Coming Home (Only Time Will Tell #1) by Caroline Spencer

“Why the hell would I do that?”
    “Because,” she starts, sounding high pitched. “I thought you might find a dress to wear for the ball…”
    Ohhh! You thought that me being surrounded by pretty, expensive dresses would make me want to spend an ungodly amount and spend the night with the witch… “Don’t even go there. I told you last night that I wasn’t and I gave you perfectly reasonable reasons why.”  
    “Oh, Come on, Cat. I want you there and so does Kyle.”
    It crosses my mind that I may need to start recording my conversations with her, just so I don’t have to repeat myself a million times. “No. You’ll both be fine, you both have dates to keep you occupied.”
    The curtain swings back revealing an extremely annoyed woman. “For fucks sake Cat, he wanted you there and you just dismissed it because of her? Where’s your back bone gone?”
    It’s not my back bone that’s the problem—it’s everything but that. It would all make sense to her if I could talk to her about it, but I can’t. “I still have that. Listen, I haven’t said no so that you can try and persuade me. I said no, because I don’t want to go. I hate things like that. I’ll donate whatever to the cause but I refuse to go to something that will have probably cost more than what they raise to hold.” Okay, if she wasn’t there I probably would have gone, however I have always thought that it seemed stupid spending a fortune on being there to donate more. I could make my donation and use the money I’ve saved from not buying a complete outfit on top. Bonus!
    “Nothing will make you change your mind?”
    “No.”
     
     
     
    “Good evening Miss James,” the old guy behind the desk greats as I finally walk through the lobby.  
    “Evening. Are you having a good night?”
    He chuckles and nods. “I am, thank you. You’re home late.”
    It’s like living with my parents all of a sudden. “Shopping,” I smile. “Not me obviously, with a friend, ready for bed now though. She knows how to drag you to the four corners of the earth.”
    “I think it’s a female thing,” he jokes, scrunching up his nose and nodding again.
    “True,” I add as I step into the waiting elevator.
    I can’t believe it’s gone nine and I’m only just walking in. After she bought the dress we hailed a cab to take us to the mall so that she could buy everything else. And I mean everything. Heels, purse, jewelry…even new underwear. I looked like a pack horse as we walked from store to store after stupidly offering to carry her bags so she could shop freely. I think that’s what killed me.
    Walking into the apartment I kick my shoes off and launch my bag into the darkness, happy to just enjoy peace and quiet for a while. My eyes are barely capable of staying open. Needing a few minutes to myself, I groan as I collapse onto the lounger, prepared for the damn thing to collapse under me after hitting it with such a force, but it doesn’t. In fact, it does nothing that it’s supposed to. It doesn’t even try to crack my back with it’s hardness. I sit bolt upright and stare around at everything in the pitch black, making out the outlines of everything that is mine. It is my apartment, right? Getting up I dart to the nearest light switch and turn on the lights. Yup, everything is mine, but where the hell did the couches come from? And the flowers on the coffee table?
    Going back, I take a seat and stare at the alien furniture. I wasn’t expecting something so soft and bouncy when I collapsed here moments ago, not in a million years, and I’m half waiting for someone to come and knock on the door and tell me that there’s been a mistake. No matter how many times I look at the door though, no one knocks. My attention goes to the flowers, which is an arrangement of calla lilies; except one, which I couldn’t see before. A blue ox-eye. Kyle!
    After a quick inspection for a card I finally find it face down against the glass. I quickly read