Caged in Darkness (Caged #1)(20)

Sucking in my breath, I stepped out of the bathroom. Willow giggled on the floor pointing at Izzy, who did not look happy. Considering her outfit, I had a difficult time containing my own laughter.

“Oh. My. God!” I was trying to be nice. I really was, but I couldn’t contain my laughter. Izzy, the queen of fashion or at least, gothic fashion was wearing an outfit that a clown wouldn’t be caught dead wearing.

Izzy’s mom had this irritating, but funny way of adjusting Izzy’s clothing. She thought she was encouraging her daughter’s unique sense of style, but really her creations were ridiculous. Izzy, couldn’t bring herself to tell her mom that she hated the adjustments, and instead wore them. Talk about unconditional love.

“Hm. Yeah, I am pretty sure that is the worst one yet!” I shouted.

Izzy had a pained expression on her face. Her dress, which was originally beautiful, now looked like an 80’s prom dress designed for a corpse. It combined gray lace, bright pink tulle, and a tie die torso.

“Please tell me, I can wear something of yours!” Izzy begged.

I immediately felt guilty when I saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn’t wait for my answer, but took the dress off and threw it into the backpack she brought it in.

“Yeah, but you might want to spill some paint on that dress. That way you have a future excuse not to wear it.”

“Paint would be an improvement.” Willow said. She then jumped up and started combing through my closet. She pulled out a pair of black shorts with suspenders attached, and a cropped top sewed to the suspenders. It was a cute outfit, which was the only reason why I had made an exception to my midriff rule.

Izzy grabbed it, shrugged, and climbed right into the outfit. The suspenders rested on the outer edges of her breasts and the shorts ended at mid thigh. The fit was entirely different on her than it was on me. The midriff looked cuter; because she had her naval pierced with a filigree black rose hanging from a small white gold chain. She looked adorable, and I knew there was no way I could wear that outfit after seeing her in it. She was made for it. Willow wore a black satin pencil skirt with a white blouse and a black vest. In short, we all looked vastly different than normal.

“You should wear a different necklace. I don’t think the blue stones look right with the dress you’re wearing.” Willow lifted the pentacle hanging from my neck. I flinched; worried that it would burn her. It didn’t really burn the winged man because he was a figment of my imagination that had been produced by massive amounts of stress.

“I like it.” The truth was that even though I realized my encounter at my parents’ estate was a hallucination, I couldn’t bring myself to take off the necklace. In my hallucination, the necklace had protected me, hadn’t it?





Ash





I spent the day avoiding Savannah at all costs. I could hear her through the walls and it was tearing me up inside to not be with her. I couldn’t risk being alone with her again after I almost kissed her. What if I lost my will and gave in? It could result in the greatest sacrifice of my life, because she is the one person I could not live without. Savannah saw me as a brother, and if I wanted to keep her I would have to treat her as a brother would.

It was a relief to go to the bonfire. The group of people who went to these types of parties didn’t appeal to Savannah, which made it more appealing to me.

“Hey, Ash!” Griffin piled out of a jeep with three other guys from the coven and Isis.

Most of the people at the bonfire were from school, but sometimes the older coven members came out of boredom. I sat alone by the fire. My irritability turned everyone else away. Griffin left the others and took the seat on the log next to me.

“Hey.” I spoke in a monotone and looked to the side to see Griffin shift uncomfortably.

Griffin and I were raised together. We had been through some extreme circumstances, and when my parents died he understood in a way no one could expect a four year old to. Most people didn’t understand our friendship and why I would want to be friends with someone so crude. However, he was different when we were alone. Savannah thought he was a jerk. I couldn’t blame her, but until she came along, he was my only family besides Maye. Now Savannah superseded that relationship.

Griffin cleared his throat. “Sorry, about yesterday. I shouldn’t have egged Isis on. You still mad?”

“No, not mad. It was a stupid thing to do though. It could have had some serious consequences.” I looked across the fire to see Savannah climbing out of Izzy’s car and was dumbstruck.

“Yeah.” Griffin saw me staring across the fire and followed my line of vision to see Savannah.

“What’s she doing here?” He sounded tired.

“No clue.”

“Whatever. See ya.” He stood suddenly and walked over to the others from the coven.

Savannah neared the bonfire and I was completely transfixed. Ordinarily, she preferred to be invisible in a gathering. It looked like she intended something entirely different tonight. She walked with her head held high and a determined gleam to her eyes.

I groaned. It was difficult enough being around her, but now every guy in the vicinity would be tempted. How could I play the over protective brother, when I was one of the hormonal guys she needed protection from?

Savannah stopped at the bonfire and waved when she saw me. That was when I began to feel the pressure in the air. My ears popped the way they do on an airplane, and my skin prickled. Aggression built until I saw what was causing my dominant nature to heighten. The feeling steadied to an even platform.