my head, my stomach sinking at the reminder. It had been days now. Surely something had gone wrong.
“Come here,” he whispered, opening his arms to me. Noreen’s death had my emotional state wrung dry, and I couldn’t resist the comfort Ethan offered. I left the damp cloth on Florence’s forehead as I went to him, and he wrapped me in his strength.
“I still can’t believe Noreen’s gone,” I whispered.
“You must allow yourself time to grieve. I’m here whenever you need me.”
I sniffled, lifting my head to meet his gaze. “Really?”
“As much as I wanted to, I cannot abandon you,” he said tenderly, and my heart melted. I snuggled back into his embrace, allowing his solidity and comfort to surround me, if only for a few blissful moments.
***
Another two days passed. After regaling me with everything that happened to her since moving in with her grandmother, Florence returned to Chesterport with Frank. I swear those two made the cutest couple. I was glad to know she was doing well, that she’d found a tribe.
Rita was doing a little better, too. We even managed to get her to leave her room long enough to attend Noreen’s funeral, which Alvie and Gabriel had arranged. She was still lost in grief, but it was less extreme now. I’d never forget the imagery of her out on the road, surrounded by nothing but purple flames.
The day after the funeral Rita and I were eating dinner in the RV when I tried bringing up Emilia and Rebecca. The spell around Emilia’s house still hadn’t let up and Pamphrock was beginning to think he might need to find a witch or a warlock to try and counteract the spell.
“Do you know what, Tegan?” Rita burst, interrupting me midway through my account. “I’m so sick to death of hearing about your problems. Nobody cares, so just shut up.”
I frowned at her, taken aback. “I wasn’t talking about my problems. I was telling you about Rebecca.”
“Yeah, and it all connects back to you. Emilia’s a selfish, evil bitch and she’s your grandmother, boo fucking hoo. Just get the hell out of here. I’m sick of listening to you.”
Rita’s eyes flashed purple, and I rose from my seat, completely shocked by her behaviour. Losing Noreen changed something in her, and I was at a loss to know what to do about it. Rita had always spoken her mind, but now she seemed to be going out of her way to be cruel.
When I stepped outside, I heard her smashing something to the floor. It sounded like a glass shattering. My heart clenched for her. I tried not to feel hurt by her harsh words because I knew she wouldn’t say such things if she weren’t in so much pain. I just hoped that she’d heal with time.
It was drizzling, but I didn’t feel like going back inside the house. I needed to walk and clear my head, figure out a way to bring the old Rita back. I wanted her to be my friend again.
I walked and walked, with no real destination in mind. Since the majority of Pamphrock’s men had been focused on the whole Emilia Petrovsky predicament, there weren’t as many slayers out patrolling the streets.
This meant that Theodore’s chaos mist had started to take a hold of the people again. Yesterday, Finn’s next-door neighbour, a usually polite and reserved woman named Maria, tried to beat up her teenage son in a fit of rage out in their front garden. Knowing exactly what had happened to her, I’d gone over and used my magic to push the mist out of her. A bit of an awkward conversation ensued, with me not being able to properly explain what had just happened. She thought that maybe it was early menopause, and I had to just let her think that.
I found a park bench and sat down, letting the rain pour down on me. I was too forlorn to care. I wasn’t sure how long I spent sitting on the bench when I reached inside my jeans pocket to pull out Edwards’s coin. After all these days, it felt less and less likely that he was ever going to show up.
Thinking this, a sob escaped me, my tears mixing with the rain that was still pounding down on me. I cried for my dad and for Rita’s mum. I cried for the people living in this godforsaken city. And finally, I cried for myself and the loss of my innocence now