shut behind them.
Veronica was pretty sure her father wouldn’t like it if she accepted a ride home from Annaliese. Though she technically wasn’t a stranger, it was a given that accepting rides from witches wasn’t high on her father’s list of acceptable activities. “I wouldn’t want to be any trouble…”
“What part of town do you live in?” she asked, pulling out her keys.
“On the west side, in Tigard.”
“That’s no trouble at all. In fact, I need to go to a copy place on Hall; they’re giving me a deal on some flyers.”
“Oh… okay. If you’re sure it’s no biggie.” Veronica gave her a hesitant smile. The errant thought slipped in; would they find her on the side of the road come morning?
Annaliese was quiet for a moment as she unlocked her SUV, climbing in and turning down the radio that was blasting Aerosmith at top volume. “Sorry,” she flashed Veronica an apologetic grin. “Hey, maybe you should give your dad a call; let him know I’m giving you a ride home? See if he’s alright with it?” she asked suddenly.
Yeah, genius plan, then he’d know I was here for sure… “No, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she answered with more confidence than she felt. Then again, if Annaliese was going to do anything bad to her, would she have suggested that she call home and announce that they were together? Comforted by that logic, Veronica climbed in and fastened her seatbelt.
“Did your father send you down to the store?” Annaliese asked, pulling smoothly out into traffic, her eyes on the road.
“No, of course not,” Veronica laughed at the notion, “He didn’t send me down to do his dirty work like the old lady put it. I just… I dunno…”
“Thought you would come down and see if you could find anything out?” Annaliese’s voice was tinged with amusement.
“Kinda,” Veronica returned with a sheepish grin. “It’s so awful, what happened to those girls. And it’s kind of interesting, the occult stuff… I mean I’ve never felt weird in your place… I wonder if that makes me weird,” she frowned at the idea.
“I don’t think you’re weird. But then again, most people would consider me to be pretty weird,” Anna laughed and Veronica joined her.
“I think you’re nice. My dad does too by the way, I can tell.”
Annaliese was silent for a moment, moving onto the freeway. “What about your mom? What does she think about all of this?”
“My mom? She’s been out of the picture for a while, she left when I was in junior high.” It almost felt like she’d never even existed. Veronica and her father had managed to cobble together a pretty decent home life together, a few hiccups aside.
“I’m sorry,” Annaliese murmured. After a few moments she added, “my mom left too. When I was older, in college, so I won’t pretend it’s the same thing, but yeah.”
“Are you and your Dad close then?”
“No, my father died when I was little.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright, I hardly remember him. It was me, my sister Jade, and my mother while I was growing up.”
“Then… why did she leave?”
“She didn’t take it so well when I started getting into this lifestyle. It’s funny, she never seemed all that religious to me when I was growing up, but the first time she spotted a pentacle around my neck… you’d have thought I was the devil’s concubine.” Annaliese grinned over at her briefly, but Veronica could see it still bothered her.
“So she left, because of that?” The concept was alien to her. How could a parent write off a child like that? Although in a way, wasn’t that what her own mother had done?
“Yep, she moved to Utah. I didn’t even know about it until my sister mentioned it in passing when I brought up holiday plans.”
“Wow, harsh. Even if I shaved my head, started chanting Hare Krishna and hanging out at the airport, I think my Dad would
Veronica was pretty sure her father wouldn’t like it if she accepted a ride home from Annaliese. Though she technically wasn’t a stranger, it was a given that accepting rides from witches wasn’t high on her father’s list of acceptable activities. “I wouldn’t want to be any trouble…”
“What part of town do you live in?” she asked, pulling out her keys.
“On the west side, in Tigard.”
“That’s no trouble at all. In fact, I need to go to a copy place on Hall; they’re giving me a deal on some flyers.”
“Oh… okay. If you’re sure it’s no biggie.” Veronica gave her a hesitant smile. The errant thought slipped in; would they find her on the side of the road come morning?
Annaliese was quiet for a moment as she unlocked her SUV, climbing in and turning down the radio that was blasting Aerosmith at top volume. “Sorry,” she flashed Veronica an apologetic grin. “Hey, maybe you should give your dad a call; let him know I’m giving you a ride home? See if he’s alright with it?” she asked suddenly.
Yeah, genius plan, then he’d know I was here for sure… “No, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she answered with more confidence than she felt. Then again, if Annaliese was going to do anything bad to her, would she have suggested that she call home and announce that they were together? Comforted by that logic, Veronica climbed in and fastened her seatbelt.
“Did your father send you down to the store?” Annaliese asked, pulling smoothly out into traffic, her eyes on the road.
“No, of course not,” Veronica laughed at the notion, “He didn’t send me down to do his dirty work like the old lady put it. I just… I dunno…”
“Thought you would come down and see if you could find anything out?” Annaliese’s voice was tinged with amusement.
“Kinda,” Veronica returned with a sheepish grin. “It’s so awful, what happened to those girls. And it’s kind of interesting, the occult stuff… I mean I’ve never felt weird in your place… I wonder if that makes me weird,” she frowned at the idea.
“I don’t think you’re weird. But then again, most people would consider me to be pretty weird,” Anna laughed and Veronica joined her.
“I think you’re nice. My dad does too by the way, I can tell.”
Annaliese was silent for a moment, moving onto the freeway. “What about your mom? What does she think about all of this?”
“My mom? She’s been out of the picture for a while, she left when I was in junior high.” It almost felt like she’d never even existed. Veronica and her father had managed to cobble together a pretty decent home life together, a few hiccups aside.
“I’m sorry,” Annaliese murmured. After a few moments she added, “my mom left too. When I was older, in college, so I won’t pretend it’s the same thing, but yeah.”
“Are you and your Dad close then?”
“No, my father died when I was little.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright, I hardly remember him. It was me, my sister Jade, and my mother while I was growing up.”
“Then… why did she leave?”
“She didn’t take it so well when I started getting into this lifestyle. It’s funny, she never seemed all that religious to me when I was growing up, but the first time she spotted a pentacle around my neck… you’d have thought I was the devil’s concubine.” Annaliese grinned over at her briefly, but Veronica could see it still bothered her.
“So she left, because of that?” The concept was alien to her. How could a parent write off a child like that? Although in a way, wasn’t that what her own mother had done?
“Yep, she moved to Utah. I didn’t even know about it until my sister mentioned it in passing when I brought up holiday plans.”
“Wow, harsh. Even if I shaved my head, started chanting Hare Krishna and hanging out at the airport, I think my Dad would
Similar Books
