There's that beeping sound again. That accursed sound telling me it's time to start this accursed day.
I groaned but still didn't open my eyes, maybe if I ignore it it'll go away.
But it just kept beeping, it just wouldn't shut up.
So I did what any reasonable and responsible teenager would do, no I didn't turn it off and get up for school, I mean where's the fun in that, instead I conjured up a portal to the netherworld and sent it hurling into the flames.
There finally some peace and qui- "VIXEN get your lazy ass of that bed and get ready for school" I groaned again but this time finally opened my eyes and threw a mini tantrum in my room but still didn't get up.
"VIXEN MADELINE EVERDEEN" uh oh. She stormed into my room full force "why aren't you up young lady?"
"I'm up I'm up" I quickly got out of bed and stretched. I love this woman but I'm really scared of her in the morning.
"And where's your alarm clock?" Darn you and your ever vigilant eyes. I was kinda hoping she wouldn't notice until I could buy a replacement.
"Um..." I started.
"Oh no, Don't Tell me you sent another alarm clock to the never realm" she said folding her hands and tapping her feet.
"Well the thing is..."
"We talked about this" she said throwing her hands up "you can't keep doing that, that's your seventh alarm clock this school year" yeah right.
That was actually my sixteenth alarm clock this school year but she doesn't need to know that "look mom I'm sorry but I really need to get ready for school now" I started ushering her out of my room as she was protesting "I love you Mom and I promise to get the alarm clock replaced" and with that I shut the door in her face.
I let out a sigh and made my way to the bathroom. After my morning routine I came out of the bathroom in my robe and made my way to my walk in closet.
"What do I wear today?" I said to Tabitha and she replied "well according to my online search summer stylish is what's in Vogue so I'd recommend your light blue high waist jeans with your floral print offshoulder crop top and your sunglasses"
I brought out the clothes she recommended with my locator spell, not to be bothered with having to look for them, and layer them on my bed without touching them.
"Okay now play me Good as hell by lizzo" the song started playing from my room stereo and I couldn't help but sway my hips to the empowering lyrics of a true bad bitch.
I wore my already laid out clothes still singing along with her then sat in front of my mirror to tame my red hair.
Not wanting to waste to much time straightening it, I pulled it into a messy bun letting some strands of hair hang loose to frame my oval face before proceeding to lay my edges with the precision of a true professional.
I applied some eyeliner to make my big brown eyes look bigger and used some concealer to hide the mark on my forehead from yesterday when I collided with the kitchen door trying to escape my mothers wrath after eating the last cookie. I also used some strawberry lip gloss.
I grabbed my backpack from my study table and used a spell to make the books I had scattered around the room enter my bag of their own accord.
The song finally ended and post Malone came on with his new single circles. I love post Malone so it's no surprise that his song came on next.
I decided to wear my white Nike slides and roll up my jeans. I checked myself in the full length mirror and was pleased with myself. I had always been a beautiful girl and I never failed to let people see that.
"Tabitha play the music on the living room speakers"
"Playing music on the living room speakers" I heard the dull sound of post malone's lyrics coming from the living room and as a finishing touch I wore my smartwatch which also had a Tabitha feature, and unplugged my iPhone then slipped it in my back pocket.
I made my way downstairs and was welcomed by the smell of pancakes. I sat on the dining table and a stack of pancakes made their way to me with the and of one of my mom's floating spells.
She was still in the kitchen making some more in her apron that says 'kiss the chef' as I settled down for my breakfast.
"Tabitha what's the traffic like on the way to school"
Tabitha's melodic voice answered saying "if you leave now theirs only a five minute hold up meaning you should get their in less that fifteen minutes"
I hurried up with my pancakes so I could get to school on time.
"Stop eating so fast or you're gonna choke" my mom said as she made her way to the dining table with her own stack of pancakes.
"Can't... Gonna be late" I said with my mouth still full of pancakes. I quickly downed my glass of orange juice and picked up my backpack .
I got up and placed a kiss on my mom's cheek.
"Bye Mom" I made my way to the front door and picked up my car keys from the key shaped jacket she hangs ther.
"Don't forget to get a new alarm clock on your way back" she yelled after me.
"Sure thing" I said and shut the door Making my way to my black BMW parked in the garage.
I opened the garage door and drove out.
"Tabitha what's a good idea for this year's school dance"
I'm on the school dance committee and we have a school dance coming up soon so every member is suppose to pitch in an idea.
"How about under the sea"
"Nah we used that two years ago"
"How about a fairytale theme"
I thought about that one and made a mental note to suggest it at today's meeting.
I finally made it to school with about five minutes to spare. I parked in where most of the popular kids with expensive cars are expected to park and made my way towards my locker.
I got my books out and I saw Amy Making her way towards me with the rest of the girls on the cheer squad. Amy is the captain of the cheer team and she never fails to let everyone know it.
And no she's not some cliche cheerleader who is a really big bitch. I mean sure she's really bossy during training but isn't that what being head cheerleader is about.
Outside of practice she's actually really nice to almost everyone. She volunteers for after school activities and is really smart.
"Hey vixen, just wanted to remind you that we have a committee meeting after cheer practice" she said smiling. Her tanned Spanish American skin always sets her out and wherever she goes she gets heads turning.
"Oh don't worry I remember" I said
"Great, what class do you have first" she asked.
I checked my timetable and saw that I had history with Mr Harold, one of my least favorite teachers. I groaned and said "history with Mr American dream"
She chuckled at this "I feel you, we have the same class let's go"
We made our way to the class just as the bell rang and the rest of her minions dispersed.
She sat next to me during class but we didn't talk much seeing as we aren't such close friends. Infact I'm not close friends with anyone at this school. I may be popular but I'm really antisocial.
I just sat there looking for what to do with my hands as mr Harold yapped on about why America is the best country in the world. AGAIN.
The classes dragged on like that until it was lunch time. I made my way to the cafeteria and on the menu is sloppy joe.
My school cafeteria actually serves really tasty foods in comparison to practically every school in America.
I grabbed my tray and made my way to an empty table at the back of the cafeteria.
I saw Amy seating with her usual group at the popular kids table and she waved at me and shouted "hey vixen, wanna join us?".
She asks me that everyday at lunch probably hoping I'd change my mind because everyday she asks I always end up saying "No thank you"
I smiled politely and made my way to the empty table and sat down to eat my sloppy joes.
I took a picture of it and posted it on my snap story. I mean I may not have many friends but what kind of teenager would I be if I didn't like Instagram and Snapchat, besides I feel more comfortable talking to strangers online than in person.
A girl wearing a simple pink dress came up to my table and asked shyly "h-hey I'm Gabby and I'm kinda new here"
I looked up to meet her gaze. She was a short Asian girl with thick rimmed glasses and straight hair but overall she's really pretty "I'm vixen nice to meet you" I said feigning a smile.
"You too" she replied and stood there nervously for another minute or so before she finally said "um can I sit here?"
I really don't want any company but what kind of monster would i be if I turned her down "sure"
She plopped down on the bench opposite me and started eating in silence.
I continued scrolling through Instagram monitoring my followers and unfollowing people who don't follow me.
I finally put my phone down and started eating my sloppy joes only for me to.notice Gabby staring at me.
"Um why are you staring at me?" I added a light chuckle at the end so she knew I wasn't angry or anything but she still looked petrified.
"Oh I'm so sorry, it's just... Never mind" she pushed up her glasses.
"Okay now I really wanna know"
"It's stupid"
"Well I wanna hear it"
"Your hair it's so red like the color of ketchup and I wanna believe it's hair dye but your roots don't seem dyed"
"That because it's my actual hair colour" I said. It's not the first time people have asked me that, some even argue with me over it saying I'm lying about it being my natural hair colour.
"Woah, that's a pretty unique hair colour" she said obviously fascinated "it's the first time I've ever seen a natural hair colour like this"
"Yeah I know. I actually get that a lot but the hair colour kinda runs in the family because my mum has the exact same hair colour" it's true my mom's hair is also the exact shade of red though hers is cut much shorter and holds hints of grey.
I told her about different encounters I've had with people over my hair colour and we ended up laughing the whole lunch away. I'm usually not good at making friends but Gabby makes it so hard not to love her with her jokes and gentle nature.
We finally parted after lunch but she made sure to.follow me on Instagram and add me on Snapchat first.
I finished the rest of my classes without issues and went to cheer practice.
Cheer practice today was shorter that usual to make time for the committee meeting so we ended up not doing much.
Finally after practice was over the members of the school dance committee filed into the library for our meeting.
After the attendance was taken. We all proceeded to pitch our ideas. I really don't like being around strangers, infact the only reason i signed up for this was because the school insisted I did.
"What about you vixen do you have any thing to suggest?" I recognized Brie's shrill voice even without looking up.
Brie is the real cliche evil bitch even though she's not a cheerleader. She's the school's queen bee and she resident teacher's pet. She's involved in every school activity except sports.
"I was thinking more of a fairytale theme" I said quietly.
"That's stupid all your ideas are stupid... You are all idiots!" She yelled and we all fell quiet.
Who's she calling an idiot.
I'll show her.
She sighed dramatically and tried to sit on her chair but I quickly used my powers to move it backwards causing her to land on the floor with a thud and the whole library erupted into laughter as the librarian Mrs Simmons tried to control us and remind us that we're in a library.
The meeting was adjourned and I went home and took a nap.
It was almost midnight when I was awoken from my supposed nap by the sound of the front door being opened and shut.
I just assumed it was my mom coming home late from a covern meeting and payed no mind to it.
My mom is the leader of tharua covern, the largest covern of witches in this side of America. The position of covern leader has been in our family for generations and one day my mom would pass the baton to me and I would carry on our legacy.
She sent me a text earlier in the day saying she might be home late today because the meeting was getting heated and she couldn't get two smaller coverns to become allies with them.
If I had known how wrong I was I would have gone downstairs to what happened but instead I went back to bed not hearing the muffled screams of my mother in the darkness of the night.
+++++++++++++++
My stupid new alarm clock started beeping rapidly telling me it was time to get up and I was just about to disintegrate it with a spell when I remembered how angry my mom was yesterday.
So instead I opted for turning it off and rolling out of bed. I'm really not a morning person.
"Tabitha play sunflower by post Malone and swae Lee" I said yawning as I made my way to the bathroom.
"Playing music" she did as she was told and I went to take a bath without having to prompted by my mom.
When i got out of the bathroom I asked Tabitha "what should I wear today?"
"I recommend wear your thingh length denim qown and sneakers for a.simple yet stylish look"
I got the clothes out of my closet and put them on. The song had changed to a sad song I didn't remember downloading.
After wearing my clothes I sat in front of my mirror and decided to straighten my bird's nest of a hair.
It took me about half an hour to finally get it under control and lay my edges. I applied eyeliner and lipgloss then unplugged my phone and took a picture before posting it on Instagram with a caption 'life as a red head'.
It was then, I realized I hadn't heard my mom's voice yelling at me all morning. I waved off the thought thinking she was probably tired from her meeting last night.
I wore my smartwatch and strapped on my backpack before making my way downstairs.
The first thing I noticed when I got downstairs was that it was freezing cold. The front door was left wide open all night. My mom might have been tired but she's never this careless.
The second thing I noticed was the absence of the smell of breakfast.
For as long as I can remember no matter how tired she is my mom always makes breakfast be it hand made or whipped up magically with a spell, I always wake up too the smell of breakfast.
But this morning there was nothing on the table and my mother was no where to be found and now I'm really worried.
I threw my backpack down and started panicking "MOM!!!.... MOM!!!"
I ran over to her room and noticed the door was locked. I instantly used a spell to melt the door knob and rushed into the room.
I smelled it before I was it. That distinct coppery smell of blood mixed with the faint smell of the lavender perfume my mom couldn't do without. And there she was on the floor, pale as snow.
Except that woman on the floor isn't my mom, she couldn't be. My mom had eyes which shone and always made the room feel brighter but this woman lying on the ground in the pool of her own blood stared at me with hopeless and lifeless eyes.
She didn't move, her short red hair even darker thanks to the blood. And that's when I noticed it, a symbol drawn around her dead body in the shape of a circle with a trident inside. This wasn't a random murder this had to have been the work of an expert witch or wizard.
I didn't panic, I didn't break down and sob. I simply took out my phone called my grandma and tell her everything.
Then I sat on the floor next to her cold body and waited.
++++++++++++++++++
Less than an hour later my house was swarming with witches dressed like cops trying to decipher the symbol.
They couldn't get the humans involved and risk exposing ourselves so each covern had a division for things like this.
So far I haven't said anything to anyone and neither have I gotten up from the spot on the ground where I sat. I just stared as everything moved so fast. I couldn't move, I couldn't see anything. Everything is a blur.
It wasn't until my grandmother came to me and sat down next to me did I finally look up from the scene before me and break down in tears.
I sobbed, I wailed, I weeped and everything in between, while my grandmother just held me, rubbing circles on my back.
Until finally I was drained "who did it?" I finally said.
"We don't know" she said quietly "the security footage on Tabitha was wiped clean"
"But how's that possible even I don't know the password for that and I'm pretty sure my mom didn't just go around telling everybody"
"Well whoever it was must have been close to your mom or ..." She he didn't say it but I knew she meant she could have been tortured. She quickly cleared her throat and changed the subject "have you had anything to eat?".
I didn't answer instead I asked her "what's that symbol?"
"We don't know yet but we also found it carved unto her back which explains all the blood" she wasn't sparing the details because she knew I'd want to know no matter how gory it sounded "our experts also concluded that he used a power dampening spell witch is why your mom couldn't fight back"
"A power dampening spell, I thought only expert witches or wizards could do this" I said and sniffled "even my mom couldn't do that"
She didn't say anything this time instead she just kept staring forward deep in her own thoughts.
+++++++++++++++
I slept in an hotel room that night because I couldn't bear to be in that house.
My grandma wanted to book us seperate rooms but I begged her to let me stay in her room.
So that's how I ended up in bed next to my grandma who smelled like peppermint.
I couldn't sleep. Everytime I close my eyes I see her and I'm starting to drive myself crazy.
And right there and then I promised myself and my mother that I would find her killer and avenge her.
With that on my mind I fell asleep and dreamt of delicious blueberry pancakes and my mom.
+++++++++++
It didn't have to be said that now I'd be staying with my grandma.
I never knew my father because my mom never told me of him. I never asked, not wanting to break her heart. It was always me and my mom against the world.
And even now standing in her room trying to pick out what thing of hers to take with me and what to donate I still thought of her.
Her body had been taken away and the blood scrubbed clean but I still felt her presence there.
I didn't realize I had been standing at the doorway for so long until my grandma put her hand on my shoulder making me jump slightly.
"It's okay if you can't do this" she said softly "we could always come back when you're ready or get someone to do it for you"
"No Grandma, I will do this" I finally took a step into the room and headed for her closet.
I decided that all her clothes should be donated except her wedding dress, which she never had a chance to wear since my father left her in the alter. It was folded neatly inside a box labeled my wedding.
I took it out and placed on the bed before going back to search through the closet again. Next I found a box labeled vixen.
I pulled it out of the corner it was carefully tucked in and opened it. It was filled with scrapbooks and trinkets from my childhood.
My first cuddly was there, an old blanket I called mr blanky. It also had old photos of me. Like the one of my first time at the beach were I was smiling widely even without my front teeth, or the one were I just performed my first spell and was covered in flour since I had tried to levitate it.
I recognized everything and every picture she was in brought tears to my eyes. I was about to close the box when I noticed a picture I hadn't seen before. It was a picture of my mom holding a baby wrapped in a blue blanket, she was smiling fondly at the little boy in her hands and he just stared at her intently.
The strange thing about the photo is the that a part of it had been cut off leaving only half of the photo to be seen. At the back scribbled in my mom's clean handwriting it said "Foxx and vixen at one week"
That means the little boy in the picture is Foxx and the other half of the picture that was cut of probably had my face in it. But who is Foxx and why did my mom love him so much as to put him in this box which she was obviously fond of.
I tucked the photo in my pocket and proceeded to he dresser. I spotted her lavender perfume and immediately took it and sprayed, letting myself get immersed in the smell of comfort.
I noticed her gold necklace And also put that on before grabbing the two boxes and her perfume and exiting the room while trying my hardest not to break down in tears.
++++++++++++
I had packed all my things into the moving van outside as I sat on the couch waiting for my grandma to finish whatever she was doing.
"Vixen you have a new message from Ariel everdeen" I almost jumped at the sound of my mother's name.
A new message? How is that possible? Isn't she dead? Tabitha interrupted my thoughts again by saying "should I play or delete the message"
"Play!" I spat out.
There was a beep before my mom sweet voice said "hey vixen" and my heart overflowed "mom".
She sighed deeply "I recorded this message a while ago and if you're listening to this it means I'm ..." She took a deep breath "dead"
"I don't know what went wrong but I know you'll probably have a lot of questions all of which I can't answer seeing as I'm dead" she paused And continued "if I'm correct which I know I am you'll probably be on your way to live with Grandma in Pennsylvania right about now which is perfect"
"Grandma will most likely enroll you in my former high school, when you get there you'll find yourself in a whole new world and meet lots of new people but be careful who you choose as a friend"
I wondered what she meant by that "there's a section of the school with abandoned lockers that been sealed off now, I need you to get in there and find my old locker"
"It's locker 228, I've hidden something there that'll help you with almost everything you need to know and hopefully answer some of your questions" it's just like my mom to always plan everything ahead.
That thought brought tears to my eyes, she sniffled and said "I love you very much sweetheart".
I whispered back "I love you too" even though I knew she couldn't hear me.
I thought the recording had ended when she stayed silent for a while but then she suddenly added "oh I almost forgot, whatever you do never trust the fox"
And with that there was a beep to indicate the end of the recording. "Would you like to listen to the message again or delete it?" Came Tabitha's voice but I barely heard as I pondered over my mom's last words "never trust the fox".
Did she mean a person who behaved like a fox or a literal Fox like that boy from the picture. I mean it couldn't be a coincidence that she'd use that exact word, Right?
Tabitha asked again "would you like to listen to the message again or delete?" Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I cleared my throat before saying "delete it"
"One message deleted"
I heard my grandma shout "vixen honey come on it's time to go".
I wiped the tears making their way out of my eyes and yelled back "I'll be right there!"
"Goodbye mom" I said to the empty house as I made my way out "Tabitha shut down"
"System shutting down" came the feminine voice in a slur.
I turned off the lights and looked around one last time before locking the door probably for the last time and made my way to my new life.
******************
Writing this chapter brought tears to my eyes
*Sniffles*
Oh well,
who's excited for next chapter and vixen's new life?
And who do y'all think this Foxx guy is?
Flood the comments because I love listening to you guys.
XOXOXOXOXOXO
Jassmin ❤️
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