Devils Roses 04 - Witch

swears she can’t see you.” She snickered and left the room.
    Ophelia curled back in to her reading ball and continued with her book.
    She ignored the garage door opening later, as the sun started to go down. She blocked out the voices in the house. Her workaholic parents would pop their heads in but she would keep her face in her book and pretend everything was normal. She hoped.
    “Uhh Ophelia is there something you want to tell us?”
    She cringed inside of the closet.
    Her dad opened the door looking stressed. Her mom already had her hands on her hips.
    Ophelia shook her head.
    “Honey the school called and said there was an incident. You broke all the windows in a classroom and threw papers everywhere?”
    She shook her head, “I never I swear. Ask anyone I never moved a muscle. I just yelled and everything went crazy.”
    Her dad raised an eyebrow, “O.”
    “Dad I swear.”
    Her mom put her hands over her eyes, “Ophelia we have a meeting with the principal tomorrow. Prom is in a week and grad in two weeks. You couldn’t wait to smash windows till you were graduated?”
    Her dad left and her mom dropped to her knees in the closet, “Baby if you’re sad or feeling bad about something you can tell me. You know that right?”
    She nodded, “I swear I didn’t do it mom.”
    Her mom nodded, “Okay baby. I believe you.”
    It didn’t feel like she believed her, it felt like she didn’t want to deal with it.

Chapter Two
    Sam

    He paced around the room wondering when she would come home. It had been a bad idea to let her go. He had been giving her space. He hated space.
    Roland entered the room silently, as always.
    He cleared his throat, “Tea?”
    Sam nodded, “Thank you Roland.” He took the tiny bone china cup and drank. He felt a twinge at the taste, his mother had made him drink it before too. It apparently helped calm the nerves but nothing would dull the pain he was in.
    “You look as though you could use a walk perhaps.”
    He looked up at the old man and laughed, “I’m going to kill her is what’s going to happen. Has she called?”
    Roland shook his head, “Not in the last twenty-eight minutes since you last asked. Why don’t you just go to her?”
    He sighed and dropped in to the over sized chaise, “I can’t. God I told her I trusted her. What a mistake. Aimee has her. She’s going to get her killed.”
    Roland laughed, “I don’t think I can imagine anything strong enough to kill Miss Hanna. Beyond you.” His eyes glinted with knowledge making Sam blush.
    “You flatter me Roland.”
    Roland shook his head leaving the room silently, “I think not.”
    Sam stood again, continuing to pace. He looked at the cell phone on the bureau and tapped his fingers against his legs. He grabbed the phone and flashed from the room.
    He walked across the floor of Lydia’s house, looking for someone, anyone.
    He walked until he found Lucas sitting on the couch, staring at the wall across from him in the largest of sitting rooms. He sat alone. He had been doing that since Ben had died.
    “Hey man.”
    Lucas didn’t even flinch, as he spoke without tearing his gaze from its spot, “Hey Sam. What’s up?”
    “Oh, not much.” He slumped in to the chair across from Lucas. Lucas never met his gaze.
    “You waiting for them to get back?”
    Sam sighed and grinned, “Did Ari go too?”
    He nodded.
    Sam felt a sickening pain fill his stomach as he thought about Ben, the room felt empty without him.
    “Why didn’t you go?”
    An expression crept across Lucas’s face but it was gone when he spoke, “Not allowed. Lorri said no retaliation on this one. We’re dealing with something out of our league.”
    Sam nodded, “Yeah I got the whole ‘no because you’ll want to defend Hanna’.”
    Lucas’s lip lifted ever so slightly, almost into a grin, “Everyone wants to help Hanna.”
    Sam threw a pillow at him, “Whatever. Asshole. Speaking of which how’s Dorian?”
    Lucas shook his head, “Worse I think. He actually went to some vampire hideout in Brazil and killed everyone.” His sad eyes blinked away from the wall and looked at Sam, “Innocents and all.”
    Sam whistled, “Wow. Daniel and the tards have no idea how pissed off they have made him. Wanna go hunt his dad?”
    Sam’s eyes brightened, “Aleks’s?”
    He nodded, “Lorri said no to Alaska, but not to Viking werewolf death.”
    “Yeah. I’ll go. Any clue on where to start?”
    Sam shook his head, “No, but I know