choices
"I can't just run away," Cassie argues.
She nervously bites her lower lip as she avoids looking at Jake, instead she tries to imagine herself just packing everything up like Jake has asked her to. He stops packing his bag and turns to face her. Cassie looks up at him and hopes that he'll change his mind, that he'll understand why she can't do what he's asking her to do.
"I don't think you realize how serious things are," Jake quietly says.
Cassie sighs. It's not that she doesn't realize how serious and dangerous things have become in such a short period of time because she does. But running away from Chance Harbor seems too much like her mother's actions almost eighteen years ago. It reeks of weakness and betrayal. She might never have asked to be a witch, she never asked for this life but Cassie can't just run away from who she is or this life that's been thrust upon her.
She's too strong to just abandon her circle like her mother had so many years before. Jake seems to know what she's thinking as he moves over to her. His hands gently grip her shoulders.
"Cassie," Jake says. "I know that you want to stay but you'll be helping them by leaving with me tonight."
"How?" Cassie demands. "How is abandoning my friends helping them?"
He sighs as he pulls her down to the bed. A part of her wishes that things were simpler like they had been before Chance Harbor. It'd be nice if Jake was nothing than a cute boy that she had a crush on instead of being a witch that she's bound to.
"It's not just the hunters Cassie," Jake tells her. "It's your dark magic as well. The threat isn't just the hunters, it's you."
"But together the circle's more powerful, even with my dark magic," Cassie says. "If I leave, the circle's broken and our power is limited."
"It's not that simple, I wish it were but you're a Balcoin. You're not just any dark witch, you're a descendant of the darkest bloodline," Jake explains. "That will start affecting the circle."
"And what makes you think that you'll be safe from my magic if it's so dark?" Cassie asks.
The word evil is on the top of her tongue but she refuses to say it, she refuses to make it real even though she can feel the weight of it pressing down on them both. There's so much between them that's always left unspoken. The fact that her magic isn't just dark is one of those things. It's easier for them to cloak it the word dark as opposed to calling it what it is: evil.
"When the others were playing at being witches, I was learning about being a real one," Jake tells her.
"You were learning how to stop witches," Cassie quietly points out.
Another euphemism since kill is another word that she can't (or won't) say but it hangs there between them nonetheless. Maybe that's why he can keep her safe: he's as dark as she is. Faye might be power hungry but she's as naive as Adam, Diane and Melissa are. Cassie sighs as she bites her lower lip again, she doesn't want to betray the others but she can't help but think that her staying might be a bigger betrayal than her running away is. What if the only way to save the others is by leaving them?
He's quiet as she mulls it over in her mind. She's well aware that they don't have a lot of time. In the end, Cassie realizes that either way she doesn't have much of a choice.
"What about my grandmother?" Cassie asks, in one last attempt to stall the inevitable.
"She'll be safe here," Jake assures her. "The hunters won't bother her and the elders will look after one of their own."
He takes her hand and she looks up at him. "Cassie, please we don't have much time. I need you to trust me."
She nods at him, still certain that no matter what she decides it will be the wrong decision. Her mother had run away and look at where it had gotten Amelia Blake. But maybe her mother had run away knowing about the taint of Cassie's magic and heritage.
"Alright," Cassie reluctantly agrees.
As Jake takes her over to her house, Cassie can only hope that this time she's made the right choice, that this choice is the one that will betray and hurt her friends the least.
written for promptwriting's prompt of run; 764 words
She nervously bites her lower lip as she avoids looking at Jake, instead she tries to imagine herself just packing everything up like Jake has asked her to. He stops packing his bag and turns to face her. Cassie looks up at him and hopes that he'll change his mind, that he'll understand why she can't do what he's asking her to do.
"I don't think you realize how serious things are," Jake quietly says.
Cassie sighs. It's not that she doesn't realize how serious and dangerous things have become in such a short period of time because she does. But running away from Chance Harbor seems too much like her mother's actions almost eighteen years ago. It reeks of weakness and betrayal. She might never have asked to be a witch, she never asked for this life but Cassie can't just run away from who she is or this life that's been thrust upon her.
She's too strong to just abandon her circle like her mother had so many years before. Jake seems to know what she's thinking as he moves over to her. His hands gently grip her shoulders.
"Cassie," Jake says. "I know that you want to stay but you'll be helping them by leaving with me tonight."
"How?" Cassie demands. "How is abandoning my friends helping them?"
He sighs as he pulls her down to the bed. A part of her wishes that things were simpler like they had been before Chance Harbor. It'd be nice if Jake was nothing than a cute boy that she had a crush on instead of being a witch that she's bound to.
"It's not just the hunters Cassie," Jake tells her. "It's your dark magic as well. The threat isn't just the hunters, it's you."
"But together the circle's more powerful, even with my dark magic," Cassie says. "If I leave, the circle's broken and our power is limited."
"It's not that simple, I wish it were but you're a Balcoin. You're not just any dark witch, you're a descendant of the darkest bloodline," Jake explains. "That will start affecting the circle."
"And what makes you think that you'll be safe from my magic if it's so dark?" Cassie asks.
The word evil is on the top of her tongue but she refuses to say it, she refuses to make it real even though she can feel the weight of it pressing down on them both. There's so much between them that's always left unspoken. The fact that her magic isn't just dark is one of those things. It's easier for them to cloak it the word dark as opposed to calling it what it is: evil.
"When the others were playing at being witches, I was learning about being a real one," Jake tells her.
"You were learning how to stop witches," Cassie quietly points out.
Another euphemism since kill is another word that she can't (or won't) say but it hangs there between them nonetheless. Maybe that's why he can keep her safe: he's as dark as she is. Faye might be power hungry but she's as naive as Adam, Diane and Melissa are. Cassie sighs as she bites her lower lip again, she doesn't want to betray the others but she can't help but think that her staying might be a bigger betrayal than her running away is. What if the only way to save the others is by leaving them?
He's quiet as she mulls it over in her mind. She's well aware that they don't have a lot of time. In the end, Cassie realizes that either way she doesn't have much of a choice.
"What about my grandmother?" Cassie asks, in one last attempt to stall the inevitable.
"She'll be safe here," Jake assures her. "The hunters won't bother her and the elders will look after one of their own."
He takes her hand and she looks up at him. "Cassie, please we don't have much time. I need you to trust me."
She nods at him, still certain that no matter what she decides it will be the wrong decision. Her mother had run away and look at where it had gotten Amelia Blake. But maybe her mother had run away knowing about the taint of Cassie's magic and heritage.
"Alright," Cassie reluctantly agrees.
As Jake takes her over to her house, Cassie can only hope that this time she's made the right choice, that this choice is the one that will betray and hurt her friends the least.
written for promptwriting's prompt of run; 764 words