Murder Out By Caster Bridge

Chapter twenty-nine

The second I got home and stepped through the door, my grandmother pulled me into a quick hug which startled me.

"Uh, grandma, is everything okay?"

My grandmother pulled away and cupped my face as she looked at me with narrowed eyes. Her emotions were a mystery to me, but I could feel some pain from her. Her eyes softened and she ran a hand through my dark hair that I was sure was sticking up and even greasy.

"I am fine, sweetheart. I was just worried about you. We haven't exactly talked much since what happened. I know you still have tons of questions about things. And I am willing to tell you. No more secrets."

I nodded. As I went to take a step, a wave of dizziness hit me so suddenly that I gasped and placed my hand on the door to keep myself steady as I blinked rapidly, hoping it would disperse the feeling away.

"Weston?"

Swallowing, I looked at my grandmother. "Sorry. I just feel woozy."

My grandmother's eyes narrowed. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Uh, this morning. I skipped lunch."

She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the kitchen. For an elder, she was stronger than she appeared.

She fed me food for three people. There was chicken, green beans, salad, rolls, fries, and even cookies for dessert. I couldn't eat all of that. I settled for a few pieces of chicken, salad, a roll, and one cookie. It might have seemed like a lot, but I was famished. These attacks did do a number on my energy levels.

My grandmother watched me eat and she talked. Talked about her life and how she struggled with her magic, how her family barely helped her through it as they worked hard. She then told me about how she met her husband, my grandfather. She had saved him one day from falling off a ladder. She told me how they fell in love but passed away before my dad was born. She then talked about my father and how he was a lot like me as a child. She eventually talked about her coven and how she failed to keep them safe.

I took this all in and tried to monitor her emotions which were hard to read. Though, I sensed the love she felt deeply for her family, my grandfather, my father, and even her coven members. She truly loved them dearly. I couldn't stop my thoughts from wandering to Hayden and how much he meant to me.

Once I finished all my food, I went to help her clean, but she stopped me. "No, sweetheart. I will handle cleaning up. You go on up to your room. I'm sure you had quite the day. And getting some rest early will help with that."

It didn't feel right to leave her to clean everything, but I also knew it was better not to argue. So, I kissed her cheek softly and headed up the stairs.

Once inside my room, a feeling of anxiety, panic, and heartbreak flooded through me. I leaned against my closed door and sank to the floor with my knees drawn to my chest as I fought to calm my emotions. Were these mine? Were they my grandmothers? I couldn't tell.

Without warning tears had begun to fall straight down my cheeks unwillingly. I tried extremely hard to wipe them away, but I couldn't. My thoughts, no matter how hard I tried not to, went to Hayden. I scrambled for the note in my pocket with trembling hands. Eventually finding it, I took it out and unfolded it, and began to anxiously go over and over the note, both out loud and internally.

I closed my eyes and tried with all my might to use my stupid talent to see if I could hear a clue. The one time I willing try to tap into it, it wasn't working. Both in anger and frustration, I crumpled up the paper and threw it as hard as I could on the opposite side of the room.

Rain had started to pour loudly as I leaned my head back against the door and cried silently. Things in my room were rattling from my magic that I could feel swirling inside me like a hurricane. I clenched my knees and calmed my magic, listening as the rain ceased to a drizzle and the rattling stopped. I leaned my head against my hands. "I need to find you Hayden," I whispered to myself.

I don't know how long I sat there, working hard to get my emotions under control before I slowly climbed to my feet and then fell on my stomach on my bed. I brought my left hand up to my face and looked at my palm, thinking deeply about Hayden, about how I miss him. I then started tracing his initial. A strange heat surged in my hand and watched in surprise as Hayden's initial started glowing turquoise.

"Weston," his voice called out to me.

Confused, I sat up and looked around the room. "Hayden?"

"Weston," the voice said again.

"Hayden? Is that you?" Turning my vision towards the mirror hanging on the wall, I saw a rippled image of Hayden's face staring at me. I quickly got to my feet and moved over to the mirror. I touched the glass softly. "Hayden, what is this? What are you doing inside of the mirror?"

His face smiled softly. "This is how our connection works. I'm not here. I'm subconsciously talking to you."

"Oh," I said. "Hayden, I..."

"I know, Weston. Listen to me, you cannot, under any circumstances, come find me."

I looked st him like he was crazy. "What? Are you crazy? Angela could be hurting you."

"She isn't." He was lying. Even if he wasn't here, I could still read his expressions.

"You're lying. Why are you lying to me?"

"Please, Weston." The begging in his voice startled me. He's never begged before.

I sighed. "Tell me where you are."

He shook his head. "I can't tell you. You will be endangered."

"I don't care. If you are hurt, I need to know."

Hayden's jaw stubbornly clenched cutely before he closed his eyes. "The woods," he said before he vanished.

With that in mind, I waited until it was dark and until I heard and felt my grandmother asleep before I opened my window.

Mel suddenly jumped in startling me.

"You scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here, Mel?" I asked, a hand to my racing heart.

Mel's glowing green eyes narrowed. "Stopping you from doing something stupid," she said. Her green eyes glared at me.

"You can't stop me from rescuing Hayden. He needs me. And how did you even know about it?"

Mel sighed. "Maxwell."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course." I moved Mel aside by swatting my hand and then climbed out the window. "I'm still going." I carefully made my way down the roof and then used the vines that I was sure hadn't been there before to help me down the rest of the way.

Mel jumped down like it was nothing. For a cat, I supposed that was true. "You know you are heading into a trap, don't you?"

"Yes, that thought has occurred to me," I said as I walked to my Jeep. "But I don't care. Hayden needs my help."

I opened the door and Mel jumped into the seat. "Then I am coming with you."

"No way, Mel. If this is truly a trap..."

Mel glared at me. "Then you are going to need backup. So deal with me tagging along."

I sighed. "Fine. Move over."

Mel meowed happily and jumped over to the passenger side.

I rolled my eyes and got in. It was time that I saved Hayden.