Rebirth: The Awakening Of A Witch (16 page)

“Stop annoying me.” I started walking again. He still didn’t go away and kept on following me. I felt like I had my dog with me, accompanying me home—if
I ever had one.

H
e
finally
gave up and stop
ped
the car.
“Sky, get in already,” he said, clearly annoyed. He probably doesn’t like
losing
in this
kind of
game, especially if it’s me
he’s losing to.
“Come on. It’s dangerous for you to walk
all the way home
by yourself.” I
instantly
stopped
on my tracks
, remembering what happened the last time I walked home.
I immediately
sauntered to the pas
senger side and opened the door just to stop the flashback
s
from bothering me.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I made myself comfortable in the seat, snapping the seatbelt securely.

“No problem,” he replied as he started the engine again.

The drive home was quiet at first.
I thought it was going to be one of those
silent
drives we usually have. But
I didn’t expect him to say what he was going to say next.

“Sky, I don’t think you should go to that party this Saturday
,
”
he suddenly
stated
.

I turned to him,
obvious surprise clear on my face.
“Why not?” I replied, annoyed at what he just said. I saw him grip the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He looked like he didn’t plan on answering my question. I sighed and tried to play this to my advantage. “If I
agree not to
go, will you be willing to
be interrogated
?” I asked that question slowly, studying his expression as I did so.

It was fine if I didn’t go. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal if it meant that I get to know the answers to
every single
question that’s been plaguing me since last night.

H
e clenched his jaw
, and I knew I lost…or won. It depends on how you look at it, really.
At least I get to
have fun
.
“I guess I’m going to that party then,”
I stubbornly declared before turning back to look outside the window. “And you don’t have any right to tell me where I can and cannot go,”
I said as I felt my own hands clench.

Who does he think he is, anyway?
I mean, I know he saved my life twice before, but that doesn’t
give him the privilege to control me
.

We didn’t talk after that. By the time we reached my house, I just
murmur
ed my thanks again before I got out of the car. And just like always, he waited until I was inside the house before speeding away.

I glanced at my watch. Nick was due here any minute now.

“
T
hanks again for inviting me
, Sky
. I’ve never been in parties since we moved here,” Elise happily said as she clasped both her hands together. She was the picture of pure excitement.

I grinned to keep my mouth from making that ‘aw
w
’ sound I’ve been dying to do since she arrived half an hour ago. She was just so adorable
,
s
o unlike her older brother, which I liked.

It was now Saturday night. As planned, Elise w
ill
be coming with us to Jessica’s house. I arranged for her to come to my house so we c
an
drive with Nick and Anne to Jess’ place.

The moment I opened the door to let her in, I felt like I wanted to play dress-up with her. She had on a midnight blue tube dress and three-fourth white cardigan that matched the
off-white
ballet flats she
was wearing
.
I remembered I distinctly told her not to specifically dress up for the party, but she still looked cute.

“No problem, Elle,” I smiled at the new nickname she told me to address her. “You should get used to it. There’ll be lots more in years to come,” I said as I winked at her.
It was true. I
was
really intend
ing
on having a longstanding relationship with her and Cole. They were really nice people to have around, even if they have inherited some weird attributes from Dagger Eyes.

Still, I don’t know if I feel the same way for him as I do for them. It was a good thin
g
that Adrien wasn’t going to the party. I haven’t spoken to him since he brought me home that night, and we ended up ignoring each other
yesterday
at
school
. Sadly
,
Cole couldn’t join us. So, it was just Elise and me.

I watched her and frowned when
her expression
suddenly
became glum
.
Before I could ask her what’s putting her down, she put on her happy, excited face back.

I guess she got that from Adrien, too. I urged her to drink her coffee. She was going to need it. Jess’ parties were known to go on
un
til dawn, especially now that her parents were away for business.

The door suddenly opened and Nick came in. “Hey, guys. Come on, let’s go,” he said,
waggling his eyebrows at us
. He didn’t
even stop to snatch my mug of coffee like he usually does every time he comes to pick
me up for Jess’ parties.

“Elle, go on ahead. I’ll just go tell Nana we’re going
.
”
I ushered her to run after Nick. I went up to Nana’s room, knocking a few times before entering her bedroom.

“Nana?”

“Yes, dear?” she mumbled as I came in.

“We’re
leaving for Jess’ party
,” I said as I sat beside her on the bed. She was already in her pajamas when I came in, comfortably snuggled under her bed
sheets
while reading a book. “Don’t wait up. I love you.” I hugged her tight before pressing my lips on her cheek.

“I love you, too, dear. Have fun!” she smiled warmly at me through her reading glasses.
I stood
and
arranged a few wrinkles on my sleeveless tank top before
leaving her bedroom.

I hurriedly grabbed my
cardigan
from
the
couch and ran out the door, making sure to lock it
.

Jessica’s parties
have always been
fun. She served a lot of drinks, non-alcoholic of course, since we were still underage. And I just loved the finger foods she served. The crowd was fun, too. There were about fifty people at her place tonight. I seem to know
almost
everyone in the party since most of them were from school.
The others that I didn’t know were probably Jess’
relatives
.
I was only familiar with a few of them, those that she frequently invites
every time she throws
parties
like th
i
s
one
.

Elise was turning out to be the ball of the party, and I was glad that she was constantly talking to different people. She didn’t mind
mingling with
anyone at the party at all.
And I was very happy that she seems to be adapting
well
to Rattford Cliffs
.

I would have enjoyed the party as much as I
could
, but I was
somehow
bothered. I didn’t know why
,
but I have this heavy feeling inside me. I tried my best to ignore it. I managed to do that
for awhile
, but t
he heaviness
somehow keeps on sneaking up on me. I sighed and blamed it all o
n
Adrien. Ever since that night he saved
me
from those thugs, I’ve put so much meaning into every little thing
that was out of the ordinary
. I’m starting to think
that
I’ve suddenly become mad.
And to top it off,
he still didn’t answer any of my questions.

I still lay awake at night, bothered with every single
query
.
I gave up with typing the questions on my phone or writing them down on a piece of paper.
After that first
successful
exercise
, it really didn’t work anymore.
Even my
mystic
al tree was starting to lose its magic.
I know I
needed
to get
my answers before I die of sleep deprivation.

I sighed. I have another thing that’s bothering me tonight.
Other than that paranoid feeling, Elise was disturbing me
, too
. She was busy chatting with people
,
but I sometimes catch her looking at me. Even if he wasn’t
at the party
, I was instantly reminded of Adrien, because he would probably do the exact same thing if he was here, but only in a much more intense way. I
groaned
. He must’ve forced her to do this. I was particularly sure of that theory, because every time I catch her looking at me, she would smile apologetically.

By midnight, the party was still building its climax. I was having fun dancing with Nick, Anne,
Sandy,
and Elise when that heavy feeling
crept
in
again.
This time it felt like it actually punched me
hard
in the stomach. I immediately stopped dancing
, trying to catch my breath
.
My friends
didn’t notice, but Elise did. She instantly stepped beside me, looking at me intently, studying my face.

“I’ll just go and get some water,” I shouted over the loud music,
pointing to the direction of the refreshments table.

“I’ll come with you. I need a drink, too,” she shouted back as she held my hand
,
so
we
wouldn’t get separated in the crowd of dancing people.

By the time we got to the table, I wasn’t feeling
well
.
I quickly grabbed
the closest
bottled water on the table, opened it
,
and
drank hungrily
.

“Sky, are you okay?”
Elise asked. She was
looking really worried
. I probably looked worse than what I was actually feeling.

After I few more
gul
ps of water, I no
d
ded at her. I actually felt better. It was
probably
just
the long late nights and lack of sleep.

“Let’s get you some air, alright?” she suggested as she led me out the main door of the house
. Once outside, she tugged me along with her
and
helped me sit
in the
wooden
porch swing.

“Thanks for this, Elle. You really should go back inside. I’ll be fine here,” I smiled reassuringly at her. I didn’t want to ruin the night for her.
She should be having fun. It was her first party
since she moved
, after all
.

She smiled while shaking her head. “No, no. I’ll keep you company. Besides, my feet need
ed
a break
from all th
at
dancing,” she laughed silently as she stretched out her legs in front of her. I
had to agree with her
. We did spend most of the night dancing.