Why Don't You Want to Get Murdered?

Chapter 7: Something Fishy

"That it's an invasion of your privacy and that I shouldn't be doing it," she sighs.

"Exactly. What do you want to know?" I question my mom.

"Everything."

"Well, I don't know much. She's nice, funny, smart, sarcastic. I don't know what grade she's in or how old she is. She's a witch and knows next to nothing about them. She's beautiful."

"What do you mean she knows next to nothing about witches? Did Zoey tell you what she looks like?"

"Again, I don't know much about her. I have no idea why she doesn't know about them or anything supernatural. Zoey didn't tell me about her looks. I saw her."

I hear my mom gasp. "How?!"

"She has the power of premonition. Somehow she pulled me into her vision."

"But that isn't possible!"

"I know. That isn't all. Mom, I saw the Dark Witch."

"What?" I hear the tremor in her voice. She's scared for me. My mom has always been very protective of me. When I went blind, it got worse. She would fawn over me and try and make sure that I was alright at all times. Sitting with me through my braille lessons, applying to high school, talking through my problems, my mom has been with me through it all. She's my biggest supporter. 

The only other person I'm this close to is Camden, well, and him. Well, we used to be close. Then, three years ago we just stopped talking. He pulled away and I don't know why. Sometimes, though, I feel as if he's still here with me. It's an odd sensation. I wish that he would reconnect with me again. I know that he still lives in the same house. I could go over and talk to him, especially since I'm back out in the community again. I'm not holed up in my house anymore. But, I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to see me. If he did, he wouldn't have pulled away in the first place. 

"I saw her. With a knife to my throat. My Ali Media was running through a burning forest trying to save me. She looked terrified," I tell my mom with a shaky voice.

" It must be..." my mom pauses.

"On my birthday. Yeah."

"We'll figure this all out. I promise," she gives me a quick hug and then pulls away, "In the meantime, you need to talk to your Ali Media. Get to know her, gain her trust, and get her to fall in love with you. What's her name?"

"Talia," I say with a smile, "Her name is Talia."

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Two weeks. Two weeks have passed and absolutely nothing from Talia. I've tried to talk to her probably at least three dozen times. She's avoided me every single time, making up some excuse of having to be somewhere or another. Complete and utter bullshit. I can't pinpoint why she wouldn't want to talk to me. I know that she wanted to learn more about the supernatural world, so why the radio silence? How am I supposed to get close to her if she won't even talk to me? How am I supposed to beat this curse if she keeps avoiding me? 

Not only that, but I talked to Zoe. Apparently, she was walking with a limp for two days last week. She told Zoe that she sprained her ankle during soccer practice. I find that hard to believe considering Zoe said that Talia isn't a klutz and hasn't sprained or broken a single thing in her life. Something fishy is going on, and I'm going to find out what it is one way or another. 

First things first, I have to get Talia alone. That won't be easy considering that she's been avoiding me like the plague. My best chance will be at lunch. Everyone will be distracted with food, and I'll have the most time to talk to her compared to trying to do it in between classes. 

I hear the bell ring signaling the end of third period. Perfect. Talia sits right next to me, so before she has the chance to run out of class, I grab her arm. "We need to talk," I demand of her in a serious voice.

"I really need to get to lunch. I'm supposed to be meeting Avery in the cafeteria," Talia says, making up yet another excuse.

"No. No more excuses. We are going to talk whether you like it or not. It's important," I tell her.

"Fine, but not here. Let's go to the library." She stands up and takes my arm. Man, doesn't she have a strong grip? We walk for about two minutes making a couple of turns along the way. We finally walk through a door and the smell of books hits me hard. She leads me to what I assume is a back room and sits me down. She plops down in a seat next to me sighing loudly.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" I ask.

"It's... complicated," she unsteadily replies.

"I'm all ears."

"Things in my life have... prevented me from talking to you. It was easier to push you away."

I sigh. "That's it? That's all I get?"

"That's all you get."

I lean back in my chair. "Damn. You're a mystery. You know that right?"

"I prefer to keep it that way. Keeps everyone on their toes." I smile when she says that.

"As much as I love talking about this, there are other reasons why I wanted to talk. We need to start your lessons. We should have started weeks ago, but that can't be helped now. It's dangerous for you to be in the dark. You need to know everything about the supernatural world as soon as possible."

"Agreed. We can still meet on Saturdays. What if we meet at the public library? 4 p.m.? We can meet in the back room."

"That works for me."

"Great. I'll see you Saturday." She stands up to leave.

"Wait! Did you, maybe, want to have lunch with me?"

"Sorry, I  really do need to meet Avery. Plus, I don't think it's a good idea for me to be seen with you a lot. Hell, talking with you right now complicates things. I think it's best if we just meet on Saturdays. That's it." 

I open my mouth to argue but then close it quickly. I can't force her to talk to me or hang out with me. I have to convince her that we can be friends and eventually more than that. "Ok."

She walks out of the library. Talia is extremely closed off. I'll just have to break down those walls of hers, and I'll have to do it fast. 

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