Chapter 294

Tessa’s POV

“What’s going on?” I asked before Esme was off the phone.

“Okay, I’ll come there right now. I’m about 2 hours away though so it’s going to take me a bit to get there,” Esme said into the phone. “Just try to keep everybody calm.”

After another second Esme hung up the phone and looked down at me with such a worried look that it made my stomach tighten.

“What’s happening?” I asked again.

“The coven is freaking out,” Esme said. “At first I thought it was because thye heard about Lucias’ death. But Patty just told me that they have no idea what year it is. They lost their memories and now it’s like they are waking up. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I think I have to go.”

“I’ll come too,” I said, quickly standing to my feet.

“It’s 2 hours away and you are exhausted,” Joseph reminded me. “Besides, you have work tomorrow.”

“I’ll just tell them I have to work from home tomorrow. I would have to be out in the field anyway. I don’t need to go to the office,” I said quickly, meeting Joseph’s eyes.

“Out in the field?” He asked. “What field? For what?”

I blushed, still not wanting to confess to him about my first project, but knowing I had to talk to him about it anyway.

“I got my first assignment yesterday and I have to research and interview someone for this article they want done,” I admitted. “We weren’t able to get much done today, so I would have to try again tomorrow. As soon as I got to the office, I would have to leave. I’ll just call her and tell her that I’m not going to bother going into the office and that I’m just going to start work.”

“Who are you researching?” Joseph asked, his brows pinched together.

I went to respond, but Esme grabbed my arm.

“Are you coming or not?” Esme asked. “I have to get there now.”

I nodded and started to go with her toward the front door.

“You aren’t going without me,” Joseph said, grabbing his and my coat off the back of the loveseat. “I’ll drive. Tessa is exhausted and should at least try to get some sleep.”

I nodded; I wasn’t sure if I could sleep or not. But I was at least going to try to close my eyes for a little while during this 2-hour car ride.

I slid into the backseat of the car so I could lie down, and Esme got into the passenger seat while Joseph got into the driver’s seat. Soon we were on the road and heading to the Coven I tried to escape from.

“So, did Patty say anything else?” Joseph asked, keeping his voice low so I could rest without being disturbed.

“No, she was freaking out and I could hear the others crying n the background,” Esme said, shaking her head with dismay written all over her face. “They are terrified and I’m not sure what’s going on. It seems like they’ve lost time though. Patty had no idea what year it was and thought maybe someone was playing a cruel joke.”

“Why would she call you? I thought they all hated you and thought of you as a traitor,” Joseph said, confusion clear in his tone.

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Esme admitted. “She asked me where I was though which was even weirder.”

“Do you think Lucias did something to them?” I found myself asking. “Like a memory thing?”

“It’s possible,” Esme said. “I was confused as to how he ended up being their leader. He wasn’t strong enough to be a leader and he wasn’t the most liked.”

“But they still appointed him the leader?” I asked, equally confused.

“Apparently,” Esme answered. “I didn’t know until I saw them when we went to rescue you.”

A knot tightened in my stomach and I knew something had to be very wrong. I closed my eyes, trying to settle my racing heart and the anxiety that bubbled in my chest. But it was only growing stronger the closer we got to the coven.

I wasn’t sure at what point I fell asleep. But I was soon being woken by Joseph who touched my face gently. I stirred uncomfortably, feeling my entire body cramping from my uncomfortable position in the small space of the backseat of the car.

“We are here,” he said, running his fingers down the side of my face and making goosebumps stand tall on my flesh.

I leaned into his touch, wanting more of it. But then reality came crashing down around me and I remembered where we were and what we were here for. My eyes opened and I lifted my head to peer around myself. Esme was gone and the car was parked out front of the coven house.

“Is she already inside?” I asked.

Joseph nodded.

“Yeah. Do you want to go in or wait for a for a few minutes?”

I shook my head and attempted to get out of the car. Joseph took my arm and helped me out of the vehicle.

“We have to go inside,” I told him, pulling him along with me to the front door.

I could hear voices on the other side of the door before I even pushed it open. Esme was in the center of the living room and everyone else was seated around. Some had their faces in their hands; others were crying hysterically.

Others were shivering uncontrollably.

“Hey,” I said, approaching Esme who looked around the room with such concern that it tore a hole in the middle of my stomach. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not honestly not even sure yet,” Esme said. “They are so distraught.”

Patty’s eyes found mine and she stood to her feet quickly, trying to recover herself the best she could.

“Alison?” She whispered, staring at me with an expression that I couldn’t read. “I thought… I thought you were dead…” Tears filled her eyes and I took an unsteady step away from her as she attempted to approach me.

“Patty, I’m not Alison. She was my mother,” I said, speaking slowly like I was trying to reason with a rabid animal. “I’m Tessa. Remember?”

Patty’s eyes grew large as she studied my face.

“Little Tessa?” She asked, her mouth hanging open. “That can’t be right… you were only a little girl…”

“Wait, are you saying you don’t remember anything that happened over these last several years?” Esme asked, her eyes narrowing at Patty. “You don’t remember what happened after the war?”

Patty stared at Esme with horror in her eyes.

“I remember Alison and Constance dying. We went back to the Coven house to recover after the war. We left Tessa with her father, knowing that she was safe. Only those of us in the circle remembered why the war took place. Others were confused and they needed to be tended to. I was so focused on making sure that everybody was safe. That everything was kind of a blur from the rest of the night. I went to bed early the next morning and when I woke up…. Well… here I am and apparently years had passed.”

My heart fell deep into my stomach as I covered my mouth with my hands, a sob escaping my lips.

“You don’t remember anything? You don’t remember my father?”

“Of course, I remember him. He lived in the coven house for a few years and he would do anything to protect you…”

“No, I mean, you don’t remember being his neighbor for the last decade?” I asked. “You don’t remember having a crush on him?”

Her nose crinkled in disgust.

“A crush?” She asked. “On Alison’s husband? Of course not. I would never!”

“What about you,” Joseph asked the boy with the glasses; he was the youngest of the group and he was probably the most shaken of them all. His name was Derek and when I spent time at this coven, he mainly kept to himself. He was shivering uncontrollably and his eyes were bloodshot from all the crying he’s been doing. “Do you remember shooting me?”

“Derek was the one who shot you at my apartment?” I gasped, staring up at Joseph.

Derek was such a young boy and I thought of him as innocent. I couldn’t even imagine him with a gun let alone pulling the trigger.

Derek’s face grew incredibly pale I thought for a moment he was going to get sick all over the living room floor.

“That’s why I have guns in my room…” he whispered. “Because I shoot people?”

“You aren’t the only ones with guns in your room,” a girl said from the couch, lifting her head up from her hands. Amy was one of the girls I actually got along with here. “I have weapons of all sorts and I don’t know what half of them are used for. Most of them look very used…”

Another girl patted her back, trying to comfort her.

“Are you saying none of you remember anything?” I asked again, trying to wrap my head around what was happening.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Amy asked as tears filled her eyes.

I looked at Esme and she met my eyes; I could see the wheels turning in her mind and she did not look happy as she pressed her lips together to form a thin line.

“I think I have an idea as to what happened,” Esme murmured. “And you aren’t going to like it.”