to his parents, there would be some other way. But who could really say no to Elizabeth? Or not follow Christopher’s orders? There was a reason I'd had that dream, I kept telling myself. That reason was to save Christian.

  I stared out the window as Hayden drove us to school. Luke definitely wouldn’t be there today. I wondered where he was going all this time? I was conflicted by the thought, wanting him to come back and hoping he wouldn’t so there would be no opportunity with Christian. If he left— if he split for good— how would that work? How would they Hunt? What if he didn’t Hunt? The thought scared me. Would everyone be destroyed? Luke claimed he loved me. Would I be destroyed? What bothered me the most was that he had claimed he loved me, how then could he just change his mind? Would he just leave me like that? Dang it, why did that bother me? He must have been foolish to think I was actually ‘the One.’ If he could never stop loving me, how was it he could so easily flirt with Stephanie? No, he didn't even know what love was. If you were in love you wouldn’t—no, couldn’t, think of being with anyone else. Right? Nausea overcame me and I felt myself longing for something else to fill my thoughts.

  “What’s wrong with you today?” Nikki caught up to me at some point during the day as I sauntered down the hall to another class.

  “What isn’t wrong with me?” My lips slightly pouted.

  “Oh quit the self-pity party. What’s going on?”

  “You want the good news or bad news first? Wait, never mind. There is no good news.”

  “Woe is me, woe is me. C’mon! The parade is in two days, the Ball in three, and rumor has it you’re the next Queen!” She sung the word queen.

  “Yay.” The word lacked any tone or emotion.

  “Very funny. How is it that you can go through so much, not even Katrina got you down and now something—oh no, it’s not Hayden is it?”

  I looked at her angrily. “No, never.” I wasn’t really angry with her, I was embarrassed with myself. What got me down wasn’t Hayden, it was Luke. And that I would never admit.

  “Ok fine. Geez— touchy, touchy. Change of subject. There must be some good news.”

  I shrugged, unconvincingly. “I know what dress I’m going to wear to the ball.”

  Nikki cheered.

  “I just haven’t found it yet.”

  Her cheering halted. “Then how do you know what it looks—oh.” The realizations dawned on her. “Ohhh.” She drew out. “I see. Well, no worries. We’ll go to the mall, find the mystery dress and then hang out at Marie’s after.”

  “Can’t, I have to work after school again.”

  “Okay, so we’ll go after work. You can meet us there.”

  “Can’t again, Hayden’s parents are...” I stopped myself, remembering I hadn’t told her that Hayden and Luke lived alone. “I have plans with them,” I concluded.

  “Fine. No time for your two best friends anymore. You have a rich and beautiful new family that loves you. I understand. But I don’t think Marie will. She seemed pretty insistent about having us over tonight. I think it’s important.” Her head dropped to the side and she tried her best to play the sad puppy dog. I knew she was playing me but I couldn’t help but feel sorry. “Marie needs us,” Nikki added, and that did it for me. I wanted to be there for them.

  Christopher and Elizabeth might not even be home by then if they drove. “Fine. I’ll meet you at Marie’s after work, okay?”

  Nikki clapped her hands together, her somber expression immediately forgotten.

  “Geez, I just agreed to hang out, not end world hunger.”

  Luke wasn’t at school the rest of the day, like I suspected, and Hayden left after lunch hour to go pick up his parents from the airport. Of course they flew in. It was silly of me to think they would drive. Christopher was close to two hundred years old and probably had more money than God, although he would never show it. And this was an urgent matter; they wouldn’t take their time by driving. But I had already given my word to Nikki that I would be going to Marie’s and I was starting to really look forward to it even though that meant I would have to wait until late tonight to help them sort out this Luke problem.

  I was lucky to be able to get out of work early, vowing I would be doing some serious boat inspections tomorrow to make up for it. I got to Marie’s house around dinner time. I thought about bringing food but figured we could just order in if they were hungry. Personally, I didn’t think I could stomach anything. The anxiousness just to get there was enough to fill my stomach.

  Marie lived with her parents and grandma in the garden district, about twenty minutes from me, although I couldn’t recall actually meeting her grandmother. We had hung out a few times in the past year but had only gotten close over the past few months. I suspect I was to blame for that. It took a whole lot of changes for me to realize just what good friends I had. I had transferred to Ecole my sophomore year when the cliques had already formed. I had felt like, and wanted to be, the odd one out. Funny how quickly things change.

  I had always admired Marie’s house. Who wouldn’t want an apartment in the French Quarter? But it was the history that intrigued me. I knew that this building was probably as old as Hayden. I laughed to myself at my attempt at humor.

  I passed through the courtyard; the overhead light flickered twice before going out with creepy timing. I found myself running up the stairs to her front door. Her house had a cottage feel, a scaled-down version of a centuries-old bourgeois Creole interior. The furniture was romantic and beautiful, the mahogany furniture you’d expect to find in a place rich of French influences. Hadn’t I learned my lessons from beautiful houses? You could not deny the beauty of the history behind them but sometimes that history was dark. And something you should stay far away from.

  I was relieved when Nikki answered the door almost immediately after my first knock.

  “It’s just Ana!” Nikki called into the warm apartment behind her then let the door swing open so I could enter.

  “Sorry to disappoint you.” I shrugged off my jacket, hanging it on a hook on the wall of the foyer.

  “Oh sorry, Ana! I just thought you were the pizza guy. You know how I get when I’m hungry.”

  The corners of my mouth curled down briefly out of regret. I should have brought takeout.

  “Once I get a little slice of heaven from Louisiana Pizza Kitchen, I’ll be fine,” Nikki vowed.

  “Where’s Marie?” I looked around the living room noticing she wasn’t with us yet.

  “Oh, she’s in the bedroom setting up.”

  “Setting up?”

  “Yeah go in there, I’m just going to grab some chips and I’ll be right in.”

  “’kay,” I replied over my shoulder as I found my way to her room from memory.

  “Hi!” Marie said with an excitement and nervousness as I hesitantly pushed her bedroom door open. Candles were scattered in places, flickering the only light across the room.

  “What’s going on?” I concluded
that everyone was acting strangely.

  “Nothing. Why do you ask? Come sit down.” Her words spilled out quickly, nervously.

  My eyebrows were still raised as I dropped my bag to the floor and sat down on the edge of her bed.

  “I just wanted you guys to be here for something. Don’t look at me like that, it’s not a big deal. Okay, so it might be but don’t worry.”

  I sat staring at Marie, trying to decipher her emotions. Nikki ran into the room and leaped onto the bed, nearly catapulting me off.

  “Want some?” She held out a bag of chips; the smell of dill pickles assaulted my nostrils.

  I shook my head and then turned my attention back to Marie.

  “What is it that you wanted us to be here for?” I asked her gently.

  Nikki popped a chip in, crunching loudly. “Show her,” Nikki said around a mouthful of chips.

  Marie drew her lower lip into her mouth.

  “Marie…” I warned. The anticipation was killing me.

  “It’s nothing much,” she spoke coolly as she disappeared into her gracious walk-in closet. A second later, she came out backwards, bent over and pulling something across the carpet. A box? When she turned it, it came into view. It must have been heavy if Marie was dragging it and it was most certainly not made of cardboard.

  “A chest?” I was incredulously noting how solid it looked. And how old.

  Nikki wiped off her hands and came to kneel beside us on the floor.

  We waited for Marie to explain. Clearly Nikki already knew what was going on by her relaxed attitude. I was tense; my muscles locked, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was sad that I was starting to always expect the worst, waiting for something bad to happen.

  Marie ran her hands over the wood, feeling the grooves of the design that appeared intricately and delicately carved in. Suddenly, I felt everything was about to change. As she fiddled with the lock on the front of her small chest, I felt something was wrong. Marie spoke before I could express any of my concern.

  “As you know, it is my eighteenth birthday in a few days. My granny gave me this chest. It has been in our family for generations. Why she gave it to me, who knows. I asked her why she hadn’t given it to my mother to keep. My mom has always liked old things; I mean she did save every drawing I’d made since pre-school. But she only said it wasn’t needed until now.” Marie inhaled and exhaled sharply then continued.

  “What’s inside?” there was more fear in my voice than I realized.

  “I haven’t opened it yet. I mean, I have my suspicions because my granny has been telling me these stories since I was a kid. I wouldn’t normally have made such a big deal about it but something about it just exhausts me. I knew I needed y’all here with me. To give me strength. To find out whatever it is in this box, because I feel like it’s important, ya know? I am drawn to it. And I’m scared.” Marie trembled and I put my hand over hers. She was drawn to the same box I felt repelled to. I was more curious than ever. Whatever was in there was not just something Marie needed to find out, I was dying to know as well.

  “Just open it already!” Nikki blurted out, voicing her shared impatience.

  I shot her a slighted look and turned to Marie. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  “No, Nikki is right.” And she shoved a single key into the lock and twisted. A heavy click sounded throughout the room and the top of the chest popped open. The smell of sandalwood and lilac filled in the air round the chest. Marie threw the top back and we stared inside in awe.

  “What is this stuff?” Nikki asked, not bothering to hide her disgust.

  I knew exactly what it was. I had become unwillingly familiar with voodoo since I'd met Hayden and Luke. After they had kidnapped me, they brought me to the house of Sansha, a voodoo priestess. It was there that I saw how real voodoo was in Louisiana, and got a taste of it firsthand. She had given me a potion that was supposed to make me sleep, but instead I had fought the battle for consciousness and stumbled about incoherently as Hayden, Luke and I continued evacuating. I sighed to myself, remembering that was the first time I had kissed Hayden. The potion had given me false confidence, numbing my senses and dulling my instincts to fight or flee.

  Now it was all out in front of me. The contents of my memories sprawled out before me in a chest meant for Marie. My memories, my personal history, out in the open for everyone to see. But this wasn’t about me. This, for some reason, had a connection to Marie. And why she had a trunk full of gris gris, potions, powders and what looked like a grimoire, was something I was going to find out.

  Marie took out the battered textbook bound in some leathery material and held it wearily to her chest.

  “No, seriously? This is kinda weird.” Nikki picked up a small bone in between her forefinger and thumb before throwing it to the ground. “That was from an animal, right?”

  “Voodoo.” I answered. “Don’t touch that!” I held out my hand to stop Nikki who was about to smell a vile she uncorked. “This is a trunk for a voodoo priestess.” Nikki put the cap back on then set the vile back in the chest with wide eyes. I was hesitant to touch anything but Marie was taking inventory. Taking things out of the chest and placing them on the floor beside her. “The question is: why does Marie have it?"

  “I don’t know.” Marie was shaking her head in wonder. “Like I said, my granny gave it to me. For my eighteenth birthday.” Suddenly, that sounded so wrong.

  As the last of the contents piled out from the chest, Marie shook her head. “They were just stories. I didn’t know any of it was real.”

  I opened my mouth to ask Marie to explain what stories she was talking about when Nikki shrieked and pointed at the bottom of the chest. “I ain’t touching it!”

  I looked in to see something tightly wrapped in cloth and tied with string.

  “If it is a head, I am so out of here.”

  Marie didn’t reply, I don’t even think she heard Nikki; she was looking at the chest with fascination. Her shaking hands floated toward it slowly and untied the string. She carefully parted the cloth and pulled out a dress.

  “That’s the dress I’m wearing to the ball.” My heart froze in my chest. Marie looked the dress over. An amethyst Victorian-style gown with gold brocade and satin. It was accentuated with matching foliage. When I could breathe again, I reached out to run the tips of my fingers over it. It was a beautiful dress and the craftsmanship was like nothing you’d ever see—in this century.

  “I mean wore to the ball, in my dream. Of course I wouldn’t wear it now.” I found my voice but stuttered nonetheless.

  Marie’s jaw was set and she sat silently staring over the dress and the items from the chest.

  “That’s the dress? The one we were trying to find? How freaking weird is this? I think I have had enough of these supernatural coincidences to last a lifetime.

  “There are no coincidences. Only destiny.” Our heads whipped toward Marie, who spoke in a zoned out calm.

  “What’s wrong Marie?”

  She shook her hair out once and then started piling everything back into the chest. Everything except for the dress. “Nothing. Just tell me about your dream.”

  I didn’t want to start talking about my dreams again; it was Marie who needed the support now.

  “Tell me,” Marie urged with a sense of demand. I hesitantly described to her the ball and the dress that I saw in my dream while she worked to put everything away and slide the chest back into the closet. Of course, I had to leave out the part about Luke killing Mr. Christian as it would give away their secret. A secret that wasn’t mine to tell. Even though I had told my friends about my new abilities, I had never told them the whole truth, including that Hayden and Luke were Hunters. After Marie slid the chest back into the closet, she laid a mask on my lap. “This is for the dress.”

  “Marie. I can’t—no. It was just a dream; I don’t expect to actually wear the dress. I couldn’t care less about what I am wearing.”

  “Okay, for one,
the dress is not going to fit me. And most importantly, when are you going to realize it wasn’t just a dream?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “For whatever reason, your dreams are predicting the future. That’s not supposed to happen. I am not about to mess with what is destined. If it were under other circumstances, I would have opened the chest by myself and found the dress which I would have shown Nikki, who would have said how perfect it would be for Ana to wear to the ball. Then she would have made you wear it and you would have gone to the ball in it just like what happened in your dream. But because I felt something and wanted you here with me to open the chest, and because of what else you saw in that chest and because for some reason you are a psychic and saw yourself wearing it in a dream ahead of time, you don’t want to wear it now. Well, I’m sorry. You are going to. I don’t want to be the one who suffers from the repercussions that come from trying to change the future.

  “Are you saying I can’t change the future?” Luke’s words came back to me. Do you ever think you can’t change the future. You are just dreaming things before they happen. Hearing them from her mouth made it all too real.

  Nikki mumbled something but no one heard her. We were too engrossed with what was developing. Our shoulders squared, hands on our hips, and our eyes locked. Countries have gone to war for less.

  “I’m not saying anything; I just don’t want to bear the consequences for trying to change the future. I think you should just leave your dream alone and wear the dress as if you never saw what happened in the first place.”

  My heart sank. Did she know what she was saying? If she knew what really happened, would she be talking like this? Where is this coming from anyway? This was the most outspoken I’d seen her since we’d been friends.

  “Trying to change the future? Are you saying that I can’t? That I can only try?” Oh God, please say no.

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Marie huffed. “Now can we just move on to something else?”

  “What about innocent people? What if innocent people die? You would do nothing to try to help them if you were me? What about that jogger in one of my dreams who was attacked? Were you not the one who told me where you thought the location was?”