Rebirth, page 8
part #1 of The Teen Witch Series
Chances were, he wanted to ask me what I am, and Chloe told him to drop it.
I thought about Chloe coming to life at night and Reece’s glowing eyes, the heat he threw off when he was drinking at the party, Chloe’s attempt to calm him down.
So much of it had been glaringly obvious, but I had been so caught up in my own thoughts and problems I hadn’t seen any of it. I hadn’t realized how much more I fit in than I’d thought. I hadn’t noticed that my friends accepted me for exactly what I am, even when I hadn’t known about it.
And I had pushed them away, sure that no one wanted anything to do with me, instead of letting them choose for themselves.
And now? Now it was all too late. I had lost the only two friends that had been real because I had been sure of who they were without giving them a chance to show me. I had messed it all up.
I sighed and lay back on the sand, throwing my arm over my eyes to block out the sun. My mind drifted to my dad.
My mom said that he had what I had. He had the fire. I had never known him; the memories of my dad were so vague. I remembered sitting on his shoulders. I remembered eating pancakes together. The rest was a blur. I had been too young when he’d left.
Who ran away from their family because they were too normal? That didn’t make sense. I had always thought he was an asshole. I thought that even more now. Who was he to decide that our life wasn’t good enough for him?
Mirta had known who my dad was. She had called me Robert’s daughter, as if that label meant something.
I wondered who my dad had been in this town. He had been in the coven if Mirta referred to me that way. And apparently it meant something that I was his daughter. But what?
And Maggie? She must have been a part of the coven, too. They had all been there for her funeral. I had wondered how my mom had found all her friends and family. But if there had been a group of witches to go to, it must have been easy.
When I sat up again, I felt dizzy. I opened my legs wider, sitting with them long and straight, and created fire on the sand in front of me. I watched the fire dance on the sand as it looked for something to burn before it died out.
Fire needed oxygen and something to eat, just like us. Otherwise, it died out. That was how I sometimes felt, too. I needed people around me, I needed to fit in. Or else I would burn out, suffocate.
My dad did the wrong thing. He walked away from his family because the life he wanted wasn’t what my mom was willing to give me. I could change that. I could be different.
I could go back and talk to the people that meant something to me. I could make sure that the life I chose was the right one. I didn’t have to be like my dad. I had his power, yeah. But I didn’t have to run away. I could turn around and face my life, face the people in it.
I could do the right thing.
I stood and dusted the sand from my pants. When I reached the main road, I climbed on the bus and rode it back to my stop. I wasn’t going to go to Chloe tonight—it was too late. But this wasn’t over yet. I wasn’t going to give up that easily.
I had run too long and too far. I was done running. It was time to stand up for myself and what I wanted.
16
On Monday morning, I woke up before my alarm and hopped in the shower. I blew out my hair and changed into jeans and a top, and ballet flats. When I walked into the kitchen, my mom had made eggs and toast.
“You’re up early,” my mom said.
I nodded and sat down. I wanted to get to school as early as possible, but if I left the house without eating after my mom had made breakfast, she would have skinned me alive.
“How are you feeling?” my mom asked.
I nodded. “Good.”
She smiled at me. “I’m glad.”
We ate together, talking about small things like her clients and what tests I had this week. When breakfast was finished, I cleared the table before I was finally allowed to leave the house. I grabbed my bag and ran for the school bus that stopped on the corner.
Chloe wasn’t on the bus, and my heart sank a little. I wanted to talk to her. But I would find her at school. Lately, she’d been spending time on the stands at the football field instead of hanging out where we usually did.
I walked straight there when I arrived at school. Chloe sat on the top step, her black hair blowing in the wind. She wore her sunglasses, jeans so tight they looked painted on, and a jacket that matched her school bag. She looked good, as always.
I walked toward her. When she saw me, she shook her head.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“To talk,” I said.
“Yeah? I’m not interested. When are you going to figure that out and just leave me alone?”
“Because you’re my friend, Chloe.”
She snorted. “Yeah, the way you avoided me last week really drove that point home. Just leave me alone, okay? I told you, I’m not interested.”
I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere. Just hear me out.”
Chloe stood to leave. I clapped my hands, and fire danced between my palms. When I turned my hands over, it followed me, licking my skin. Chloe looked at the fire, and I saw the reflection dance on her sunglasses
“What are you trying to do, scare me?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know what I am.”
Chloe just stared at me. With the glasses on, it was hard to tell what she was thinking. She kept quiet, so I kept going.
“I thought you would reject me. In Cali, everyone thought I was a freak, and I lost all my friends. I lost control and set the science class on fire.”
“Like you did when you just got here,” Chloe said.
I nodded. “Yeah, but it was a lot worse. I was in the human world, and everyone was freaked out. Me, most of all. My mom only told me the other day what’s going on.”
“Why didn’t she tell you earlier?” Chloe asked.
I pulled up my shoulders. “I guess she was hoping that this would never happen, that I wouldn’t show my magic because she’s human.”
Chloe sat down again.
“Seriously? Your mom’s human?”
I nodded. “You didn’t know?”
“We don’t have a lot of human residents. They’re usually tourists.”
It was ironic. I had assumed everyone was human. Chloe had assumed everyone wasn’t.
“I thought after you guys saw me lose control you would think I was a freak, too. I ran away because I was terrified. Not just about Maggie’s death, but also about what I am. I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know you knew what I am. I didn’t even know.”
Chloe sighed and shook her head.
“Seriously, you should have seen the signs. Spontaneous fire is usually a red flag.”
“Yeah. I was a bit slow on the uptake.”
Chloe leaned her elbows on her knees. I moved to sit down next to her, and she didn’t protest. When we sat side by side, we looked out over the football field. It was green, the lines a bright white.
“There are a lot of witches in town,” Chloe said.
I nodded. “I found that out at Maggie’s funeral. The whole coven was there, and I met the High Priestess and everything.”
“That’s hectic,” Chloe said.
I nodded. “Who else in school is a witch?”
Chloe pulled up her shoulders. “A few of them. I don’t know any witches personally, though. Just you. Vampires and fire don’t mix.”
It was weird that she was referring to herself as a vampire.
“My mom told me you were a vampire. I didn’t know that, either.”
Chloe shook her head. “Did you think I wear all this stuff for fun?” She tapped her glasses with her fingernail.
I shrugged. “I didn’t think about it. You were weird, so I felt normal around you.”
Chloe laughed. It was the first time in a while I’d heard her laugh, and I liked it.
“You’re funny,” she said.
“Can I ask you something personal?” I asked.
Chloe stilled and looked at me for a while before nodding slowly.
“Are you dead?”
Chloe burst out laughing. “That’s not what I expected.” She shook her head. “No, I’m not dead. It’s not like in the books. I don’t know who came up with that stupid idea. I was born a vampire, just like my parents. We’re just a different species. The werewolves, too. It’s not like Reece was turned by catching some lycanthrope strand after a wolf had bitten him.”
When I didn’t respond, Chloe looked at me.
“You didn’t know he’s a wolf?”
I shook my head.
Chloe laughed again. “What did you think was going on here? You must have really thought we were weird.”
“Yeah. That’s pretty much what I thought. I was just glad I fit in for a change.”
Chloe shook her head, still smiling.
“Well, are you freaked out now that you know?”
I thought about it.
“Not as much as I thought I would be. But it’s not every day that stuff like this turns out to be real, you know?”
Chloe nodded.
“Can I ask you another question?” I asked.
Chloe nodded more eagerly this time.
“Do you have fangs?”
Chloe laughed again and nodded. “They only punch out when I’m hungry, though. Then I look feral. But otherwise, I’m normal. As normal as any girl with an aversion to the sun and crowded places can be.”
We sat together for a while longer.
“We have to get going,” Chloe said. “If we’re late, Craven will eat us.”
Eat us. “What is he?” I asked.
Chloe laughed. “You’re only thinking about that now? He’s a wolf, too. Reece gets to skip his class because Reece is above him in the pack hierarchy. It doesn’t work well for Craven to tell Reece what to do.”
“That’s weird,” I said.
“It’s all normal here, Em.”
Before we walked into the class, I stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Chloe asked.
“I’m glad we’re friends again,” I said.
Chloe nodded. “Me too.”
“I’m coming in for a hug.”
Chloe froze. I stepped closer to her and wrapped my arms around her. I knew she didn’t do physical contact. Maybe the fact that she had fangs had something to do with it. But she was my best friend, and I’d missed her.
When I pulled back, Chloe cleared her throat.
“Let’s get in there.”
She pulled off her sunglasses, and her eyes were a cerulean blue.
When I moved to Safety Beach, I had a life full of question. I was the freak who traveled across the country to find a place where my past wouldn’t find me.
In less than a month, I not only made friends that cared for me and would stick by me no matter what—something I had thought I would never have again—but I discovered what I am. I realized I wasn’t the freak in the middle of a bunch of normal people, I was a freak in the midst of freaks. And being weird was just run-of-the-mill around here. I will still get to know what it all really means. I have only just started unraveling the mystery that is Safety Beach. But for the first time, I fit in.
And I love it.
Maybe I’ll join the coven and let them help me discover myself even further.
I’m still on the fence about that. Until then, I’ll practice my magic alone. I had Chloe and Reece to help me figure it out, and I had my mom, who was more than happy for me to let my true colors show.
It’s time to stop running. It’s time to accept myself and what I am.
It’s time to start living.
Also by Laura Marie
THE UNRIVALED SERIES
THE UNRIVALED’S WITCH
* * *
THE DARK PRINCESS
* * *
THE ASSASSIN WITCH
* * *
THE UNRIVALED DARKNESS
(Coming Soon)
THE TEEN WITCH CHRONICLES
THE TEEN WITCH: REBIRTH
* * *
THE TEEN WITCH: INFERNO
* * *
THE TEEN WITCH: TEMPEST
(Coming Soon)
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XoX Laura
Paranormal Author
LAURA MARIE
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Laura Marie, Rebirth
