The Child Out For Revenge

Chapter 11

Sorry for the long time between uploads, but I have seriously not had internet for aaaaaages.

Chapter 11

Josh’s POV

Suspension. It sounds like every kid’s dream, a few days off of school doing nothing at home. Not so much if the very person you live and breathe for is walking into that school and facing someone who is almost certainly out for revenge against you. So yeah, I’d have to say that suspension is a new kind of hell.

A hell where all I can do is sit at home, worry and stare at my phone. My mind wouldn’t rest, not even when Jezebel was home. All I could think about was Ryder and that alone pissed me off. He deserved more than a single punch and I wish I’d had time to give it to him before I was dragged off of him. But then again maybe it was a good thing I was hauled off otherwise I could have been expelled for kicking his ass. Either way I’d still be in the same position I am now. Hoping, no praying, that Jezebel is all right.

I could actually feel myself going insane. She could be perfectly fine, it’s not like she was meant to call me and hadn’t. It was just that fact that she was there with him and I was stuck in this cage of a house. I stood up from the kitchen table and stretched my back and rolled my neck. Though it did little to ease my tension, standing up did help me catch sight of something I couldn’t see sitting down. I walked slowly over to the fridge and pulled off the sticky note that was not there earlier this morning. On it was Jezebel’s neat cursive handwriting. I read her note and smiled, then read it again.

Josh,

You have such an inner strength and I love you for it. Trust your instincts; you’ll know if something goes wrong. Until then, please try and relax!

Love Jezebel

I leaned against the kitchen bench smiling. Jezebel must have left me this note before she went to school this morning, knowing that I’d be anxious and worried out of my mind. Just as I was about to slip the note into my pocket, a sick almost dizzy feeling spreads through my body. Dread. Something’s wrong. If Jezebel wasn’t a witch I would say she was a prophet. She told me to trust my instincts and I’d know if something was wrong. She was right because something has gone so very wrong. I can feel it in every fibre of my being and in every beat of my heart.

I stuff Jezebel’s note into my pocket and race back to the table to snatch up my phone. I paused as my mind raced to catch up with my instincts. Something’s wrong, but what’s the smartest way to deal with this situation? Jezebel was always the calm one in these situations. I have no information about what is actually wrong, so I guess starting there would be the best idea. I unlocked my phone just as it started to ring. I picked up without looking at who it was, hoping that I was just imagining the terrible feeling and Jezebel was calling to tell me it was all right.

“Jezebel?”

“Uuuuhh, no. But I was calling you to find out where she is…’ Chase replies from the other end.

“Damn it. No, I have no idea where she is. She should be in class with you,” I say as the dread washes over me again.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling you because she’s not in class. I swear I saw her car this morning though, but it's gone now so I thought she may have gone home,” Chase explained.

I stay silent, thinking. Where could she have gone?

Chase presses on through the silence, “I’ve tried her phone a couple of times and no answer. It goes straight to voicemail. But Josh, there’s one more thing.”

I can tell he sounds worried now. I’ve known Chase since we were kids so I have a pretty good idea that when he sounds agitated like he is now, then something is seriously wrong.

“Chase, just tell me what it is. Not knowing is worse trust me. And if it can help me find Jezebel then I kinda need to know,” I push him as gently as I can.

I can hear Chase breathe heavily on the other side of the phone before answering in a rush, “Ryder was definitely here before school this morning too. But he never showed up to our first class either.”

I clench my free hand and close my eyes. I don’t know why I hoped it had nothing to do with Ryder, because I knew in my heart it did. I guess I was just hoping I wouldn’t have to face him, because facing Ryder is just the same as facing my brother again. Ryder just makes all the bad memories of Kyle come back. The memories and the hatred. But the fear too. Kyle was capable of anything and in my mind I’m afraid that the confrontation with Ryder is just going to be a repeat of the one we had with Kyle. I know how this is going to end, because I’ve been through it before. It’ll end the same, I just hope that this once, my instincts are wrong.

“Josh?” Chase asks still waiting for me to reply.

I grimace as the contingency plan Jezebel and I formed floats into my head as I respond, “Uh, yeah. Thanks for letting me know Chase. I’ll handle this-“

Chase cuts me off, “Oh hell no, man. You do not get to blow me off now. I know you’re going to go after her, so don’t pretend that nothing’s wrong. And don’t think I’m taking no for an answer when I say that I’m going with you. Well actually, I’m not asking, so you really can’t say no. I’m just coming and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

I can’t help but smile a bit. Good old Chase. Always the stubborn one.

“How could I ever say no to such a polite person?” I shoot back trying not to laugh. “I’ll be there in ten. Be waiting out the front of the school. I’m only stopping the car for ten seconds, so if you can’t get in fast enough, that’s not my problem.”

Chase laughs despite the situation, “Smart ass, just get in the car and get over here. We’ve gotta go save your wife.”

He hangs up.

I sprint upstairs, grab my car keys and speed the entire way to the school. I screech to a halt where I see Chase waiting. He actually does a pretty good job of jumping before I speed off again.

“You’re late Joshy,” he says smugly.

I shoot him the finger in the way best friends do.

“Where are we going then?” Chase asks, a frown in his voice.

I nod at my phone in the special holder on my dashboard. It has the GPS app up with a gold dot a few blocks away from where it shows the car to be.

“We got that tracking app installed on both out phones in case something like this happened. That way we could find each other. If that son of a bitch has Jezebel, he’s in for one hell of a surprise when I kick down his door,” I tell Chase.

“You me, when we kick down his door,” he corrects me with a little less cheekiness than before.

Chase shifts in his seat to look at me, “We are doing this together because you can’t do this alone. If Jezebel, the strongest witch ever, can’t handle Ryder, then what hope do you have of doing what she couldn’t by yourself. So WE are going to take him down as a team. You’re not alone Josh.”

I take a corner sharply before saying, “Thanks Chase.”

I was about to make a smart comment but my phone beeped to tell us we’d reached the destination it said Jezebel’s phone was at. I parked in a free spot across the road from a huge apartment building. We sit there in the car for a few moments both of us wondering how we’re going to find Jezebel in the massive block of apartments.

“Ah, shit,” Chase swears.

“I second that,” I add on bitterly.