Amara
The day of the pageant dance is here, and I’ve been so busy that I’ve barely seen Kell. Nevertheless, Kell doesn’t let it get in the way of sneaking a few kisses here and there and giving me smoldering hot looks. I have to fan myself at the thought of expelling a little energy with my sexy, angelic boyfriend soon. Regrettably, I have to settle with light petting. The upside of being busy is that I haven’t been able to fret about the visions.
Right now, Haley, Juliet, and a few other students are working on the finishing touches of the dance hall. Come to think about it, most of the school is here. Pageant day is like a holiday around Arcata. Everyone gets the day off to prepare, and a few of the school clubs contribute their skills.
Mr. Avila chose several of the best photography students to take pictures. Unfortunately, I couldn’t be one of the photographers for the obvious reason that I’m part of the pageant. The newsp
KellI look in the mirror and adjust my black bow tie.I’m ready for the dance. My black tuxedo, white dress shirt, and black slacks are pressed and falling perfectly across my body. Surprisingly enough, Rowan came to visit earlier and is lying on top of my bed, staring at me with a knowing smirk.“What?” I ask, annoyed.Snorting, he picks up my football from the side table and throws it up and down. “Nothing. I just never thought I’d see the day where my little brother dresses up in a penguin suit for some girl.”I scowl at him from the reflection in the mirror and quirk a brow. Rowan can sometimes be such an ass about girls. I can’t wait for the day when he falls hard and is trapped by the bonds of love. He won’t be laughing or making asinine comments then.“Amara is not, some girl,” I say, making air quotes
AmaraThe dance is incredible. It seems as if everyone from Arcata is here. I know that most of the school is here. Carrick and Haley showed up earlier dressed to the nines. Haley was wearing a really cute black halter dress with a fringed skirt, and Carrick a charcoal suit with no tie. They both make a striking couple. Haley with her short, wavy highlights and spiked heels, and Carrick with his curly, golden blonde hair. Right now, they’re both on the dance floor dancing wildly to an old eighties song.Juliet sat with us for a while but eventually made her way around the room and got lost in the crowd. I just hope that she’s having fun. The look on her face when Carrick and Haley entered hand-in-hand was very telling. I can’t imagine how hard it is for her to see us happy when she hasn’t found someone for herself. I could tell that she was uncomfortable with being the fifth wheel of our group.Right now, we’re sitting at our table
KellI make my way to the table and almost faint in shock when I see who’s there. Rowan is sitting at the table with Carrick and Haley. He’s wearing the black suit jacket I told him to wear, which is not exactly appropriate for the occasion.As I stroll casually toward the table, I search around for some answers. “Hey, bro. So you decided to come after all.”He nods his head and smiles cynically. “I was bored. And since you invited me, I figured I’d come around and see what all the flash was about.”He looks around the room, then back at me. “Where’s Amara?”I point to the balcony. “She’s in the ladies’ room.”Rowan moves his head to the music but quickly stiffens when Juliet walks up to the table and stops as if pulled by an invisible rope. Her smile fades instantly. You can almost feel the tension in the air. However, they don’t acknowledge each other
AmaraI can’t believe this is happening right now. It never occurred to me that Taylor might have been involved in all these deaths. But here I am, waking up to find myself tied to a column in the middle of some church. I look around in hopes of figuring out where I am. There are stained glass windows depicting an army of angels coming down from the heavens and wooden pews, just like the other ones in my visions. Used candles create a sinister décor as they lie strewn around the room. My eyes land on the large stone altar with dried blood in the center of the floor. Hysteria rises in my throat at the thought of what might happen to me. Taylor is going to kill me the same way he killed those other girls.My arms ache as I strain to release them from their bonds. All I need to do is get to the private pocket in my thigh to reach for my cell phone. Hopelessness overwhelms me at the realization that my hands are tied too tightly to reach the pocket. I can&rsqu
Kell“It’s over here,” I say, pointing to an old church hidden by a cove of trees. After I tracked Amara’s phone, Azazel and I drove until we were in the deeply wooded area a few miles from Arcata. The area is deathly dark and unnervingly quiet. You can’t even hear the song of crickets. Which is odd in this part of California. It seems that every animal has left the area. In the center of the wooded area, there’s an ominous-looking church that has seen better days.The church is old and unkempt with crumbling cement and brick walls painted in garish mud colors. There’s a bell tower centered on the top, and most of the stained glass windows are cracked or boarded up. The wooden front door looks like it is falling off its hinges. As we near the church, I remove my jacket and tie. The air is almost oppressive the closer we get. An ominous feeling seizes me as I step out of the car and take a few heavy steps.Azazel follows
AmaraI feel like a statue made of bone and mass. All I can do is stand there and watch as the man I love and his friends fight the evil that Marael and Taylor have wrought upon us. I try to fight the spell that keeps me from moving, but it’s impossible. So, I simply gaze into my boyfriend’s eyes and try to broadcast all the love I feel for him. He looks so desperate to save me. It’s almost heartbreaking to see the hope in his eyes.If only I could break loose from this spell, but all I can do is scream inside. I feel like a soul trapped inside a dead shell. My body jostles painfully when Taylor pulls me over his shoulder and carries me away. I can hear Kell’s footsteps following close behind us. Suddenly, a loud crack resounds in the room, and Taylor and I are weightless. My stomach flips as our bodies descend rapidly through a black abyss. I close my eyes as my body plummets to its death. The breeze stirs my hair, and my body is
KellShe looks so small lying in my bed. Caressing my hand down her smooth jaw, I move a stray strand of hair behind her cheek. Amara fell asleep as soon as we got into Mathias’ car. I had to carry her exhausted body into my house. Thankfully, her candidacy for the Ms. Arcata High pageant didn’t suffer. I called Carrick on the way to the house, and he told me that people were intrigued by her mysterious exit from the ball. I will admit that Jordana intimidates me. So, I texted her and told her that Amara was not coming home because she was attending an after-party for her pageant celebration. She seemed fine with it.Amara didn’t make a sound when I took her into my shower and washed all traces of that world from our bodies. Once I was done, I placed her on the bed, undressed her, and slipped one of my t-shirts over her bare body. I know she’ll become very upset when she wakes up with makeup residue on her face, but I just don’t have the h
Chapter 41: Thank goodness that’s overAmara “…And the winner of the 2015 Ms. Arcata High Pageant, and recipient of the Fallen Scholarship is…Ms. Amara Vega!”I roll my eyes as my boyfriend cups his hands over his mouth and pretends to be a cheering crowd. Juliet, Carrick, and Haley join in and hoot and holler along with Kell. Removing the crown from my head, I lay it over my lap and blow out a strand of hair from my face. “Okay, guys, enough.”Kell takes my hand and chuckles exuberantly. “Aww, come on, beauty queen, we’re just excited that you won.”I smile shyly and rest my head on his shoulder. “Thank you for being there,” I lay a kiss on his cheek, then turn to my friends. “Thank you all. It was really fun.”Carrick whoops from the driver’s seat of the car and winks at me from the rearview mirror