Heather's story part 6

Heather’s story part 6
By Varian Milagro


Heather woke up feeling even worse than the day before. Although the nicotine withdrawals weren’t any worse than Tuesday morning, the events at the truck stop haunted her. What had she done to that man? What was she becoming? Was she becoming an agent of evil? Pastor William was quite clear that any supernatural power that wasn’t of God was automatically against God. She didn’t want to be an agent of evil.

Why did Pastor William suddenly leave on vacation? He’d taken vacations before, but they had all been planned weeks and sometimes months in advance. As far as she knew this was the first time he’d ever taken a week off on the spur of the moment. Was Bethany behind his sudden disappearance?

What was she going to do until he returned? Hide away in Abigail’s room during the day and spend her nights at truck stops, smoking and unleashing supernatural powers on random strangers?

What was she going to do about Jimmy and Donna? She had no idea how to protect them from their eldest sister. All she wanted to do was stay in bed and have an all day pity party, but Abigail would have none of it.

“Come on, it’s time to get up,” Abigail said as she tugged on one of Heather’s arms. “It’s almost ten for goodness sake. This isn’t like you.”

Heather threw the blanket over her head with her free arm. “Let me sleep.” She’d found that if she lay perfectly still, her headache was reduced by half. At the moment, Abigail was causing it to spike.

“Let’s go for a walk. It will get your mind off your problems and get your blood flowing.”

“I don’t want my blood flowing. All it does is make me feel worse.”

“You’ll feel better after this walk. We’re going to Hava Java.”

Heather poked her head out of her covers; Caffeine combined with lots of sugar sounded wonderful. “Fine.” Heather threw off the blanket. “I’ll go take a shower and then we can go.”

“We should go now. My mom is at her women’s group meeting at the church and I still need to clean the living room before she gets back.”

Once Heather was dressed they headed outside. Before they’d left the cul de sac Heather was thankful that Abigail had loaned her a scarf and gloves. Although it was a cloudless April morning, the temperature was in the low 40s. After walking through several residential neighborhoods, each subsequently less affluent, Abigail turned onto a dirt path that led across a wide field.

“Where are you going?” Heather pointed down the street. “Hava Java is this way.”

“This is a shortcut.”

After a few hundred yards the path gradually faded away until the girls were forced to make their way through thick prairie grass over uneven ground. They were soon panting, their hot breath visible in the cool air. Trees in the distance let them know that they were getting close to Laramie river.

Normally Heather loved taking walks during the day. Being outside in nature; the smell of wild flowers, sounds of birds in the air, even the snap of twigs beneath her feet, invigorated her. Today, though, her mind was too occupied to enjoy the scenery around her or her best friends’ company. The events of the night before played over and over in her mind, smoking a cigarette, unleashing strange powers on the trucker. Added to that was her worries about her siblings and the stress of keeping secrets from Abigail. The pressure in her body steadily grew. On the plus side, its warmth spread throughout her body and kept her warm on the cold spring morning.

“You sure are quiet,” Abigail said as they neared the river. It was still out of sight, but the sound of water rolling over rocks filtered through the trees. “Have another dream last night?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You have the same far off look you had yesterday when you wouldn’t tell me about your nightmare.”

“I don’t want to talk about it yet.” How could she tell Abigail about the latest dream? If she told her that she’d been a part of an occult ceremony, that she’d been imbued with powers and that she’d used them on a stranger last night, she’d be branded as a witch. She’d lose the one person that was keeping her sane at the moment. Abigail’s companionship was too important to risk with the truth.

“Fine.” Abigail turned abruptly and then hurried toward the line of trees.

Heather sighed and then ran after her friend before she disappeared amongst the trees. She caught up with Abigail just as the river came into view, with it came the scent of fresh cigarette smoke. It smelled as gross as always, but it also made her mouth water and her pulse quicken.

Twenty feet from the back of the river sat a small three sided shed. A couple of girls sat on a dilapidated couch, talking and smoking. High school kids, by the look of them.

“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Abigail said.

The girls looked up, startled. They grabbed their purses and then hurried out of the shed. One of the girls flipped them off as they disappeared into the trees, heading away from the direction Heather and Abigail had come.

Heather walked to the shed.

“Were you going?” Abigail said. It was her turn to hurry after her friend.

As Heather drew nearer she got a better look at the shed. In addition to the couch it held a couple of chairs and quite a lot of trash. Beer cans, cigarette butts, empty pizza boxes littered the floor. Lewd graffiti decorated the corrugated steel walls.

“I need to take a break.” Heather sat down on the couch and gazed at the river, trying to talk herself out of smoking. She knew that it was wrong and part of her sister’s plan, but once she’d smelled the cigarette smoke from those two girls her cravings had gone into overdrive and her anxiety had shot up along with it. With a heavy sigh she removed the pack of cigarettes from her purse.

“Jeeze, I never thought that I’d ever see you smoke,” Abigail said as she entered the shed.

“Neither did I.” She dug around in her purse for a lighter, pulling items out and setting on the couch to make the search easier.

“What’s this?” Abigail said as she picked up a photo off the couch.

Heather felt her cheeks flush as she realized what Abigail was holding; it was the photo that Starshine had given to Bethany at Newgrounds on Sunday. “It’s a photo that Bethany gave me.”

“Do you know who she is?” Abigail said as she gazed at the Goth woman in the photo. “She’s beautiful. A freak, but beautiful.”

Heather looked at the photo. The woman was beautiful despite the tattoos, piercings and purple hair. That was true. In her dream Starshine had said that she’d start to look like Constance. Would she become beautiful, too. People had told her that she was pretty before, but no one said she was beautiful, other than her parents. She wondered what it would be like to be beautiful.

“Her name is Constance Morningstar.” Heather pulled one of her purple lighters out of her purse. She started getting excited; her cravings would be going away in a second.

“Why’d your sister give you a photo of her?”

“I don’t know.” Heather took the photo from Abigail and stuffed it in her purse. She hated lying to her best friend, but the truth was too scary to share.

She removed a cigarette from the pack and raised it to her mouth, pausing when it was a half inch from her lips. Was she really going to do this? The idea of smoking in front of her best friend made her anxious. She looked at Abigail. Her eyes were glued on the cigarette in Heather’s hands.

“The suspense is killing me.” Abigail said after a few seconds.

“Don’t rush me.”

“Remember, I need to get the living room cleaned before my mom gets home or she’ll freak.”

“We could have driven to get coffee. You’re the one that wanted to go on the nature walk.”

Abigail frowned at the pack of cigarettes sitting on the couch. “I was hoping to get some fresh air.” She walked out of the shed.

“Where are you going?” Panic seized Heather for a moment.

“When I said that I didn’t care if you smoked or not, I meant it; this changes nothing between us. But smoking is still gross and I don’t want to smell it.” She stood a few feet in front of the sheds large opening.

Heather put the cigarette in her mouth and lit it. She pulled the smoke into her lungs and felt herself relax a little. She tilted her head back and blew the smoke straight up, hoping that it wouldn’t go into Abigail’s face. A breeze caught the smoke and sent it straight toward Abigail.

“Great.” Abigail waved at the smoke and then moved a little further away from the shed.

“Sorry,” Heather said. As she took her second drag she realized that she didn’t feel the need to cough. The realization relieved and horrified her simultaneously. Smoking was getting easier; in time she might even start to like it.

A weird smile spread across Abigail’s face. “It is so freaky seeing you smoke. I always thought that if anyone in our church group would ever start smoking it would be Nora. Even when you told me you smoked last night I still couldn’t quite believe it.”

“Seeing is believing.” Heather took another drag. The cold air made her exhales almost as thick as her sister’s. She knew that she was still taking tiny drags compared to a real smoker and that suited her just fine. She looked over at Abigail and saw her purse her lips and breathe out. “What are you doing?”

“Who, me?” Abigail had her index and middle finger held together like she was holding a cigarette. She brought her fingers to her mouth and pretended to take a drag. She blew out again, her frosted breath looking like smoke. “I’m just trying to blend in.” She took another fake drag. “This is fun. I see why you like it.”

“I don’t like it,” Heather snapped. “I’m doing this because my sister cursed me.”

Abigail’s shoulders slumped. “Sorry, I was just trying to lighten things up.”

Heather sighed. “I’m the one who should be sorry. You’ve been wonderful. I’m being too sensitive. You can fake smoke if you want.”

“Good, because I was just starting to enjoy fake smoking,” Abigail said as she took a pretend drag.

Heather took a puff on her cigarette and felt a relaxing wave sweep through her body as her cravings and withdrawals symptoms continued to diminish. When she took her next drag she held the smoke in her lungs even longer, her body relaxing that much further.

“I was thinking about Jimmy and Donna,” Abigail said. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea for Jimmy to drive across the country by himself, but I know how you can get them some money. They can use the money my grandma left me.”

“You don’t need to spend your own money.”

“I don’t want Bethany corrupting Donna or Jimmy anymore than you do. They’re like the little brother and sister that I never had.”

“You’re so awesome.”

“I’ll need to get it from my mom; it’s in her bank account. I can ask her when she gets home. Speaking of which, we should get going soon.”

“I’m ready to go.” Heather took a final drag and then dropped the cigarette on the ground and crushed it with her shoe.

The trail to Hava Java ran alongside the river for a few hundred yards and then led to a small foot bridge. Once on the other side of the river it was a few more blocks to the store. As they walked Heather found that her anxiety had diminished significantly. Abigail’s promise to help Jimmy and Donna and the relaxing effects of the cigarette had done wonders to ease her worry. The force in her body was still there, biding its time, eager to be free, but more manageable than before.

Once they’d purchased a pair of salted caramel mochas the girls started the two mile walk back to the house, this time along the road.

“We should go to bible study tonight,” Abigail said after they’d been walking for a few minutes. “We can get everyone to pray for Jimmy and Donna. Plus Janet will be there. She can get us in contact with Pastor William.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Heather said automatically, despite hating Abigail’s suggestion immediately.

She’d abandoned the young adult bible study a couple of years ago, preferring the regular adult bible study where they spent more time reading the bible than gossiping about their friends. Plus, she’d made a few enemies--or frenemies as Abigail liked to call them--with several of the girls that attended her former bible study. She’d been very vocal when it came to the other girls wearing makeup and tight, revealing clothing. She’d used words like sinner, backslider, harlot & whore to describe them. Even more than that, the mere thought of going into the church sent shivers down her spine. Still, it was the right thing to do.

Her worried thoughts were sent in a new direction a minute later when Kathleen drove by and waved at them. If Kathleen got to the house before she had a chance to wash up, she’d smell the cigarette smoke on her and know that she’d been smoking. The fear turned to terror when Kathleen pulled over to the side of the road. Both girls froze as Kathleen parked the car twenty feet in front of them. When Kathleen rolled down the driver side window the girls stayed where they were.

Kathleen stuck her head out the window. “Do you need a ride? I’m on my way to lunch with Linda Everson, but I can drop you off somewhere.”

“No thanks,” Abigail said just as a truck drove by.

“What?” Kathleen yelled.

Abigail cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “No thanks!”

“Okay, did you clean the living room like I asked?” Kathleen scowled when her daughter didn’t reply right away. “Come here and talk to me so I don’t have to shout.”

Abigail flashed an “oh shit” look to Heather and walked to her mom. Heather stayed back, knowing that her clothes stunk of cigarette smoke. While she couldn’t hear their conversation she did see Mrs. Smith make a show of sniffing the air and then make a “foul smell” face. She glared back at Heather for a moment before rolling up her window and driving off.

“Is everything okay?” Heather asked when she joined Abigail.

“No!” Abigail narrowed her eyes at Heather. “She smelt your smoke on me. I told her that we sat outside at Hava Java and someone was smoking, not that she believed me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s all I need is my mom to think I smoke. She already thinks I’m lazy and have no ambition. Crap!”

The girls walked the rest of the way home in silence.

When they arrived at Abigail’s they both took showers, washed their clothes and got busy on Abigail’s chores. By the time Kathleen returned from lunch, they’d finished cleaning the entire living room including washing its floor to ceiling windows. Once their clothes finished drying they got dressed, hoping that if Kathleen saw them in the same clothes as earlier in the day, but without the cigarette smell, she’d forget about smelling smoke on Abigail. It was a slim chance, but they were desperate.

When Kathleen entered the house she hung up her coat and then inspected the living room and windows. When her mother didn’t say anything negative about her chores Abigail took it as a positive sign and decided to broach the subject of money.

“Mom, I want to take out the money that Grandma gave me. Can you write me a check that I can take to the bank?”

Kathleen scowled at Abigail and then at Heather. Looking back at her daughter she said, “Why do you want the money?”

“It’s a surprise. Grandma said I could use the money for anything I want.” When her mother didn’t reply she continued, “I did all of my chores for the day.”

Kathleen scoffed. “The credenza is still covered in dust and there are streaks on the center window.”

“I’ll fix that. Then can I have my money?”

“I don’t think so. You lied to me earlier. Not only that, but strange things have been going on ever since Heather arrived. Now you suddenly want to remove thousands of dollars from the bank. I don’t like it.”

“But it’s my money,” Abigail whined.

Kathleen crossed her arms. “When did you start smoking?”

Despite the urge to turn and flee Heather reached in her purse, pulled out her cigarettes and set them on the dining room table. “Abigail doesn’t smoke, Mrs. Smith. I do.”

“I appreciate your honesty, Heather,” Kathleen said as she stared at the cigarettes like they were toxic waste. “But I think it would be better if you found someplace else to stay.”

“Oh my god, you’re such a bitch!” Abigail screamed.

Kathleen slapped her daughter across the face. It wasn’t a hard slap, but it started all of them. “Don’t ever speak to me that way again.”

Abigail held a hand against her cheek as tears filled her eyes. She turned and ran out of the room.

Kathleen turned on Heather. Her eyes brimming with tears. “I’m going to call your mother and have her pick you up..”

Heather barely registered Kathleen’s words. The power boiled within her. It had been intensifying ever since Kathleen had spotted them on the road, growing significantly when Kathleen had denied Abigail the money and then exploding with the slap. It wanted out and there was no denying it. Overwhelmed by its influence Heather walked over to Kathleen and then placed a hand on her cheek.

Images sprang in Heather’s mind as the power flowed up her torso and down her arm, coming and going too quickly to focus on any one image. Words came too and Heather said them rotely, feeling like a passenger in her body. “You’re too strict. You need to be more accommodating.” As Heather spoke the power worked it way into its latest victim, making her hand throb. “Let Abigail get her own money and lay off with all the chores. Make your husband happy and give him his maid.” Various images of women in maid uniforms flashed before her eyes, from plain gray cotton to frilly black latex. “You don’t care that I smoke. You don’t care who smokes.” The maids flashing through her mind were replaced with women smoking seductively. “You like smoking.” Like the night before, Heather found the sensation of the power flowing from her body quite enjoyable. As she finished speaking she felt a slight pinch in both ears.

“Okay,” Kathleen said in a small voice.

Heather stepped back, her body pulsing with power, her mind spinning. Her nipples poked through her dress and a shameful warmth filled her sex. The throbbing faded from her hand just as Abigail stormed back into the room.

“Mom, you had no right to hit me,” Abigail shouted. “I should be able to get my own money without being slapped.”

“You’re right dear. I’m sorry. I’ll write a check for you.” Kathleen set her purse on the table and reached inside it.

“Really?” Abigail squealed. She flung her arms around her mom and then hugged Heather.

As Heather wrapped her arms around her friend the electric feeling in her nipples and the pulsing between her legs intensified. She ran her hands over Abigail’s back and let out a moan. The power was still at the surface and it quickly enveloped the both of them. Pulling back slightly they looked into each other’s eyes and then kissed. Abigail buried her fingers in Heather’s hair, pulling her into a deeper kiss. A wonderful tingly feeling worked its way from Heather’s lips down to her damp sex.

The sound of a lighter clicking followed by the smell of cigarette smoke brought Heather back to her senses. She pulled away from Abigail and gaped at Kathleen.

“Don’t mind me.” Kathleen exhaled a thick cloud of smoke across the room. Her voice was deeper and had a slight raspy quality to it. “I’m open minded to all life styles.” She hollowed her cheeks as she took another drag.

“It was just a kiss, Mom. Don’t make a big deal about it.”

“Well, if it ever turns into anything more, know that I will be fully supportive.” Smoke bursting from Kathleen’s mouth as she spoke. “I hope that you don’t mind me bumming one of your cigarettes, Heather. I’m not sure where mine are.”

“No problem, Mrs. Smith. You can have all of those.”

Heather stared at Abigail’s mom as she wrote out a check. She held her cigarette with a comfortable femininity. Her drags were deep, lasting several seconds and her exhales thick and opaque. She looked like a lifelong smoker.

Kathleen handed Abigail the check and then held out a couple twenties to Heather. “Be a dear and buy us both a couple of packs of Benson & Hedges while you’re out.”

Heather stared at the money in Kathleen’s hand, dumbly.

Abigail took the cash from her mom and then put it and the check into her purse. She grabbed Heather’s hand and then said, “Come on, Heather. We need to go now if we’re going to get to the high school before your brother and sister get on the bus.”

“Did you notice anything weird about your mom smoking?” Heather asked as they walked to the car, still holding hands.

“Not really.”

“You didn’t think it was weird when she lit up a cigarette in the house?”

“No.” Abigail opened the driver’s door. “She smokes all the time. You know that.”

Heather struggled to keep it together on the ride to the high school. She’d used magic. There was no doubt this time. She’d somehow turned Kathleen into a smoker in the process. This was the second time that she’d lost control and changed someone. She wasn’t really sure what she’d done to Vince, but by the way he’d grabbed his crotch she had a bad feeling that she’d done something to his manhood. He’d tried to force himself on her, so she didn’t feel as guilty about him as she did about Kathleen. She was a good person and didn’t deserve being changed into a smoker.

Heather wondered why neither Kathleen or Heather seemed to notice the change, whereas Vince had definitely noticed. She was happy that they hadn’t noticed. She could only imagine what Abigail would think of her if she knew the truth; the thought of losing Abigail’s friendship horrified her. Despite that, she yearned to confide in Abigail and tell her the truth. It pained her to keep secrets from her best friend.

And what about the kiss? Why had she kissed Abigail? She’d felt so energized after releasing the magic, her body had felt so amazing and then Abigail hugged her. Before she knew what was happening, they were kissing. She’d gotten lost in that kiss. They’d probably still be kissing had they been alone. Not only was she becoming a witch, she going gay for her best friend, too.

At least the magic’s powerful presence in her abdomen had diminished--as it had after using it on Vince--making her feel like she’d be able to keep it at bay for the time being. How long would it be before it grew in strength again? How long would it be before she inadvertently transformed another innocent person?

They made it to the high school just as the bell rang and kids started pouring out. When Donna saw her sister she broke into a run. She hugged Heather tightly. “I’ve missed you. Where have you been?”

“You missed my birthday,” Jimmy said.

“Sorry. A lot has been going on. Let’s get into the car. I need to talk to you two.”

“Shotgun,” Jimmy yelled.

Abigail got in the driver’s seat and Jimmy took the navigator position while Donna and Heather entered the back seat.

“When did you get your ears pierced?” Donna said as the car started moving. “And you’re wearing eyeliner. It looks nice.”

Heather lifted a hand to her ear and felt a small hole in the lobe.

“Yeah, when did you get your ears pierced, Heather?” Abigail frowned into the rearview mirror.

“It’s not important right now.” Heather also wondered when her ears had become pierced. She remembered feeling a pinching sensation on both ears while she’s used magic on Kathleen; did it happen then? Is that how she’d gotten the eyeliner? Had she used magic on someone before arriving at Abigail’s? “What is important is what’s happening with Mom. I’m sure that you’ve noticed some strange things going on with her.”

“Don’t get me started,” Jimmy said. “She smokes now and in the house. It’s really gross. She also swears and you should see how she dresses.”

“She made me wear this skirt.” Donna tugged at the hem of her skirt, trying to get it to cover her knees. “She said that I had nice legs and I should show them off to all the high school boys.”

Heather made no comment about the pink lip gloss that Donna wore; it was the first time she’d seen her younger sister wear any makeup at all. “Well, Bethany is even worse and she can make people do things against their will.”

“She’s coming over for dinner on Friday night,” Donna said. “Mom said that I’d be more comfortable wearing nice clothes once I talked to Bethany.”

“You can’t let her talk to you or she’ll make you act just like Mom,” Heather said. “You need to leave town before Friday night.”

“We can’t leave town,” Jimmy said. “We both have school and I just made the varsity baseball team.”

“We’d flunk out of school if we leave,” Donna said. “I could probably stay at Leah’s house for awhile.”

“You can’t stay at your friend’s house. She’ll find you and corrupt you. I’ll figure something out, but you need to be prepared to leave Friday morning. Tell Mom that you’re going to spend time at a friend’s house for a couple days. That will give you a nice head start before they realize that you’re gone. We’ll meet you at Frontier Park at seven in the morning on Friday.”

The dropped Jimmy and Donna two blocks away from their house.

Heather was lost in thought as Abigail drove to the bank to cash Kathleen’s check. Her siblings were correct, they were too young to just cut and run. Besides still being in school, Jimmy was inexperienced at driving, Donna didn’t drive and neither was old enough to book a motel room.

After stopping at a convenience store for Kathleen’s cigarettes, they stopped off at Best Buy to purchase a couple prepaid cell phones. Abigail came up with the idea as way to keep in contact with Jimmy and Donna once they hit the road. Heather still worried about the feasibility of two minors travelling across the country on their own, but she didn’t have any better ideas.

As they looked at the various phone models Heather was struck with the feeling like she was forgetting something. It had to do with a phone and the Newgrounds’ strip club. And a voice: Starshine’s voice. The harder Heather tried to figure out what she was forgetting the fainter the feeling became. By the time they paid for the phones she’d lost the feeling entirely.

When they returned to Abigail’s house and she smelled fresh cigarette smoke Heather’s guilt spiked. Kathleen was in the living room with six others, a man who looked old enough to be retired and five women of varying ages. Kathleen was smoking as was a blonde woman, who looked to be in her twenties. As she watched the two women smoke she felt the urge to join them. She wasn’t craving a cigarette, but watching them smoke together made her feel jealous in a strange way.

“Abigail, be a dear and grab the coffee pot,” Kathleen said as she accepted the cigarette packs from her daughter. “It should be done brewing by now.”

Abigail turned and headed to the kitchen while Heather stood in the doorway, gaping at her handy work.

“I’ll start putting up signs first thing Saturday morning,” the man said.

“The ad for the yard sale will run in both Friday’s and Saturday’s papers,” said a middle aged woman as she waved her hand at the smoke billowing off Kathleen’s cigarette. “I paid a premium to have it at the top of the classifieds page and outlined in bold.”

“That’s great, Barbara,” Kathleen said. “I propose we have two people work the yard sale at all times. It will be safer and we should have enough for people that we can run two hour shifts.”

“Kathleen, would you mind moving your cigarette or putting it out?” Barbara said. “It’s flowing right in my face.”

Kathleen removed her cigarette from the ashtray and held it up by her face. “I’m sorry if my smoking in my own home bothers you, dear.” She stared at Barbara as she took a deep drag.

Abigail entered the room with a silver coffee carafe and porcelain milk pitcher. She handed the pitcher to Heather and then the girls filled the guest’s coffee cups.

“Honestly, I’m always surprised to see someone smoking around their children in this day and age,” Barbara said, smugly.

“And why is that? Please tell me you don’t believe all the second hand smoke propaganda put out by the anti-smoking groups.” She took a sip of coffee and then continued, “If my smoking bothered you that much you could have hosted this meeting, but that would mean cleaning your house first.”

Abigail set the coffee carafe on the table and then grabbed Heather’s arm and pulled her to the stairs.

“You know, it’s weird, but just now when I saw my Mom smoke it seemed off somehow.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I got this image of my mom being an ardent non-smoker. It almost feels like she started smoking today, but she’s been smoking all my life.” Abigail’s face contorted. “Hasn’t she?”

Heather’s face grew warm. Looking at the ground she said, “You’d know more about your mom’s smoking than I would.”

When Abigail’s dad got home that night he didn’t seem to notice anything strange about his wife being a pack a day smoker. She was smoking a cigarette when he walked in the door. He walked up to her and gave her a kiss. The only thing he said was “When do we eat?”

After dinner, as the girls headed to Abigail’s room to ready for church, Heather’s thoughts once again turned to smoking. The magic’s pressure had begun building again. Part of it was due to the smell of Kathleen’s secondhand smoke throughout the house and its constant reminder of her failure earlier in the day. Mixed in were her fears of stepping onto the church grounds. What had once been a place a refuge and solace was now a place of anxiety. She feared having to eventually face Pastor William and the church elders, men she’d always revered. Once they found out that she was possessed with magic they’d surely banish her from their presence.

“What do you want to listen to?” Abigail asked as she brushed her hair.

“I don’t care.” Heather dug through her suitcase for something to wear to the young adult bible study.

“Do you mind if we listen to Casting Crowns? Contemporary Christian music is kind of secular, but I feel like listening to something a little edgier right now.”

“I don’t mind.” Heather wondered if she should have a cigarette before the study group. It had eased the magic’s pressure when she’d smoked in the shed. She really didn’t want to accidently transform someone at church. Smoking was gross, but a much better alternative than changing a person against their will.

Heather changed into a loose, grey skirt that hung to her ankles and a long sleeve blouse. Abigail wore a pair of skinny jeans and an angora sweater.

“You should wear earrings.” Abigail held out a small pair of earrings in the shape of the cross. “You don’t want your holes to close up.”

Heather took a step back, the sight of the tiny crosses causing her to shiver. She felt her neck. The cross that she normally wore around her neck was missing. Why hadn’t she noticed before? She’d worn that cross around her neck every day since her parents had given it to her as a middle school graduation present.

“Do you have anything besides crosses?”

“Are you kidding me?” Abigail grabbed a five-drawer jewelry box off her vanity and then sat next to Heather. She opened the top drawer to reveal a vast array of earrings. “You should probably wear studs for the first month. Would you like gold or silver?”

Heather’s gaze was drawn to a pair of earrings with amber stones the size of a marble. They were the same color as the stone that Starshine had shown Bethany in her latest dream. A chill shot down her spine and into that place where the magic lived. “I don’t want to wear earrings right now.”

Abigail looked disappointed. “Okay, but if you change your mind, feel free to help yourself.” She closed the jewelry box and replaced it on her vanity “When did you get them pierced? They weren’t pierced yesterday. Did you get them done when you snuck out to smoke on Tuesday night?”

Heather wanted to hide. “I don’t want to talk about it right now, okay?”

“Fine,” Abigail said tersely.

When they arrived at the church and Abigail drove past the main sanctuary Heather felt a shiver pass through her spine. It faded as they drove to the back of the parking lot where the portable buildings stood. There were two of them and they were used to hold meetings after hours when the main church building was locked up.

A small woman trudged toward the portables, carrying a space heater that was at least half as big as she was. It was Janet Henning, Pastor William's wife. She held the heater with both hands, walking awkwardly, her breathing labored.

Heather and Abigail hurried over toward Janet. “Hello, Mrs. Henning.”

Janet set the heater on the ground and then turned toward them. “Well, hello Heather. I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” She turned her smile to Abigail. “Finally able to talk her into coming? Good for you, Abigail.”

“I’ve missed fellowshipping with your bible study group.” Heather picked up the heater, hoping that a good deed would make up for the lie she’d just told. The heater was heavy, but manageable.

“Be careful, that thing’s heavier than it looks,” Janet said.

“I will.” After a couple of steps Heather grabbed the heater with her other hand, her right arm already starting to tire. “Have you heard from Pastor William? Is he enjoying his vacation?”

“I won’t hear a thing from him until his return late Saturday night. He’s off fishing with his dad and brother far from any cell coverage. If I could reach him by phone, I’d be giving him an earful about the heat in these portables. It was supposed to be fixed last week.”

Heather felt a weight lift from her shoulders. While she wanted Pastor William to help her, to take the magic from her and help save her family, she also feared the inevitable confrontation, that moment when she had to admit that she’d been tested and had failed. She hadn’t been strong enough to resist sin and as a result at least one innocent person had been corrupted.

Abigail ran ahead and opened the door for Heather. The smell of coffee filled the room along with the muddled voices of several teens talking at the same time, most of them female. Gray folding chairs formed a circle in the middle of the room. A long table was setup along one of the walls, holding a large coffee urn and a platter of cookies.

There were a dozen people in the room, all of them in their late teens, a mix of men and women. A few people stood at the snack table, talking. A few others sat in the chairs, playing with their phones. Heather recognized them all, having been a member of the church for as long as she could remember. She’d attended various church groups with them over the years: Sunday school, church camp and various youth groups.

“I missed you at church on Sunday,” Lauren said when Heather and Abigail took a seat. “That has to be the first Sunday service that you’ve ever missed.”

“Yeah, I was all tied up on Sunday.”

“Aren’t you the one who said that you’d never miss a Sunday service?” Lauren turned to Melanie, who sat on her other side. “Or was that a different Heather?”

“I think it was the same Heather that said makeup was for vain, weak-willed women,” Melanie said with a sneer.

Those two were the main reason why Heather hadn’t wanted to come to this bible study again. They were vain and self serving. They were also the two prettiest girls in the church. Their makeup and clothing were probably conservative by most people’s standards, but it was done to elicit male desire and that was a sin of temptation.

“Leave her alone,” Rita said. She was the tallest girl in the room and even taller than a few of the guys. She was quick witted and didn’t back down from anyone. Heather liked her for the most part, but she was known to occasionally swear.

“Are you forgetting how much crap she gave each of us for getting our ears pierced and wearing makeup?” Lauren said. “I’m not letting Miss Hypocrite off the hook that easily, not after all the grief she’s given me over the years.”

“People change, Lauren. And anyway I think her eyeliner looks nice,” Jennifer said as she sat between Heather and Lauren. Jennifer was short and had a cute, pudgy face. Her lank brown hair was tied into a ponytail. Addressing Heather she said, “I don’t know if Abigail told you, I’m going to sing a solo this weekend at both the Saturday and the Sunday services.”

“I wish I wasn’t going to miss your performance,” Rita said as she sat on the other side of Abigail.

“Other plans?” Heather asked as she tried to ignore the glares from Lauren and Melanie. They were whispering and giggling to each other while looking Heather’s way.

“I’m flying out east with my family on Saturday morning,” Rita said. “My dad got a job in Washington DC.”

“We’re having a goodbye dinner at the Dragon King on Friday night,” Nora said. She had short, dark blond hair. Even though she was the shortest of the group, she was also the heaviest. She also had the smallest bust. If she went without makeup, many people thought that she was a guy, even wearing a skirt. “You two should totally come. They’re having karaoke and Jennifer is going to sing.”

“I told you that I don’t do Karaoke,” Jennifer said. “Plus, I won’t have the band or the choir with me.”

It was then that Heather noticed that everyone else had a bible with them, even Abigail. She realized that she hadn’t seen hers since she’d arrived. Like the cross, she hadn’t even noticed it missing. She used to read her bible several times a day. Was there anything else that had changed about her that she hadn’t noticed?

Janet started the bible study with a prayer and Heather almost bolted from the room. Her skin crawled and her heart hammered in her chest. It eased up once the Janet said “Amen”, but she still felt a little light headed.

As soon as Janet finished the prayer she started reading a passage from the bible. Heather fought the urge to vomit. The nausea faded once Janet stopped reading directly from the bible and people started discussing that night’s passage. She wanted to scream. What had those freaks done to her? Was she going to get sick whenever she heard someone read the bible or prayed? What would happen if she prayed? She was too scared to try. She felt worse with every passing second. If it weren’t for Abigail’s presence she’d probably have left the building by that point.

The magic was building quickly, seeming to feed directly off her stress. Eventually it would break free again. What would happen if it escaped here? Would she turn everyone into smokers like she’d done to Kathleen? She looked over at Lauren and Melanie. If she used the magic on them, that would decrease the pressure within her. With but a touch of her hand she could put them in their place forever. The thought at how easy it would be to use the magic and how tempting it felt, scared her. Despite wanting to run from the building she stayed. Church had always been her solace. She wasn’t going to let Bethany take that from her. She’d find a way to make Grace church a place of comfort again.

After the final prayer Heather wanted to leave right away, before Lauren said something else annoying, causing Heather to snap and blast her with the full force of magic. First, unfortunately, there was cleanup. The chairs needed to be put away, the snacks wrapped up, and the coffee urn washed out. If wasn’t mandatory, no one had to stay and cleanup, but no one wanted to be a social pariah for the next month.

“Hi, Heather,” Kirk said as they stacked folding chairs. “You look nice today.”

“Thanks,” Heather said. She didn’t feel nice. She felt dirty. She felt like a vat of toxic waste.

“I was wondering if you’d like to go out sometime.”

“Um,” Heather began.

“She’s free tomorrow night,” Abigail said, seeming to appear out of nowhere.

“Great,” Kirk said, glancing at Abigail for a half second before turning his attention back to Heather. “Would you like to see the new Wizard of Oz movie?”

“Um.” She still got shivers whenever she thought about her experience at theater on Monday night.

“She’s seen that one,” Abigail said quickly. “You could take her to Wanda’s Tacos. It’s the new upscale taco place on 7th avenue. Food is amazing.”

“Will you excuse us for a moment, Kirk?” Heather grabbed Abigail’s arm, pulling her into the next room. Once the door was closed she said, “What do you think you’re doing? Like I don’t have enough to worry about right now?”

“Oh come on. You’ve had a crush on Kirk for ages. I wasn’t going to let you blow a date with him.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea, given what’s going on with my family.”

“It’s perfect. It will get your mind off your troubles. A night with a hot guy paying attention to you all evening will do you wonders.”

“I don’t want to go out alone with him. I don’t feel safe.” Heather trusted Kirk, but she didn’t trust herself, not after what she’d done to Abigail’s mom.

“Fine.” Abigail led Heather back into the room. She walked up to Todd, Kirk’s friend and housemate. “Todd, do you want to take me out tomorrow night?”

Todd’s face lit up. “Sure, that would be awesome.”

“Good. I want to have dinner at Wanda’s Tacos with Heather and Kirk. We’ll meet you guys there at seven,” Abigail said.

As they walked back to the car Heather struggled to control her magic. Between the creepy feelings during the bible study, her annoyance at Lauren and Melanie, and now her anxiety over a double date the magic roiled inside her. She felt that if she didn’t do something to ease the magic’s pressure she’d blow for sure.

“Can you drive to someplace where I can smoke?”

“I know the perfect place,” Abigail said.

As Abigail drove, Heather thought about a date with Kirk. She’d given up hope of him asking her out over a year ago. Perhaps Abigail was correct that an evening out with him would help her relax, which would be a good thing. At the moment thoughts of the date were having the opposite effect. Anger welled up in Heather when Abigail pulled up to her house five minutes later.

“I told you that I need to smoke,” Heather snapped.

Abigail smiled and said, “Trust me.”

Heather fumed as she followed her into the house and up to her room. Abigail closed her door and opened her bedroom window.

“You can smoke in here,” she said triumphantly.

“You want me to smoke in your room? What will your parents think?.”

“First, my parents won’t know because they’re asleep and even if they were awake they’d assume the smell was from my mom’s cigarettes.”

“But the smell. You hate the smell. It’ll get all over your things.”

“I’m so used to the smell of cigarettes. My mom smokes so much that I hardly even smell it anymore.”

Heather wanted to protest. She didn’t want to stink up her friend’s room or subject her to secondhand smoke, but if she waited a moment longer she might not be able to contain the magic.

Heather quickly lit a cigarette before her indecision drove her insane. She took her biggest drag to date and held the smoke in her lungs as waves of relaxation, peace and pleasure poured through her body. After several seconds she let the smoke out. She’d enjoyed that puff, a lot. Not just for the effects, but the taste as well. She pulled in another lungful and once again held it.

“You’re beginning to smoke like my mom,” Abigail said. “It looks like you enjoy it like her, too.”

“It has it good points.” Heather blew smoke out the window, the pressure in her belly easing. “What am I going to do about Jimmy and Donna?”

“It’s too bad they’re not older. If they were eighteen they could rent motel rooms on their own and they’d be out of high school. With my grandma’s money they’d be able to stay hidden long enough to make it to one of your relatives.”

As Heather smoked her cigarette she considered Abigail’s words. Being 18 would solve some of their problems. Heather could use her magic to age them, but she feared that she might lose control like she did with Kathleen. She didn’t want to turn either of them into smokers, or something even worse. Perhaps if she used her magic when she wasn’t emotional she’d have more control. It seemed reasonable, but she wanted to be sure before she tried to use her magic on brother or sister.

After she finished her cigarette Heather brushed her teeth and then changed into her night clothes. When she reentered the room Abigail laying in bed with the bedspread was turned down.

“Do you want to sleep with me tonight?” Abigail asked shyly.

Heather’s throat tightened. “I think that it would be better if I slept in my own bed.”

Abigail’s face fell. “Can I at least get a goodnight kiss?”

“Okay.” Heather placed her hands on either side of Abigail’s face and then lowered her face until their lips met. Abigail wrapped her arms around Heather’s neck and pulled her close. When Abigail’s tongue entered her mouth she broke the kiss.

“Thank you,” Abigail said with a coy smile on her face. “Sweet dreams.”

Heather lay down on the inflatable mattress and then pretended to sleep while wrestling with her troubles, her growing feelings for her best friend being the latest. Eventually she drifted off to a worried sleep.

Heather's story - chapter 7