Stains on the Soul

Chapter Three

Fiona trudged toward the stairs, mentally fuming about her lack of courage. She liked the guy, but it became clearer by the day that this wasn't going to work. Still, he continued to have this strange hold over her that made it impossible to get the words out. At this rate, I may as well wait until I leave and then stop writing him. It would probably work a lot better than this. The second the words came to mind, a sinking sensation radiated through her stomach and caused her breath to hitch. Okay, okay.... Point taken. There was a way to deal with this situation, and avoidance wasn't it. She just had to figure out how to get past this block, whatever it was.

"Fiona, is that you?"

Her sister's voice carried through the house, causing Fiona to pause at the bottom of the staircase. "Yeah, I'm here. What's up?" She closed her eyes, listening for her sister's response.

"Shannon's on the phone for you."

She walked into the kitchen and, sure enough, she found Rebecca standing by the fridge with a receiver in her hand. "Thanks." Fiona took the receiver. "Shan? What's going on?" She couldn't help smiling as Rebecca turned her attention back to the fridge. She watched as her sister searched the full appliance, no doubt unable to choose a snack—it happened every afternoon.

"Please tell you me you didn't forget." A trace of annoyance colored her friend's words.

Fiona placed her hand over the mouthpiece and cursed under her breath as she turned away from the search playing out a couple feet away. Between the dreams, her paralysis with Sloane, and now this, Fiona was amazed she remembered to breathe each day. Maybe I'm not getting enough caffeine. "Of course I didn't."

"You are going to the party tonight, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I just got home, so you guys can go ahead without me. I'll meet you later on." The fridge door slammed behind her, and Rebecca swept past carrying a bag of chips. Fiona frowned and hoped there'd be some left over later.

"Are you sure? We can always be fashionably late; maybe it'll make an impression on Steve."

"Yeah, right. Are you serious? That guy's never noticed anything not wearing a cheerleader outfit and holding a megaphone." She hated to be so blunt about it, but it was the truth. She and their friend Amy had been trying to get that message across since last year when he stood Shannon up for Homecoming. Sadly, Shannon didn't seem to care. As much as Fiona loved her friend, she seriously questioned her sanity sometimes.

"He's not that bad," Shannon argued. "Most people don't understand him; he's one of those complicated types."

That didn't sound like a ringing endorsement to her, but Fiona wasn't about to say so. She decided the best way to handle her friend's romantic life was to stay out of it. She was just in the middle of trying to devise a graceful way to change the subject when she was sent a savior: her mother. The woman struggled to open their back door while balancing several grocery bags in her arms. "Hey, Shannon... I have to go. My mom needs some help with the groceries. I promise I'll be there though."

"You'd better!"

Fiona laughed at the threatening tone in her friend's voice. "Promise." She hung up the phone and hurried to the door. She opened it and took some of the bags from her mom.

"Thanks, sweetie. Who was that on the phone?"

"Oh, it was just Shannon. She just wanted to make sure I'm going to that party tonight."

Her mother's eyes lit up at the mention of a party as she set her bags down on the counter and began putting boxes and cans in the cabinet. "That's good. Whose house is it at?"

"Jeremy's."

Her mother's face darkened as she closed the cabinet door. "I guess I should've known the answer to that."

Fiona could see the beginning of another rant on how spoiled and rude Jeremy was, so she put the last of the veggies in the fridge and closed the door before giving her mother a hug. "I better hurry or I'll be late. See you later!" She rushed out of the kitchen, retreating to the safety of her room.

As she started getting ready for the evening, a vague sense of dread began to creep into her stomach. It was similar to what she called her "gut check", but more intense. A part of her was terrified of going, and she couldn't figure out why. Her best friends were going and they always had a great time. Plus, it was at the home of one of the richest kids in town, who spared no expense showing everyone a good time. There was a strong possibility of live music and movies in the home's theater room—two of her favorite things. So why was a knot forming in her stomach just thinking about attending?

Fiona took a deep breath and willed the rising panic inside away. She almost laughed; it was so ridiculous. Why should she be afraid of going somewhere she'd been a million times before? Still, she wondered if this was such a good idea. Her gut hadn't failed her often, so she had no reason to think it would now. She shook her head. This is stupid. What are you going to say—you're scared to go out? The worst that could happen was getting a minor headache from the noise of the band. She changed her clothes and went downstairs, calling out her goodbyes to her family before slipping out the front door.

Every step she took toward her car caused the knot in her stomach togrow larger. Fiona climbed inside, pausing to collect herself before startingthe engine. She took one deep, cleansing breath after another and remindedherself it was just another party. Once her seatbelt was secured over herchest, she glanced down and was surprised to note her knuckles were white. "I'mturning into such a head case," she muttered as she started the car and pulledout of the driveway.    

I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter of STAINS ON THE SOUL. The first part of Fiona's story will be posted January 25, 2019. You can learn more about me, the Stains Trilogy, and my other works at http://www.JamieLWhite.com. Keep an eye out, because there's going to be a lot more shared to wattpad this year.