The Awakening: A Witch-Vampire Romance: Feel the Heat. (6 page)

“Jessa
, I’m fine. I had to call my Uncle to come and pick me up last night because the bitch kicked me out and told me I wasn’t hers.”

“Wait! What
, do you mean she disowned you or something?”

“No. She told me that she never gave birth to me and she was damn glad for it because I have a terrible soul. Can you believe that shit? It
seems that Sabrina called my house before we got there last night and decided to spew a bunch of bullshit to my mother about me fucking someone in the Caf yesterday during lunch. Of course she believed Sabrina over me. Her Highness is never wrong. Not ever when it comes to my mother.”

“Who did you fuck and where was I with my camera?”

I chuckle. Jessa always has a way of wanting to make me laugh when I’m getting myself worked up.

“You
know damn well I didn’t
do
anyone. I’m still the only eighteen-year-old virgin you know. Don’t worry, but that’s not even the half of it. The crazy heifer kicked me out and burned all my shit in the back yard. My Uncle Dan had to come and get me. I’m at his place right now.”

“She burned your stuff? Even all of the things people have given you and the stuff you bought yourself?”

“Yes, everything. It was like she was trying to wipe a bad memory from her frontal lobe.”

“Crazy bitch!”

“Yeah, that just about sums it up.”

I decide to not tell Jessa about the letter from my birth mother or the necklace that found me. She would just trip out.
I am doing that enough for the both of us.

“Girl
, this calls for some major shopping therapy! Do you still have your psycho mom’s credit card she gave you for emergencies?”

“Yessss. Why?”

“I say we spend so much on that bitch that it basically implodes. That cow owes you at least that. Besides, she did give it to you. It’s not like you are stealing. And this is an emergency if I have ever heard of one.”

“You know? I think you’
re right. Let’s hit the mall this afternoon. She put the card in my name… So it’s not like she can call the cops and tell them I am stealing from her crazy ass. Can you pick me up in a couple from my uncle’s house?”

“Hells yeah! Wench! Let’s
do this shit!”

I chuckle at her enthusiasm
over spending money that’s not ours. “Okay I’ll text you the directions in a bit. See you in a couple, chica. Lovin’ you right now, girly!”

“Awww. I know
I’m the shiznit, laters!”

After I quit the call
, I head downstairs to let Dan in on our plan to do some shopping. I find him in his office checking his email while he is also on the phone. Multitasking with the best of them. I knock on the doorjamb to get his attention.

“Hey Dan
, is it cool if Jessa picks me up in a bit so we can head to the mall to replace some of my things?”

“Sure
, sweetie. Hang on for just a sec.”

He t
ells whoever he is talking to on the phone that he will call them back in a few. He hangs up the phone and gives me his full attention. “Ella girl, do you need money? I have some in savings I can dip into.”

“No
, Uncle Dan. I’m going to put the credit card that Barbra and Henry gave me for emergencies to good use. I called the card company while I was upstairs and it’s still active. The available balance on it should be more than enough to replace everything she destroyed. It seems fitting that she replaces what she took and destroyed. Don’t you think,” I ask with a grin.

Uncle Dan
gives a great belly laugh at that. “Hell yeah, Ella, girl. That’s a great idea if I do say so myself. Well, if you do need anything, even if it’s just a hug, you let me know. You hear me? I’m good for it. I love you, girl. Always have.”

I reach up to the neckline of my shirt to make sure the necklace or talisman
was still hidden from view. I feel kind of bad for not telling him that I had found it, but I still want to keep it between me and my birth mom for a while.

“I know
, Dan. I love you too. I’m going to throw myself together before Jessa gets here. Do you, by chance, still have any of my old clothes here from the summers I spent with you?”

“I was thinking about that earlier. I found a box of things
in the closet and I set it on the kitchen counter. Take whatever you need out of there. It’s yours, after all.”

“Thanks again. You are the best
, Uncle Dan!”

I lean in and hug him tight. This
is home, I realize, having someone that loves you no matter what. No matter what the situation. They are always there for you. They always have your back in good times and bad. I am lucky to have him.

I le
ave the office so my uncle can get back to his calls and emails. I go into the kitchen and grab the old box of my things. When I get to my room I set it on my bed and start to rummage through it. There isn’t much that will still fit, but I do find an old pair of cut-off jean shorts that I used to keep to go fishing in. They might be a little short, but they would have to do. I also come across one of my old Nike tees. Not the most fashionable outfit, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Right as
I am heading for the bathroom to shower, my phone rings. It is probably Devon calling to bitch at me for not calling him yet. I am sure by now that he’s heard everything from Jessa. He most likely will be tagging along with us to the mall to be my fashion consultant. The boy can dress.

“Hello
,” I answer.

“Hey
, pretty eyes. How are you this A.M.? Better than last night, I hope.”

“Who
is this,” I ask, even though I know who it is. Jaxx is the only person that has ever called me pretty eyes. He’d also seen me at one of my lowest points last night. I get butterflies in my tummy from the sound of his voice over the phone. All dark and smooth.

“You know who this
is, little raven. No more games. I was worried about you after seeing you like that last night. You hid it well, but I don’t like to see you in tears.”

“
I’m fine, Jaxx. Really. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m at my uncle’s house. I’m doing a lot better. Honest.”

“I’m glad. Listen. Checking up on you wasn’t the only reason I was calling. I want to take you out. I know that you don’t know me
, but I want to change that,” he says.

“Umm
. Okay,” I stall for a minute, trying to wrap my head around his change of pace. “What did you have in mind? I’m busy shopping with Jessa at the mall this afternoon. I’m sure I have an ass-load of make-up work to get through starting tomorrow since I skipped out today.”

“How about a
fter you get back from the mall? Everyone has to eat, right? Italian sound good? I can pick you up around seven or eight. What’s good for you?”

“Seven sounds peachy. What Italian place are we talking about? I have to know what to wear.”

“Pretty eyes, you would look good in anything, but pick something short. I want to get a good look at those gams you have goin’ on,” he chuckles nice and low.

“Yeah
, we will see. I’ll see you at seven,
Thor
.” I laugh because he really does look like the mythic god. Or what the mythic god should have looked like.

“Later
,” with that he clicks off.

Jessa
is going to freak when she finds out about my date. I don’t even want to think about what Sabrina is going to be subjecting me to when she finds out about it.
Oh shit!
Thinking about Sabrina reminds me that I need to remind Dan about calling the school. I shoot down the stairs two at a time. I need to hurry because I am running behind and I still need to shower the funk of last night off. “Uncle Dan,” I call out into the house. I don’t get an answer, so guessing he has gone out, I walk into the kitchen and find a note.

             
Kiddo,

I have to run out for a bit for work stuff, but I left you some money for lunch and dinner in case I’m not home by then. Don’t worry. Nothing’s wrong. I just can’t work this from home. Give me a call on my cell if you need anything. You have the number.

Love Ya Ells.             

             
Well, I guess it’s shower time after all,
I think. When I get back upstairs I shoot off a quick text to Devon telling him everything is okay and where I am. I disrobe and spend the next hour in the shower, trying to wash the bad memories of the last day away. I am actually ecstatic about my date later tonight. Inner Squeeee and all. I’ll worry about Sabrina when the shit happens. There isn’t anything I can do about it until she makes her next move, but this time I am going to be more than ready. A meek little Carly bot I’m not.

Chapter
4.

Jessa is about an hour late picking me up for our mall date. When she does sling her car into the drive of my uncle’s house at full speed, I can tell she is pissed. Her face is pinched and flushed. When I get into the car I am afraid to say a word. I know how she gets when she is in that mood. It’s not pretty at all.

“She spray painted my car all across the back end. Can you believe this shit?”

“What do you mean? She did what? She who?”

“Ella
, don’t be obtuse. You know who! She spray painted FAG HAG all across the bumper of my car. And I can’t even do anything about it! I have spent the last three hours at the police station filling out reports and being frowned at. They looked at me like I did it myself or something. They even asked my parents if this was a cry for attention. UGH!”

“Oh shit.
I’m so sorry girl. Why is she targeting you now?”

“Uh yeah,
I asked Brandon out for next weekend. Well, fuck that skank! She can lick it!”

I
can’t help but giggle at that, which puts Jessa in a better mood, at least until she starts to tell me where Devon currently is.

“Devon
is on lockdown. Someone mailed all sorts of sex toys to his father. The gift message inside the box read:
Like father like son
. I just can’t believe she would go after all of us just because the bitch got turned down.”

“Okay
, so we just have to beat her at her own game. We obviously can’t report her, but we can’t take this lying down. I refuse to let her do to us what she has done to everyone else, but that’s for tomorrow. Today we have to get some major shopping done. Besides, I have some major news, which may or may not piss Sabrina off even more.” I look at Jessa with a smug smile.

“Okay share. Like now.”

“
Thor
might have asked me out for Italian tonight. And told me to dress to show off my gams, his words not mine,” I say with a chuckle.

“This
is huge! She is going to shit kittens, but are you sure you can handle the wench? I mean, you are sort of a ‘keep-your-head-down’ kind of girl.”

“No more.
I’m tired of hiding. This is the first day of the new me. Now, let’s get gone before something else comes up and we get stuck here,” I say, just as Jessa’s phone rings. I bite off a groan as she answers.

“It’s Devon,” she mouth
s.

“Tell him that I love his fruity ass and that
I’m so, so sorry.”

“He
said to shut your slit and he loves you. Hang on,” Jessa continues to talk.

W
hile she is on the phone, I space and think about how the hell we are going to counter whatever Sabrina has planned next. A few minutes later Jessa sits back in her seat, blows out a long breath and starts to laugh so hard tears are streaming down her face.

“Umm, h
un, are you ok,” I ask.

“Yeah, G
imme just a sec, okay?” She tries to calm herself long enough to tell me what the hell is up. “Devon’s dad told the police that when they find the person who sent the package to thank them. He said that his wife would get
a lot
of use out of her new toys!” She starts cracking up again. “Can you believe it? I was so worried that he would freak. Fucking classic!”

With that
Jessa starts her car and heads toward the mall. All the way FAG HAGS is flashing out across her bumper. All I could think to myself is damn straight. Maybe I can talk her into keeping it there. We are proud as hell to be Devon’s friends. I smile to myself.
What better way to get the bitch back than by laughing at her shit. Or worse, owning it!
I think.

We pull into the mall parking lot and decide to park in front of the food court so we
will remember where we parked. Yes, some girls (like us) forget where their car is. As we got out of the car, I decide to pull my necklace out from under my shirt to show it off a bit.
It really is pretty. So why not,
I think.

“Where did you get the bling? I thought Barbra burned all of your shit?”

“She did, Uncle Dan gave this to me,” I say, lying as I am running my fingers across the stones. The necklace hums at my touch. I am getting used to the weirdness of it all.

“Well it
’s gorge. Rock it girl.”

We spen
d hours at the mall, going from store to store, blowing the hell out of Barbra’s card. By the time we reach Vanity, which is the last store, we decide to go in. The card has been well and truly used. I am the proud owner of a brand new wardrobe, have stuff to decorate my new bedroom, and I also have quite the collection of new shoes. Jessa bought herself quite a few things as well. Barbra is going to be the one to shit kittens when she gets the bill. It serves the bitch right. I also got a bitchin outfit for my date later tonight. Jessa picked it, much to my protests. It is a lot sluttier than what I would have gone for, but like she said, “We are trying to impress a real life Nordic god here.”

During
one of our many trips out to the car to drop off bags so we could continue to shop without carrying everything all at once, we run into Sabrina. She is without her clones for once.

“Well
, if it isn’t the Fag hags. Where’s your mascot? Enjoying his new props,” she snarls at us.

“
Aww, honey. You know what they say, anyone that spends as much energy on me and mine as you do, must have a major case of hero worship. It’s okay though. If you try really, really hard, one day you might aspire to be more than a shallow cunt sauntering around in a really great pair of shoes,” I smile sweetly at her the whole time, blowing her world.

The look
on her face as she stomps away is scary as hell, but this is the new me. I won’t take shit from her or anyone any longer. Fuck ‘em.

“O.M.G. Ella! Where did that come
from? You really told that hag!”

“Pent up aggression. Ha!
”

“Well maybe you will be able to work some of that extra energ
y out tonight on the god of hot,” She laughs at herself and then really starts to laugh at me when she sees my face flush a dull red. “It’s okay, sweets. Nothing has to happen that you don’t want to. Besides, only hos give it up on the first date. Trust me. You’re safe.” Snicker. “For tonight anyways. The way that boy looked at you was scorchins” She waves her hand at her face.

“OKAY! Enough. Let’s jet before
I’m late. I still have to get ready when we get to my uncle’s house. And you’re helping me.”

“Well no shiz. Was there any question?”

We once again get into Jessa’s death trap and travel at the speed of light. The
‘oh shit’
handle is my BFF. I’m so not kidding you here.

“Umm
, Jessa do you think we can stop by that used car lot over on Main?”

“Sure
, girly, what do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know
, but I think I will know when I see it.” I grin at her. What I am picturing in my head is the Harley I’d seen for sale in the lot. It was a Harley Davidson 2004 Super Glide. The sales person had said it only had one owner. I am getting super excited just thinking about it. We pull into the lot and I see it. It is so gorgeous. I jump out of the car and skip right on over to it.

“This
is what you want Ella? You’re going to get yourself killed!” Jessa exclaims.

“It’s safer t
han riding with you, speed racer,” I reply.

“So how much
is this beauty,” Jessa asks, and, seeing my raised brows, she laughs. “Yes, I know. It’s gorgeous, but can you even drive it? Or is it called ride it? Maybe both?”

“Chill
, munchkin. I’ve been taking riding lessons in secret. I was saving up for this baby, hiding the money from the parentals. Well, before they burned all my shit and probably stole my money to boot.”

“Oh well, y
ou can get it now. There is more than enough to get it on cray, cray’s card.”

I jump
up and down and have a totally girly moment. The salesman, Mike, who I had been dealing with while saving for the bike, starts walking over.

“So you finally ready to buy this one
, eh?”

“Yes
, sir. I’d like to pay for it with my Visa if that’s cool? It’s a surprise present from my parents. They decided to just let me get it on my card.” I don’t even feel bad about lying. This baby is going to finally be mine. For the next hour we fill out paperwork, run the card, and buy some leathers and a new black helmet with jade art work scrolling on the sides. Jessa picks it out. She says it is suiting since it matches my eyes.

“Okay young lady
, we will have the bike and the rest of your purchases delivered to the new home address you have listed on your title paperwork by the end of business today.”

“Thanks so much
, Mike. I really can’t wait!”

We le
ave the lot and I think Jessa might actually be more excited about my new Harley than I am.

“Girl
, you are going to look so hot riding that thing. Everyone at school is going to be so jealous! I can’t wait to see their bulging eyes tomorrow morning when you rumble in!”

I laugh
. I can’t wait either. It is about time
something
started going my way. Maybe my luck has finally changed.

“Here’s hoping
only good surprises from here on out, Ells.” Jessa pumps her hand in the air.

I just laugh and enjoy the afterglow of blowing so much money. When we pull into Uncle Dan’s drive
, Jessa takes it slower since I warned her that my uncle might actually be home. We park and start to drag out my numerous bags.

Dan
comes out the front door. “Cleaned them out, did you, ladies?”

“Just about Uncle Dan
,” I say as I drop my bags by the trunk and run over to give him a tight squeeze. “I don’t think I have told you enough how much I appreciate everything you have done, Uncle Dan.”

“Now don’t go and
do that, Ells. You’ll make this old fart start to mist up.”

“You could never be old
, Dan, but we do need to get all of these things unloaded and put away. I have to get ready for my date tonight.” I realize a moment too late that I never actually talked to Uncle Dan about my date with Jaxx. I turn around slowly, trying to see if he is going to flip his shit, as my parents would.

“Well that’s great
, kiddo. I’m not going to go into all the ins and outs of these things since you’re eighteen and I’m sure you have your bases covered. Just be careful and call me if you need anything,” he says with a smile

“There is something I need to tell you
. I’ve set you up a checking account at the bank in town. There should be enough money in there to cover anything that might come up. You know, shopping for girly things and such,” Uncle Dan says with a blush. I almost laugh when I realize he is talking about when aunt flow visits.

“Where are you heading
, Uncle Dan,” I ask curiously. I notice that he is all dressed up.  He is wearing slacks and a tie, the works.

“Well
, Ella girl, I’m going on a date myself tonight,” he says proudly. “You know, I haven’t been on a date in ages. Got any pointers for an old man,” he ruffs out with a winning smile

I jump up and hug his neck hard. “
I’m so proud of you, Uncle Dan. It’s about time you get back out there. I’ll be careful tonight. You can trust me, I promise…”

“I know you will
, Ella girl,” he says, walking with me to the house. “I have my cell on so you can still get in touch with me anytime if you need to tonight. And I’ve left the extra house key along with some cash on the kitchen counter for you. But I need to get going or I’m going to be late. So come over here and give me another hug.”

I reach up and hug him
tightly. I am seriously thankful for what little family I have left.

Jessa
pushes herself into our little goodbye. “Don’t worry, Mr. Dan, I’ll take good care of your little blackbird. She has a lot of people that care about her. She is going to be just fine with you and I looking after her, I promise,” she finishes her little speech with what I and Devon call the parental melter, her sweetest, most simpering smile. When she pulls that face, she really does look like a cherub.