Chapter 22

Chapter 22

 

Gwen’s stomach growled, it was lunch hour on Monday, she was sitting in a back corner of the library. She didn’t know what was worse, that she couldn’t bear to see Zach at another table or that food wasn’t allowed where she chose to hide. Though she could easily sneak something in and eat behind the bookshelves Gwen couldn’t bring herself to break the rule. Her school books were unable to hold her interest so she would stare blankly at the walls as if they held the solution to her troubles.

“Hi, Gwen.”

The voice cut through the haze that had shrouded her thoughts and she noticed the smell of mango in the air. She turned toward the scent, she recognized it, but it was still a bit of a shock to see one of Kelli’s followers there. Like the others she was a hair taller than Gwen with an athletic build, but whereas her friends were blond she was a brunette.

“Jackie, hi,” Gwen said quietly.

Jackie stepped forward, her hands in her jeans pockets and shoulders hunched.

“I’ve been looking for you,” she said awkwardly. “You’re not an easy person to track down.”

“Social invisibility is a useful skill, but I must be losing my touch if you found me,” Gwen said twisting around in her seat. “Can I help you with something?”

“I wanted to tell you . . .” Jackie started hesitantly. “I wanted to say it was Kelli who told Zach’s family you were a Hex.”

For the first time in over a week Gwen smiled, however there was no joy involved, more like bitter confirmation.

“Yes, I figured as much,” she replied darkly.

“I’ll come with you and talk to Zach and his parents. She said if she couldn’t break you two up she could get his family to do it for her,” Jackie said, seeming taller the more she spoke.

“Why are you telling me this?” Gwen asked suspiciously.

Jackie shrugged and stared at her feet.

“I’m sick of standing by, I told Kelli at the beginning to drop it, but she wouldn’t listen,” she said quietly.

“She doesn’t strike me as the type to listen to anyone aside from the voices in her head,” Gwen said glumly.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t come forward sooner, but I’m here now,” Jackie said determinedly.

“I see,” Gwen said standing and leaning against the table. “Thanks, but there’s really nothing you can do.”

“What?” Jackie said floored. “Kelli made the whole thing up if we just tell Zach I’m sure he’ll take you back.”

Gwen chuckled sadly.

“You don’t understand, Zach’s family wouldn’t fall for a lie, they’re smart people,” she said softly.

“Then, why did he . . ?”

“He didn’t, I did,” Gwen sighed. “Only because by some wicked coincidence Kelli’s little fib happened to be true.”

Jackie frowned, Gwen’s words unable to fully settle in her mind. Gwen breathed in deeply, willing her powers to appear in a place full of Normals. Immediately swirls of white light climbed from the tips of her fingers, up one arm, twirled across her chest before dancing down the other and forming a sparkling ball in her hand. She moved it in front of her for Jackie to see, then with a flick of her wrist the orb bounced and disappeared.

“Oh,” Jackie whispered as Gwen returned her hands to the table which she was leaning on.

“Zach’s been aware of it all along, it’s one of the things that drew us together, the problem is his parents,” Gwen explained calmly. “I broke up with him because I realized he would give up everything he had for me and I couldn’t let him. I’ve spent years without a family I don’t want that for him.”

Jackie remained silent for a solid minute, not shocking considering what Gwen had revealed, she waited patiently.

“Then, Kelli was right?” Jackie asked nervously.

“Partially,” Gwen said. “I am a Hex, but I never manipulated Zach, my control is over light, as far as I’m concerned anything else was a product of Kelli’s jealousy.”

“Well . . . we’ve been friends a long time and I wouldn’t put it past her,” Jackie said scratching her head thoughtfully. “Wait, obviously you don’t tell a lot of people, why are you letting me in on the secret?”

Gwen shrugged.

“At this point I’m in a place where I don’t care,” she admitted. “Either you’re sincere and therefore unlikely to spill or you’re just a pawn, trying to find something else for Kelli and I to butt heads over.”

“Hmm, I guess I understand,” Jackie said.

“Good, though I have one favour to ask,” Gwen said shifting slightly. “Please don’t tell Zach what you’ve told me, he may already know, but if he doesn’t, I’d rather not risk him doing something stupid.”

It was becoming increasingly impossible for Zach to concentrate during class, by Tuesday second period, he couldn’t take it anymore and left the room. He wandered around the halls with his head in the clouds convinced he was slowly going crazy. He had been trying so hard to come up with a solution, but to no avail. The only thing that ached as much as his head, was his heart every time he thought of her expression when he told her what his parents had said. He wanted to shout his frustrations away, but was fully aware it would do him no good. Quite the opposite actually, since it would draw attention to the fact that he wasn’t in class.

“Hey, Zach.”

He didn’t dare look up, regardless of his self-control, the sight of her face just might cause him to explode.

“What do you want?” he asked sharply as Kelli hurried up to him.

“You’re so tense, how about we go somewhere after school to relax,” she suggested brightly.

Zach froze in his tracks, horror and anger spinning in his mind.

“What!?” he laughed humourlessly.

“Now that you’re free of Red the two of us can go together,” she said as if it was no big deal.

His brain went numb for a second, he couldn’t believe this.

“God, you’re even more insane than I thought,” he said coarsely.

Kelli gaped at him, her eyes bulging like a child who’s been caught misbehaving.

“After everything you’ve done I wouldn’t give you the time of day,” he added hotly.

“But . . .”

“You didn’t cover your tracks very well, going through my sister was not the best strategy, she’s a lousy puppet,” he said with a sneer. “For future reference even if Gwen and I hadn’t dated I still wouldn’t have gone out with you.”

“Why not?” she squealed. “What does she have that I don’t?”

“Morals,” he replied immediately. “Loyalty, compassion, you name it, she puts other people’s needs before her own. Which is the only reason she left me, she did what she thought was best.”

“She dumped you? That B***H, she ruined everything!” Kelli stomped.

His hand shot out and clamped on her upper arm.

“Don’t you dare talk about her that way,” he seethed. “You caused this, you can’t blame anyone else, understand?”

He dropped her arm and walked off before she could begin to gripe, feeling better than he had in days.

Wednesday after school the doorbell rang at the Wallace house and since their parents were at work Julie answered the door.

“Hello?” she said, not recognizing the girl on the steps.

“Hi,” the visitor said calmly. “I’m Kate Masterson, is Zach here?”

Julie could hear the beats emanating through her brother’s closed door, despite the sturdy hardwood floor between them.

“Yeah, he’s here,” she sighed.

“I need to talk to him,” Kate said, clutching her sides unsure whether she should be here.

“I’m not sure how likely he is to leave his room,” Julie said honestly. “Do you want me to give him a message?”

“I’d rather tell him,” Kate said shifting from one foot to the other. “It’s important.”

Julie considered this as a nagging feeling crept into the back of her mind, where had she heard that name?

Suddenly it occurred to her and she asked, “Is this about Gwen?”

Kate immediately frowned and her grip on her sides increased.

“Is that a problem?” she asked testily.

Julie glanced back at the stairs and thought of her brother, how he hadn’t acknowledged their parents at all for two weeks and only spoken to her in passing. How she had been a pawn in what caused his unhappiness, but could do nothing to reverse it and stepped aside.

“He’s upstairs,” she said as Kate walked in cautiously. “Just follow the noise, come on.”

Julie led her to the top floor, then down the hall to Zach’s door. The music battered their eardrums, Julie knocked as hard as she could.

The assaulting sound paused and Zach shouted, “What?”

“It’s Jules, you have a visitor,” Julie said through the heavy wood door.

There was a moment’s silence, followed by shuffling as he crawled off his bed and stumbled to the door. The lock clicked and the hinges creaked as the door swung inward.  Zach stood there with his hand on the knob, his clothes wrinkled and stared.

“Kate,” he said startled. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you about Gwen,” she said stepping forward.

Zach gazed away depressed, his sister stood silently by the wall across from him.

“Kate, don’t . . .”

“Shut up,” Kate interrupted, snatching him by the shoulder to force his eyes upward. “Now you listen to me, I’ve been giving you a hard time since you entered the picture mainly because I have difficulty trusting anyone that gets close to Gwen especially as much as you did. I’m sorry for that, but I might need your help.”

“For what?” Zach asked stiffly. “You should be thrilled this whole thing has proved you right, I’m useless, I couldn’t convince my parents she wasn’t dangerous. Gwen’s trying so hard to protect everybody she won’t let us stay together and there’s nothing else to it!”

SLAP!

Stars swam around his head, Zach massaged his jaw and stared at her, Kate was much stronger than she appeared.

“That’s enough,” she spat. “I could care less about your confidence issues, my concern is for Gwen. You two haven’t been together long enough to know Gwen half as well as I do, I’m telling you there’s trouble on the way.”

“What d’you mean?” Zach asked frowning.

“You idiot, you’ve seen her fight, haven’t you noticed?” she asked tiredly. “Even with Hexes attacking full force she never gets upset or sulks, did it ever register there might be a reason?”

Zach blinked.

“No, but why would it, that’s just Gwen,” he replied then spotted his sister mutely observing them. “Are you just going to stand there?”

“Yes,” she said succinctly.

“Focus!” Kate barked at him. “Gwen learned a while ago that her emotions can affect her powers over time.”

“Affect her, how so?” he asked blocking out Julie.

“There are some things we kept from you for safety’s sake, one is the full story behind when Gwen nearly broke her arm.”

Kate paused for a breath.

“Most of what we told you was true, but we held back a few things. The summer Gwen left home, she went through a phase of depression. I don’t care who you are, having your parents say give up your livelihood or leave takes its toll. It got even worse after her grandma moved. I could see through her brave face, a special talent of mine I suppose, so it was my shoulder she cried on. Of course none of that stopped her from going out at night which would have been like giving in to her parents. She wasn’t about to grant them the satisfaction. On one occasion she had to contend with Laser, she did her best, but she had grown too weak to create shields strong enough to protect her. It didn’t take much for him to break through and strike her, sending her flying into a parked car.”

Julie gasped and Zach glared at her until she backed into the wall with her hand over her mouth.

“The alarm went off and Laser bolted, even with the dent she left in the car Gwen couldn’t stay, she used what little power she had left to get home,” Kate continued. “Her whole body hurt, she went straight to bed with the lights on, not that it helped much. The next morning she realized her arm took the worst of it since the rest of her pain had eased. I still think she was crazy to go to work that day, but it did assist her in the long run. She had a lot of trouble washing the dishes, every few minutes her arm would seize up, she would drop whatever she was holding. Tony and the other employees noticed how upset this made her so they started playing jokes to try and get her to smile. It took some effort, but they managed to reach a long forgotten part of her and make her giggle. They didn’t stop there, by the time Gwen was laughing the kitchen lights were flickering and her skin was glowing.”

“She was charging again,” Zach said thoughtfully.

Kate nodded.

“Everyone understood how important it was for Gwen to stay happy,” she said uncomfortably. “That’s why we’re all so protective of her. She’s more than able to hold her own, but when her mind is clouded by despair she can’t absorb light properly. All she has left is her stored power and that can only last so long.”

Zach massaged his temples, it made sense now why she was always so careful and why the closest she ever came to frowning was a neutral contour.

“Why are you telling me this?” he asked his heart in his mouth.

Kate scowled, annoyance clear on her face.

“I thought that was obvious, but apparently you’re slower than even I believed,” she insulted.

“You have a funny way of asking people for help,” he said huffily.

Kate sighed and rubbed her eyes.

“That’s the problem, you jerk,” she said wearily. “I hate that you’re the only one who can fix this. She was happier with you than she ever was before, we can’t turn her around anymore. You can, that much I’m sure of Zach.”

“I didn’t end it she did,” he said tonelessly.

“Would she still be the person you fell in love with if she hadn't?” Kate asked in return.

Zach fell silent.

“Allowing you two to stay together would’ve been a serious act of selfishness and we both know she can’t do that,” she said gently. “You’re going to have to work this out before she winds up hurt or worse.”

Reviews

[NinjaPi]

i knew it when it happend. again dark alley. consider it.

[Kanattas Atir Enomo]

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! i hate kelli. she is evil!!!!!! horrible horrible horrible person. but a great little twist in the story