Chapter 19 - Julie

I wake up the next morning with my head pounding and my gut filled with a deep sense of regret. My eyes are stinging and puffy from crying. The weight of the previous night sits heavily on my chest. I pull the blanket over my head, wishing I could just disappear for a while.

The memory of Kaius seeing my thoughts, fears, and insecurities is too much. I feel vulnerable in a way I have never felt. I was trying to show him what I saw from the key, but all my other memories spilled out like a broken dam.

The sharp jingle of my phone pulls me out of my blanket cocoon. I reluctantly reach for it, expecting a barrage of messages from Kaius. Sure enough, his name lights up my screen.

"Julie, please, we need to talk."

"I can"t. Just leave me alone."

"I"m sorry about last night. Can't we just talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about. You've already seen it all. Just go away."

"I didn"t mean to. I want to make it right."

I throw my phone onto the bed, frustrated and unsure of how to handle this. That he"s even reaching out and wants to talk about it just makes everything worse. I"m worried he"s going to twist this and make it a joke at my expense. And why shouldn"t he? I"ve always been the easy target.

I avoid my phone for the rest of the morning, throwing myself into household chores to keep my mind busy and helping change Uncle Merl's bandages. But every so often, I hear it ping with another message from Kaius.

Eventually, I just need to get out of the house. I text Sarah and Lena, begging them for a mini girls' night so I can talk this out. I get dressed and head out to Sarah's place. At least I can count on them to help me sort through this mess.

"Julie! Come in, come in," Sarah says as she opens the door and pulls me into a warm hug.

I step inside, and Lena greets me with a knowing smile.

"Hey, Jules. How are you holding up?"

I shrug, not trusting myself to say anything yet. They lead me to the kitchen, where we pour ourselves some wine and settle in.

"So, what happened last night?" Lena asks gently.

"Cyrus didn't tell you? I was assuming everyone would know."

"He just said you may be upset, that was all. Something about one of the keys." Lena explains, taking a sip of her water since she still can't have wine.

I recount the events from the attack, Kaius's reaction, the vision I saw with the key, and Kaius prying into my mind. I try to keep my voice steady, but my hands shake as I relive the embarrassment.

Lena listens intently, her eyebrows drawn together.

"That sounds intense," Lena sighs, "How are you holding up?"

"It was," I admit, looking down at my glass. "I don"t know what to make of it. I hate feeling so vulnerable around him. Around… Anyone really."

"But he seems to care about you, Julie. He wouldn"t be reaching out if he didn"t," Sarah offers with a shrug.

"I just don"t know," I sigh, rubbing my hand under the rim of my glasses and massaging my eyes. "I'm worried he'll twist it into something to just tease me about."

Lena leans forward, her gaze steady. She's got that far-away look in her eyes that she gets from time to time, and it makes the gray of her eyes almost glow.

"Look, if you want my opinion, I think you need to give him a chance. He doesn't always show it, but I honestly think he's probably got one of the softest hearts of all of them. I think if he knew how you felt, he never would have made those comments. But you also shouldn"t push yourself if you're not ready. You're finally in a better place after that mess with Luke," Lena says.

"You have us. We"ll always have your back," Sarah says with a nod.

I feel a little better after talking to them. Just getting the thoughts out of my head and off my chest helps. The wine helps, too.

"What do you think the vision means?" Sarah asks.

"I"m not sure," I admit. "But I think there's more to it than we realize. I need to figure it out—and soon."

Lena nods thoughtfully. Having her own experience with visions and trying to interpret magical crap as a human, I am hoping that she has some idea of how to start.

"We should look through some of Gram"s old things. There might be something that could help," Lena offers with a shrug.

"Did that help with yours?" I ask.

"It actually did help trigger things for me. Maybe we can find some other clues that might point us in the right direction." The suggestion sounds like a wonderful dig through some town history if nothing else.

The doorbell rings, and the rest of the girls arrive. Apparently, Sarah called in reinforcements. I'm grateful for the gesture, as I desperately need the distraction, even if I didn't realize it. It also forces us to stop talking about dragons and keys, which is a relief.

The mood shifts to a more cheerful tone as Bernadette tells us about her latest date. I try to focus on the moment, but my mind keeps drifting, and I can"t shake the feeling that something important is waiting to be discovered. As the night wears on, the conversation naturally drifts back to Kaius. My friends tease me about how I've been blushing at the mention of his name.

"Come on, Julie," Bernadette says, nudging me playfully. "What"s the deal with you two? You looked awfully cozy during the movie."

I feel my cheeks flush as the memory of that night, his hands, and the rush of the risk of getting caught all flood back.

"There's nothing going on. He just drives me crazy," I laugh as I tug at the collar of my sweater. It feels far too warm.

"Crazy in a good way or crazy in a bad way?" Peyton asks as she leans back in her chair, a smirk playing on her lips.

I hesitate, my thoughts a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. I am pretty sure some of what he does to me is a good thing, but other parts are definitely a bad thing.

"Both?"

"I'm just glad I don't have to listen to you mope about him anymore," Georgia laughs, "All that pacing and sighing. It was enough to make me crazy, too."

We all laugh, and the sound is lighthearted and comforting. I take another sip of wine and listen as Lena steers the conversation back to safer territory.

The night ends too soon, and I head back home feeling lighter than before. I agree to meet Lena the next day to go through her grandmother"s things. Maybe, just maybe, we"ll find something that can help us make sense of all this.

The next day, I make my way to Lena"s house, grateful for the distraction. We spend hours sorting through boxes and chests, finding old photos and mementos. The air is thick with dust, and we pause occasionally to catch our breath. It gives me the same feeling I used to get in the museum before it closed. It just resonates with some part of my soul looking at the past.

"Look at this. This is what helped me last time," Lena says as she reaches into a box,pulling out a red leather journal. She pauses to rub her stomach as I take the journal from her.

I reach for it, my fingers brushing against the worn cover. The moment I touch it, I'm pulled into a vision, the world around me shifting and blurring.

Two older individuals, their clothes like something straight out of the Gold Rush. The setting looks like it"s from the 1800s, the time when the town was first settled. They're having a serious discussion about some old amulet, their voices low and urgent.

"It has to be hidden," one of them says, his voice firm. "We can't let any single species get hold of it."

The other person, a woman with a weary expression, nods in agreement.

"It would be too much power. The shifters must not find it."

The vision fades, and I find myself back in the room with Lena, the journal clutched tightly in my hands.

"What did you see?" she asks, concern etched on her face.

I take a deep breath, still reeling from what I saw. The feeling of coming back out of the vision is disorienting. I try to think back to it, but the recall is already fuzzy.

"They were talking about an old amulet, about how it needs to be hidden."

Lena frowns, deep in thought. "An amulet? Do you think it"s connected to the relic we're looking for?"

"It has to be. Maybe it is the relic since the way they were talking about it sounds important," I say, my voice steady. "None of it helps me learn anything about where it is, though."

"Well," Lena says, "At least it's a start. We'll figure this out."

I nod, feeling a renewed sense of purpose. We spend the rest of the day going through more of her Gram's things, but we find nothing else that points us in the right direction.

As the sun sets, I head back home, my mind still buzzing with questions. What was the amulet, and why did those people think it was so dangerous? And what role does the cuprite key play in all of this?

I try to push the thoughts aside as I climb into bed, but sleep doesn't come easily. The weight of everything hangs heavily on my shoulders, and I can't help but think of Kaius, of the way he looked at me with such concern.

I hate the way he gets under my skin, the way he makes me feel things I've tried so hard to bury. But I also can't deny the connection between us, the way he makes my heart race whenever he's near.

I turn onto my side, my mind spinning with thoughts of the amulet and Kaius. I know I can't avoid him forever, but for now, I just want to focus on the mystery of the visions without having to figure out my feelings for him. Fair or not, I think it's the only way I can move forward with all of this.

Eventually, sleep finally claims me, and I drift off into a restless slumber, my dreams filled with images of the past visions and the secrets that lie hidden within them.