Cursed

Chapter Eight

"Hey, Corn, we just wanted to see how you were doing." Addie is the first one to walk into the room. After her, Erik followed. They both looked like they had bad news.

"And, to talk about Dara's scary friends." Erik adds. Apparently he wasn't supposed to say that because Addie playfully hits him on the arm. She sits next to me, her eyes full of understanding.

"What Erik means, it that we think we should tell someone. I bet your Gran would know what to do." She sounds so sincere that I almost give in and say okay. Instead, I sit upright.

"No way, we don't even know what it is that they're doing." Even I didn't buy what I was saying. Erik's eyebrows knit together, so I could tell he wasn't convinced. Plus, he was the one that had seen it first hand. "Just give me some more time, please." Finally, they agreed. Addie told me to take as much time as I need, which didn't sit well with Erik. He left shortly after that. Addie left to take a shower, but I was asleep before she came back. I think the many nights of bad sleep finally caught up to me because I was out the second my head hit the pillow.

~~

Addie's alarm clock goes off for too long. I keep thinking she's going to make it stop, but she doesn't. I start whacking her, trying to get her to wake up.

"What?" She asks groggily. My eyes are only half open and I gesture wildly to the noise. "Oh." She mutters and reaches for her phone. Eventually, the noise stops. I rub at my eyes. Great, another Monday I have to suffer through.

Yesterday, had been a boring Sunday. It was a productive day, working on homework with Addie. We only took a couple breaks to watch New Girl. Other than that, it was pretty mundane, which I should have been grateful for. I hated to admit, but it was nice to just sit and work on equations.

After a couple more minutes, I finally get up. I go through the motions to get ready for school. It only takes me twenty minutes, which is a fraction of the time it takes Addie. I could read another chapter of Hamlet, one of the books I have to read for English, but I think I have enough of family members trying to kill one another.

Instead, I head down to the lake. It's a cold morning, frost and fog litter the ground. My jacket feels too thin, but it's the only one I brought to Addie's. It will have to do. My rubber boots skate on the porch, but I catch myself. Thankfully, no one is around to watch me embarrass myself as I clutch the railing down the stairs. I walk down a little further, closing in on the lakes bank. Erik isn't around, which makes me frown. I walk around the lake two times before Addie is ready.

We take my car to school. As we leave the driveway, I look for Erik's truck. He must have already left for school. That isn't a big deal, I am just acting paranoid. In the car, Addie is still finishing up her makeup. Today, she is dressed up as Merida. Her curly red wig barely fits in my car. There's something about the wild red hair and old dress that remind me of the woman from my coma. Deja vu hits me and as I am trying to remember, Addie interrupts my train of thought.

"So," Addie starts. "Do you think you're ready to talk to your Gran about Dara?" She lightly says. I take a deep breath in, trying to relax my clenched palms. My knuckles are white against the steering wheel.

"I don't think I'm ready, but I'll tell her after school." I bite at my bottom lip. I'm already nervous about telling my Gran. How do you tell someone something like this? You can't come out and say, "I think Dara is in a Satan Worshipping Cult and oh yeah, they're trying to kill me." It just doesn't roll off the tongue.

"I can go with you if you want." I nod. The more I think about it the more I realize I should talk to her myself.

The rest of the car ride I have convinced myself five times to not tell my Gran. Then, I see Erik and he looks tired. There are dark circles under his eyes and during Math class, he keeps falling asleep. I pinch his elbow, waking up for the fifth time.