Chapter Three

Pal watched me for a while longer then he said "come in" I watched him with absolute disbelief as he ushered Rose in. He collected her bag and guided her in.

   "Ladies and gentleman, help me welcome Rose_no one" Pal said while he looked pointedly at me and he emphasized the "no one".

  "I didn't see anyone, I swear" I said. I didn't know why I was laughing, maybe I found the whole situation ridiculously funny.

  "These isn't something to laugh about Bella, where you going to pretend you didn't see her?" Anna said as she pushed off her sit. If the situation had appeared funny it wasn't funny anymore. Here are my friends tagging me a lier, because of the little stunt the witch had pulled. I looked across at Rose for help, but she said nothing. She settled herself into Pal's sit looking very innocent. I was going to let the whole stuff pass as a bit of mis understanding, maybe I wouldn't have bother much, but the shock was injected into my system when the very black cat I had seen in my little blank out vision walked into the house. I watched it with my head turning automatically to follow it's movement, it gradually progressed in a slow well aimed pace and settle at Rose's feet. I looked across at Anna then Steve expecting them to say something. I didn't bother to acknowledge Pal, because I knew he wouldn't have seen anything wrong even if Rose was to change to a ghost, right here in this room. I believe Steve and Anna should see a black cat with red eyes as a red flag, but instead Steve stood and scratched the cat's back and Anna said "Cute cat you've got thier Rose, what's it's name?" 

   "Alisha," Rose replied

   "Are you freaking kidding me?" I said and I stormed upstairs. I wasn't going to witness the whole stupid episode with the witch. I ran upstairs, but not fast enough to not hear Rose ask "What's wrong?" 

    "What isn't wrong?"I thought to myself.

Upstairs in room, I ripped the first thing my hand grabbed. Five minutes later, my room was a complete mess and I was sitting right at the midst of it on my bed. My hair was pulled roughly over my face. Why do I have to have the dumbest friends and sister on earth? Didn't the idea of a black cat ring a bell to them? A black cat with red eyes as a matter of fact. No matter what Rose think she is, no matter what she thinks she is capable of. I won't let her hurt my friends. I will protect them with my life. Maybe I should just send her out of my house. Atleast I own the place for now, but the problems is that Steve and Pal will probably go with her even if Anna will stay here. Who knows what she's going to do to them if they go with her? All I have to do is to tolerate her till after Christmas and a day after Christmas if she's not out of here, I'm kicking her out. I'm just going to pretend to be friendly with her. I eased out of bed, I breathed in deep on attempt to lower my pulse rate. My door creaked open, I didn't need to look to know that it's Anna. Her tap, tap footstep is all too familiar. 

   "What's going on?" She asked

   "I'm just a little scared of cats, I'm sorry" I replied, I turn to face the wall. I didn't want her to see my face. She grabbed my shoulder tenderly and gently turn me around to face her. The look on her face was enough to melt stone.

   "Tell me what is going on Bella" she pressed gently. I didn't call for the tears that filled my eyes. I didn't even know why I was crying. Maybe because someone has finally understand the whole point of my drama. She casually ran her thumb over my face to wipe the tears off. She drew me in for a hug and I forgot that I was the big sister, I sobbed into her shoulder. I didn't know how long we stood like that, but when she finally pulled me to face her, I was ready to tell her everything that has been happening from my first impression of seeing her picture, to the vision when I spoke to her on phone and the experience of me not seeing her at door.

   "You are probably just stressed and needs some rest. I'm sure by the time you wake up you would have gotten everything in control" She said. She didn't sound like she believed me. She must have thought I was hallucinating, but I nodded anyway. I let her tuck me into the messed up bed and I let myself sleep for a while, because I would be needing that sleep a lot. I'm sure any evil that Rose planned would not be perpetrated immediately.

    When I woke up again, it was already evening. Everything in my room had been replaced, except for my bed. The blur in my head has cleared slightly. It's funny how I had used most of the day to sleep. I shrugged the cover Anna had used to wrap me off. I clumsily put on my slippers and made my way downstairs. I stood at the top where no one will discover me and waited a while to gauge the situation downstairs. Steve was sitting at the head of the table, he seem to be telling them a very fascinating story, judging by the way Anna eyes where round and Pal's intense concentration. Rose didn't leave the position I left her and her cat was still at her feet, though it seem to be sniffing the air, it must have smelled me from the stair top. I was going to turn back for my room, but I'm no coward, if Rose is a piece of shit, I'm a piece of something shitier.

    "Welcome back Bella" Steve bellowed as I reached the middle of the stairs. I didn't say anything in reply, I needed to know what impression they have of me. I sat at the only empty sit in the room which happened to be just beside Rose. The minute I sat, goosebumps picked up on my arms. I didn't know if it was her aura, or I'm just imagining stuff. Whatever it is I didn't let it show on my face that I'm uncomfortable.

     "Fancy how a kitten could put you to sleep" Pal said from across the table. He winked when I frowned.

     "Have you proposed or your tail is still between your legs where it belongs" I countered. Anna covered her face and Steve laughed so hard that the table vibrated.

     "Common Bella, you need not lay it thick like that. He was just planning on asking her out" Anna defended him. I turn back to the red faced Pal.

     "Really?" I asked with faked surprise, he didn't say anything. I turn to Rose, her expression didn't seem to change since I came into the room.

    "And why is she keeping so mute?" I asked waving my hand generally to show the question is for everyone to answer and not her.

    "You murdered her good spirit by making jest of her crush" Steve said, and even this didn't spike a reaction in Rose. We made random joke for the rest of the evening, but Rose might as well not be there. The only contribution she made is the additional carbon dioxide in the air. Maybe I would have forgotten all the vision and door drama if she had acted like a human during our conversation, but keeping mute is a very bloody red flag. Anna made dinner and we popped the voulka in the fridge, which was a no go area if my parents had been around. None of us where up to eighteen. Anna, who was the youngest was just sixteen. We didn't see anything wrong in a few sips, infact it was Steve idea, he thought it was going to lift Rose spirit a little. But then, lifting the spirit of a spirit isn't a very practical act. Though I'm the only person in the house who sees her as what she is, but I hope as time passes the others would get to know too. I only hope it's not going to be in a hard way. 

    Going to bed after sleeping a lot in the day is suppose to be difficult, but I was asleep as soon as I hit the bed. I didn't even join the others while they clear the guest room for Rose and her cat. Nobody presented the idea of her sharing a room with Pal. I watched Pal mouthing stuffs to Steve during dinner, probably telling him to ask on his behalf, the most idiotic coward I've seen in my life. 

Sometime during the night, my eyes suddenly flew opened. I was up and at alert as if I hadn't been asleep. I was off the bed in one quick motion everywhere was calm and quiet just as it should be. I checked the time and it was 1:15am, and nothing seem out of place, but I knew something was definitely wrong somewhere."Rose" her name came to my mind like the beginning of springs. I needed to check on her. I put on my slippers and made a rush for the guest room, I found the door ajar, something was definitely wrong. I thought of calling the others, but I didn't want to draw them into whatever danger Rose was developing. I rushed downstairs and upon hitting the last step, I heard whisper coming from the direction of the kitchen. I tiptoed, as I got  closer the whisper became more pronounced, enough for me to understand that it was a spell. It's a different feeling when your guts tells you something is wrong and it's also an entire different feeling when you confirmed that what your guts is telling you is right. How happy I was to have caught her that early "Rose you are going to be kicked out" I thought to myself. I charged her from behind and made a death grip of her blond hair, I pushed her face into whatever she has been boiling with spell. She clenched her teeth to keep from screaming. The liquid she has been boiling wasn't just liquid it contains herbs and roots. I took a closer look, but it wasn't herbs and root, it was actually just herb. I looked on the sink and I saw salt and all other categories of seasonings. With a shake of my head, I realised that what she's cooking was suppose to be our breakfast. I slammed her head to the kitchen counter. She made a clumsy grip of my hand and twisted herself out of my grip of her hair. She threw two successive punch into my face, one hitting my lip and the other hitting squarely on my nose. I took a step back with the pain in my nose crushing the rest of my nerves. She took that as a cue to leave the kitchen. But she was going no where, once I'm determined, there is no stopping me. I dived for her legs and picked her clean off the floor. For someone who was suppose to be a witch, she was so light. I slammed her hard into the kitchen floor, she let out a little sob. I didn't let her recover I threw a solid punch to her face mostly targeting her eyes. I've been taught by my instructor to always go for the eyes in a fight. A blind enemy can do you nothing. I was only successful in dealing three punches when she grabbed my hands she turn me around, this time she was on top while I'm beneath. I guarded my face to protect my eyes and nose from her punches, but it seem she had other plans. She slammed my head into the floor so hard I thought my scoll was going to split and when she slammed it again, all I could here was a loud ring that went on continuously, then everything went dark, I tried hard to grab for consciousness, but couldn't however much I try. Is this how it feels to die?