"If you want to talk about it, I'm here," Holiday said as they moved around to the front of the office.
"I know." Kylie gazed briefly at the woods, but the feeling from earlier, the feeling of being called, hadn't returned.
Holiday looked over at her and frowned. "Are you really okay? I mean, I respect your privacy. But lately you've been ... closed off a bit. And I worry. Because ... well, you usually trust me." Holiday rested her hand on Kylie's arm. Warmth and concern flowed from the touch.
Usually, I'm not dealing with a ghost who looks just like you, who I just found out is your sister, and I don't know if you even know she's dead.
"I don't mean to be closed off," Kylie said. "I'm just ... between Lucas and Derek, and my grandfather changing his number, and the FRU trying to do experimental tests on me, and my mom dating, I'm a tad overwhelmed."
"And rightfully so," Holiday said.
Thinking about her mom dating led Kylie to think about her stepdad. "Oh, I almost forgot. Did you ever get in touch with my stepdad and see what he wanted?"
"Yeah, he called a while ago. He found out about the FRU saying you needed some medical tests and was concerned."
"Did the FRU call him, too?" Kylie asked, ready to panic that they hadn't given up their mission to treat her like their very own lab rat. Maybe even give her the same test that had killed her grandmother.
"No, and I asked because it scared me, too," Holiday answered, telling Kylie how accurate the camp leader was at reading her emotions. "He said he'd spoken with your mom."
"My mom? Really?" An unexpected smile spread across her lips. "So they're talking again? That's the best news I've heard all day. Maybe she'll dump the creep who wants to take her to England and give my stepdad another chance."
"Perhaps," Holiday said, as if wary of giving Kylie too much hope.
Kylie remembered that Holiday had dealt with the whole parental divorce thing, too. "How long does it take?"
"How long does what take?" Holiday asked.
"How long before you stop wishing they hadn't split? How long before you stop wanting to tell them to cut out the fighting and go back to the way things used to be?"
"I wouldn't know." Holiday sighed and offered a sympathetic smile. "I'm still waiting. I think when you grow up with them together, you just always assume they will stay together. But I do know I've reached a place where I know my parents are probably better off not being together. Nevertheless, I still have times that I remember how it used to be when we were a family, and ... I wish things were different now. The sad truth is that we change. Parents. Siblings. And when that happens, people grow apart and-"
"But who we love shouldn't change." Or could it? Kylie's mind went from her parents' divorce to Derek, and then to the ghost issue. Then, suddenly, Kylie realized that this line of conversation might be the opening she needed to ask about Holiday's sister. "Did you go through it alone?"
"Alone?" Holiday looked confused.
"What I mean is, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Kylie asked.
Holiday was looking away so Kylie couldn't see her expression, but if the sudden flinch in the woman's shoulders was any indication, Kylie had hit a nerve. Why? What was Holiday not willing to talk about? Had Hannah and Holiday grown apart?
As another second ticked by, Kylie hesitated, not knowing what to do. Should she push for an answer, or just let the moment pass? After all, this wasn't just about her wanting Holiday to trust her, this was about helping Hannah cross over. Once she solved the whole ghost issue, maybe then she could focus more on solving her other issues.
"Unfortunately," Holiday said, ending the uncomfortable silence, "siblings are not always a help in this matter." She reached for her phone. "I just remembered I need to make another call. Can you head over to the dining hall? I asked Miranda and Della to help me, too. Della's taking over shadowing duty. I have a couple of banners to put up and there's some balloons to blow up. They're in the back of the dining hall, and I just wanted to get some tables set up to hold the appetizers. I should be over there in a few minutes. And hopefully Burnett will be back and we can take a quick run to the falls before the ceremony."
"Sure," Kylie said, disappointed. She sensed Holiday was running away so she could avoid answering any more of Kylie's questions.
Holiday arched another brow, obviously picking up on Kylie's discontent, and shook her head. "I still wish you'd talk to me."
And I wish you'd talk to me. "I'm fine." Kylie watched Holiday head to the office and when she turned around, Della was standing there.
"At your service, Miss Witch." Della grinned and stared at Kylie's forehead. "However, I won't deny that I'm disappointed. I mean ... you liked the taste of blood, so I figured you'd at least be half-vampire."
Kylie rolled her eyes and pointed to her forehead. "I keep telling you guys, I don't think this is final."
"It looks final to me."
Kylie looked back at the woods and wished she felt that her grandfather was still there. Wished she could meet him face-to-face and finally get the answers she needed. But she didn't feel it. Didn't sense that something out there called to her to join it.
She looked back at Della. "And what was I last week? A human, right? And for how long? A few weeks?"
Della made a face. "Okay, I see your point. But this is the first real supernatural pattern you've shown."
"Yeah, and I'm betting it won't be my last. Let's just say, I think I've got ADD brain patterns. They never sit still. One comes, one goes."
"Damn," Della said. "Miranda's right. You really don't want to be a witch, do you?"
Kylie let out a gulp of frustrated air. "That's not it at all. It's just I was told-"
"That you're a lizard." Della made her sympathy face. Not one she used a whole lot, either. "Look, no hard feelings, but I think I'd believe you're a witch before I'd believe that you're a lizard. And if I may add one little thing, if you keep this not-a-witch front up, you're really going to hurt Miranda's feelings. She's already upset. And you know what she's like when she gets upset."
Kylie closed her eyes and inhaled. "I didn't mean to hurt her feelings. If I hadn't gotten the message from Dad saying I was a chameleon, I'd be ecstatic at the idea of being a witch." If frustration wasn't in the driver's seat of Kylie's emotions, surprise would have been behind the wheel. When had Kylie and Della traded places? Normally, it was Kylie calling Della on this offense. "Look," Kylie said, trying to explain herself. "Witch and fae were my top choices of species, but-"
"You didn't want to be a vampire?" Della sounded insulted.
Oh, crap, now Kylie had offended Della. Nothing was going right today. "Please," Kylie said, her frustration not just sitting in the driver's seat anymore, but revving up the engine. "I didn't say that, I just-"
"It's being cold that bothers you, isn't it?" Della asked, looking more hurt, but not mad. And Kylie guessed she should be thankful about that. A hurt Della was hard to deal with, but dealing with an angry and hurt Della was impossible.
"No, it's not being cold, it's..."
"It can't be the blood because you liked the taste of blood."
"I like the taste of it, but I don't necessarily like the idea of having to drink it, or the idea of having French fries taste like toad's butt, because that's exactly how you described it. But if I'm vampire, then I'll be happy." When Della's expression didn't change, Kylie added, "Truthfully, it would be cool to be able to fly like you guys do."
"It's very cool," Della said, her expression softening.
"Anyway," Kylie continued, "I'll be happy with whatever I am. I don't even care anymore. But right now, I trust what my dad said, and he said I'm a chameleon. Doesn't that make sense to anyone?"
"No," Della said matter-of-factly. "Sorry, but the whole 'I'm a lizard' thing sounds crazy. Maybe you should come to grips with the fact that you're going to end up just being like one of us. A normal supernatural."
Kylie's head was spinning. First, normal and supernatural didn't fit in the same sentence, but ...
"When have I ever been normal?" she asked. "When has anything connected to me, to my powers and gifts and my forever-changing brain patterns, appeared to be normal?"
Della opened her mouth, to argue no doubt, and then shut it. The pause lasted a whole second. Which for Della was a long time. "Okay, you've made another good point, but..."
"No buts," Kylie said. "I'm either a freak, or maybe, just maybe, I'm some other type of supernatural. Something not very many people have heard of."
Della pursed her lips as if in thought. "And that would be totally cool, wouldn't it? To be something very rare. Of course, you're already super rare because you're a protector. Hey ... maybe that's why your pattern went crazy in the beginning, because you're a protector. And you're the first part-human protector to ever exist. Which, like I said, is cool."
"No, I'm not the first. My dad was a protector." Kylie paused. "And it's not as cool as you think." After a second, Kylie added, "Holiday suggested being a protector could have made my pattern do stupid stuff, but..."
"But you want to be a lizard," Della said.
Kylie just rolled her eyes and gave the woods another glance. She didn't feel anything, but maybe if she stood among the trees and surrounded herself with the foliage, she would feel it. Her grandfather and aunt could be waiting for her. Her answers could be out there waiting for her. "Can we take a short walk?"
"I thought we were supposed to be helping Miranda and Holiday set up the dining room."
"Just a short one."
"Where to?" Della asked.
Kylie motioned to the woods.
"Oh, hell no! Burnett was very, very, very clear on that. You aren't supposed to go in the woods. He'd have my head on a platter. After he chewed my ass out."
Kylie looked around to see if anyone was within hearing distance. Super hearing distance. She didn't see a soul.
She still dipped her head down and spoke in a whisper. "I know who's out there and I need to talk to them."
"What...? Who's out there?"
The sound of a door shutting filled the warm air. "You guys letting Miranda do all the work?" Holiday's voice came behind them.
Kylie turned around and saw her stepping off the office steps. "Just going in."
Della leaned in. "Don't leave me hanging like this."
"Later," Kylie said when she saw Holiday walking up.
"Later what?" Holiday asked.
Guilt stirred in Kylie's chest, but she forced herself to lie. "Later, I'll tell her my bucket of boyfriend woes." She forced a smile.
"Yeah, boyfriend woes," Della said, as if to add validity to Kylie's lie. "Two guys fighting for her heart." Della cut her eyes to Kylie, and the message in her friend's eyes said she'd be pressing Kylie to finish their conversation about the woods ASAP.
"What a bucket of ... woe that is!" Della said with drama. But somewhere in Della's voice, Kylie heard something else. A bit of envy.
Holiday chuckled. From the camp leader's expression, Kylie sensed she'd picked up on Della's emotions as well. And that caused Kylie to worry. How much of Kylie's woes did Holiday sense? And how long could Kylie keep things from her? Just long enough, Kylie prayed, to know the right way to approach everything.
Holiday shrugged. "From what I hear, she's not the only one with boy troubles."
"Yeah," Della said with sass. "You and Burnett are filling the air with pheromones." The vamp waved a hand in front of her nose.
Holiday frowned. "I wasn't talking about me." She gave Della a pointed look.
"Me?" Della asked, in total bafflement. "I don't have a boyfriend, so how could I have boyfriend troubles?"
"You could have a boyfriend if you wanted one," Kylie muttered, and that remark got her a sharp jab of Della's elbow in the ribs.
Holiday grinned. "Rumor has it you were the cause of some friction down by the lake."
"What friction?" Della asked.
"Between Steve and Chris," Holiday said, and wiggled her brows. Leave it to Holiday to know what someone needed to hear.
Except in Kylie's case. Kylie needed to know about Holiday's sister, but getting Holiday to talk about it, without just blurting out that her sister was dead, seemed impossible. But if Kylie didn't hear from Hannah soon, or Holiday didn't start talking, then blurting it out might be her only option.
"No." Della shook her head, sending her shoulder-length black hair swinging. "It wasn't over me. You just heard it wrong."
Holiday half grinned and shrugged. "If you say so." She paused and grinned like she knew something no one else did. "Come on. Let's get the dining room whipped into shape for the reception." She draped an arm around each of their shoulders and started walking toward the dining hall.
They took about three steps when Della came to a sudden stop. "Really?" she asked Holiday. "It was over me? Chris and Steve were upset with each other over me?"
"I told you Steve liked you." Kylie almost chuckled at Della's shock.
But Della wasn't listening to Kylie. "You're not shitting me?" Della continued, focusing on Holiday, her head tilted slightly as if listening to see if she was lying.
"I swear." Holiday grinned. "My heart won't lie."
"They were fighting-?"
"I said friction," Holiday corrected.
"They're frictioning over me?" She chuckled and then stopped as if to let that piece of info sink in. "No. Not me. It has to be a mistake." But Della's eyes lit up with a spark of self-confidence.
Kylie grinned-even feeling the weight of all her problems pressing down on her, seeing Della beaming with "boy" pride felt good ... and right. It hadn't escaped Kylie that Della felt left out with both Miranda and Kylie having boyfriends, but she hadn't sensed how big of a chunk that took out of Della's confidence until now. And after the vampire's heartbreak with Lee, Della deserved to feel "friction worthy."
Not that all friction was a good thing. The friction between Lucas and Derek sure as hell couldn't be chalked up as a positive. But for right now, Kylie just wanted to think about Della.
Five minutes later, Kylie realized Della was right. Miranda was upset. The little witch hardly spoke to her as they whipped the dining hall into shape. Of course, Miranda squealed with glee when Della told her about Chris and Steve having "tension." Feeling like a third wheel, Kylie finally walked up to Miranda and apologized for ... Well, she wasn't sure what she was apologizing for, but she said the magic words, "I'm sorry," and asked Miranda if she'd go over a few spells with her later.
Miranda's eyes lit up. "I would be delighted. Just decide what spell you want to try. And you can trust me, I can do this."
The look of sheer contentment on the little witch's face told Kylie that Miranda's problem was more about Kylie's initial refusal of her help and the ding against her ego than believing Kylie didn't want to be a witch.
While rearranging the tables in the front, Kylie's phone chimed with an incoming text. It was from Lucas.
Still with Clara. Miss you. I'll probably be busy introducing Clara to the pack until later. I'm not going to be at the reception. I'll stop by and see you tonight before you go to bed. Thanks for understanding.
Kylie stared at the phone and sensed she would be seeing a lot less of Lucas now that Clara was here. Kylie inhaled and tried to tell herself that she did understand. That of course he would have to take time with his sister. But between his pack and now Clara, Kylie wasn't sure where she fit in.
Or if she fit in.
Fifteen minutes later, Kylie noticed that Della kept glancing at her. Kylie knew the vamp was chomping at the bit to get Kylie alone so she could finish their conversation about who was in the woods. But frankly, Kylie was having second thoughts about coming clean. Telling Della meant she'd have to tell Miranda. Not that Kylie didn't trust them to keep it a secret, but ... she just didn't want to get anyone in trouble. Then again, considering that she never went anywhere without a shadow these days, she was going to have to trust someone. And she trusted her two roommates more than she trusted anyone else at Shadow Falls.
They were almost finished setting up for the event when Holiday's phone rang. Holiday stepped away to take the call.
Della came moving over so fast that she bumped into Miranda and nearly knocked her down. "Talk and talk fast," Della sputtered at Kylie.
"Talk about what?" Miranda rubbed her shoulder and frowned at Della.
"Shh!" Della held up a finger to silence Miranda and eyed Kylie with persistence. "Talk."
"Don't you shush me!" Miranda bit out.
Kylie exhaled and reached over and touched Miranda's arm, hoping to calm her, then she answered Della's question. "It's my grandfather and aunt. They were the fog."
"They were ... the fog?" Miranda asked, her bad attitude with Della dropping along with her mouth.
When Kylie nodded, Miranda continued. "Then that proves it, you are a witch, because they have to be some dang powerful witches to pull that off."
"Wait. Why would they do that?" Della asked.
Kylie frowned, and looked again at Holiday standing across the dining hall. Kylie noted how the camp leader's gaze kept moving to Kylie and she suspected the phone call had to be about her.
Again.
Great. What was it this time?
"Earth to Kylie," Miranda snapped.
Kylie glanced back at her two roommates. "I'm not sure it proves anything at this point."
"But why would they chase Lucas's sister?" Della asked.
"I don't know." Then suddenly Kylie did know. "To get me to enter the woods. They've been calling me for a few days now but I thought ... I thought it might be Mario and his friends and I didn't go. But I'll bet my grandfather knew if I thought someone was in danger, I'd-"
"Do they even know you're a protector?" Miranda asked.
"I don't know." Kylie's mind raced. "I know that Burnett talked with him, but I don't know what all he told them."
"I'm not buying all that," Della said. "Maybe it is Mario pretending to be your grandfather and aunt. Maybe this is just a trick to get his hands on you."
"I don't think so," Kylie said. "And right now I have to follow my gut. I've got too much going on, and it would be nice to get some answers about something."
"What else is going on?" Concern made Della's brows tighten.
Kylie hesitated. "Ghost issues."
"Which means we're not gonna be any help there," Della countered.
Exactly what Kylie thought, too. When it came to ghost issues, it was either Holiday or she was on her own. She recalled Derek, who'd told her he was willing to help her even though chances were he felt the same way about the spirits as the other supernaturals did.
Della piped up again. "But I thought your grandfather was supposed to come see you tomorrow. Why are they turning themselves into fog and sneaking in to see you if they could just show up tomorrow? And how did you know the fog was them?"
"He was supposed to come," Kylie answered. "But since then he's shut off his phone and hasn't contacted Burnett at all. And right when I left the fog took on human form and..." Kylie wasn't sure how to put it. "I recognized my grandfather and my aunt. I'm sure of it."
Della's expression hardened. "But if you're wrong, and if we go out into the woods and shit happens-"
"Go into the woods?" Miranda blurted out. "Oh, crap, no! Burnett said she wasn't to go into the woods. To not let her get close to the woods."
"I know," Kylie said. "But if I want answers to what I am, I'm going to have to go to my grandfather, and I don't think he's going to just walk into the camp, not when the FRU is crawling all over Shadow Falls. And after what the FRU did to my grandmother, I can't say I blame him for not trusting them. Heck, even Holiday doesn't trust them."
Miranda bit into her bottom lip. "But if you're wrong..."
"I'm not." And just like that, Kylie realized she couldn't put her two best friends in danger. The guilt she still harbored over Ellie swelled in her chest. "But just in case, I'm going in alone."
"No way!" Della said.
"All I want to do is walk a little ways into the woods. You guys can just stand at the edge. If I don't feel anything, I'll come right back out."
"And if you do feel something?" Miranda asked.
"Then I'll know it's them and I'll meet them."
"Oh, hell no! You are not going in alone," Della declared. "You're a protector. In case you've forgotten, that means you can't protect yourself."
"Della's right," Miranda said. "If you go, we all go."
"I don't think any of us should go!" Della said.
Holiday started walking over and, knowing the fae would be able to read the mood, Kylie looked at her two best friends. "Think happy thoughts. Quick. Before Holiday reads..." She let her words fade as Holiday drew near.
"What's up?" Holiday asked.
"Nothing," the three of them answered at the same time.
Kylie smiled and tried envisioning Lucas to instill a happy emotion, but Derek's image and his loyalty to her ghost issues popped into her mind. And instead of being happy, more angst filled her head.
Holiday quirked an eyebrow that read as disbelief, but she appeared to move past it and said, "That was Burnett. He's not going to make it back until right before the event and has insisted we postpone the trip to the falls until tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"
"That's okay," Kylie said.
And it was okay. Maybe now she could take that walk into the woods and get some answers-if they were still there. She just needed to figure out how to do it without Della and Miranda freaking out.