The Trials of November

Chapter One

In Grand Haven, Michigan, everything freezes sooner in the year than in the rest of the country. The city is on Lake Michigan, so the Witches of November always blow in, making the city a frozen ghost town before December arrives. The people who reside there have learned that once November hits, you should rarely leave the house until the mild wintertime has set in.
The falls in Michigan were even more mean and aggressive than the winters, and everyone who resided there knew of the strength of that blistering cold air that flew down the streets like an angry, cold dragon.
That is why it was so peculiar to see Victoria King walking down the street, wind blowing her long blonde hair, her nose red from the chill. She was going home, of course, and had just finished her school day.
The brisk weather cut through her clothes like a knife, and shot through her skin like a thousand tiny bullets. Victoria did not mind the cold that much. At least, not as much as the rest of those whom attended Maple Point High School with her. Everyone there complained about the cold. Then move. Victoria always thought.
She continued down the sidewalk at a brisk pace, trying not to think about how cold she was. Victoria was heading home.
Victoria always had dreaded going home. Her family life was nothing short of disastrous. Her parents were rarely home, which meant that she was alone more than anyone would like to be left alone. She had grown up basically relying on herself, and only herself. She had learned to cook at a young age, and she had grown to actually enjoy it. Neither of her parents (when they were actually home,) were very involved in her life at all, and honestly, Victoria did not mind it that much. She cherished her independence. She would rather be independent than have a parent who constantly was looking over her shoulder.
Her high tops shuffled on the sidewalk as she hurried the last few blocks to her home. She hugged her navy blue jacket around herself tighter and buried her face into her scarf. The nipping cold froze her cheeks and her hands with no remorse.
Once she arrived to her house, she stopped and looked at it, despite the cold. It was a small two story French style house with lots of brick, brown window boxes, and a giant bare maple in the front yard. Victoria had grown up in that same house. She had taken her first steps there, she had playdates and sleepovers in the same living room she sits in every afternoon. She had had all eighteen birthdays in that house.
Victoria stopped briefly and opened the mailbox. She opened it. That was her routine every day, though she never got anything herself. She did not know what she was expecting. Bills, bills, and more bills. Ah yes. That's why her parents were never home. Victoria rolled her eyes, put the bills back in the mailbox and walked in the front door using her key.
When she arrived inside, she put her backpack onto the counter and took off her jacket. She then bounded up the creaky stairs and walked down the narrow hallway to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She looked around. She had a large closet, with clothes spewing out everywhere. She had a bed --unmade, of course-- with a dresser next to it holding a lamp and her cell phone charger. In addition to that, she had a small desk in the corner with a light, some notebooks and pens, and the English essay that she had forgotten to grab earlier that same morning. Victoria never had considered herself to be a very organized person in general. It typically seemed to work out in her favor, though.
She was wearing jeans with a purple sweater, which was her go-to outfit when she was upset. She plopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
Victoria had a sad kind of feeling in the pit of her stomach, like when you know something is about to go wrong. Nothing was wrong at that moment, not that she could put her finger on, anyway. However, that feeling only made her think of Callie. That same feeling was the feeling that she had the day that Callie went missing. That day, it was almost as though she knew that her best friend was about to go missing. The feeling was very strange and she couldn't explain it, but there it was.
It had been exactly thirty days since Victoria's best friend Callie had gone missing. There were no leads. Just randomly, out of the blue. She was gone. Nobody had any idea what happened, so everyone assumed that Callie had run away. She was almost eighteen, so nobody really cared. Her parents were not supportive of her and her choices, so most people would blame her disappearance on that. However, Victoria knew that Callie would never have run away. Never. They had been best friends for years and Victoria knew that she would never have been able to leave without saying goodbye.
Earlier that year, Callie had gotten involved with some people that turned her on to some pretty nasty drugs and things that essentially ruined her life. Victoria had tried many times to persuade her to make better choices and to help herself, and Callie knew that she was right. The only thing was, recovering from an addiction was much easier said than done.
She had tried for a few weeks, but every attempt only resulted in worse drugs in the future. Callie did not have any parent support on the matter, and Victoria was really the only other person that she had in the world who would tell her to not do the drugs, and everyone else that Callie interacted with on a daily basis were her drug dealers who, of course, supported her and her drug use.
Victoria really wished that Callie had not taken her first drug. She wished that she would have been there for her better so that she did not have to resort to drugs. Drugs had completely ruined her life. They had sucked her down into a vortex of pain and regret from which there was no returning.
Victoria, overcome with sudden grief (again), then rolled on her side, shoving her best friend out of her brain. She tried her very best not to cry. Those days, it just hurt too much to think of her. The only problem was that Callie was everywhere.
Her face was plastered on the sides of buildings and in grocery stores. In bars and in schools. Everywhere. There was no escaping her no matter how hard Victoria would try.
The sun shone through her blue drapes, blinding her. Victoria then rolled back onto her other side.
Her parents gave her no sympathy on the topic of Callie, no matter how many times Victoria begged for it. It was as though they did not care that much, and like they would not be at all surprised to come home and find Victoria gone too.
She had always had a better relationship with her father, but he was gone much more frequently than her mother was. It was another thing that really bothered Victoria about her family. She was planning on going to a University the next year, and her family still did not bother to try to get to know her better.
She pulled out her phone and checked for notifications.
There were some messages from social media that she didn't care about. Every time she checked her phone she would hope for a phone call or text from Callie, but unfortunately, she never received one.
There was a text message from her friend Rebecca. Rebecca essentially took the place of Callie in Victoria's life, but Victoria knew that she would never be able to fill the void inside of her with some false friendship. The text read: "OMG. U HAVE 2 COME TO SCREAMIN' BEANS RIGHT NOW." Rebecca was always exaggerating, and she always seemed to have an emergency. "I NEED HELP ON MY HMWRK! SOS!"
Victoria considered her options. She could either stay in her bed, probably doing nothing, or she could go the the local coffee shop with her needy friend. The Screamin' Bean had crappy lattes and sketchy employees but it was the only place within walking distance of their neighborhood in which you wouldn't pay seven dollars for a coffee. She really did not feel like helping with homework, but Rebecca was very flaky. There was only about a forty percent chance she would show up anyway. Eh. Why not?
About a half an hour later, Victoria was at the Screamin' Bean. But guess who wasn't? Rebecca. Victoria should have known.
It was actually pretty rare that Rebecca would make an appearance for things like that. She was the queen of "the grass is greener".
She went to the counter and ordered a Chai latte. Victoria walked past the billboards and the advertisements, and lazily glanced at them. One of them made her stop. It was the one that said that Callie was missing. Victoria's heart jumped. She never thought that she would be able to get used to the sound of that. She looked away quickly, shoving Callie out of her head. Why does this always happen? Victoria asked herself. She always tended to find herself thinking about Callie, intentionally making herself sad. She always knew that it would make her sad thinking about it, yet she never wanted to stop thinking about Callie.
Callie did not deserve to be forgotten. She was one of the nicest people that Victoria had ever met, and she definitely did not deserve to be left in the dust if she was still alive. Victoria knew in her heart that Callie was not alive, but she figured that she might as well still be hopeful, just for Callie's sake.
She glanced back at the poster one more time, feeling that same pang of pain and sadness in her heart. Then Victoria suddenly felt very stupid. People are going to notice me staring at this picture. I need to stop. Victoria said to herself. She turned her back to the poster, in an attempt to also turn her back to all of the pain and the feelings that revolved around her missing best friend.
Victoria could not believe that it had come to that. Callie was the most wonderful person that Victoria had ever known. She did not deserve the fate that she actually recieved. She deserved so much better.
Victoria then went and sat down at one of the small metal wire tables and pulled out her phone. She started scrolling through her different social medias, but then suddenly, out of nowhere, something urged Victoria to look up. She didn't know what the force was, but some force told her to glance. Just for a second.
And that was when she saw him.