Chapter 1
Eloise’s p.o.v
I woke up with a gasp, my body drenched in sweat from head to toe. "It's just a dream," I mumbled to myself, trying to shake off the overwhelming feeling. The frequency of these dreams had increased since I turned fifteen. My mom did her best to convince me they were nothing, but as I reached that age, it became harder for her to deny the truth.
∆∆flashback∆∆
"Mum!" I yelled in panic, rushing into her room. "Mum, mum! I had another dream," I exclaimed, my fear evident in my voice.
"Honey, it's just a dream. Come on," she tried to reassure me, as she always did.
"No!" I shouted, still overwhelmed with panic. "It's not just a dream! You always say that. I saw blood. Dad was pale, and you were bleeding out. There was nothing I could do. There was a war, mom! A war!" My voice cracked with each sentence.
"And then... and then..." I started to hyperventilate, my vision growing blurry.
"Calmdown," my dad's soothing voice enveloped me as he wrapped his arms around me. "It's okay, bunny. Dad's here." I clung to him, taking deep breaths. It was that night when my mom revealed my true nature to me.
I was a seer.
I felt numb. I had always believed that my strange dreams were the result of some medical condition. But what shocked me even more was discovering that my mom was a witch, or rather, an ex-witch. She had given up her powers for my dad.
"There's one thing, my love," my mom said in her distinct British accent, brushing my hair aside and gazing into my eyes. "Stay away from supernaturals of any kind." She never explained why, and I was too afraid to ask. All I knew was that...
∆∆flashback over∆∆
The notification on my phone snapped me back to reality as I got dressed for work. I quickly put on my contacts and wig. This was my life, unable to present myself the way I wanted. My mom was always paranoid, fearing that my distinct gray eyes would give away my true identity as a seer, making me a target for those who wanted to kill us.
My hair was another distinctive feature that couldn't be concealed. Seers tended to have prominent hair, but there weren't many of us left because most were killed before they could even discover their abilities.
"I'm off to work, Mum!" I shouted, rushing out of the house after receiving a notification from Anna, my best friend, threatening to leave me behind if I made her wait any longer.
"Take care, bunny," my dad replied as I walked out the door. I never owned a car due to a vision I had at sixteen. In the vision, I was driving and ended up standing at the edge of a cliff, screaming for help. The vision grew more vivid every time I sat behind the wheel, becoming too terrifying to bear. So, I decided it wasn't worth the risk.
"There you are, bitch!" Anna screamed from across the road, sitting in her white Toyota Camry.
"Hello to you too, love," I said as I hopped into the car. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you?"
"I swear I witnessed the apocalypse and the end of the world while waiting," she exaggerated, causing me to roll my eyes.
"Can we just get going?" I rolled my eyes in exasperation. She handed me a cup of coffee, which I gratefully accepted. It was the perfect way to start the day, and the taste of caffeine on my tongue made me moan with satisfaction.
"Be careful," she warned, "I don't want to clean up spilled coffee from my car seat!" She said it with a hint of playfulness in her voice.
"Anna!" I looked at her with wide eyes. Anna had been my friend since my school days when I moved here. She had a tendency to speak her mind, which made me wonder how we managed to get along so well.
"I'm just saying!" she laughed, pulling her hair back as she chuckled.
"Just drive," I growled, wanting to get a move on.
Anna was a human being, my very first friend when I moved to this town. I had faced a lot of bullying because people saw me as weird, but she always stood up for me.
With her brown eyes and almost dark hair, Anna often referred to herself as "normal and not fun." But I saw her as the opposite. She may not have been conventionally attractive, but her character made up for it, and I appreciated that. At least she knew that guys weren't only interested in her looks.
At that thought, my mood took a nosedive.
"Don't tell me you're thinking about George," Anna interrupted my thoughts.
"What? Why would you think that?"
"You let out a deep sigh, looked out the window, and your voice went up a notch when I asked," she smirked.
Sometimes, I really hated how well she knew me.
"Pffttttt... no, I wasn't," I replied, avoiding eye contact.
"Yes, you were, Ely. But seriously, he wasn't worth it. You'll find someone better, trust me," she said, giving me a sympathetic look, or as much as she could while driving.
"Plusssss," she added, wiggling her eyebrows, "you have a date tonight!" she squealed.
"I don't want to go," I said, looking away. I wanted George, my high school sweetheart, to sweep me off my feet like he promised. He always said he would be there for me.
"You can't still be saying that! He cheated on you! He doesn't deserve you," Anna tried to reason. He had cheated on me with his supposed "cousin," and any sane person would want nothing to do with him. But I desperately wanted it to be a misunderstanding. I convinced myself that there must be a reasonable explanation.
"I know, Anna. But you don't know him like I do. I've seen his vulnerable side, the way he smiled, and how he broke down when his family disowned him. I was there. I can't just..." I had to take a deep breath to prevent tears from welling up. I couldn't afford to ruin my makeup or risk my contacts falling out and attracting questions.
"Well, you know who else saw his vulnerable side? His cousin!" It was evident that Anna was starting to get angry, and I couldn't blame her.
"You know what? You would go on this date. Just loosen up a little. All I'm asking is for you to have some fun." Anyone who knew Anna knew better than to argue with her for the sake of peace.
So, I kept quiet and let silence fill the car as she drove us to the office.