Hallowed Ground (GxG)

Chapter Nineteen

When Esther returned to the house, AnnMarie was back from work. She was in the kitchen making dinner for herself, and Esther quietly greeted her as she sat her backpack by the door.

It took the girl a moment to respond to her.

"You've been gone a lot lately." She said. There was sadness in her voice, and she clearly didn't try to hide it. Or maybe she couldn't. Esther could only guess.

"Sorry. I've been feeding." Was Esther’s response.

"I told you you could feed off of me."

Esther wasn’t sure what to say.

"I can't do it too much. I have to give you time to recover." She said. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I really don't mind."

If you hurt me. She didn’t say it outloud, but the implication was there. It gave Esther a sick and sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t want AnnMarie to be so willing to let her hurt her just for the sake of her company. She wasn’t worth that kind of sacrifice, and she knew it.

But AnnMarie didn't seem to know it. She didn't seem to realize just how much better she deserved.

Esther turned away.

"I know."

She went to walk past her into the spare bedroom, but AnnMarie hovered in the doorway to stop her.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"To make a phone call."

"Oh, okay."

Esther continued on her way and shut herself in the spare bedroom, making sure to close the door softly behind herself.  From her pocket she pulled her cellphone and the shimmering business card the witch had given her back in Tennessee. She dialed the number, and waited silently as the garbled ringing echoed from the speaker of the phone into her ear. After a moment, there was an answer.

"Hello?" The witch answered.

"Yes, this is Esther LaGrange."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

"Who?"

"You gave me your card." Esther said.

"I give a lot of people my card."

Esther rolled her eyes even though she was alone.

"I'm the vampire."

"Oh, yes. That does narrow it down." She said, "Were you going to let me try and—"

"I want you to help me break a curse." Esther interrupted her.

Another pause, this one quite a bit longer than the first. For a moment, Esther was worried she had hung up. The sound of rustling and doors shutting told her the woman was still on the line.

"You must mean the one my brother told me about. The one that your little freckled friend came into our store asking us about."

Esther was slightly annoyed about way the witch chose her words, and the implications it seemed to hold.

"Yes."

"Well, what's in it for me? What do I get for helping you?"

After a moment, Esther replied.

"What do you want from me?"

A third pause.

"Let me think about it."