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Ingrid's POV:

I look at Lili who has a horror stuck look on her face. And the next minute I see her turn dizzy and fall down.

I rush to grab her, but something holds me back. My eyesight was blurred with black dots, and I could comprehend nothing. I could feel as life was slipping away from me as I slowly lost my consciousness.

Ingrid. Ingrid. Ingrid.

I stir when I hear someone calling my name. I try opening my eyes, but they feel like they are burning, as if on fire.

I feel like my body is bound to something, making it impossible to move. I try opening my eyes, all I see are blurred images of my surroundings. Or what I expect to be my surroundings. Where even was I?

As far as I remember, I was — with Lilly in the barn and tried the craziest thing. We tried a spell. Wait, did that work?

"LILLY, where are you?" I shout at the top of my lungs, now fully regaining consciousness.

I hear a small noise coming from my right side. I try tilting my head, which is painful, but I finally move it to the direction from where I hear a little squeak.

All I can see are the blurry images of a door which was half closed and the dim streak of light inside the barn.

Where is Lilly? And why the hell am I still in this barn? What happened last night? Too many questions were popping in my head and I remember nothing.

I see a silhoutee of someone who was very tall, wearing a black hood making their way towards me. Oh god, maybe I'm dead. Shit...

My heart pounds as I think what this creature could be. My blurred eyesight doesn't help much. I try moving but fail. Why was I unable to move? I was helpless and in pain.

"Tommyyy!!!" a gruff voice comes from the other side. My vision slowly clears up, I look up to see that it was our drivers' dog playfully coming towards us with our driver chasing him.

I sigh in relief. Soon enough I find Lilly lying on the floor to my left. Luckily, my body starts cooperating just in time and my eyesight now normal.

"Wake up, sis!" I yell.

"Let me sleep for five more minutes Iddy." she yawns, half asleep .

"We did a spell, and we were unconscious for god knows how long, idiot " I yell.

"Oh!" she takes a pause and jolts up yelling 'shit!!' within a fraction of a second.

I roll my eyes and help her get up. We both don't remember what happened before we fainted. But, by looking at our surroundings, I guess something bad happened but not sure what. I see that the book is still on the table.

"You ok?" she asks me as soon as she gets up.

"Yeah." I was silently wondering if that spell worked.

"Let's get out of here," she says and I couldn't agree more with her.

I close the barn, and we make our way back home. I was trying to remember what happened after we did that spell? Did something go wrong? Or was it just a bluff?

I glanced over to Lilly's bedroom window and see someone loitering near the window of her room.

I point that out to Lili and we run to her bedroom to catch whoever it was. I half expected it to be a thief or someone creepy. But to our surprise it turned out to be Mrs. Potts, who seemed as if she was searching for something.

"Mrs. Potts?" I question.

"Uh- hi girls, I was looking for you," she stutters.

"Under the bed? I'm sure we don't hide there anymore." I half glare at her.

"Well, I was here searching for a spare mattress." I can sense something isn't right here.

"Here." Lilly offers.

'Why the hell do you even have to give your stuff to others.' I mutter under my breath and flounce out.

Something about Mrs. Potts doesn't seem right. My gut feeling tells me she isn't what she portrayed herself to be.

I close the door and go sit on my bed, when something pokes me. I take out whatever it was, only to see it was my phone. I see a whooping 20 missed calls on my phone. I don't even remember when was the last time I even used this.

I wonder what happened to Kevin. Why did he even ask me to come to the woods? Chupacabra, Zombie, Monster? Oh my god, what happened to him!

I dial his number, hoping that he is all right. He finally picks up the call after the second ring.

"Thank God!! What happened to you. I have been calling you for the last 2 days. You weren't even responding. It just seemed so unlike you to leave your phone an--" he rants off.

I cut him off saying, "What? Kevin. Where the hell were you? You were the one who texted me saying to meet you in the woods last night? I came searching for you, and then I saw somethi- Never mind. Why did you even text me when you were not there?"

The line becomes silent. Something in the air changed.

"I don't remember texting you since before the ball."

"Are you kidding me ?" I ask, frustrated. 

"What happen?" he asks, sounding genuinely curious.

"Didn't you message me to come and meet you in my backyard the night of the ball ?"

"I didn't. In fact, I was out with my friends that night. After the ball, we had a party at Jake's place and had a sleepover."

"Are you kidding me? Check your damn messages !!"

"Fine. Wait!" he says angrily.

The line goes silent again. I'm confused as hell, I'm sure I received a message and now he says he didn't text me.

"Nothing, no message. The last text was of me texting you goodnight ."

Eh... What is this? His idea of a prank, I swear I will kick his ass once I meet him.

"Fine. Whatever, BYE!! " I hang up the call, confused and frustrated as hell.

"Lili....." I yell, hoping that at least she remembers that night in the woods.

"Yes..... "

"Come over, could ya? "

"Nope, get your lazy ass here. What do you want ?"

Why the hell couldn't she for once listen to what I say... Aaarrrrgggghhh I groan in frustration.

"Yes, what is it?" I hear her voice from across the room.

Wow, she came!?

"Okay, so you remember that night from the woods..."

"Didn't we make a mutual promise to forget it ever happened ?"

"Yeah, but that happened, right? "

"Yes, it did. Why are you acting so strange, everything all right ?"

"No. Umm yeah - - everything is fine ."

"Iddy, I know when you lie, what is it that's troubling you?" She asks, now coming in.

Why the hell can't she mind her own business -- wait, she is just caring for me, why do I feel so on edge.

Arrrgghhh, guess my time of the month is near.

"Iddy.." she asks, waving her hand in front of me.

"Yes?" It comes out more like a question.

"Everything all right?" she asks, concern etching her face.

"Yes, well, my stupid boyfriend doesn't really remember texting me, he says he never asked me to meet him ."

"What the fuck. Is he kidding?? Wait -- that's why you went out that night, to make out with him — in the woods?" she asks with a smirk on her face.

Oh god, she is really so annoying. I wonder how do I even bear her. I sigh internally.

"Yess. So ??"

"Well, nothing- -"

"Lili, Iddy. Lunch is ready, come down." Mrs. Potts yells from downstairs, cutting off Lilia. Thank god she calls us. Or else I was positive Lili wouldn't ever stop teasing me.

"Commmiiiiinnnggggg...." Lili yells.

We lazily make our way downstairs and have a silent lunch.

I wonder what is wrong with Mrs. Potts; she seems to hide something. The way she is fidgeting, the way she never meets my eyes tells me that something is wrong. I suddenly catch her glancing at the window and then boom, she excuses herself and goes out from the kitchen door.

I slowly follow her to the kitchen and peep out from the window and see her hurriedly walking towards our backyard where the trees are dense and I see her turning back every few minutes to check if anyone is following her. It all looks so suspicious and I can't help but wonder what is she up to. I point that out to Lili.

"Why is she going into the woods?" Lili asks as if reading my mind.

"Same doubt sis ."

We watch curiously. I was hoping we could look past the trees and see whatever is she up to.

"I wish those damn trees would move."

We suddenly see the trees shaking, and for a second I wonder what is happening until I see someone coming out from the woods.

"Hurry, let's go sit. It could be Mrs. Potts, we'd not want to get her suspicious."

We go sit by the table, pretending as if nothing happened and going on with our lunch when Mrs. Potts finally arrives.

"Where were you off to, auntie ?"

"I thought I saw someone by the window and wanted to check the perimeter if anyone was here, turns out there was no one."

"Well, even I saw someone." Lili blurts out.

"You did? Who did you see?" Mrs. Potts asks, sounding curious.

"Couldn't make out whoever it was" Lili says casually, like she did not want to grab attention.

"Well, it could be a burglar for all you know. You should have let Mr. Clark check it out." I pip in.

"No worries dear, there was no one. No harm done."

We eat the rest of our lunch in silence, and I excuse myself.

I go up to my room, feeling restless. I had to clear up things between Kevin and me. Why is he acting so weird?

This is so unlike him. I decide and plan on asking him personally. I run downstairs with shoes in my hand and yell to let them know I'm going out.

I call up Kevin only to reach his voicemail. I call up his best friend Jake, and he tells they are hanging at his place.

I reach his place in about 5 minutes - perks of living in a small town.

Upon reaching his home, I spot Kevin's bike parked by the entrance. I ring his doorbell, which his butler answered - they live quite a fancy life. He was a businessman and dealt with sandalwood, and our town had lots of it.

He guides me to their 'cave' as they call it. I instantly spot Kevin with a few more guys from school sprawling on the couches, playing video games. His curly blond hair and his broad shoulders make it easy to spot him.

"Kevvv..."

"Hey babe. What are you doing here?"

"Came to visit you. It's been a long time," I say hesitantly, taking a step closer.

"Yeah yeah," he says scratching the back of his head.

"What was with the message? " I ask, addressing the elephant in the room.

"I swear I never sent that text. We were all sloshed, and we came over to Jake's for a sleepover."

This was just confusing. Who sent that message then? And who was it I saw in the forest. My hands were trembling from all the confusion and anger building up.

"Are you kidding me? You send a message and then don't turn up. What is wrong with you? "

Flashes of what I say that night come. I started shivering and I could feel the goosebumps slowly form on my skin. The slow talks now turned into shouts.

" Wrong with me? Why don't you ask yourself that? Better yet, why don't you get yourself checked up. " he yells in frustration.

Why did this come up?? What is it with him these days?

I feel the need to punch him on his face and since I physically can't do that. I mentally picture that. I could feel the heat radiate off my body and the power coursing through me.

He suddenly falls down, losing his balance.

What just happened?

I stumble back, shocked, and surprised with what just happened.

"What did you do?" someone asks me.

"Woah, how did he fall down."

"Is he all right??"

Questions after questions keep pouring in. They all seem like a distant buzz to me, and I see black dots. I quickly hold on to the nearest sofa to steady myself.

After a few seconds of staring at what just happened, I run away from them and hurriedly start my car.

It was all a blur after that. I don't know how did I manage to drive home. I leave the car outside, not parking it, and make my way up to my room. Lili follows me in after she hears me close the door with a bang.

"What happen?" She asks sympathetically. I guess I looked like a mess.

"Kevin is an asshole. He is confusing as hell. I questioned him and he says he never messaged me about meeting in the backyard. He tells I'm turning into a psycho." I say sobbing.

I could feel the heat rise in my body and the anger building up inside me again. My hands still trembling and my body shaking from all the crying.

Every emotion I feel is heightened. Even a stupid thing like this made me cry. The angry building up inside could be felt with the change in the surrounding temperature - - or so I thought.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Sorry for the delay guys, I know that it's been too long . My apologies for that. Hope you all like it.

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Until the next update .

Lots of love

      ~ VAISHNAVI.