“Dawn?” Adam called after me. “Where are you going?”
“I’m just going to my room. I need to check my phone and have a lie-down,” I said over my shoulder.
“Hold up; I’ll come with you.”
I heard him say something to Helen and then he was behind me as I reached my bedroom door.
“You want to lie down too?” I asked him once the door was shut.
I noticed how he was looking around. Adam had been in my room before but only fleetingly. This was his first chance to look at it properly.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”
He slumped onto the bed, his head on my pillow. I collected my phone from the night-stand and started to go through the messages. I had a couple of missed calls from Aaron and a text message from him as well, all dated from the night before. What caught my eye was a text message from an unknown sender. I opened the message and glanced at Adam, who looked like he was already asleep.
Unknown: Beware the false prophecies.
What was that about? The sight of Adam made me feel sleepy too. I yawned. Maybe a little nap wasn’t such a bad idea. I crawled in next to him, turning to face him so I could watch him while he slept. At some point, I must have blacked out myself because I fell into a dreamless sleep.
****
When I opened my eyes, it was dark in my room. Adam was still asleep next to me; his chest was slowly rising and falling. The afternoon had taken a lot out of him. At least he looked peaceful. I got up carefully, trying not to wake him, and padded out of my room and into the kitchen, where my mother was sitting with Nick and Helen.
“The police stopped by about an hour ago,” my mother said, looking up at me.
“Oh, why didn’t you wake us?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.
“There was no need,” she said. “I called Adam’s dad so they could talk to him.”
“What did they say?”
“Well, it’s not good. His dad is coming home tonight; he’ll be here in a few hours. I offered for them to stay with us for a few days, but he insisted that they wouldn’t impose on us. I told him it wasn’t an imposition, but his father is so hard-headed. He agreed to Adam staying, but he said he would go and stay with his brother in town. Being around women makes his father uncomfortable. Not that I blame him; he has no idea what to do in a conversation.” She paused. “Anyway, he’s going to stop by when he gets into town for a few minutes.”
“So is Adam staying?” I asked, glancing back in the direction of my room.
She nodded. “At least for a few days. Long enough for his dad to set up somewhere for them to stay.”
“How long till they can go home?” I said, tapping my fingers.
“No clue. They found quite a bit of blood in Adam’s room, but no body.” She shrugged. “They also found some other items in the house that obviously didn’t belong there, things I haven’t seen since the Dark Ages. It was almost like someone was using the house as a ritualistic voodoo ground.”
“What do you know about voodoo?” I asked, raising my eyebrow at her.
“I know quite a bit, thank you very much. The police are treating the house like it’s a murder scene. Locked it up tight.” She stood up.
“So, what does it mean?” I asked, ignoring the look on Helen’s face.
“I don’t know, Dawn. It’s not our place to step in. I’m not saying that it wasn’t a vamp or a shifter. It could even have been a demon, but without proof that it was supernatural my hands are tied.” She sighed.
“You just said that there were items from a ritual? Does that mean that witches exist?” I asked, still tapping my finger on the table.
“Sounds like it, Dawn. And yes, of course, witches exist.”
On that note, she left the room.
“Do you know if someone was trying to frame Adam’s dad?” asked Helen.
“Why do you say that?” I shot her a quizzical look.
“Think about it, Dawn. They broke in when Adam was at school so they knew that the police wouldn’t want to question him because he wouldn’t know anything. His father, on the other hand… who’s to say what he knows?”
I shook my head impatiently. Why would anyone want to frame Adam’s dad?
Helen looked upset at having her suggestion so peremptorily dismissed. “Listen, I know something is going on between you two. Every time I go near him you look like you’re about to rip my head off, and every time I touch him, he moves away. You guys may not know there is something there yet, but I’m really getting tired of being treated like shit because you won’t come to terms with it.”
I stared at her in bewilderment, trying to understand what she was saying.
“Th–there’s nothing going on between Adam and me,” I stuttered.
She crossed her arms. “Really?”
“Really!”
“Well, if you say so.” She didn’t sound convinced.
“He has a girlfriend,” I pointed out. “And that doesn’t matter anyway, because I have Aaron.” I wanted to scream.
“Yeah, how’s that going? You’re the first demon mix that I have met to actually master the claim.”
I couldn’t tell if she was still irritated with me or if she was just trying to change the subject.
“I wouldn’t suggest doing what I did,” I replied quietly. “I mean, I like the boy and all, and I enjoy spending time with him; he makes me laugh... I just don’t see myself falling head over heels in love with him.”
“Well, what’s done is done,” she said, her expression softening.
Nick looked up at us both. “Okay, are we better now? Because
