Ariella's biggest desire in life has always been such a simple one. She wants to be 'normal.' Unfortunately, that one simple wish has never been within her grasp. Coming from a long line of witches is bad enough, but she's even more different than t...
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After days of not seeing or hearing from the Haltermans, my stress levels were at an all-time high. I missed both Everett and Lawrence. I even wished that Annie might cave and talk to me, but it had been complete silence from the entire family so far. My only sense of relief came from the fact that they hadn't disappeared. At first, I'd expected them to, and it had taken me days to relax, realizing they weren't going to disappear in the night.
Returning home from my morning run, I noticed Everett getting into his car in his driveway. Obviously hearing my footsteps, he paused and glanced over his shoulder, his Caribbean eyes shining even from this distance. My feet froze me to stop in the middle of the road. It was the first time I'd caught a glimpse of him since Sara ran her mouth. I had even returned to school in hopes of catching a chance to talk to one of the others. I had seen Lawrence, Cal, and Lizzie at school, but none of them would so much as make eye contact with me. So, this stare with Everett seemed like an improvement, at least.
Anxiously holding my breath, I took a step in his direction. His eyes followed my move cautiously, but his face showed no emotion. It was completely blank, and my only comfort was that I didn't see any of the hate or hostility I'd seen from the others. He didn't seem any more distant than he had been since he'd found out I was dating Lawrence.
Feeling my hope rise, I took another step in his direction, but he subtly shook his head and got in his car, making me realize that he might be a little more distant after all. When he reached the street, I had a split-second urge to step in front of the car and force him to come to a stop. He'd have to listen to me then, right? Luckily for my pride, I hadn't reached that level of desperation... yet. I felt myself slipping closer and closer to it with each passing day, though. I knew it was only a matter of time before I did something stupid to force one of them to listen to me.
In the end, I just stood in the street as his car drove past me without stopping. I stood there staring, long after it was out of sight.
Eventually, I snapped out of it and sighed, my shoulders slumping as I made my way home. Attempting to avoid both Sara and River like I had been for days, I slipped into the house as quietly as I could manage and headed upstairs to get ready for school. I hadn't spoken to either of them since that day because I wasn't sure if I could control my temper around Sara yet, and I wasn't anywhere near the right frame of mind to deal with River.
A couple hours later, I entered first period before any of the other students and attempted to make eye contact with Cal while he sat silently behind his desk. I had made sure that I was early for that very purpose. Apparently, the papers in front of him were too interesting, and he didn't raise his eyes from them at all. It was obviously an act. I had no doubt that he knew the second I stepped through the door, and he was purposely avoiding looking at me.
Well, I wasn't going to take it anymore. He might be able to avoid my eyes, but he couldn't exactly close his ears. I opened my mouth, planning to talk whether he wanted to listen or not, but I never got the chance.
