Damned

Chapter Thirty-Three

The way home, I wrestled with myself. Should I go back? I didn't like leaving things so hostile. Ivelyn hadn't meant it. I knew deep down she was a good person and didn't want Dara dead. She was just so driven, it sometimes made her callous. I didn't turn back, I kept driving forward. I did want to go home. It was a little past seven anyways. 

I pulled into the driveway. All the lights were off, which wasn't too odd. I already knew mom, Dolores, and Dara were going to be gone. Maybe Gran was in her room reading. She never was one to leave lights on if it was just her. I, on the other hand, liked to have all the lights on if I'm home alone. It wasn't the dark that bothered me, it was the feeling like you were alone that was unsettling. 

I grabbed my things, taking my time to get out of the car. My mind still reeling from my conversation with Ivelyn. My phone vibrated, but I ignored it. It took me forever to unlock the front door. Mainly, because it was always unlocked. Finally, I pushed open the door.

"Hello?" I called into the dark living room. I didn't want to startle her if she was here. Sometimes, this big old house was spooky. Then again, Gran saw dead people every day, so there wasn't much she was afraid of. I flipped on the light, set my keys and bag down. I took out my phone, giving in to curiosity.

There was a text from Ivelyn, apologizing again. Another text was from Addie, saying her and Erik were home and wanted to hang out. I started to text Addie back, saying I was just going to stay in. Sighing, I opened up Ivelyn's text. I should probably text her back, but I didn't. Let her be apologetic a little longer. It would do her some good.

"Gran? Anyone home?" I called into the darkness, slipping my phone into my back pocket. "Phantom?" I called him. Maybe Gran's in the kitchen? Hopefully, she made dinner because I was starving. I hadn't had a chance to finish Erik's salad. 

I pushed open the door. Again, there were no lights on. I took a step forward, searching for the light switch. I lost my footing and slipped on something wet and sticky. The fall to the floor hurt, my knee struck the ground with a loud crack. I tried to get back up, but there was water or something all over the floor. I was soaked in whatever it was. I found the wall and reached upwards, trying to flip the light switch. 

My eyes burned as light flooded the room. I blinked several times, but the scene before me didn't make any sense. It wasn't water on the floor. It was blood. I was covered in blood and it wasn't mine. My hands started to shake as I stared at them. I had seen blood before, but not like this. The floor was covered, as my eyes followed the trail of blood to the end, I wailed.

I couldn't stop the tears or my cries for help. At first, I couldn't move, completely frozen to my spot on the ground. Then, on my knees, I crawled towards the body in the center of the kitchen floor. It was Evanora -- my Gran, lying limp and bloodred. She couldn't be dead, there's no way. My mind raced, trying to think of what to do.

Never in a million years did I think Gran would die. I reached for her body, afraid at first, then found myself needing to wake her. She was just sleeping from the blood loss, right? I tried to shake her, softly then hard. 

"Wake up, Gran. Come on, we have to go to the hospital." I hiccuped through the tears. She wasn't waking up. I screamed so loud it scared me. How had this happened? I looked around, wondering if I could make sense of this. There was no making sense of this.

Sarah Good had killed Gran. 

This was my fault. 

Where was everyone? 

As I searched the room, my eyes fell on a furry black figure in the corner. 

"Phantom?" My eyes were blurry from the constant stream of tears. It was Phantom's body, but he wasn't moving. Why had this happened? What did Sarah Good have to gain from killing Phantom? He was an innocent cat! Except, he wasn't and she had to have known that. She must have known he was my Familiar.