If I Die Young

26. Ezra

A few days passed and there was still no sign of Ezra. I was growing uneasy, seeing as how Ladon was having trouble remembering him, but it wasn't as fuzzy as it was for the others. Noelle though, she was still searching the house for him. She knew he had to be here, trapped within these walls and hidden away. The ghost, Cosette, seemed to be urging her on. Something absolutely evil happened behind these walls and I was scared to find out what it was.

Today was a different day than before, seeing as we'd be meeting the caseworker for Brandon, Aurelia, and Elyse. Ms. Renshaw was a nice woman from what I'd heard, always wearing a blue suit with a skirt and a donut bun. I was sitting in the living room almost pensively, waiting for her to appear. I wanted to question her about Ezra but I knew I might not get my chance unless I talked to her right off the bat. Miss Huld had something to do with all of this, I could tell.

It was nearing seven when the car finally pulled up outside. I bolted out of my seat but even so, I was beat to the door when Miss Huld answered it for the caseworker. They were spot on about her description: shorter, with tanned skin and light hair. Her eyes were hazel and her lips were painted a pretty blossom color that complimented her smile. I caught sight of a couple of the other kids in the house, tucked into the corners as they watched the exchange as well. Eventually Elyse came down the steps and she met Ms. Renshaw with a tight embrace. The two seemed to be close, just as Mr. Crowley and I had been. Suddenly I remembered his number and I decided it might be a good time to give him a ring.

"Caitlyn, this is Sable, she's new to the house."

I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts when Miss Huld went about introducing us. I held my hand out to her and she took it firmly; I realized quickly this woman could hold her own if need be and I respected her for it.

"It's nice to meet you," she grinned, "Emile boasts about you like you're his own daughter."

"You know Mr. Crowley?" I asked gently.

"Sure I do, he and I work in the same department." Ms. Renshaw chuckled, turning to Elyse, who stood beside me. "How's basketball been? I meant to see the last game but I got caught in some last minute work."

"Oh don't worry about it, we lost the last game anyway." Elyse laughed, waving off her apology. "It's going great, so far we're second in the circuit and we're on track to be first."

"That's great! I'm so proud of you for making it, you go out there and show them nothing can hold you back."

Elyse beamed under the praise, but something felt a little off about the way she spoke. I could tell there was genuine care in her tone, but it seemed robotic and forced. I decided I'd come back to this later and hopefully I'd catch her before she left.

Instead of hanging around downstairs I decided to walk up to the craft room, finding the girls all sitting at the table and working on something. Out of curiosity I peered over their shoulders and saw movement, and what I thought to be Brandon in an animal form at first was actually Noelle's teddy bear, writhing on the table.

"Delilah, what are you doing to Noelle's poor bear?" I asked, eliciting giggles from all three of them.

"I'm bringing it to life!" Delilah let out an exaggerated evil cackle, producing a magic wand from God knows where and waving it over her head. In the trail was what looked to be miniature golden stars, creating a halo above her head before she cast the spell on the beast beneath her. In moments his color had changed and he was now dark blue in color instead of brown, coated with stars that glowed like fireflies. The bear sat up on its own and got to its feet, reaching out and giving Noelle a big hug. She squealed in joy and hugged him close.