Caged in Darkness (Caged #1)(7)
Current Day
15 years, 11 months, and 14 days old
When I slammed my locker door shut, my friend Isabella was leaning against the lockers with an irritated expression on her face. Isabella, or as she preferred to be called, “Izzy,” was a recent edition to mine and Willow’s antisocial group. Izzy transferred to Meadow High her freshman year, and immediately took to us. It wasn’t that surprising since Izzy was peculiar. She used to live in New York City, which was more accepting of eccentric personalities. At first, we barely tolerated her. Willow and I were completely happy with our duo and didn’t need to make it into a trio. However, after Izzy invited herself to our homes and conveniently showed up when we were out, we decided to accept the inevitable.
Izzy had a beauty that could not be replicated. She rarely wore anything other than black and was always decked out with bizarre jewelry. Today she was wearing a short black dress with bright red straps and a flared skirt. Her blonde hair was cropped short in back and angled forward to end at her chin. She never wore make up, which suited her translucent skin and bright blue eyes.
Despite her slightly gothic appearance, her personality was more cheerful than people would expect. She wasn’t the most agreeable person and had no patience for the bleach blonde Barbies of our school, but she had a sense of humor. She was also extremely loyal and accepting of mine and Willow’s differences. She never asked about the “witchy” part of our lives, but we knew she was aware of it. She had been to our homes and seen our town in the woods with the altar at its center. She seemed to naturally understand that it was a topic that was off limits.
“Where’s Willow?” I snapped to attention at my best friend’s name and shrugged.
“She sent me a text letting me know she was going to be late. She said she’d be here in time for lunch.”
Willow was a mouse with a secret spunk. She was eternally shy, but was the sweetest person I had ever met. I would do anything to keep her happy and safe. Her parents were part of the Meadow Falls coven, which meant she had lived there her entire life. Until I came along, she had been completely alone. The other kids in the coven tolerated, but ignored her. She wasn’t particularly talented in the magic arena. However, all born witches only had a portion of their true power until they came of age.
On the 16th anniversary of our first breath, we would come into our true powers. Until then it was impossible for the witchlings, which is what we called the children of full grown witches, to know how powerful they would be. Though, power tends to run in families. Willow came from a weaker line, and therefore was invisible to other witchlings.
Willow’s family was less powerful, but had a rare gift that allowed them to bring people back from the brink of death. That gift only came in handy if they were present for the exact moment of death; when a person passes through the veil between life and death.
I looked up when the warning bell sounded. Izzy was staring past my shoulder with a hungry look in her eyes. I turned around to see a dark brooding senior leaning against his locker speaking to someone, who I assumed was Griffin.
The senior was casually dressed with a maroon, long sleeve button up shirt that hung open to his middle. The shirt revealed a tight v-neck that accented his muscles. His hair was short and slightly spiky with a messy attitude. His eyes were devouring; I knew from experience that when those eyes were fixated on you, you could feel yourself being pulled into their vortex. His eyes were mesmerizing and kind. Most girls wanted to fall into those green orbs, but I was not one of them. Ash may be the most beautiful guy I had ever met, but he was the closest thing to a brother I had.
Izzy had issues with being interested in guys who were off limits to her. Ash, being part of my family, was off limits. He was also a senior, which made him even more tempting since seniors rarely dated sophomores.
Ash always acknowledged Izzy, which just encouraged her infatuation. She didn’t seem to understand that he was kind to her mainly because she was my friend. My antisocial behavior never sat well with Ash. He would go out of his way to bring any sort of happiness to my life. He appreciated anyone else who did this and so he was grateful to both Willow and Izzy. Though, Willow didn’t seem to enjoy his attention quite as much as Izzy did.
I eyed the boys as Griffin slammed his locker door and turned his sandy brown haired head in our direction. His blue eyes turned cold, when he took in Izzy and me. Ash looked up to see as he walked to us. Griffin stopped a little past us and waited impatiently as Ash leaned towards me to brush a wavy strand of hair away from my face. I shook my head so that the strand would return to its original state.
Ash smiled and said, “Maye wanted me to tell you that she wouldn’t be home after school. She said she had some things to take care of.”
Ash and I had a tentative relationship that was built on his unfailing patience in the face of the wall I built between me and the outside world. Ash’s problem was that he never gave up and he had a soft spot for damaged goods. I was the poster child for damaged, which meant that in our own way we had developed a close bond. He constantly tried to bring me out into the light and I persisted on remaining one with the shadows. However, there were times when we compromised by meeting in the middle.
“I know. I overheard her on the phone last week; something about a lawyer… Did she say why she was seeing one?”
Ash grunted, “No, but I wouldn’t worry. She’s probably making a will or something.” He stared me in the eye for a moment. “Do you want me to go straight home after school so you’re not alone?”