BREATHE

Willow West

~~~

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Willow! Happy birthday to you!” her parents sing in broken unison as they place a cake before her.

She is a doe-eyed girl wearing a forced smile and clapping her hands in faux joy for her family’s sake.

“Oh, chocolate strawberry, my favorite!” she lies. In reality, she hates strawberries, but all her “friends” love them.

It bothers her more in this moment that her cake has strawberries than it did when she decided to buy it. After all, her friends aren’t here to enjoy it.

“Blow out the candles and make a wish!” her mother, Jane, urges, and Willow obliges quickly. The smoke flares up in her face, and she holds her breath so as not to cough all over the dessert.

“What did you wish for?” her father, John, queries, and she spits out an instinctual response.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true.”

Her parents take this at face value and hum in a sort of agreement.

In truth, Willow West doesn’t wish for anything, ever.

Willow watches with faked focus as her mother cuts the cake and holds out a piece for her. She nods in thanks and forces her traitorous sapphire eyes to light up at the sight.

The family of three falls silent as they eat, Willow pretending to enjoy each bite.

There is an elephant in the room: a party-with-six-guests-sized elephant in the room.

“At least we’ll have leftover cake,” Willow jokes and gestures to the party-sized item in question. “And chips, and soda, and candy, and party hats.”

“I’m sure everyone just got the flu going around,” Jane West concludes and leans over the table to take her daughter’s hand.

“Nope, the pictures from the concert they all went to were on social media already,” Willow informs sourly. “It’s all right; I’m sure they just forgot to tell me. I’m sure they bought tickets months ago.”

Willow and her parents take this moment to strategically forget to mention that her invites were sent out months ago, and all her “friends” RSVPed yes.

After it’s over, Jane and John gift their daughter an expansion pack for a video game she doesn’t play and a pair of cat pajamas two sizes too large. Willow feigns excitement for them, she knows their hearts are in the right place.

“Thank you so much, mom and dad! Now I better get to sleep; it’s already nine!” Willow exclaims and rushes off to her room. She makes it up the stairs and then stops short when she hears them murmuring.

Jane and John West have no idea Willow can always hear them; they don’t realize how good of a listener their daughter is.

“I can’t believe those kids! You know, this really is the last straw,” her mother growls. “I thought all this drama would be left at high school and not follow her to college.”

“Our daughter needs better friends,” her father agrees.

“You know, I just saw this coming. That Jennifer has never been nice to her, and you know she’s the ringleader here. Her mother told me they bought those concert tickets for all the girls only two weeks ago! Shame on their parents for letting them do this; shame on them for ostracizing our Willow like this,” Jane West rants while John holds his head in his hands. The complexities of young adult girls still escape Mr. West to this day. He too had hoped things would change in college but Orphic is too small a town.

Willow, from her perch on the balcony overlooking the kitchen, shakes her head and escapes to her only sanctuary.

Holding the doorknob, she very carefully slides her door shut without a sound and then releases the knob slowly. It’s a practiced art, shutting her door quietly-- one she learned after her parents made the open door policy.

A loud sigh escapes the dainty girl, and she throws herself to her beckoning mattress.

Sleep doesn’t come to Willow West, only tears and inescapable frustration.

Willow is only dozing when the clock strikes midnight, and her eyes yank open. She jerks upright, breathing heavily, and scans her room with glowing eyes, searching for the reason for her abrupt awakening. There is nothing changed that she can notice, and the blue mist encircling her fingers escapes her sleepy eyes.

Five minutes of uneventful silence pass before Willow’s panting slows, and her heartbeat evens out to a steady pace once more. She lowers herself back onto her pillow and descends back into sleep, not noticing the sharpened state of her blue eyes or the shift in the state of her being.

Willow does not notice that she

~~~

Vividria Silver

~~~

“I know you’re all perfectly aware that I do not have the same resistance to extreme weather conditions, so tell me: why are we planning our new lives in Alaska?” The question is asked by a fair-headed woman draped across a plush daybed. Curled, golden hair falls around her head like a halo, making her appear angelic, though she is nothing of the sort.

She is surrounded by a group of flawless beings, all with red eyes and marble-like skin. They sit in pairs, except for one copper-haired boy and her. All the beings have various appearances and come from various places but they found each other nevertheless.

“The Booker’s are in Alaska, Vividria,” the copper-haired boy responds, and Vividria nods her head, she knows all about their sister coven. From her position on the daybed, she is apart from the coven of seven Adonis-like beauties, but it is still clear she, no matter how different, is one of them. The younger group of five--the children, for all intents and purposes--are split up on two hotel beds, while the eldest-- the parents--are squeezed into a loveseat.

“I’m aware the Booker’s are in Alaska, Edwin,” Vividria deadpans. The boy, Edwin, shrugs, and his father, ever the peacemaker, jumps in to offer a few more words of explanation.

“Alaska would offer us time to socialize with others outside this family, and the Booker’s could offer us an easy cover to move in,” he explains. “The isolation would mean the kids could avoid college courses, and that would cut our time spent there short so we could move onto a more weather-desirable location.”

“Fair enough, Patroclus,” Vividria mutters. “I suppose I miss the occasional sun other places we’ve resided have to offer.”

“As much fun as avoiding school sounds, Dria may be onto something,” Theodosia, the reluctant daughter of Patroclus, reasons.

“Maybe it’s time we try someplace new, like Maine. We’ve never lived in Maine,” Kyso, the mother figure, concludes. The attention of the group is captured by the thought of Maine, all of them have been thinking of Maine as of late. There are plenty of states they’ve never lived in but Maine sticks out in all their minds.

“Maine does sound nice,” Eren, Theodosia’s mate, agrees.

“It would give us the opportunity to buy a new home and for Kyso and Theodosia to go crazy with the interior decorations,” Vesper, another son of Patroclus’s, concurs.

“We should find a small town full of adorable people!” Viv exclaims. “It’ll so easy to spin them into a tizzy over minor sexual exploits!”

“Vividria, remember: we don’t want to be too conspicuous,” Patroclus reminds, and she huffs.

“You know, back in Ancient Rome, Julius Caesar and I openly bragged about our adventures with Cleopatra and King Nicomedes, and barely anyone batted an eye,” Vividria laments and sighs in nostalgia. “Ancient Rome was a succubus’s playground.”

“Oh, Dria, you can still have some fun,” Theodosia assures, and the succubus smiles.

“I will.”

“Moving past that, we can find a town in Maine that has a lot to offer,” Kyso redirects, steering the conversation toward a final decision. “Patroclus can be a doctor, I can be a home decorator, Vividria can scare the townspeople, and you, my dears, can attend a community college.”

“I guess I can enjoy dazzling peons in the hallways,” Theodosia allows and tosses her golden tresses.

“Vesper, Sera, you’ve both been rather quiet,” Vividria observes, and the silent couple perks up. Vesper may have been shy around humans, but with his family, he almost always has an opinion to share. “What do you two think about moving to Maine?”

“I think we all feel a pull to go back for a reason,” Sera says, and by saying it, she’s calling out the elephant in the room. This conversation about Maine, while seeming causal, has all parties feeling tense. They all feel a pull to Maine; they feel drawn to this place in a way they never have before.

“Do you see something, Sera?” Vesper queries softly and his future-telling partner shakes her head.

“No, I can’t see anything.”

“This pull could be a trap,” Vesper says. “It’d be smart to resist.”

“But is it possible for us to resist?” Patroclus points out, and the Vespertine Coven falls into silence.

The answer is plain to see in the lack of words spoken.

The Silvers must move to Maine.

~~~

Ashbell Edana

~~~

A map is spread out on a wooden table, with two women pouring over it in deep thought.

“All right, Ashbell, where to next?” the older of the pair questions.

“I’m feeling ready for a change, mom,” the younger, Ashbell, replies. Her silky hair falls over her shoulder and dangles over the map while her dark eyes scan every state. “We’ve done snow and sun so I say we try rain.”

“Ashbell, you hate the cold and wet,” her mother, Jayna Edana, deadpans, and Ashbell shrugs.

“I also love new experiences,” she counters, and Jayna crosses her arms. This behavior is suspicious for Ashbell, and it’s beginning to make her mother concerned.

“Fair enough,” she agrees, and Ashbell grins from ear to ear.

“Good, because I’ve done some research, and I’ve found the rainiest place in the continental US,” Ashbell starts, and her mother groans. Ashbell’s hand waves up and then lands down on a tiny dot in Maine.

“Go big or go home, I suppose, Ashbell.”

“Go big and go to our new home in Orphic, Maine!” Ashbell cheers and presents her mother with a photograph of a quaint, two-story home. The house has everything they need: two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, a kitchen and dining space, and a cozy living room.

“Oh, this is adorable!” her mother coos in appreciation.

“I shall attend Orphic Community College, and you shall write more creepy stories and refurbish old furniture,” Ashbell declares. “I’ve already placed a down payment on the house and started the paperwork for school.”

“Nice work, Ashbell! I knew it was a good idea to get a joint bank account with you. Oh, my responsible girl!” Jayna coos and embraces her daughter tightly.

Above her head, Jayna’s expression turns somber as she surveys the map on the table, noting Orphic is no longer on it. Her daughter has never suggested they move to a place with such awful weather or to such a small town; Ashbell Edana lives for the city and sun.

This sudden interest in Orphic--in a small, cold town--has her mother remembering the harsh words Ashbell’s father growled out before leaving forever.

“If there’s ever an abrupt change in her, if she ever suddenly wants to visit someplace completely out of character for her, if she’s suddenly got a new friend who barely seems human, you take our daughter, and you run the other way. The pull of fate never bodes well for beings like us.”

Jayna Edana closes her eyes and exhales softly. She may have wanted to shield her daughter with every fiber of her being but there is no escaping fate.

~~~

Emily Wit

~~~

A jerk, a sharp gasp for air that deepens into a growl, and an arm swinging out in defense only to be caught in a stern hold are what Emily Wit abruptly wakes up to.

“Todd! What the fuck?! I could have killed you!” Emily snaps when she finally has clarity enough to see a familiar face.

“I am so sorry, my lady, but we have to go now,” Todd rushes out and Emily’s stomach drops. Emily jumps to her feet and grabs her phone, finding Todd already has her go-bag in hand. Emily grabs a satin robe to cover her nightgown and hastily ties the strings while stepping into a pair of slide-on flats always by her bed.

“Who?” Emily asks as Todd takes her hand and pulls her to the hallway.

“Not sure this time,” he replies.

In the hallway, Emily can see and hear the rest of her household in rushed chaos.

“Felix, grab your shit we’re leaving!” Megan shouts as she rushes down the stairs with her go bag and the household’s backpack of cash and IDs strapped to her, Felix scrambling from his room to follow her. Todd leads Emily down the staircase but she’s reluctant, head full of questions.

“Is everyone awake?” Emily asks.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Do we have the money and fakes?”

“Megan just went down with them,” he reports.

“The weaponry?”

“Sharon is getting it right now.”

“My food?” Emily questions.

“Tiffany already loaded it into the car,” he assures and then turns to her, gazing reverently. “We just need you.” Emily takes a deep breath and nods so Todd rushes her to the door.

Outside Carol has the car running and everyone else is ready to go. Todd opens the passenger side door for her and Emily hesitates. She knows she shouldn’t but she looks back. Todd gently pushes her into the seat and buckles her, Emily allowing him to puppet her in this moment as she is stuck staring at their home.

Once Todd is in his seat and a headcount done Carol slams the gas, peeling out of their driveway and down the street. It is silent in the car save for the radio playing Seventeen Going Under by Sam Fender and oh is it fitting.

As they pass through the town Emily stares at all the places she’s leaving behind–the theater she and Felix frequented, the bar Sharon and Carol loved, the high school Felix attended and Tiffany taught at, and the bowling alley Megan and Todd competed at–and wishes they could have stayed longer. She always wishes they could stay longer but it never works out that way.

Only when they are across a new state’s lines, Maine’s, Emily and her followers can finally breathe and relax.

They are pulled to the right path.