Status: C&C on my first draft?<3
Hawthorne
Two
When Trey and Elizabeth got back to her apartment, he made himself at home. After putting Wyatt down for the rest of his nap, he walked straight to the fridge, grabbed the pitcher of water, and got himself a drink. Instead of addressing the fact that he seemed a little too comfortable being here for only a second time, she went straight to the kitchen after him.
"Nice place you've got here." He looked around the open concept apartment, seeming to notice every detail of the space. Then, he turned to her. "I guess I have a bit of explaining to do, don't I?"
"Yeah, just a bit." Elizabeth averted her eyes, focusing on the lazy susan topped with condiments on the kitchen island in front of her.
"Well," He grabbed another glass and poured her some water as he spoke, "Where would you like me to start?" With both glasses, he walked away from the kitchen, over to the couch in the living area. Elizabeth stayed behind, watching him. When Trey sat down, he stared at her intently. "Are you going to come sit down, Liz?"
She went over and sat beside him. "I don't know. Well, you said your kind had been outcast long ago. What exactly are you?" blushing, she bit her lip, realizing how awkward that sounded.
He chuckled, as if he noticed how her own words made her uncomfortable. "Why don’t you take a guess."
She sat there, gazing into her untouched glass, as she thought back to how he made her remember what had happened, and when she suddenly dropped the pens. And then she muttered, "I suck at guessing games, just tell me."
" Alright, well... I'm a witch. Yes, a witch. Wart on my nose, flying through the night on a broomstick. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble, and some other bullshit. I'm under my own spell right now, my skin is actually green and wrinkly." He laughed.
Elizabeth couldn’t help but to giggle. "Very funny."
Trey leaned back, his hands behind his head, and winked. " You got me. But I really am a witch. He looked over at Wyatt, and smiled, seeing the little one still sound to sleep. "Alright, so what else do I have to explain to you?"
Elizabeth had so many questions she wanted to ask. What are skin walkers? What other creatures are there? Are there any others as nice as him? Instead, she asked, "How long have you been watching this town... and me?"
He looked at her strangely. "Long enough... Alright, about eight months now. After I heard about witches having been here years ago, I thought I might come check things out, see if there's any proof of them being here. Then, I saw you that day on the patio of that café. I swear, after that I didn't see you until yesterday." Trey looked into her eyes, and she could tell he was being sincere. "Anyway, there's nothing in this town. They probably burned all of the witches houses, and anything else that reminded them of us, years ago." He averted his gaze.
"I remember... I remember reading about something. Apparently, around the time you say that witches were exiled, there was an outbreak of some rare disease... They quarantined anyone who had it, and after they all died, days later they burned down the houses along with any belongings." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I guess, maybe the council covered it up?"
"That doesn't surprise me at all."
Wyatt soon woke up, ready to eat. Luckily, Trey had food in a backpack, Elizabeth never noticed he had one, until he reached for it. After the little one had his belly full, The three of them played together. Although she had no idea how to interact with children, she just followed Trey's lead.
Hours passed, and before they knew it, it was the child's bed time— 8:00. While Trey got his backpack all packed up again, Wyatt already passed out on the couch. "Damn it, Wyatt." He whispered. "I'm not going to get to move him, now. Once he's out, there's no waking him; Unless, you want a little gremlin in your apartment. We'll just have to stay here tonight."
Elizabeth looked puzzled. "All I have to sleep on is the couch, and my bed." She put her arm on the Victorian style antique chair, which was definitely not something anyone could ever sleep on.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to share, now won't we?" He said, pushing the chair against the couch, to prevent Wyatt from falling off. "Got any extra pillows? Don't want the boy to fall off the couch at this end, do we?"
Elizabeth shook her head, walked over to the linen closet on the far side of the room. When she brought back a pillow, and a small blanket, Trey rolled up the blanket and sat it on the couch, with the pillow over it, confining Wyatt to a smaller space. After that, he grabbed her hand and led her to the bedroom, where they wouldn't wake the boy.
After that, they laid together on her bed, watching a couple old movies from long before the war. When Elizabeth fell asleep, Trey shut the movie off, and carefully covered her up, tucking the blanket in around her. He was respectful and slept facing away from her, with the blanket separating them.
Morning arrived, and Elizabeth woke up to see Trey and Wyatt had left already. When she got up and went out to the kitchen, she noticed her laptop was open, on the screen she seen a note typed out from Trey:
After that, Elizabeth had a quick shower, brushed her teeth, and got dressed and ready for the day. When she got her laptop, and the same messenger bag she had the day before, she noticed something was inside of the bag: a calla lily. He must have put it in there. She placed the laptop in her bag, along with the binder she used to organize her writing, and a couple writing utensils. She then put the lily in a glass filled half way with water, before finally heading out the door.
Elizabeth crossed the street, and walked the opposite way of what she had the day before, headed toward a local café. Once she got there, she stood in line, waiting to order an iced caramel macchiato, the place's best cold coffee drink.
Sitting down to begin her work day, Elizabeth noticed her nosy neighbor walking up to her. "I saw a man and a child coming out of your apartment this morning. Who were they?"
Elizabeth stared her down, "My cousin and his baby brother, from the fishing village on the shore."
"Oh, alright. What's his name? And what's the baby's name? What does Trey do for a living?"
Trey and Wyatt. He's a witch, the baby is a gremlin. He warships Satan and curses nosy bitches like you, for a living. "Trace, and the baby's name is Wyatt. Their father is part of the fishing crew, and Trace guts and cleans each catch."
"Oh... Well, I must be going, I think they have my order ready now. It was nice seeing you, Elizabeth." She walked away, seeming to be offended somehow by what Elizabeth said.
Alright, now. Where to start?
Elizabeth wrote for hours, taking a break now and then to either relieve herself, or get a drink refill. The words flowed effortlessly, as they normally do, as she drew closer and closer to her goal for the day. She seemed to have written a little slower than usual, though, because by the time she reached, and actually passed her goal, it was nearly closing time.
When she finally looked away from the computer screen, and out the window, she saw Trey, without Wyatt, standing on the other side of the street. She wouldn't have noticed her, if he hadn't been waving at her. He dressed as if he was trying to blend into this town, wearing a black button down shirt, and well fitting pants, with converse, a typical ensemble you might see a young man wearing in that area.
She packed up her thing, left a tip of eight dollars, and said goodbye to the young barista who served her before leaving the café. Elizabeth quickly crossed the street and walked up to Trey. "Thanks for the flower, it's beautiful" She referred to the calla lily she found in her bag that morning.
"You're welcome. I just thought it'd be a nice little thank you for letting us stay." He smiled, and walked away. "Did you sleep well? You looked rather peaceful when I left this morning."
As she walked up beside him, he took her hand. Blushing, she nearly stumbled, not only over her words, but her feet, as well. "Y-yeah. I definitely had a better sleep than yesterday. Thanks for not disturbing me, I think I really needed the rest."
Turning his head slightly, he grinned, and kept walking along side her, not saying a word.
It was a beautiful evening, all things considered. Despite the cloud-cover, it was warmer than usual, but also humid. But, Elizabeth didn't mind. The street lights were about to come on at that point. Then she remembered the curfew within city limits. Everyone had to be inside by eight-thirty, no excuses. The council, and the guard took this one law very seriously. "We have to get back to my place, right now. And you have to hide when we get there." Elizabeth whispered.
Trey looked down at her with a puzzled expression. "Why?"
"Curfew. At 8:45, the guard will be at my door doing a routine nightly check." She pulled down her shirt, uncovering her chest enough to show a tattoo of a twelve digit number. "I had to get this the day I turned 18. It's how they keep track of us... to make sure we're all alright. You, I'm assuming, don't have one."
They began walking faster, toward her apartment, as he spoke. "No, we don't have that sort of thing in The City. Where will I hide?"
"I know a place."
When they got back to Elizabeth's apartment, she immediately locked the door and went straight to the linen closet. She took out all of the baskets of bedding, and pulled out all of the shelves. Reaching into the corner of the molding inside the closet, she touched a hidden lever which opened a small door. "Alright, get inside, quick, it's 8:30 already." Trey grinned like a Cheshire cat before he stepped into the hidden room.
Just as she put away the last basket, and the calla lily placed behind it, and closed the door, Two members of the Guard were at her door, knocking in a rhythmic pattern. She breathed deeply as she walked to the door, unlocking it and opening it to the two men. "Hello," She greeted them in her usual cheerful manner. "Nice night, isn't it?"
"Yes, beautiful." the taller, younger guard said, winking at her.
The older, more plump man elbowed him in the rib, when he noticed the other wink. "Yes, all fine and dandy... I trust you're here by yourself, Elizabeth?"
"Yes sir!" She smiled.
"Alright, lets see your number, Beth." The younger guard said, as she pulled down her top, just a little too far. Doing so distracted both of the men as the older man opened the linen closet door. Elizabeth bit her lip lightly, and smiled at them both as the younger of the two used his scanner on her tattoo to let the system know she was accounted for.
Both men checked over the apartment and then left. But Elizabeth waited until she knew the other 5 apartments in her building were checked, to let Trey out of the cubby hole.
"Damn, what took so long, Beth." He teased.
"I just had to wait until they left the building. There are five other tenants. And, don't call me Beth." She crossed her arms, walking over to the kitchen.
"Alright, Liz, I was joking." He stuck his tongue out at her and laughed, as he followed behind her.
"You hungry?" She asked, looking into the freezer. She ignored his attempt to tease her again.
"Yeah, but you sit down, I will cook for you tonight." He winked, gently pushing her back away. He reached in, pulling out precooked homemade meatballs that she made two weeks earlier. He then grabbed pasta, and sauce from the pantry. As the water raised to a boil, he poured the sauce into a pan, tasted it, and went to the fridge, pulling out spinach, left over from two days before, and to the pantry to get an assortment of spices. And with that, he went to work.
"You.. cook." Surprised from the sight, her eyebrows raised. He actually knows what he'd doing.
Why, yes. I do cook, Liz. Do you like your pasta al dente or cooked to a mush?" He laughed as she rolled her eyes.
"Al dente, please."
After dinner, they brought her blankets and some pillows out to the living room and laid them out. She refused to let him sleep in her bed again, but she wasn’t going to let him sleep out here alone. That would be rude. Plus, he was warm.
They sat up most of the night, laughing and talking— talking and laughing. It was the most fun she's had being around someone in a very long time. After he passed out, she pondered this for a while longer, and soon became afraid that she was getting too close to this man, far too soon. Despite her fears, she laid down beside him and fell asleep.
"Nice place you've got here." He looked around the open concept apartment, seeming to notice every detail of the space. Then, he turned to her. "I guess I have a bit of explaining to do, don't I?"
"Yeah, just a bit." Elizabeth averted her eyes, focusing on the lazy susan topped with condiments on the kitchen island in front of her.
"Well," He grabbed another glass and poured her some water as he spoke, "Where would you like me to start?" With both glasses, he walked away from the kitchen, over to the couch in the living area. Elizabeth stayed behind, watching him. When Trey sat down, he stared at her intently. "Are you going to come sit down, Liz?"
She went over and sat beside him. "I don't know. Well, you said your kind had been outcast long ago. What exactly are you?" blushing, she bit her lip, realizing how awkward that sounded.
He chuckled, as if he noticed how her own words made her uncomfortable. "Why don’t you take a guess."
She sat there, gazing into her untouched glass, as she thought back to how he made her remember what had happened, and when she suddenly dropped the pens. And then she muttered, "I suck at guessing games, just tell me."
" Alright, well... I'm a witch. Yes, a witch. Wart on my nose, flying through the night on a broomstick. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble, and some other bullshit. I'm under my own spell right now, my skin is actually green and wrinkly." He laughed.
Elizabeth couldn’t help but to giggle. "Very funny."
Trey leaned back, his hands behind his head, and winked. " You got me. But I really am a witch. He looked over at Wyatt, and smiled, seeing the little one still sound to sleep. "Alright, so what else do I have to explain to you?"
Elizabeth had so many questions she wanted to ask. What are skin walkers? What other creatures are there? Are there any others as nice as him? Instead, she asked, "How long have you been watching this town... and me?"
He looked at her strangely. "Long enough... Alright, about eight months now. After I heard about witches having been here years ago, I thought I might come check things out, see if there's any proof of them being here. Then, I saw you that day on the patio of that café. I swear, after that I didn't see you until yesterday." Trey looked into her eyes, and she could tell he was being sincere. "Anyway, there's nothing in this town. They probably burned all of the witches houses, and anything else that reminded them of us, years ago." He averted his gaze.
"I remember... I remember reading about something. Apparently, around the time you say that witches were exiled, there was an outbreak of some rare disease... They quarantined anyone who had it, and after they all died, days later they burned down the houses along with any belongings." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I guess, maybe the council covered it up?"
"That doesn't surprise me at all."
Wyatt soon woke up, ready to eat. Luckily, Trey had food in a backpack, Elizabeth never noticed he had one, until he reached for it. After the little one had his belly full, The three of them played together. Although she had no idea how to interact with children, she just followed Trey's lead.
Hours passed, and before they knew it, it was the child's bed time— 8:00. While Trey got his backpack all packed up again, Wyatt already passed out on the couch. "Damn it, Wyatt." He whispered. "I'm not going to get to move him, now. Once he's out, there's no waking him; Unless, you want a little gremlin in your apartment. We'll just have to stay here tonight."
Elizabeth looked puzzled. "All I have to sleep on is the couch, and my bed." She put her arm on the Victorian style antique chair, which was definitely not something anyone could ever sleep on.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to share, now won't we?" He said, pushing the chair against the couch, to prevent Wyatt from falling off. "Got any extra pillows? Don't want the boy to fall off the couch at this end, do we?"
Elizabeth shook her head, walked over to the linen closet on the far side of the room. When she brought back a pillow, and a small blanket, Trey rolled up the blanket and sat it on the couch, with the pillow over it, confining Wyatt to a smaller space. After that, he grabbed her hand and led her to the bedroom, where they wouldn't wake the boy.
After that, they laid together on her bed, watching a couple old movies from long before the war. When Elizabeth fell asleep, Trey shut the movie off, and carefully covered her up, tucking the blanket in around her. He was respectful and slept facing away from her, with the blanket separating them.
Morning arrived, and Elizabeth woke up to see Trey and Wyatt had left already. When she got up and went out to the kitchen, she noticed her laptop was open, on the screen she seen a note typed out from Trey:
- Sorry, Wyatt woke up at 6:30, didn't want to wake you up, so I am feeding him quickly, as I type this, and then we are leaving. Thanks for letting us stay, Liz. Hope I didn't make you feel too uncomfortable. Be a doll and see if you can dig anything up on The Witches of Wildemeadow, would you? I'd really appreciate it.
:tab::tab::tab::tab::tab::tab::tab::tab::tab::tab:<3 Trace.
After that, Elizabeth had a quick shower, brushed her teeth, and got dressed and ready for the day. When she got her laptop, and the same messenger bag she had the day before, she noticed something was inside of the bag: a calla lily. He must have put it in there. She placed the laptop in her bag, along with the binder she used to organize her writing, and a couple writing utensils. She then put the lily in a glass filled half way with water, before finally heading out the door.
Elizabeth crossed the street, and walked the opposite way of what she had the day before, headed toward a local café. Once she got there, she stood in line, waiting to order an iced caramel macchiato, the place's best cold coffee drink.
Sitting down to begin her work day, Elizabeth noticed her nosy neighbor walking up to her. "I saw a man and a child coming out of your apartment this morning. Who were they?"
Elizabeth stared her down, "My cousin and his baby brother, from the fishing village on the shore."
"Oh, alright. What's his name? And what's the baby's name? What does Trey do for a living?"
Trey and Wyatt. He's a witch, the baby is a gremlin. He warships Satan and curses nosy bitches like you, for a living. "Trace, and the baby's name is Wyatt. Their father is part of the fishing crew, and Trace guts and cleans each catch."
"Oh... Well, I must be going, I think they have my order ready now. It was nice seeing you, Elizabeth." She walked away, seeming to be offended somehow by what Elizabeth said.
Alright, now. Where to start?
Elizabeth wrote for hours, taking a break now and then to either relieve herself, or get a drink refill. The words flowed effortlessly, as they normally do, as she drew closer and closer to her goal for the day. She seemed to have written a little slower than usual, though, because by the time she reached, and actually passed her goal, it was nearly closing time.
When she finally looked away from the computer screen, and out the window, she saw Trey, without Wyatt, standing on the other side of the street. She wouldn't have noticed her, if he hadn't been waving at her. He dressed as if he was trying to blend into this town, wearing a black button down shirt, and well fitting pants, with converse, a typical ensemble you might see a young man wearing in that area.
She packed up her thing, left a tip of eight dollars, and said goodbye to the young barista who served her before leaving the café. Elizabeth quickly crossed the street and walked up to Trey. "Thanks for the flower, it's beautiful" She referred to the calla lily she found in her bag that morning.
"You're welcome. I just thought it'd be a nice little thank you for letting us stay." He smiled, and walked away. "Did you sleep well? You looked rather peaceful when I left this morning."
As she walked up beside him, he took her hand. Blushing, she nearly stumbled, not only over her words, but her feet, as well. "Y-yeah. I definitely had a better sleep than yesterday. Thanks for not disturbing me, I think I really needed the rest."
Turning his head slightly, he grinned, and kept walking along side her, not saying a word.
It was a beautiful evening, all things considered. Despite the cloud-cover, it was warmer than usual, but also humid. But, Elizabeth didn't mind. The street lights were about to come on at that point. Then she remembered the curfew within city limits. Everyone had to be inside by eight-thirty, no excuses. The council, and the guard took this one law very seriously. "We have to get back to my place, right now. And you have to hide when we get there." Elizabeth whispered.
Trey looked down at her with a puzzled expression. "Why?"
"Curfew. At 8:45, the guard will be at my door doing a routine nightly check." She pulled down her shirt, uncovering her chest enough to show a tattoo of a twelve digit number. "I had to get this the day I turned 18. It's how they keep track of us... to make sure we're all alright. You, I'm assuming, don't have one."
They began walking faster, toward her apartment, as he spoke. "No, we don't have that sort of thing in The City. Where will I hide?"
"I know a place."
When they got back to Elizabeth's apartment, she immediately locked the door and went straight to the linen closet. She took out all of the baskets of bedding, and pulled out all of the shelves. Reaching into the corner of the molding inside the closet, she touched a hidden lever which opened a small door. "Alright, get inside, quick, it's 8:30 already." Trey grinned like a Cheshire cat before he stepped into the hidden room.
Just as she put away the last basket, and the calla lily placed behind it, and closed the door, Two members of the Guard were at her door, knocking in a rhythmic pattern. She breathed deeply as she walked to the door, unlocking it and opening it to the two men. "Hello," She greeted them in her usual cheerful manner. "Nice night, isn't it?"
"Yes, beautiful." the taller, younger guard said, winking at her.
The older, more plump man elbowed him in the rib, when he noticed the other wink. "Yes, all fine and dandy... I trust you're here by yourself, Elizabeth?"
"Yes sir!" She smiled.
"Alright, lets see your number, Beth." The younger guard said, as she pulled down her top, just a little too far. Doing so distracted both of the men as the older man opened the linen closet door. Elizabeth bit her lip lightly, and smiled at them both as the younger of the two used his scanner on her tattoo to let the system know she was accounted for.
Both men checked over the apartment and then left. But Elizabeth waited until she knew the other 5 apartments in her building were checked, to let Trey out of the cubby hole.
"Damn, what took so long, Beth." He teased.
"I just had to wait until they left the building. There are five other tenants. And, don't call me Beth." She crossed her arms, walking over to the kitchen.
"Alright, Liz, I was joking." He stuck his tongue out at her and laughed, as he followed behind her.
"You hungry?" She asked, looking into the freezer. She ignored his attempt to tease her again.
"Yeah, but you sit down, I will cook for you tonight." He winked, gently pushing her back away. He reached in, pulling out precooked homemade meatballs that she made two weeks earlier. He then grabbed pasta, and sauce from the pantry. As the water raised to a boil, he poured the sauce into a pan, tasted it, and went to the fridge, pulling out spinach, left over from two days before, and to the pantry to get an assortment of spices. And with that, he went to work.
"You.. cook." Surprised from the sight, her eyebrows raised. He actually knows what he'd doing.
Why, yes. I do cook, Liz. Do you like your pasta al dente or cooked to a mush?" He laughed as she rolled her eyes.
"Al dente, please."
After dinner, they brought her blankets and some pillows out to the living room and laid them out. She refused to let him sleep in her bed again, but she wasn’t going to let him sleep out here alone. That would be rude. Plus, he was warm.
They sat up most of the night, laughing and talking— talking and laughing. It was the most fun she's had being around someone in a very long time. After he passed out, she pondered this for a while longer, and soon became afraid that she was getting too close to this man, far too soon. Despite her fears, she laid down beside him and fell asleep.