Beyond the Veil

Chapter Three

          Someone was in her room.

          Without thinking she lashed out, her balled fist connecting squarely with something solid and fleshy. A startled cry broke the silence and Serena turned to see Sebastian with his hand clamped over his jaw.

          "Damn, Serena," he complained. "I never would have thought you could hit so hard."

          "I'm sorry," she gasped, the last remnants of her bizarre dream finally sliding away. Once her head had cleared she was able to better assess the situation. Rubbing her aching knuckles she retracted her apology. "Actually, no I'm not. What the hell are you doing in my room?"

          "I warned you," he said ruefully. "It's nine o'clock."

          Serena stared at him for a moment and then collapsed back against her pillows. She drew the blanket up over her head and called out, "come back at a decent hour you creep."

          "Now now," Sebastian declared. "You made a promise. We can go on an adventure, or I can sit here and read your diary-"

          His words were cut short by the pillow Serena expertly pegged at his face.

          "Fine! Just get out so I can get dressed," Serena snapped irritably.

          "You really need to find other ways to express your anger," Sebastian admonished as he backed towards the door. "Have you ever considered yoga?"

          "Out!" Serena shouted again, throwing another pillow at him. This time he managed to dodge and avoid getting hit by the squishy projectile.

          "Fifteen minutes or I'm coming back!" He added, quickly ducking out of the room before anything else could be thrown.

           Worrying that he would hold true to his threat, Serena reluctantly rolled out of bed. Fifteen minutes? That wasn't even enough time for a shower.

          As she quickly got ready, she couldn't shake the dream. It lingered in the back of her mind and taunted her with its obscurity. What did it mean? Was it just stress? Proof that she needed to eat less sweets before bedtime? She shook the thoughts from her head. She had bigger concerns at the moment than a weird dream.

          Like the boy waiting downstairs.

          What did he hope to gain from all of this?

         Serena had a feeling she'd find out sooner rather than later.

         Pulling her hoodie on over her head, she adjusted her earbuds so that they weren't visible through her loose, dark curls, and brought the music up to its usual low hum. Taking a deep breath, Serena left the safe sanctuary of her room and headed downstairs.

          Serena was not surprised to see her father in his office yelling at his computer screen. Well, not the screen exactly, but whatever game it was that he was playing. Saturday mornings were his designated game-time and no one was allowed to interrupt him unless the house was on fire or they were bleeding to death.

          Casey was nowhere to be seen which led Serena to assume that her younger sibling was either babysitting next door, or riding around the neighborhood on her bike with her friends.

          Her mother was in the kitchen cleaning up dishes from breakfast and Sebastian was sitting at Serena's kitchen table with a plate that was home to half a dozen chocolate chip pancakes.

          "Good morning, Serena!" Her mother exclaimed. Despite her cheery tone, Serena detected a hint of concern. Serena suspected her mother was waiting for some sort of outburst. "Your friend here said you two were supposed to go work on that project. I tried to tell him you liked to sleep in but.."