26 | Little Did She Know

Seaside, California October 23, 2012

Celesta

FOR the past hour I was holed up at Lily's, I've gone through just about everything in her notebook. Did she realize she did half of her chemistry problems wrong? I sucked at everything scholastic, but oddly enough chemistry was a breeze for me.

No one knew that of course. I was just too lazy to do the homework, so I copied hers.

I sat there at her desk and was messing around with the weird knickknacks she had placed on the desk. The girl had a thing for blown glass ducks and owls.

Zach had texted me nonstop about his pack meeting with his father. They had grown their slim numbers from a few to a couple of dozen. Some pack more up north was thinking of joining under Markus's leadership.

Speaking of which, I had to think of my future in the Hathaway Coven. Did I want to be an enforcer like my father or be like Lily's parents? Outcasts among their own kind for leaving their livelihood.

With everything going on with Seana, I'm surprised her parents haven't done much against her. You would think Samuel would've already gone to kill her for harming Lily.

Whatever. Their inaction hasn't been the only thing bugging me, the Hathaway coven hasn't done shit either. Just leave it to us, children.

Just as I was about to go back to texting Zach, Lily burst through her bedroom door.

I jumped up, startled. One look at her bloodshot eyes sent me reeling.

"What happened?" I asked.

Lily sat on her bed and took a deep breath before she replied, "Scott was there at the gym."

I raised an eyebrow, "And? What the fuck did he do to you?"

Her green eyes locked with mine. "We just got into a fight, and I lost control of my magic. Then he kissed me, and I ran away."

I just gawked at her. The two of them were so fucking problematic. But honestly, I was getting tired of the back-and-forth shit between them. He knew how Lily felt, I just wanted to know what his deal was.

Better yet, I think I may go find out myself.

"Are you alright?" I finally asked.

"No," Lily muttered, she looked like she was about to cry again.

"Did you burn the school down?" I added, trying to make her laugh.

It did not work.

"I think you should go; I just want to be alone right now," Lily groaned and started to curl into a ball on the bed.

I hated it when Lily was such a depressed bitch. But I know it is just how she coped.

"Alright, well I'm uh going to go kill him for you now and I'll see you later!" I chirped and grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder.

Lily sat up, her eyes wide. "No, just stay out of it please—"

"Yep, sure thing!" I chuckled and walked out the door.

Laura and Samuel were downstairs in the living room watching something. The two of them perked their heads up at me in confusion.

"You're leaving already?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, I have to go take care of some things," I murmured. "But I'll be back later."

Like murdering the asshole who keeps leading your daughter on and can't make up his damn mind. Though honestly, I didn't think he was good for her.

He was technically dead. Well, undead. And she was a young and unstable witch.

I still couldn't see what she saw in him. I did tell Lily that I would try and be civil with him; I have tried. It worked for the most part but now I didn't think I could unless he had a good explanation for his behavior.

After exchanging farewells with Lily's parents, I was in my car pulling out of the driveway. I'm surprised Lily didn't follow me out to stop me.

I quickly dialed Zach's phone before I was on the main road. I needed to get some important info from him. Like where his best bud lived.

I knew it was somewhere on the beachside, I just wasn't quite sure where.

On the fifth ring he picked up, I could hear voices in the background; he must still be at the meeting with his father.

"Hey, is everything good?" he asked, his voice scratchy.

The reception out at his place was fucking awful.

"Yes, quick question," I began, "Where does Scott live exactly?"

"What? Why—," he paused. "Cel is something going on again that I don't know about?"

"No, I just need to beat his ass for messing around with Lily's feelings," I chirped.

The houses around me were all the same. I hated subdivisions.

I heard Zach sigh on the other end. "What did he do this time?"

"Does it matter? I'm still going to kill him," I muttered. "Anyway, what is his address?"

"I'm not telling you; you don't need to start any more stuff okay Cel? I'll talk to him and set him straight," Zach replied.

"You know what?" I grinned. "I just found his house."

Out of all the ones I've passed, I just happened to notice a house that stood out like a sore thumb. It was decades old and smaller than the ugly beige houses around it. I stomped on the brakes, causing my tires to squeal as I did a three-point turn in the middle of the road.

"Dammit Celesta! Just leave things be—" he started to yell till I interrupted him.

"Okay! Love you! Bye!" I hollered and hung up the phone.

Scott's obvious car was in the driveway, though all the lights inside the old beach house were off; it was dark as hell out here. Even the streetlights didn't seem to give it any light. It was dark wooded, though the porch's wood didn't look as old as the rest of the house.

I parked behind his Camaro and got out of mine. I could hear his car engine pinging as it was still cooling down. He hasn't been here that long then.

Which means; he should be here. He better be here, or I will track his ass down. Though Lily's brilliant plan that she told me about trying to find Maggie ended with fire.

I still couldn't think of that without laughing.

I walked up onto the porch and knocked. I didn't hear anything going on inside, so I grabbed the knob. It was unlocked. So, without care I just barged in only to walk into seeing Scott at the kitchen counter, sitting on a stool in a dimly lit kitchen.

He held something in his grip, it was a bag. He was also squeezing the ever-living shit out of it. I stood in the open doorway gawking at him. He slowly turned his head to me, his eyes nothing but black pits.

He was drinking blood.

"Uh—" I choked out. Why the hell did I decide coming here was a good idea again?

Scott slowly set the bag down, his eyes turning back to normal. Getting off the stool he threw the bag away without a word. Once he did that he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Care to explain why you just walked into my house?" he asked, his tone laced with suspicion.

"I just," I stopped. I was still shocked at seeing him do that.

"Let's not make a big deal out of it, you know what I am," Scott added sarcastically like he knew what I was thinking. "Though usually, I feed in the privacy of my own home."

"Okay, I will get straight to the point then," I remarked. "You have played with my cousin's feelings, and I demand to know why you just won't leave her the fuck alone. She is a Goddamn mess."

Scott's expression darkened even further. "I didn't want any of this to happen, the last thing I would want to do is hurt her."

"Then why?!" I asked, flabbergasted. "I mean why is it so hard to just say you like her or if you just want to be friends? Why do you, I don't know, just leave her be?"

Scott sat back on the stool and sighed. "I want to. I have tried to. It's just that whenever I try she is always there somehow. Like I can't get away from her. But it isn't safe for her to be near me, especially in the way that we were the other night."

"Okay, I don't need the details!" I blurted. "You're around people all the time, what makes it any different when you are close to her?" I inquired.

"You don't get it, it's different when we are near someone, we—" he stopped.

Was he that afraid to admit he, I don't know, like her more than he let on?

"Well?" I pried.

Scott looked uncomfortable now. But he continued, "You see when you're what I am, we have heightened emotions. So much so that we feel more, and it can lead to problems. My problem is a lack of self-control. I don't want to let things get so far that I would hurt her, do you get that?"

"Then don't lose control. Don't let that fear rule your life or you will never be able to get past that. With anyone actually," I murmured. "It is a conscious choice."

"It is easier said than done," Scott replied darkly.

"Well, the question that remains is why you can't stay away from her," I muttered. "Any specific reasons? We've already established you feel something for her even though you can't admit it out loud."

Scott chuckled and got up. "What I am about to show you might freak you out."

I looked at him, completely lost. He vanished out of the room and returned with a photo in his grasp in the next second.

"Does the name Adelaide or Claire Hathaway ring any bells?" he asked and handed me the photo. The last name did obviously, but not the first name.

"No?" I replied, unsure. I glanced at the photo to see Scott and a woman who at first glance almost resembled my cousin. But when I looked at it further, I knew it couldn't have been Lily. "Who is this?"

"That is Adelaide. This photo was taken eighteen years ago, right before Adelaide and her sister died at the hands of the Hathaway coven." Scott explained but said the last part with disgust.

"Huh?" I gawked, "Died at the hands of the coven? Can you please give me a better explanation..."

And why was this important? Did he know something that my family has been keeping from me?

"She is—was—your distant ancestor," Scott went on. "Before she died, we were together. I am not sure why Lily even looks like her but just seeing her just completely shocked me."

I felt like he was not saying the whole truth about something, but whatever.

"So, you only like Lily because she resembles your former lover?" I accused. "And in all honesty, sure Lily does resemble her but even you can see the differences, right?"

Adelaide had many differences from Lily. Not to mention Lily is a bit plumper. But they did have very similar eyes. I handed the photo back to Scott and took a seat on one of the stools.

"I did see the differences. And no, that is not why I like her. I admit that is what drew me in initially, but it wasn't anything romantic. I know that now," Scott assured.

I still looked at him doubtingly. "So why do you like her exactly? I mean she's crazy as hell and all. And doesn't ever think anything through—"

"You two have that in common then," Scott interjected and smiled.

"Touché," I retorted. He had a point.

"Now to answer your question. Just what you said, she is an absolute nutcase. But that just makes her who she is. She's fun and every time I'm around her she just makes me genuinely happy," he confessed.

"Anyone would be happy around her," I chuckled, "Or would probably want to toss her out of a window for being too jittery."

Scott didn't look like he agreed with that last part, but he just laughed. "I just got to see sides of her that you wouldn't normally get to see, you know. Just look at all of the shit we've all been through these past couple of weeks."

"Yeah, it's not every day you have a psychotic vampire wanting to kill you and all of your friends," I mused. "But I mean aren't you going to just tell her? She has been losing her mind as I said."

Scott grimaced. "You know why I can't."

"No! I don't know why!" I exclaimed. "I've seen how much you care about her. I don't think you would ever try or want to put her in harm's way."

Why the fuck was I suddenly encouraging him to go after my cousin? Maybe I finally saw past what he was.

This is progress.

He just sat there in silence, staring ahead at nothing. But I knew that look, his thoughts were racing about everything that had been said tonight.

"Look Scott," I began and took a seat on the stool beside his. "You two have been fucking miserable for the past week. I know you hide it behind your broody persona, and she hides it with her crazy planning antics. And it is not working. She is slipping and that is dangerous, especially with whatever happened tonight."

"Well, I did try and calm her down. It wasn't the best way clearly," he deadpanned.

"Yeah. And I don't want to see Lily hit rock bottom. It is an awful thing to see," I pressed. "She is not exactly good at managing her emotions. But if you are going to keep leading her on then just be with her. If not, then you need to explain why being with her is a bad idea and dangerous. Don't just sit there and stare at her like an idiot."

"You make it out like it is an easy thing to do," Scott murmured. "I don't—"

"Dude, you admitted how you felt about her to me with no issue!" I ridiculed.

"Have you met you?" he remarked. "You just barge into people's houses and act like you will kill someone if they don't give you a straight answer."

"So?" I fired back. "Don't change the subject. Just tell her how you feel and soon. Maybe not tomorrow but soon!"

Scott stood up and started pacing around the room. You know for being a vampire he sure acted like an awkward teenager. It was hilarious.

But I also wanted to know something else. It was none of my business but maybe it would get him to just focus and stop waiting around before it was too late.

"Scott?" I pried. He finally stopped pacing and glanced at me. "When did you figure out that you, you know."

"It's scary how quickly you can fall for someone," he smiled sadly. "But that night you two went to Zach's I got into a fight with Seana and Lily got caught at the end of it is when I finally realized I felt something."

My eyes widened. "Is that why she looked all messed up that night? I mean she acted like she was alright but—" I paused, glancing at him worryingly.

"Seana threw me right at her. Can you imagine the impact it had on her? It nearly fucking killed her," Scott hissed. "I held her in my arms and just couldn't stop thinking that this was my fault. She was out there trying to get answers and protect those she cared about yet now there she was dying."

He started to pace again. I was at a loss for words.

"W-What?" I finally managed to choke out. "She never said anything about getting hurt."

Scott's now angry eyes locked with mine. "I don't even think she knew how bad it was. I knew something was wrong with her back and she hit her head badly. But I healed her before anything would've happened."

Before she could die.

"Can we just," I closed my eyes and took a breath to calm my nerves, "Go find Seana now and kill her. That night we made a plan you know."

"Another night," Scott sighed. "I advise you not to go to Seana guns blazing alone. For now, let's just get through this fucking dance tomorrow."

"Alright," I chuckled and started walking towards the door.

"Celesta?" Scott called out before I left.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Next time, do you mind knocking?" he grinned.

"Eh, maybe I will," I teased but added, "Just don't give me a reason to come back with guns blazing."

And we left it at that.

I filled Zach in with what I encouraged his friend to do and to assure him that no, I did not go there and kill Scott.

I actually found some common ground with him. Were he and I friends now?

Getting back to Lily's, her parents had already gone to sleep. The porch was still lit up, but when I turned the knob to enter the foyer, it was dark. Crawling up the stairs to Lily's room, her lamp was still on.

Lily was curled into a ball on the right side of the bed. Her face looked red still as I stepped closer to her.

She had cried herself to sleep, her pillow still had spots where her tears had fallen. Despite that talk, I had with Scott I was still angered seeing her this way. If he didn't get his shit together, I will do what I said and kill his ass.

I quietly got ready for bed though Lily could sleep through a damn hurricane if she could. I'm surprised her annoying phone alarm could even wake her. Once I turned the lamp off, I climbed into bed, and after yanking the bulk of the comforter from her; I drifted off to sleep.