Legends Of Westbury

Chapter Nine

Celeste didn't know how long she followed Kelly. The sun shone brightly through the trees, beating down on Celeste's neck. Celeste was glad she brought a water bottle to the police station.

Kelly suddenly tripped over a rock. That confused Celeste. She thought that the stone would prevent the holder from all types of danger. Apparently, she was wrong.

"Where am I?" Kelly said, holding her head, "Ugh, my head hurts so much."

Celeste decided to play dumb.

"I have no idea. You just started walking and I followed you. We probably walked for two hours. It must be past dinner."

As if to prove Celeste's point, her stomach growled.

"Do you know why I started walking?" asked Kelly.

Kelly sounded so confused that Celeste thought about telling her what had happened, but then she thought better. Kelly didn't need to know. All Kelly needed to do was to bring Celeste to the stone. Then everything would work out. It had to work out. Celeste could never tell Kelly what happened and what would happen. It was all a part of the plan.

"I don't know. Your the one who started walking away for no reason. Do you not remember anything?" asked Celeste, faking confusion.

"No. The last thing I remember is you sitting next to me then nothing," Kelly said. Kelly seemed very upset about the whole thing.

Again Celeste thought about telling Kelly. But no matter what, Kelly could never no. It would mess with Celeste's dad's whole plan. If Kelly knew that the story was real, the world could break. The plan had to stay intact.

Kelly looked around.

"Are you sure I didn't say anything like about what I was doing or why I was doing it?" Kelly asked, her eyes were pleading with Celeste.

"Kelly you didn't say anything. All I know is that you were fine one minute and the next you were walking away. Do you have your phone?"

"Yes," Kelly said, cheeking her pockets then she cursed, "I forgot! My phone was on the charger and I didn't grab it!"

"Great, my phone's dead. We're stuck here," Celeste didn't have to act worried. She might've known the woods, but she'd never been stuck in them. Normally Celeste had her phone, which her parents could track if something went wrong, or at the very least a map. Now she had nothing. Except for the stone.

Celeste got onto her knees and started looking for the stone. She knew that the reason Kelly was out of her trance was that the stone fell out of her pocket. It was the only thing that made sense. Of course magic rarely ever made since, but Celeste was willing to forget about that fact.

"What are you looking for?" asked Kelly.

"A small triangle-shaped blue stone with a hole in the middle. I dropped it."

Kelly narrowed her eyes, "You stole my stone!"

Celeste was confused, but then she remembered, Kelly had found the stone in the first place. Celeste didn't know how she was going to dig herself out of this hole.

"I didn't steal it. I found it."

"Yeah in my room! That's why the self broke! You broke it stealing the stone!" Kelly shouted.

"I did not steal your stone! You picked it off the ground, dropped it as you left, and I picked it up! Maybe you dropped it some other time! You seem to walk around the forest a lot," Celeste claimed.

Kelly's eyes narrowed. Maybe bringing up how often Kelly seemed to run into the forest was a bad idea, but Celeste was stressed. She had to find some way to get the magical stone and bring it to her dad without Kelly being suspicious. The whole thing would be hard enough without Kelly accusing Celeste of stealing a rock. Kelly didn't even think it was special. Why would she be so mad about it?

"I don't believe you," Kelly said.

"I don't need you to believe me. I just need you to trust me. I can get us out of this, but first I need to find that stone. You can even keep it if you want," Celeste said.

Celeste continued to look for the stone. She brushed the dirt out of the way. By this point, Celeste didn't even care if she was being suspicious. Celeste almost wanted Kelly to find out on her own. At least then Celeste wouldn't have to lie to her.

Kelly knelt to help Celeste look. The two girls picked through the dirt. The whole time Celeste was panicking. If they didn't find the blue stone, then they wouldn't find the wishing stone. If they didn't find the wishing stone, then they wouldn't be able to make the wish. If they didn't make the wish, then the world would continue going on the same way. The world was too messed up to go on the same way. Way too messed up.

"Celeste, you've been acting kinda weird today, what's going on?" Kelly asked.

Celeste took a deep breath. She couldn't tell Kelly the truth, but maybe she could say part of it.

"My sister died three years ago today," Celeste said.

Kelly hugged Celeste.

"What happened ?" she asked.

"Gabrielle had just gotten her permit. A friend was teaching her how to drive when some drunk driver came and hit them. The airbag didn't come out, Brie hit her head on the dashboard so hard that she died," Celeste explained.

She hated that it was a lie. Her sister wasn't hit by some drunk, she was searching for a clue about the stone. Celeste hated lying about her sister's bravery and yet she had to.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Celeste said. She didn't want to lie anymore. Not about Gabrielle, not about anything.

Tears stung at the back of Celeste's eyes. She blinked them back. Celeste had to stay focused. She had to. Celeste continued to work. She didn't mind the dirt getting under her fingernails, the hot sun, Celeste had to work. She had to. Celeste kept repeating the mantra in her head.

"I found it!" Kelly said.

Celeste turned as Kelly picked up the stone. Kelly went into her trance again. Celeste sighed. She had almost been wishing that Kelly wouldn't be the one to find it. Celeste got up and followed Kelly through the forest.

Since all Celeste had to do was follow Kelly, Celeste was getting pretty bored. She looked around the forest. For as much time that Celeste had spent in the woods near her home, she never really looked around. She had mostly kept her eyes on the trails that she had made from walking on the same paths time and time again. This new landscape was exciting. Pretty. Celeste had never truly appreciated the beauty of the forest before.

We reached 103 reads!!! Oh my gosh, you guys I can not begin to describe how awesome that makes me feel!  Thank you all for reading my little story! I told myself that I would keep writing no matter how many reads I got, but 103 is just amazing. I honestly screamed when I read that number. Thank you guys again. 

Anyway if you like my stories, you should check out my friend @DillPickle2000. She writes super good stories on there. I'm reading Della Destiny right now and if you like Legends of Westbury (which if your reading chapter ten, then you probably do), then check it out because you will love it. Bye and thanks again for 103 reads!