Cindy was still daydreaming about her date when her phone started to buzz like crazy. She knew who it was and tried to ignore it, but it would not stop. She was trying to get ready for church and was wondering what to wear. Just before she kissed Neberu goodnight, she invited him to meet her at church to come and meet her friends and talk. She decided to wear a red and green plaid flannel dress to stay warm along with a black nearly full body outfit under it with a type of turtleneck rather than a hood. She was still adjusting it when her phone went off again. She had not even gotten her dress on when she grabbed it to make it stop. It was not Kelly or even Amber. It was Winona. “I have another video I need everyone to see. I know you are going to church. Please message me ASAP so we can meet and discuss. Later…W.” Cindy put her phone down and looked at herself in the mirror with a quick approving smile. She made a few more adjustments to her new outfit making sure her
The summer between high school and college started off quiet for Isabella Dean and her new group of friends in Asheville, North Carolina. While they knew some of them were going to split off on new adventures in different colleges, they were so close that those distances were not going to matter all that much in the greater scheme of life for the group affectionately known as the BTGs or Black Tights Girls. The addition of Isabella Dean into their group during their senior year of high school infused them with a missing strength and mission that helped them grow to the next level of friendship and existence. Before she arrived, they were living in a gray area pushed and pulled about by the whims of a bully and her group of comrades. Upon the arrival of Isabella, the shift in the dynamics of St. Bart’s Catholic School was swift and immediate as Isabella took down Lucy Upshaw in a series of altercations that made it clear that Isabella was both a better fighter and a better human b
Isabella got up staring at her ceiling and remembered it was time to go see her boyfriend, Joseph Akins. She had hardly gotten up when her phone buzzed with a message. She assumed it was from Amber, Jessica, or Kelly, but it was actually from Winona. “I need to meet with all of you. Let me know when you can get here today.” It seemed to be a cryptic message. She set her phone down and stared at her toes for a moment while in a daze still trying to wake up. Her bedroom had a bit of a chill in it from her open window while a gentle breeze blew her curtains in a waving pattern casting strange shadows across her floor. She still opted for wearing one of her outfits to bed under her nightgown and was glad she did as the chilly air slid along her exposed legs. “June…ha.” She thought to herself. “This feels more like April.” She was dressed and saw Julecia emerge from her room still in her nightgown and outfit with her slippers and was stretching and yawning while trying to smile at
Isabella got home after a quick visit with Joseph and some alone time with him in his apartment. She was still smiling and thinking about it and feeling the after-effects of his strong hands on her lower body when she caught Julecia in the living room being too comfortable with herself in her new dress. Part of her wanted to be mad, but she drew in a deep breath remembering something both Linda and even Winona had said to her about Julecia and the other girls that they had not had proper training or raising by a stable adult in their lives. She drew in another breath trying to put on her understanding and discernment hat and cleared her throat loud enough for Julecia to hear her. Julecia made a quick mad dash to pull up her top layer of pantyhose and toss the hem of her dress down to cover herself. She tried to sit up some, but it was not working and Isabella came and sat down next to her. “Erm…let’s go to my room for a bit and talk.” Julecia’s face turned an even darke
Katie was visibly nervous to the point of shaking as the date approached for her and Jessica to go with Winona to visit the haunted house near the coast. She had never been farther than a doctor’s visit in Asheville in her life, and the thought of riding in a car for hours to a strange place was weighing heavily on her mind. Jessica was very busy in preparation for their trip going shopping for new summer outfits for them that included shorts, tops, and new shoes. She knew Katie would protest wearing shorts, but she convinced her that it would be more advantageous to wear those instead of dresses while in a swamp and around strange places. Amber and Isabella worked together on learning about the coast and its history, but without knowing what they were looking for, it was far too broad and nearly worthless. Winona cleaned up her shop, and she set it up for Isabella to take over while they were gone. She knew Isabella was interested in working, and she knew that she was also
Isabella sat in her room for nearly a day with the briefcase resting on the edge of her bed. She had her laptop out and had been examining accounts nearly nonstop since getting home using usernames and passwords given to her by her mother’s lawyer. It was not Linda this time who rescued her from a bout of over-examination and deep thoughts. It was her mother. Isabella jumped at the sound of her door being knocked on. “Yes?” “Can I come in?” Her voice was muffled by the door. “Yes.” Her mother came in wearing a robe over her nightgown with her ballet flat satin slippers. She was wearing something on her legs knowing this would make Isabella more amenable than bare legs. She wanted to reach out to her daughter and not for a chance to get at her money. She was feeling a pang of deep-seated guilt about how she felt about Isabella’s father. This ate at her insides, and she wanted to make amends with Isabella. “Can we talk?” Isabella looked at her and let her ey
Isabella got home and went to her laptop and began to do some research on witches in North Carolina. She was surprised that there was an article about one that showed up right away. She wanted to share it with Amber, but she knew she was gone for the afternoon until at least after dinner. She dug in deeper trying to get more details, but they were not there. She got frustrated at the lack of information and realized that the article was a lot of words, but it was not a lot of information. She sat back and thought about Joseph. “What are you doing?” She waited for a reply. “Just got home,” Joseph answered. “What are you doing?” “Research...work.” She thought. “You want to come over here for dinner?” “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” She put her phone down and smiled thinking about him. Her body quivered at the thought of him touching her once again. She bit her lip and went to her mirror to fix her hair and face a bit. She thought about changing, but she jus
The SUV was almost ready as Isabella put her last bit of luggage into it which included her laptop and briefcase. Amber had come lumbering up the sidewalk with her rolling bag and a bag with her laptop. She was dressed in a very short skirt that barely covered her thighs let alone much else. Isabella raised her eyebrows at it and her cavalier attitude. “It comes with a built-in panty.” Amber recognized that look because her mother did the same thing. “Really?” Isabella looked surprised. “I can’t tell.” “Trust me it does.” She put the bags in the SUV. They both saw the black SUV across the road move and block the driveway. A man and a woman dressed in dark clothes got out and looked at them. The man began to speak. “You can’t leave Asheville.” Isabella looked at him. “And why not?” The lady answered. “We have the authority to…” “No, you don’t.” Isabella would not let her finish. The two agents looked at each other. They looked at Isabella an