Chapter 22 - Elize
I stared at the empty house. I couldn’t move further inside besides the front door. It felt wrong to be here without Troy. I wanted him. I needed him, but he wasn’t here.
I couldn’t even cry. My eyes burned from all the tears. I watched as they pulled Troy into another room. I listened as he growled, knowing my Troy would never behave in that manner.
I refused to let anyone stay here. Janella offered, but I wanted someone to stay with Troy and keep trying to calm him. I told them I would be fine, but now that I was here, I couldn’t go inside.
I turned on my heels and headed back into the car. I found myself driving across town until I pulled up at the house. I walked to the door and rang the doorbell. I swallowed, feeling tears building up again. I was exhausted, but my mind was going everywhere all at once.
The door opened, and my mother stood there. She had a smile that fell, and then she looked confused. “Elize? What are you doing here, honey?”
She looked me up and down really quickly, and worry filled her face. “Honey, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” She pushed out of the doorway a step closer to me.
I felt my lower lip quiver, unable to even form the words. The man I love was gone again. I didn’t know how I was going to survive this.
She moved quickly, pulling me into her arms as I started to bawl. I sobbed into her arms, hating that this was happening.
She pulled me inside, and we rested on the couch. I told her everything that happened. I told her about everything with Martin and how he pulled Troy and me apart. I told her how the council had been pulling other members apart and that the cauldron was from one of them.
My mother was absolutely stunned as I spoke. My father sat in his chair, not moving, but I could see the anger written on his face.
My mom handed me a tissue, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, sweetie.”
I wiped at my eyes. “Did you know?”
“Know what?” she asked.
“That he… Martin’s plan? Did you know?” I didn’t know if I would be able to stomach it if they had.
Both of them shook their heads. “No. We didn’t. We honestly just thought Martin understood you better. He was always talking about how he wanted you to be with other witches and learn.”
My mom sighed. “We know that we weren’t there for you for a lot of stuff, sweetie. And we thought you and Troy were such a great pair. And then suddenly, everything just changed.”
“Troy said he came here and asked if you knew where I was.”
She nodded. “He had, and we figured you didn’t want him to know. We never told you because we didn’t want to hurt you more than you already were. Martin said it was best.”
My father leaned forward. “So, where is Troy now?”
“He’s locked up. I tried using my magic, but I couldn’t calm him down. Riley has his locked in the basement just a few doors down from the cauldron.”
“He will calm,” my mother offered. “Just give it time.”
I shook my head. “Normally, my magic does that, but it didn’t this time. Janella tried, and it didn’t work.” I sighed. “We’re trying to figure something out, but I feel like he’s slipping away.” I felt tears building up again. “And I can’t lose him again.”
My mother moved closer, tucking me into her arms. She patted my hair and kissed the top of my head. “You’ll figure something out. I just know it.”
I don’t know how long we sat there. But I did know I wished things were different.
“You know we love you, right?” My mom asked, her hands soft as she ran them through my hair. “That we only wanted what was best for you.”
I nodded. “I do.” I looked at them, knowing they tried their best. Growing up, there was so little talk about witches. But now, itches were coming back and breaking the silence on things. We had learned a lot, but when my folks had me, they had little info to go off of.
My mother sighed. “I wish sometimes I pushed harder. Martin was such a force, and I thought he really cared. We thought he was just doing what was best.”
I hated how much he’d screwed things up.
“Can I stay here?” I asked, not wanting to go home. I couldn’t stomach walking into our space without Troy.
“Of course.” She kissed my forehead. “Let us help you with whatever you need.”
I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up feeling groggy and smelling coffee. I stumbled into the kitchen and found my mother with books piled high on the table. My eyebrows went up. “Where did you get these?”
“I dug,” she stated as she handed me a mug of coffee. “When you first left, I started buying every book I could about witches and spells. I ended up with a fine collection, even books that the library doesn’t have. These are all of them.”
“All of them?”
She nodded. “Yes, and I want you to take them. I’m sure there is something in here that will help you. You might have read them all, but I want to make sure you have all the information you can get.”
I looked at my mother, stunned. “I… I don’t even know what to say.”
“Well, it’s what I can offer. A few of these were your aunt’s books, too. We found them in storage. She wrote things down. Nothing I understood, but you might.”
I felt tears form in a new way now. She walked over and wiped at my eyes. “No tears today. Today is day one of you pulling your life back together, sweetie.” She gave me a soft smile. “Troy needs you. This pack needs you. You wallowed yesterday. Today you will be strong.”
I nodded, knowing what she meant. Since Troy was unable to do anything, I needed to step up. And if I wanted to save him, I needed to pull myself together and start looking. I couldn’t wallow. We didn’t have the time.
“Thanks, Mom. This means a lot.”
She smiled. “Good. Now, how about some breakfast?”
I ate breakfast with my mother and headed back home. I went straight to the infirmary where Troy was being kept. They thought distance from the cauldron would help him come back to normal, but it hadn’t. So, he was placed in a room with a little window. I felt a shiver roll down my spine.
I paused as I got to the door and stood frozen for a moment. I kept picturing how he looked before. I bite on my cheek, reminding myself that I would be able to figure something out.
I squared my shoulders, grabbed the door, and turned the knob. I stepped inside, spotting Troy.
He was lying on the ground. Both of his ankles were chained to the ground. There was a small window that gave the room a little light. But it was a cell, no matter how you looked at it.
I felt my heart clench as I stared at him. He had his back toward me, and I took a step into the room. “Troy?”
A part of me was waiting for him to turn around and look like himself. I just wanted him to snap out of it, but I knew it wasn’t that easy.
I slowly shut the door behind me and sat down on the ground. I pressed my back against the door as I stared at him, unmoved.
“I miss you. If you can hear me, come back.”
He didn’t move. The only way I knew he was still alive was that his chest rose and fell.
I wet my lips. “My mother has a ton of books that she got. They have information about witches and spells. The answer to everything has to be in one of them. I’m going to read them all. I’ll flip through every page.”
The wind blew outside, but I remained still. I chewed on my cheek. “I need you, Troy. I’ve spent too long already without you. I don’t want to continue to do that.”
I felt tears burning in my eyes. I knew I wouldn’t be able to just talk him back to normal, but I was hoping. I could feel my heart breaking all over again.
“Troy, I lov…”
There was sudden screaming, and my eyes snapped toward the window. I watched as someone ran past and my stomach bottomed.
I pulled myself up just as Troy moved. I pulled the door open, and Troy stood up. He looked at me, and I could see the darkness of his eyes. I wasn’t even sure he was looking at me, but rather through me.
I paused for a split second. Troy didn’t even look like himself. He’d fallen pale, and his jaw was clenched together. I ached to hold him, though. I missed his touch.
But I turned and hurried down the hallway. I ran up the stairs until I got outside. There was a fight going on, and Ivan was already trying to break it up. I could see blood dripping from one guy, and the other was staring at him with dark eyes.
I hurried over just as Riley and the others managed to pin the man down. He growled out, and I tried to soothe him. But it wasn’t working.
My hands were shaking now as I pleaded with my body to do what it had been doing. We needed this. The pack needed my ability to work. They had already lost their leader. They couldn’t lose this, either.
I glanced at Riley, who seemed to understand. “Bring him to Janella.”
I pulled my hand back, feeling more tears form. Riley moved, and before I could blink, pulled me into his arms.
A sob broke free as he placed his hand on my head. His hold was firm, but not the arms I truly wanted.
“They don’t need to see you fall apart,” Riley whispered.
I felt like I was failing everyone. I couldn’t do anything for them. If I couldn’t heal, why was I even here?
Riley pulled me back inside, taking me into his office. Riley shut the door as I sat down on the chair. I stared at my hands. There was blood on them.
“I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but…”
I snapped my head up to Riley, who looked like he hadn’t slept. He pinched at his eyes. “Ivan just called me. You lost two members an hour ago. A fight broke out, and they couldn’t get it under control.”
I couldn’t even look at him now. I shook my head. “I shouldn’t be here.”
“This is all part of being a leader.”
“I’m not a leader,” I snapped. “Troy is! You are! I’m not.”
Riley shook his head. “You’re a leader, Elize. You just haven’t hit a bump like this yet.”
“Well, this is a shitty bump, Riley.”
He nodded. “I agree, but I know we can figure this out. Troy needs us too.”