I tensed. Was she going to tell Russell I could see ghosts?
“She doesn’t have control of her magic, so I doubt that,” Russell said.
Kellie opened her mouth, then closed it again. “She just needs some training.”
Justina gave a fake cough. “You’re crazy. She can’t join. She can’t even do the basics.”
I agreed, but I did want to learn some defensive magic to protect myself. They weren’t going to help me.
“Ruby told me she’s doing well in class.”
Justina rolled her eyes. “She needs years of training to even get close to our level.”
Kellie let it go. I was relieved that she didn’t say anything about my extra ability. The thought of him laughing at me about seeing spirits really irked me. He wouldn’t believe Kellie and would probably call her crazy for believing what was obviously a lie.
I picked myself up off the ground and dusted my clothes off. Russell looked like he was ready to defend himself if I tried anything.
“Forget it,” I said. “I don’t want to join anyway.”
The whole area lit up as a car approached and no one spoke until after it had passed. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the darkness again.
Russell sighed heavily. “Right, that’s our cue to move. We’ve been standing around here too long. Someone might get suspicious.”
Everyone agreed and started moving toward Waratah.
As they all said goodbye, Russell glared at me. “If you tell anyone about us, I’ll personally come back here and remove one of your fingers.”
I walked up to him and jabbed a finger into his chest. “Don’t you ever touch me again. And don’t threaten me. I might not be in control of my magic, but I can still blast you with it, so back off!”
He looked like he was going to explode, but Kaydan moved in between us. “Hey, man. What’s your problem? What have you got against Maddie? This isn’t how we operate. We help people, just like the real Guardians.”
Russell took a few deep breaths and got up in Kaydan’s face. “You just make sure she doesn’t rat us out.”
He turned on his heel and jumped into his car, slamming the door and spinning the wheels in the gravel on the side of the road as he sped off. So much for not wanting anyone to know we were out here.
Jerk.
There were a few comments on his weird behaviour and that he wasn’t usually that bad as we walked back to the house. They made sure we could get back in without being caught by disabling the charms around the house again.
We all went to our rooms, but I couldn’t even think about sleeping. I sat on my bed and let all my thoughts flow. It was a lot to take in.
Then I remembered the cut on my neck. I slipped back out and went into the bathroom. The light was bright, so it took a while for my eyes to adjust. There was only a bit of blood and once I washed it off, there was a pink line there.
I stared at it open-mouthed. I’d forgotten that I was a fast healer now. At least I wouldn’t have to explain it to Tracy or Anna-Marie in the morning.
I took off my top and washed the blood off the neckline, squeezed it out as much as I could, put it on, then headed back to my room. I had to change into a dry top and hung the wet one over the back of the chair.
Once I was back on my bed, I thought about what they’d said about the missing people that weren’t being found. If someone I was close to went missing, I’d do anything I could to find them. So I couldn’t blame them for wanting so badly to find Piper.
As I sat there, it dawned on me that I’d only been focused on myself and my own problems, but so many others were in a worse situation. Piper and Kassie’s family had lost two daughters; one was dead and one still missing, possibly dead too. Sophie’s family were dealing with the fact that she was never coming home.
My problem of learning control so I could go home kinda paled in comparison. I needed to remember that the next time I was feeling frustrated and angry about being here.
Even with all of that going on, I still didn’t want to join their little crusade. I had my own problems and they were more than enough to deal with.
Which reminded me; where was my number one pain-in-the-ass problem right now? I expected that Jackson would have followed me home and would be asking questions or asking me if I was okay.
My phone vibrated in my pocket and made me jump. Who was texting me at two-thirty in the morning?
Blake.
What the?
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Author's Note: Tell me in the comments what you think of Russell. Do you hate him as much as I do?
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