Lonely Souls (7 page)

I started hearing familiar laughter behind me and then heard a holler that confirmed my suspicions. The friends who I thought abandoned me had tracked me down and were here; maybe things were going to be okay after all.

“Triss!” I heard hollering and feet running up behind me.

I jumped up, releasing myself from Logan’s embrace and ran toward them.

“We are so sorry!” Jenny said, hugging me. “We tried to get here, but all the flights were full, and we knew driving wouldn’t get us here in time so we just camped out at the airport until we could get on a flight.”

“We feel horrible,” Angela continued, eyeing Logan quickly.

“Please, guys, don’t. Everything has been a mess,” I replied.

I felt Logan’s palm land on my shoulder. Turning, I met his eyes and smiled. He smiled back, finally approving of my friend selection.

“So you are Jenny and Angela. I’m Logan,” he said, holding out his hand to shake theirs. The formality threw me and carved a little piece of the hardness away from my heart. It was quite endearing.

In typical Jenny and Angela style, they giggled and each shook his hand.

Jenny’s blonde hair was clipped back, and her pink checked shirt was all wrinkled from the journey. Angela looked immaculate, as always, in her jean shorts and a black T-shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. I caught myself quickly glancing at Logan to see what his reaction to them might be, and he didn’t seem to notice them
in that way
. I kicked myself internally for even caring.

“Is this your boyfriend?” Angela asked, completely puzzled since she only just left town.

As I started shaking my head, I noticed Logan was nodding.

“Nice try,” I said, gently kicking at his shin, thankful he was trying to lift my spirits as best he could.

“No, he’s just a drifter right now. Doesn’t really have a place to stay,” I said grinning, as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I think he enjoyed sharing a little joke between us. Hopefully, it made up for the Trevor incident, even though I wasn’t sure what that was.

“Well, your aunt told us you were probably here at the park, and we were so afraid to let you know we were coming because every attempt we kept making to get to you seemed to fail. We thought until we actually got in front of you, we wouldn’t give you anything else to worry about.” Jenny was still stuck on explaining away their tardiness when it dawned on her, I got a new look.

“I like your new bangs by the way, tres chic,” Jenny offered, smiling.

“Looks pretty good, huh?” I glanced at Logan’s lips while he spoke, and his grin was borderline irresistible.

“Thanks! It was the result of a mini meltdown,” I admitted, distracting myself. “I’m just so happy you guys made it. It’s nice to see you.”

“Trevor told us he called you,” Angela said, hesitantly.

Logan’s grasp around my shoulder tightened a little.

“He also mentioned that some guy was yelling at him,” Angela cracked a smile, noticing Logan’s grasp. “I’m guessing that was you.” She never let confrontation slip by her.

“I’ll fully admit it,” Logan said, smiling in that sixth grade protective kind of way. “I just felt bad for my Triss.”

I caught Jenny’s eyes, and I blushed instantly.

“How long are you guys here for?” I asked, changing the subject as quickly as I could.

“That’s the unfortunate part,” Jenny replied. “We both got new jobs, and since there are so many other college students eagerly waiting to take them away from us, we have to leave tomorrow.”

“It sucks,” Angela piped up.

“Wow, guys. I really appreciate that you’d do this for me. What a killer trip.” I was so happy that they came and felt so badly for doubting their level of friendship. Once again, grief was playing mind games with me.

“Where are you guys going to school at?” Logan asked, genuinely interested.

“University of Colorado,” they both replied in unison.

“In Boulder,” I added.

“That’s cool. I’ve never been to Colorado,” he said, his hand still resting on my shoulder. “I’m gonna head back up to the house. You guys don’t have much time together, so I’ll leave you be. It was nice to meet you both.”

Logan spun around and started walking out of the park.

“You don’t have to leave,” I shouted out, and Jenny and Angela giggled.

He kept walking and waved his hand and hollered.

“You’ll be plenty sick of me by the end of the summer, Triss!” And he kept walking.

Turning back to Jenny and Angela, I shrugged my shoulders hoping the inquisition wouldn’t begin. Hopefully with everything I was going through, they would be kind.

“Boy, that was nice of him,” Jenny began.

Angela nodded in total agreement. It was killing them. I could tell. They wanted to know about him, but there really wasn’t anything to tell.

“Do you guys wanna go get coffee?” I asked, pointing at the Starbucks on the corner.

“Totally! I still feel like I’m on a plane. We are really outside, right?” Angela rolled her eyes.

We started walking to the coffeehouse, and I was grateful for my friends once more. I couldn’t let the grief begin to control all of my emotions. Otherwise, I’d have nobody left.

Chapter 7

Jenny and Angela were right behind me as we plugged along back up the hill to my house. I was happy I was doing the uphill climb with Jenny and Angela rather than Logan. We had spent hours at Starbucks, and it was time to leave the seats for someone else. We covered all the harmless topics that were appropriate for a public place, and I think they were saving the hard-to-ask questions for when we got back to my house.

The sun was slowly vanishing, leaving a welcoming shadow that was cast on the row of exquisitely manicured brick homes, leading the way to mine. I thought back to when my mom and I moved into our home. She was so excited to find this architectural style, and I had to say it wasn’t the easiest of finds in a town that made a habit of ripping down older construction. This particular street harbored a row of brick houses as close to Gothic as Seattle could get. With upturned archways and roofs that curled and spiraled like the descriptions in the greatest of fairy tales, these homes were truly eclectic, and it was a place I couldn’t imagine ever leaving.

My mom was so thrilled the moment she saw the foyer interior with rounded archways and coved ceilings, that she didn’t even care what the rest of the house looked like. She was just lucky it was all as wondrous as the entry hall. She was a little impulsive to say the least.

“What are you smiling about?” Jenny asked.

“Just thinking about when my mom and I first moved here. How special this place was,” I said.

“It still is!” Angela exclaimed. “These homes never go on the market.”

“Yeah, and I hope to keep that tradition alive and well,” I muttered.

Reaching our front door, I could smell the amazing pot of stew that someone had already started. The mixture of garlic, onion, and bay leaf came rolling out as I pushed the large, wooden door open.

“I still love this door knocker your mom put on here. It always makes me smile,” Jenny said, as she placed her finger along the cast-iron gargoyle, which looked like he had one too many.

“Is that you, Triss?” my aunt called out.

“It is,” I hollered back, “and Jenny and Angela.”

“Hi, girls,” her voice rang out. A pang of grief hit me as my aunt’s voice achieved the same melodious tone as my mom’s.

“Ellsy and I’ve made enough stew for the neighborhood, so we should have plenty to eat since they aren’t invited,” she said, laughing.

“It smells amazing!” Angela hollered, as we went up to my room.

It almost felt like old times as Jenny and Angela piled into my bedroom, and I closed the door behind them. One day we’re climbing the stairs as children and the next as adults.

“Where’s Logan at?” Jenny asked.

“That’s a good question. I would have thought he’d have said hi.” I shrugged my shoulders.

Angela and Jenny were silent and looking at each other.

“I know there’s something you want to ask, so you should just pop it out,” I said, smiling.

Jenny let out a sigh and sank onto my bed.

“What do you think is going on?” Jenny asked.

“With my mom?”

She nodded.

“My heart says she’s still around. Then my brain starts getting involved, and I come up with the same conclusion as everyone else.” I shook my head, staring at them both. I decided to sit on the floor and stretch out my legs.

“It all seems so hard to believe,” Angela whispered.

“I know,” I sighed.

“Are you planning on going forward with the ceremony?” Jenny asked.

She’d already completed hers. She was with a different coven, and Angela didn’t belong to a coven. I think she lived vicariously through us. She was curious, but only from a distance. I helped heal a bite wound she had gotten from her pet rat, and ever since then she was intrigued.

“I don’t know. I’m so annoyed with everything that they’ve pushed on me that I feel like I don’t want to. Plus, there’s that little part of me that hopes I’ll get my mom back, and I really wanted her to see me through it. What’s the worst thing that happens if I push it off?” My eyes fell to the wide-planked wooden floors.

Jenny shrugged.

“So what really happens when you go through the ceremony?” Angela asked.

“There’s all kinds of things getting accepted into a coven provides. One of the biggest things I’ve been looking forward to is being allowed to go into the library. You aren’t allowed in the library unless you’ve gone through the ceremony. My mom was looking forward to taking me in there. Also, as a witch you have the right to choose who you want your apprenticeship with depending on the skills you want to develop. There’s a lot more too, but those are the biggies,” I replied.

“You’ve been talking about getting into the library forever, Triss,” Jenny replied.

“Yeah, but I don’t think it will be the same without my mom,” I murmured. “She was going to show me everything about our lineage and past. It just won’t be the same.”

“That’s tough,” Angela said. “It’s so unfair. I feel so guilty. We’re off about to do what normal eighteen-year-olds do, and here you are facing the biggest challenges of your life.” Angela looked at me, and her eyes were filled with tears.

“Please don’t let this take away from your experiences, guys. I feel like there’s something else out there that will help me through it. I’m not sure what, exactly. But I know it’s waiting to guide me,” I told them.

“Could that be Logan?” Jenny giggled, pushing Angela a little. “I know you were thinking it too.” And Angela nodded.

We all started laughing, and I wondered if it
could
be him.

“Very funny, guys. Things never change with you two.” I rolled my eyes.

“You know you’ll miss our running commentary,” Angela said.

“So true,” I said.

I started thinking back to the encounter from the day before and wondered if I should bring it up. I started messing with the fringe on the shag rug near my bed.

“I got locked in our flower cooler yesterday,” I said, looking only at Jenny, but Angela piped up.

“Those coolers don’t lock.” Angela’s brow was furrowed. She and Jenny both had helped out during the summers at our floral shop for extra cash.

“What do you mean, Triss?” Jenny asked. “As a joke?”

I shook my head. “It was no joke.”

There was a light tap on the door.

“Come in,” I replied, turning my head toward the door, thankful for the distraction.

Logan swung it open, carrying in a tray full of snacks, and Jenny and Angela couldn’t hide their huge grins.

“Aww,” Jenny said, staring at me like she was trying to use telepathy to get me to start in the swoon fest as well. Instead, all I could do was blink at him. He caught my gaze briefly, and it looked like he was trying to stifle a chuckle.

He set the snacks down and turned around, heading back out the door.

“Thanks, Logan. Could I look forward to this all the time?” My lips tilted up slightly.

“Don’t count on it,” he flung his words back at me, not facing me, as he closed the door.

“What’s that about?” Jenny pried.

“Apparently before my mom’s disappearance she and Logan’s mom devised a plan for him to stay in the spare bedroom while he went to college.”

“You’re kidding?” Jenny’s eyes were huge.

“And now?” Angela asked.

“Not sure yet,” I told them, fidgeting.

“Looks to me like you are,” Angela replied flatly.

“Uh-huh. I agree,” Jenny confirmed.

“There’s positives and negatives to it, and I have a lot to think about. That’s the least of my problems.” I said, glaring at Jenny.

A chill ran through me, and I wondered if Logan ever actually went back downstairs, or if he might be listening on the other side of the door. I kind of hoped he was.

“He might be able to help take care of things around here, and it’s best if you don’t make decisions after a trauma like this, for at least a year,” Angela said regurgitating whatever latest thing she’d read on the grief process.

“I think my aunt wants me to move in with her for a while, but honestly, I don’t really want to. This is my home,” my voice was a little louder, just in case he was trying to hear.

“Well, if he’s not here, I kind of think you should move in with your aunt for a bit. If he is here then …,” her voice trailed off, and she smiled.

“It’s not like that, guys. I’ve known him forever and by the looks of him, I’d say he’s probably attached or something.” Still elevating the level of my voice.

“You didn’t ask him?” Jenny was shocked.

“I kind of did and he didn’t really answer. Besides, I don’t really care. I’ve got bigger concerns right now,” I whispered.

Jenny and Angela were happily building their apple and cheese delicacies, and the hunger that was almost making its way back, vanished again completely.

“So back to the cooler incident,” Jenny began.

Rats!
I wished I hadn’t started down that path. I didn’t feel like talking about it any longer.