Murder Out By Caster Bridge

Chapter six

Late! I'm so incredibly late!

Those were the thoughts running through my head as I jumped out of bed.

Melinda was no doubt going to give me one heck of a lecture the second I arrived. She was probably getting ready to plan my demise. In my head, I pictured her standing in front of the door with a steaming cup of coffee and then splashing it in my face.

I didn't mean to be late...again. I had the alarm clock raring to go and went to bed early and everything. But that hadn't been good enough. Sometime during the night, the electricity was knocked out in the room I was occupying.

That had been my fault.

These past two days had been hard on me. For one, I hadn't heard a word from Hayden. I had also been avoiding home like it was the plague. Since that dreadful night, I have been staying with my cousin and his nosy roommate. I borrowed his phone yesterday and sent texts and calls to Hayden, but he hadn't responded. Was he angry at me?

And like I said, it's been two days--two lonely, hard days since the incident with Hayden's mother. Two horrible days of missing work and having my cousin try to talk about the experience. But that was the thing. I didn't want to talk about it. And that was only half the problem. The other was that every single day I recalled the same horrific incident and because of that, my magic was out of control.

For the past two mornings, I kept waking up in a state of panic with the sunlight streaming in through the closed window and finding myself laying on the floor like I was still in that lovely meadow that quickly turned into a nightmare. I remembered everything from spending time with Hayden, creating a magical bond with him, to his mother interrupting us, to my magic raining down on her, to the intense pain I feel so heavy on my chest. And every time that memory flashed in my head, I couldn't help but spring into an upright position and check my hand before placing it tightly against my heaving chest as if there was always this burning and hollow heat inside me. And like always when I checked, there was never a mark on me. Afterward, I always wondered what it was, what she did, why Hayden was so terrified of it, what it all meant, and why it had such an impact on me. But those questions, while haunting, always went without answers. Just like how and why my magic was screwing up when I slept. This was the second time in the past two days that I had caused a mini blackout.

After I showered and dressed, I wiped the steam from the mirror and looked at myself as I fixed my hair (not that I cared much about my looks anyway) with my bangs falling into my eyes. My cousin always insisted I needed a haircut. I would just shake my head.

Once finished with the rest of my business, I headed into the kitchen. And like always my cousin wasn't there.

For breakfast, I fixed myself some cereal. I poured myself one of those brands that were loaded with sugar. I was so tired of never getting to eat anything like this. I wasn't sick, but my mother claimed I had an intolerance to sugar and caffeine. But I had coffee at Hayden's and felt fine. Was that what caused my blackout?

Shaking my head, I turned on the faucet.

No water came out.

With a heavy sigh, I poured the remaining milk down the drain and then placed the dirty bowl and spoon in the dishwasher just as my cousin came strolling in, scathing rage bursting from him.

"Uh, oh," I said, turning towards him. "What happened this time, Carter?"

Carter looked at me surprised. "Dude, what are you still doing here?" he asked. "I thought you left an hour ago. Aren't you late for work?"

"Work can wait. You can't," I insisted. "Now, spill. What happened?"

Carter shook his head and ran a hand through his dark brown hair with blonde highlights. "Angela happened," he said as if that made any sense.

"What do you mean? I thought you and Angela were best friends. You are roommates. What could she have done that was so bad it's made you mad with rage?"

"What could she have done?" he echoed back as his rage rose. I flinched, backing up until my back hit the counter as I kept my eyes on him. "This was supposed to be a partnership. She was supposed to pay for half of the bills and I was supposed to pay for the other half. We would switch up every other week. But I just found out that she hadn't paid for the stupid water bill and now I owe two hundred dollars for all the showers and baths she takes. And not only that, but she's been acting odd around me."

"What do you mean by "odd"?"

"She's not acting as a friend should," he said. "I told her when we discussed being roommates that I held no romantic feelings for her and that she could stay with me as a roommate until she was finished with college in two years. But now, she's acting like she and I are in a relationship. She even wraps her arms around me when I'm cooking or just resting on the couch. It's starting to wig me out."

"Have you talked to her about any of this?"

"Yes," he said. "But she never listens. She just makes the conversation about herself. The one time I told her that I was going out with my actual girlfriend, Angela got so mad at me that she picked up a vase and threw it on the floor, and then stomped out the front door. She didn't return home and I didn't hear anything from her until two weeks later after my girlfriend and I broke up. Listen, could you do that thing you do and find out what her problem is?"

"You want me to use my empathy to read her?" I asked.

"Yes. She's seriously creeping me out. I am telling you. I'm close to kicking her out. I don't want to, but this is starting to make me uncomfortable. I have tried to make this a safe environment."

"Now, hold up. I don't like using my empathy like this, but since it's bugging you so much, I will see what I can do. However, I am no mind reader. Just so you know. I also think it would be best to sit her down and get her to listen to you, or as hard as it is, tell her to leave. Help her find a place and get settled and then part ways. I know you care about her, but if she is causing you this much distress, maybe you need to think about what is best for you."

Carter nodded. "I'll think about that. Thanks, Weston. You're the best, cousin."

"I'm your only cousin," I said. "Does Mom even talk to your dad anymore?"

"Are you kidding?" he asked, laughing. "After that huge fiasco a few years back, I was lucky he let me stay here in Caster Valley for college. I didn't want to go with him. He's your mother's older brother, but you haven't seen his temper."

"Trust me, if it's anything like my mother's temper, I can imagine how terrible it must have been."

"Yeah, but seriously, Weston, you need to get going. Melinda is not going to give you any more leniency if you continue arriving late every day."

"I'm going. I'm going," I said, putting on my sneakers which were by the door before grabbing my satchel. "I'm allowed to stay here, right?"

"Yes, but sooner or later you will have to stop avoiding your mother. You need to face her. But we can talk about that tonight. Get going!"

And this was where I was, after my cousin dropped me off, standing outside of Mel's Magic shop like a scared cat. I bounced back and forth on my heels and dug my chilly hands into the pockets of my jacket.

Okay, Weston, I thought. Get a grip. I have to face her wrath. All I have to do is go in and get it over with. That shouldn't be so hard.

That's what I kept telling myself. However, a larger part of me wanted to turn and run down the side to the side of the building and just hide out and wait until she exited the building, so I could just sneak inside and start the day.

Just as courage swelled inside me and I placed my hand on the black brass ornate handle, a chill scurried down my spine. Chilled to the bone, goosebumps broke out on my skin just as a loud honk came from behind me.

Startled, I turned.

My eyes widened.

The black pickup truck was back and coming straight at me.

Panicked, I pushed down on the handle and without thinking, threw myself inside. I unfortunately tripped and landed flat on the floor.