Belle sat up in bed, using the buttons on the side to adjust the positioning as the nurse had shown her.
The book, white with a pentacle on the cover, described the basics of witchcraft in terms even a layman could understand. Her older sister had been kind enough to drop it off, along with a change of clothing and a box of Thornton's continental—her favourite chocolates.
According to this book, the spell Damien cast on her would be returned to him threefold.
'I can't wait,' she thought. 'I'm going to make him suffer through the same torment he inflicted on me.'
She pictured him on his knees, crawling after her, being forced to take cold baths, starved, and whipped. It gave her no real pleasure other than the sweet satisfaction of vengeance.
When he appeared in the doorway, she wasn't surprised to see him, smiling like a dimwit with a bouquet of wildflower
Jess leaned her head against the window. She found the gentle, irregular patter of rain hitting the windowpane oddly comforting, as the sound sparked ghost-like fragments of memories long forgotten. Shadows of past feelings, always sweeter in retrospect.Every so often, a gust of wind would increase the pace and force of the raindrop as well as chilling her back. Damien’s parents had kept the original Victorian windows and though they were beautiful, they were not the most efficient at keeping out drafts.
"Come on," Caine said, taking Sammy's hand.Sammy looked down at the time on his phone, worrying that his parents would be expecting him home."It's late, I have to ring my Mum," Sammy explained.After a couple of rings she answered, sounding like she was speaking from the bottom of the ocean. Despite telling her off numerous times, she never put the phone close enough to her mouth. Someone had told her about phones causing cancer and since then she was wary. Sammy figured one day he would return from school to see her holed up behind the couch in a makeshift fort and tin-foil hat. It was only a matter of time."Is it okay if I go over to a friend’s house?" he asked her."A friend?" his Mum asked, sounding so deeply shocked it was borderline insulting."Of course, of course, darling," she gushed. "Stay out as late as you like."He s
Mike tried to do his homework. He really did. But the urge to scroll through his social media was too strong. He smiled at the pictures of Bernie in mittens photoshopped in increasingly unlikely places and groaned at all the snow-day pictures."Yeah, it's snowing, get over it," he muttered to himself.As he scrolled further, he saw one of his friends had commented on a picture of the new kid.'Who is that guy?' Mike thought, leaning toward the screen and squinting at the white-haired boy."If you get any closer, you'll be in the picture with them," his brother scathed, observing him from across the room.Mike made a scoffing sound and quickly scrolled away from the picture before his brother noticed it was a couple of guys."I heard about this new app today," his brother said, leaning over him. "It shows you how you die.""Yeah,
"I think Miss Day has a thing for you," Jess told Kiaan. She was still in shock over the fact Kiaan had answered a question in class for the first time, let alone the reaction it got. Miss Day seemed to hate the students. Why she had become a teacher was a mystery to Jess, who figured the woman would be better suited to just about any other job. She was one of those 'cool' adults who had tattoo's, piercings, biker boots and a permanent derisive scowl."I think she's just a leftie," Kiaan smiled. "Those guys do hate a racist.""Your right, she's taken a pop at Grace in the past. Not that many people got the reference," Damien confirmed. Jess wasn't sure what he was referring to but trusted his word. He was probably the smartest kid in their class."Here," Caine said, taking Kiaan's phone from his hands before he could mount a protest. Kiaan flashed an uncomfortable smile as Caine took a picture."We n
As Sammy walked home with the others, he couldn't stop checking himself out in shop windows and car mirrors.'I can't get over how different I look,' he thought, playing with his newly silver hair.As he looked around at his new friends, he noticed they all looked different in one way or another. Maybe it was their newfound confidence.'Or maybe it really is magic?' he wondered. He'd always liked the idea of magic; of ancient and mystical powers at his fingertips. Who was to say it was all fake? People these days were too quick to judge."We'll call on you tomorrow," Jess said, smiling as they said their goodbyes at the entrance to his flat.He used his fob to get into the foyer and trudged up the stairs to the second floor flat he shared with his mother and sister. His Dad's house was both nicer and bigger, but it didn't feel like home. Not like the flat did, d
Damien’s room had become the official meeting place for the 'Hexers' as they were now calling themselves. It felt good to have a name for the group that didn't focus on their victim status."I still think we should have gone with the Punishers," Kiaan—the comic book fan of the group—commented.Jess laughed. "Na, then I'd have to walk around in kinky boots and leather with a whip or something weird."Damien whistled. "I'd pay to see that."Jess laughed and blushed. She kind of liked being the only female member of the group. It made her feel special, even though Sammy was gay, and Caine was... well, he didn't seem entirely straight either. Jess desperately wanted to know if he was into girls at all but couldn't think of a smooth way to transition the question into casual conversation. It would be rude to blurt out the question, regardless of her intentions.As Je
"Are you ready?" Caine asked Kiaan.Sammy felt a spark of jealously over the fact the two boys were planning to head off alone, which was ridiculous. Kiaan wasn't gay, and as such, he wasn't competition for Caine's heart.'It's because you thought you were special to him,' Sammy realised....'How stupid.'The sadness and disappointment must have been plain to see, as when Caine caught his eye, the kindhearted boy extended an invite."So long as it's okay with you?" Caine turned to Kiaan. "It's your house after all.""Sure, yeah," Kiaan said, flashing him a smile that looked genuine enough.'Do I truly have friends now?' he wondered. The idea still seemed unreal, like a dream or an elaborate rouse. That people could want or value his company. It seemed false.Sammy hadn'
Never before had Jess felt out of place in her own home. Ricky's presence was cloying and dominating, tainting the safety of her sacred personal space.This was all she had; her family and home comforts. As bad as things got as school, she always felt a sense of relief on returning to her house."So?" Ricky shrugged. "Do you wanna do this here?"Jess shook her head in the negative.She backed away instinctively as he rose from the chair and stepped toward her, smirking at her reaction as he handed her the empty beer bottle.It made a hollow ding as she dropped it into the recycling pile behind the bin. Staring down at the empty boxes and cartons, Jess felt herself relaxing. The chaos of the outside world melted away, leaving nothing but the blank quiet of her mind.She let Ricky grab her wrist, lead her through her front door and out into the street, faintly