SONG: INSIDE HER HEAD BY BRYCE SAVAGE
Itoss and turn most of the night after the day we had, and especially the interaction with Emmet. I wanted nothing more than to fry his ass, but I didn’t feel like going to jail for murder.
His words play in my head over and over again, wondering if there’s a chance that Pierce could be alive.
My flight out to Boston with Walker leaves early, and I’m all too aware of the minutes ticking by as my mind races. Plus, there’s the possibility that I have a fucking demon inside of me too, just sitting in there like a ticking time bomb. I wonder if once I confront my family about being witches, if they’d know a way to get it out of me.
That’s assuming we even make it through dinner.
Fuck my life. I was not looking forward to seeing them.
I packed in a hurry last night, bringing far too many pairs of underwear for the amount of time we’d even be gone.
I feel exhausted as we board the plane. Walker makes sure I get to sit in the window seat while he stows our carry-ons in the overhead bin.
When he sits next to me, I notice he has an air of nervousness about him.
“You good?” I ask. Unlike me, he was able to get some sleep.
He grabs my hand, “Yeah. I just kinda hate flying.” He says, leaning over to place a kiss on my temple.
I give him a smile, finding it adorable that this menacing man fears flying on an airplane.
As we take off, he clutches my hand so hard, I’m afraid he’ll break it. I give him a squeeze and he releases some of the pressure. “Sorry.”
I pat him on the arm, and stare out the window, watching the world grow smaller beneath us.
My grandma informed me that she would be sending over her driver, so upon departing the plane, we sought out Bennet. He was described to me as an older balding man in his sixties, heavy around the middle. We finally find him holding a sign with my name on it, and he takes our bags happily.
“Good day, miss, sir. How was the flight? Follow me.” He leads us to a black SUV.
I mumble something about it being fine. I fell asleep and woke to the plane landing with a jolt and a pile of drool in the corner of my mouth. My hair that I’d piled high in a messy bun with a white scrunchie had fallen to the side, and I still hadn’t fixed it. I’m a firm believer in being as comfortable as possible when flying.
It takes forty-five minutes to drive from the Boston Airport to Salem, most of the time we sit in silence listening to the driver sing off-key to Miley Cyrus.
Driving through the town, brings back a rush of bad memories. Although gorgeous and full of history, it’s a place where I’ve never felt welcome. The taunting I endured daily for my name. “Salem from Salem.” People could be cruel for no other reason than because they simply enjoyed it. We pass the alley where I was cornered, and Sally George decided to throw pebbles at me with her two older brothers. No matter how many years have passed between now and then, I still remember the way they made me feel.
When we pull up to the house I grew up in, I feel an immediate weight settling onto my shoulders.
We enter through the wrought iron gate with the gaudy gold ‘K’ that sits at the top.
This house wasn’t one where I felt joy or any type of happiness. The house is typical for this area. Steeped in history and folklore, and heavy on the colonial influence. It’s larger than most, boasting twelve bedrooms and six bathrooms, and an inground pool around the back where I spent most of my time growing up. There was an entire summer where I pretended to be a mermaid, and even tried tying my feet together which was stupid, because I almost drowned. Thankfully one of the maids caught me crying out for help and they jumped in, uniform on and all, to drag me out.
I let out a sigh, readying myself to enter the house. I’m grateful that Walker decided to come with me, insisting he stand by my side for the shit show that awaits me.
“Ah, Salem! There you are. Thank you, Bennet. Now, who is this?” Grandma Clementine asks as soon as she opens the door.
“This is Walker.”
She gives him a once over with her eyes, thankfully keeping any criticism to herself, at least for now. She shows us in like I didn’t live here until a few months ago.
“Salem, you’ll be staying in your room, and Walker I have you set up in the guest bedroom.”
“Is mom going to be here?” I ask, grabbing my bag from Bennet.
“Uh, well she’s off with that new husband of hers, so I don’t expect that she will be able to make it. Once you two settle in, come back down here so we can chat before everyone else arrives for dinner.”
I show Walker to his room and he leaves his bag in there, before following me to mine. I stop in front of the door and hold my hand up to him.
