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I went to my bedroom and left the door cracked open.
You can’t hide forever, Grace.
“It’s worth a shot,” I mumbled.
* * *
“Why are you always in your bedroom? Do you ever eat?” Christy asked as she leaned in my doorway, munching away on a bag of potato chips I wanted to slap out of her hands.
“Well, last I checked, I’m grounded.” I sighed. I didn’t know for sure if I was still grounded since Dad returned my phone, but I wasn’t about to hang out downstairs with him. Just thinking about it made my skin crawl.
My sister snorted and rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t mean you should always be in your room. Dad is complaining about you hiding from us.” She popped a chip into her mouth and crunched on it. “Why?”
“Can you eat quieter, please?” I snapped.
Christy popped another chip into her mouth and chewed louder, leaning forward and gnashing her teeth at me. She was a beautiful girl with long blonde hair and a slim body, but right now, she was the ugliest person because of her cruelty.
My blood boiled with rage that flooded through my veins. I glared at her, breathing harder as the urge to jump across the room and snap her neck rose in me.
It wasn’t like me. Yeah, I didn’t like it when people ate super loud, but I didn’t want tokillanyone over it. My family didn’t understand it. They barely understood my schizoaffective disorder.
Guilt flooded through me and knotted my stomach. I lowered my angry eyes to the Bible on the mattress in front of me, then sat in the middle of my bed, minding my business as I searched for more information about demons and even the plot holes Lucien had pointed out during classes.
“Jeez, Grace, don’t cry about it,” Christy said as she chewed on another potato chip.
I cringed, ground my teeth together, and glared at the holy textbook, not reading anything on the open pages.
“Just fuck off, please,” I snapped, still staring down at the book.
“Ohhhh, I’m telling Dad you cursed,” Christy sang and chewed louder on her chips.
My head snapped up, and I bared my teeth at her, my gums aching. “Just leave!” I growled, my voice not my own.
Christy’s eyes bugged out of her head, and her bag of chips slipped from her hand, landing by her feet. The pulse in her neck hammered, and she spun around and fled from my bedroom.
I breathed heavily, watching as she turned around the corner and disappeared. I waited, listening for her to scream for Dad or Mom, but I only heard her heavy footsteps flying down the stairs.
Realization dawned on me. My stomach dropped and ice froze my blood.
She’s going to tell them. I can’t let her.
I shot off the bed and chased after her, taking two steps at a time as I went down the stairs.
“What’s going on?” Mom asked from the living room.
I turned the corner and stopped dead in my tracks as Christy hid behind Mom with tears tracking down her cheeks and her lower lip wobbling.
“She’s possessed!” Christy cried.
I rapidly shook my head. “No. I’m not.”
That didn’t sound convincing at all, and Mom’s eyebrows bunched together as she looked between my sister and me.
Mom turned and looked at Christy. “What happened?”
Christy didn’t take her eyes off me as she yelled, “I was just talking to her, and she growled at me. Like full-on, demonic growl.” She looked at our mom, hands grappling at her arm to keep her in front of her as if our mom was a shield that would block her from my non-existent attack. “She’s possessed!”
My heart thundered in my chest, and I tried to breathe through the panic. I couldn’t say anything, too scared of the speed at which this situation was escalating. My reality shifted, and the walls extended, then returned to their normal shape, then extended again, like breathing.
