XIII

I pressed the button twice to lock the car. I pulled out a tarp to cover the broken windows. If Shelly and Martin see the car, they'd flip. I limped inside where Shelly was reading on the couch. Martin was busy with his ship-in-the-bottle collection which he kept in a glass pod. “Hey” I greeted shyly. “Welcome! Dinner would be ready as soon as I…” Shelly stopped talking once she looked at me. “Martin?” She called not looking away. Martin turned around but jerked in shock. He removed his glasses, “are you okay honey?” he asked still doubting my appearance. I sighed deeply. I know I can’t lie to them… “So I found the cast in a theater but we were attacked”, my motor mouth started, “by we, I’m talking about Heather Hills. She's Mom’s friend. The cast was holding my soul but I got it back. I made a tornado to attack the evil magician guy called Algris. He vanished but came back with a lot of henchmen. Heather gave me a dagger and we fought. We killed everyone except Algris and his partners. Those two clowns got Helen and Algris was going to choke her so we fought. I almost killed him until I realized Heather was going to die as well if I did. We erased Helen's memory of the whole fight and we cleaned her up. Luckily, she didn’t notice any difference”. “Will?” Shelly snapped me out of my thoughts, “we asked a question. Are you okay?” …but today, I have to. I rubbed my neck and laughed awkwardly, “do I look that bad?”, I asked, “I thought this costume would look good”. “Costume?” Shelly quirked her brows. “Yeah”, I smiled, “I found it in one of their dressing rooms. It's supposed to be a British zombie”. “Oh!” Shelly laughed, “that’s a relief. So did you find the cast?” “Yeah. It was just a paper in a bottle saying ‘it's time'” I told half the truth, “which is not helpful by the way. If you’ll excuse me now I need to wash all off ‘cause apparently I look like a hazard”. I giggled before heading for the stairs. “I'm really worried about her”. I heard Shelly say. I paused to listen in. “This was how Cammie started too”, she continued, “she would come home acting strange or saying things that don’t come together”. “Trust me when I say, she’s fine. She probably hit her head somewhere and the idea popped up”. Martin consoled her. “I want to believe that but she’s like a daughter to me. I’d never forgive myself if I lost her too”. Shelly sniffed in her tears. I rushed upstairs. I've heard enough. I pulled of my shoes and entered the bathroom. The cold splash of the shower helped me calm down. I can’t believe I’m stressing them. I hate this change. I balled my hands into fists and I punched the wall. I stared at my reflection on the walls. “This isn’t you Wiberly”. I mumbled, “I hate the change”. I scrubbed my body harder. The sight of fresh blood from my neck wounds stopped my hands. I slowly dropped to the ground crying. I've been holding everything thing for too long. And I still have no idea why my parents died or who they really were. I sat in that position for a long time quietly tapping my fingers on the tiles. I need to pull myself together and fast. I wrapped a towel around my injured body. The bruises on my arm seem less horrifying than before. I changed into a red hoodie and long sweatpants. I put my hands in the pockets as I headed for the table. “Muffins” I smelled, “just what I wanted”. “Red looks good on you”. Martin commented. “Thanks. I just wanted to try something new”. I replied. Shelly placed the casserole dish filled with Mac and Cheese on the table. “Looks like you’re trying to bribe me here”. I chuckled before plating some. “Something like that”, Shelly smiled, “but there’s a little twist”. I nodded my head putting the fork in my mouth. “I added seafood ingredients”. That sentence helped my choking. I spat the contents in a napkin. “That was disgusting”. I coughed out. “I thought you love seafood?” Martin questioned. “ Yeah but now it disgusts me”. I used a neat napkin to carry four muffins. I left them confused and myself too. I loved everything seafood but the taste of the meal made my insides uncomfortable. Great! More confusion! I stomped into my room. I need something to distract my mind at least till my meeting at midnight. I had four hours till then so I’ll watch a movie. I need popcorn for that. Martin and Shelly were talking in the kitchen. “Cammie changed when she got married to Caleb”, Shelly said, “I'm not saying Caleb is a bad person but he was odd”. “Odd how?” Martin asked. “Cammie said his work had to do with water so I assumed he worked in the Navy. But something still felt off so I hired a PI to check it out”. “And?” “He didn’t work there. Caleb was more of a shadow in the world. No house registered under his name, no cars and no medical records”. “So you’re saying Cammie loved a ghost?” “No, no! I’ve seen and touched him so he's not a ghost. He’s just not registered as a person”. Was Shelly’s last words before she sighed. I pretended to hang up the phone to get their attention. They both walked out of the kitchen. “I was just going to make some popcorn”, I said, “and I’m sorry about dinner. I'm just not feeling too well. Today has been really stressful”. “We understand sweetie”. Shelly kissed my forehead before going up to their room. “Goodnight” I whispered. So Dad was never known? This makes everything more complicated. I thought as the microwave did its work. With the popcorn in my right arm and a diet coke, I moved back upstairs. I'm going to watch the last episodes of Secret Circle. I still don’t understand why they canceled the show because it's amazing. I cranked up the air conditioner and sunk in my beanbag chair. My alarm blared suddenly. I checked myself only to find out that there was popcorn everywhere. I had fallen asleep. I switched the TV off and I grabbed my keys. They both sleep like bears so sneaking out isn’t a problem. If they catch me, I’ll be in so much trouble. I started the car and drove off. The beach was empty. Obviously. The sand felt cold under my slides even the water looked peaceful. The cold didn’t have a strong effect on me like it should. I moved closer to the water. Something compelled me to put my hand inside. It was warm and comforting. Like a home. The strangest thing happened. The wounds on my hand healed; the cuts, bruises and marks were all gone. What the hell! “You belong with the water, Wiberly”. A voice breathed on my neck.