Chapter Three

Cassie

Professor McCall stands before the class, talking about the history of Silverwood enthusiastically. The two witches to the side of me are giggling quietly, telling each other how handsome the wolf professor is and how they would love to do some nasty things to him.

I'm not too interested in what the two young witches are chattering about. The world around me is swirling, and my eyes are heavy. My sight is blurry, and soon, the voice of the professor at the front of the room begins to fade away, sounding more indistinct with each passing minute.

I blink rapidly in an attempt to regain my sight, but it doesn't seem to be working. The back of my hands reach up to my eyes immediately, and I rub them in a massaging motion.

All of a sudden, every sound around me becomes heightened and it's like I can hear everyone's voices in the room speaking all at once. It hurts. It hurts really badly.

I clap my palms over my ears, trying to shut out the loud voices threatening to destroy my eardrums. My situation is getting worse, and I think I might go crazy from this effect.

A few seconds later, I go blind, and all I see is darkness. I'm breathing very heavily, but I'm struggling to stay calm and not disturb the class. The voices that assaulted me earlier now fall silent and are replaced by a low ringing in my ears.

I'm in a void surrounded by nothing but utter darkness, and the only sound that I hear is the sound of my own heart pounding and my haphazard breaths. I'm panicking, literally on the verge of screaming out for help, but I'm trying to stay as calm as possible.

Maybe the spinning pen is what's causing me to hallucinate. It must have had some kind of hex on it or something. Maybe it's a witch prank and it'll wear off soon. If I scream out now, I'll be laughed at.

This isn't real, Cassie. It isn't real.

In the darkness, my eyes catch on something unique. I see a giant, white wolf with blue eyes emerging from a corner. It's advancing toward me. The closer to me it gets, the calmer I become.

The wolf halts in front of me and bends its head as I reach to touch it. My outstretched hand is close to feeling its fur when I'm distracted by the loud sound of the school bell ringing.

I jerk in my seat and everything around me suddenly normalizes. My sight is restored, as is my hearing. Rattled, I look around and see the two witches laughing beside me, but they don't seem to be responsible for what has happened to me.

The professor is saying something about semester grades, but no one is listening as students make their way out of the class. I'm seated there, confused as to what just happened to me.

"Miss Munt?" Professor McCall walks up to me. "Are you all right?"

I look at him, steadying my breathing.

"Yes." I swallow. "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for the concern." I sniffle.

He squints at me but doesn't say anything regarding my behavior.

"You take care of yourself, okay?"

I nod and pick up my backpack quickly as I head out of the classroom. My body is aching, and I am exhausted and confused.

What happened to me back there? Was I in some sort of trance? Was it a vision?

These thoughts and many more overlap in my mind as I walk through the hallway amidst the laughs and chattering of young college students.

I'm confused at this point, because this has never happened to me before in all my twenty-four years.

Did what I saw mean anything? If yes, then what exactly does it mean?

My brain can't begin to fathom what really happened to me, and at this point, I'm too tired to think. I'm also in so much pain, and the only thing that can help me right now are my pills.

I take them out of my backpack as I head toward the steps leading outside. As I approach the exit, I spot Eric by the fountain where he usually waits for me. He can't see me yet, at least not until I step out into the sunlight.

His smile brightens my mood as he waves his hand at me, the other combing his hair backward.

I return the gesture with a shaky hand and quickly take out the bottle of my pills. My body is trembling and I'm starting to feel funny. I need these pills, well, at least one, for my afternoon dosage.

Just as I'm about to swallow one, I feel the tiny hairs on my skin rise for a second, and I can swear that I sense trouble. I don't know how, but I do. I feel the need to move, to step away maybe, but I'm too weak and tired to do so.

It's like time has slowed down and everything around me is happening in slow motion. Without turning back, I smell the scent of sweat blended with cigars and a harsh cologne. Again, I want to move, to step aside, but I don't.

At that moment, the collision occurs, prompting everything to return to its normal speed.

I gasp in terror as my bottle falls to the steps and bounces off, scattering the pills all over the place. Before I can even blink, rowdy footsteps trample upon them, and I feel my heart squash as the pills squash beneath the many feet rushing by me.

"No, no, no, no…" I drop to my knees, attempting to gather the ones that I can. "This cannot be happening right now," I murmur to myself.

The sweaty guy who hit me didn't even stop to apologize, but at this point, he's the least of my problems.

These pills cost a fortune, and these people are just going about their regular lives, stepping upon them like spilled candies scattered across the floor.

My breath is trapped in my chest and my heart seems like it's taking a break from pumping blood. I'm devastated, confused, and in shock all at the same time. Fear has overwhelmed me, and I just want to scream.

Eric is beside me in an instant, and I can see his worry about me and his anger at the guy who had bumped into me. He squats and picks up the bottle, then locates where the lid had rolled off to as well.

No one stopped to ask what was happening to me or what I was searching for on the ground. It's like I'm down here on the ground, invisible to them all except for Eric. He knows how much these pills mean to me.

My heart is bleeding, not just for me, but for my mother as well. Now she'll have to start figuring out how to raise the money to get me more on short notice. It'll be too much for her, and she's already going through so much.

I hate being a burden to her, being the reason she sits up at night, thinking about me and how to solve my problems. It's not fair that she has to suffer through this. It really isn't.

I'm still thinking all of this, when I feel my body leave the ground as Eric whisks me into his strong arms and takes me away from the steps. He sets me on a bench in a corner.

"Hey, look at me. Look at me," he says to me as he notices how difficult it is for me to breathe. "You're okay. You're okay. Repeat after me. Go."

"I'm okay." I do as he says but my breathing still hasn't normalized yet. I'm struggling.

"Take a deep breath. In through your nose, out through your mouth." He locks eyes with me.

I do as I'm told.

"Slowly," he says softly, his voice calm and gentle, laced with concern and affection.

I listen, following his instructions.

"Good…that's good." He holds my hand.

I'm more calm now and my breathing is much better.

"What happened?" he inquires.

It's simple. Someone bumped into me from behind and the bottle fell out of my hand. But it's suddenly not that simple to reply. My brain plays back the scenario. I remember what I felt and what I smelled. It's almost like a part of me knew something like that was about to happen. It's like my senses were trying to warn me about getting bumped into, but my physical form was too weak to react.

What exactly is happening to me?

I've never felt the way that I did a few minutes ago, and if I'm being honest, it felt really good. I liked the tingling, the goosebumps, and the sensation. If I had moved like I wanted to, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Now, guilt is creeping up into my heart, and I know what that will do to my mental health.

"Cassie…Cassie," Eric calls my name, snapping his fingers in my face.

My mind returns to reality, and I see him looking at me with concern in his gaze.

I remember his question and provide him with an answer.

"Someone bumped into me, Eric." My voice shakes as the realization kicks in that truly, all my pills are gone. "I'm finished… it's over, I'm dead," I whimper.

"Hey, come here." He pulls me to him, and I seek comfort in his warm embrace, crying softly on his shoulder. "It's okay. You're okay." He strokes my hair backward in a soothing manner.

"They're gone, Eric… everything's gone." I weep softly.

He breaks our hug and tries to catch my cheeks to look at me. My eyes are red with crying, but I'm not letting him look at me. He tries a little longer and finally raises my chin, gluing my teary eyes to his.

"We'll figure something out, okay?"

"Figure what out, Eric? It's over for me, I'm done." I try to squirm out of his hold, but he tightens his grip on my hands, unwilling to let me go.

"It's not over," he says, revealing the bottle with the last two pills left inside.

"These won't do anything, and you know it," I say to him without acknowledging that those two pills could actually do something. "The last time I ran out of these pills, I nearly died. You don't know what I suffered." My heart skips a beat at remembering that horrible experience. "Eric, I can't go through that again. I can't." I break down, my hands trembling.

I'm going into shock, and I'm hyperventilating. My breathing is once again becoming unstable. My head feels like it's swelling, and my skin is on fire. I'm cold on the inside but hot on the outside.

"You're not going to go through that pain again, I promise." He assures me. "I won't let that happen… not on my watch."

His words mean so much to me, but I don't know how he intends to prevent my doom.

"How?" I ask with a sniffle and don't let him reply before adding, "Eric, these pills… they're super expensive and I cannot let you buy them for me." I bury my face in my palms. "I can't let my Mom find out, either. She's going to be so heartbroken and worried because, at the moment, we really can't afford to get more."

"Cassie…"

"No, you don't understand," I cut him off. "There's a lot at stake here, Eric. I could…" I choke on my words. "I could die," the words come out quietly in a tone filled with fear and anxiety.

"You're not going to die," he says to me. He sounds calm and in control.

He should be as frazzled as me, but I want to commend him for how well he's taking this. Somehow, it's helping me remain composed to some degree.

"Let me help you, Cass. I want to." He pleads with his eyes. "But first, I'm gonna need you to calm down. Can you do that?" He looks into my soul.

I'm hesitant. I like how his words and gestures are working wonders on me. I'm trying to stay calm, and with his help, it seems to be working. Eric has always been patient with me and he knows how to handle me whenever something gets me upset. This isn't our first rodeo. However, it's the first time he's witnessed this particular scenario.

It's a good thing that he's here with me right now because I have no idea what I would've done if he wasn't. This would have turned out worse, that's for sure.

"I'll go to Jeremiah," he says to me. "He and I will figure this out, okay?"

"Eric, it's too expensive. I can't let you guys do that for me," I say in opposition, even though deep down, I know I want their help.

"Well, since you're so intent on not letting us help you for free, you could pay Jeremiah back later. Is that okay with you?"

I nod. It most definitely is okay with me.

"Maybe he could let you work at the bookstore. Trust me, it'll be like you aren't even working since you love spending time with books," Eric says in a teasing way.

I can't help but crack a sad smile.

Wait a minute. The bookstore. Maybe if I dig some more, I might find the answers to what happened to me today.

First, I need to be alive, though. Figuring other stuff out can come later. For now, all my focus and attention is on survival.

"Here," he says, handing the bottle to me.

I accept it and realize that there's just one pill inside. He doesn't let me ask before explaining.

"I'm gonna need you to please try and hold on to this for now while I take the other as a sample to get you some replacements."

I stare at the bottle in my hand, wondering how I'm going to survive with just one pill. I'm scared, but I know this is the only way.

"We don't have much time." He takes out some cash and presses it into my hand. "Take a cab home." He rises to his feet. "Can you do that while I go meet up with Jeremiah? Or would you rather I take you home first?"

How sweet of him.

"Thanks, Eric. You've done enough," I reply, hiding my agony.

"Cassie, if you need me to stay and take you home, you know that I'll do just that," he says to me, clearly intending to be sure that this is what I want.

"I know, Eric. But you're right. We're running out of time." I get to my feet, putting up the act that I'm strong.

"All right." He hesitates for a moment before taking off and hopping on his bike.

I watch him clasp his helmet and zoom off while I decide that I'm not taking a cab home. With what happened today, I need all the money that I can get.

It's going to be a hard walk home, but I'm a tough one…I can tough it out.