Chapter 37

VANESSA'S POV

Everything felt... off.

Ever since that night in the parking lot, when I threw that creature—whatever it was—across the pavement with nothing but a scream, I hadn’t felt like myself. To be honest, it had started even earlier, when we found Elizabeth in that tomb. Something had shifted inside me, but I hadn’t wanted to think too much about it.

Now? Now I was definitely thinking about it.

“Okay, but seriously, how freaky was it seeing that dead guy?We have been seeing dead people way too much lately,” Chloe’s voice cut through my thoughts as she nudged my arm. “I mean, I’ve never seen a dead body in real life before—except for, like, funerals, but that doesn’t count.”

I barely heard her.

“Vanessa?”

I snapped back to reality just in time to see Chloe waving a hand in front of my face. “Hello? Earth to Vee. Are you even listening?”

“I—yeah, sorry,” I said, shaking my head. I almost told her. Almost. But before I could, Matt walked up, slinging an arm around her shoulder.

“Hey, babe,” he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. “You ready to get out of here?”

Chloe grinned, already distracted. “Absolutely. Vanessa, I’ll see you later, okay?”

I forced a smile as she and Matt walked off, laughing about something stupid. Chloe had a way of bouncing back from things, but I couldn’t do that. Not when something was clearly wrong with me.

Maybe Elizabeth would understand. She was a better listener anyway. Chloe was great, but she had a habit of brushing things off—unless they were right in front of her, smacking her in the face.

I sighed, adjusting my bag as I headed to my human biology class.

It was a mistake.

I should have skipped.

The second I sat down, the attack replayed in my mind like a scene from a horror movie. The creature’s red eyes. The way it grinned at us like we were prey. The way I had thrown it backward without even touching it.

A headache started to build behind my eyes.

I tried to focus on the professor’s words, but everything sounded distant, like I was underwater. And then—

The whispers started.

At first, I thought it was students talking, but then I realized the voices were inside my head.

What the hell?

My hands started to shake. My pulse pounded in my ears.

The lights flickered.

I gripped the edge of the table, my breath coming fast. The whispers grew louder, overlapping, words I didn’t understand. The lights flickered again—then the beakers on the lab stations started to rattle.

A few students gasped.

“Whoa, what the hell?” someone muttered.

The glass tubes cracked.

The professor held up his hands, trying to keep everyone calm. “Relax, everyone. It’s just a minor earthquake.”

No. It wasn’t.

It was me.

I grabbed my bag and bolted.

By the time I reached my house, I was on the verge of a full breakdown. My hands were still shaking as I fumbled with my keys, but when I pushed the door open, I stopped short.

The smell of cinnamon and sage filled the air.

Grams was standing in the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove like she had always been there.

I blinked. “Grams?”

She turned, smiling warmly. “There’s my girl.”

I didn’t hesitate—I ran straight into her arms.

She held me tight, stroking my hair. “Shh, baby, it’s okay. I got you.”

I hadn’t realized how much I needed this.

“When did you get here?” I asked, pulling back.

She cupped my face, searching my eyes like she could see right through me. “I had a feeling my grandbabies needed me.”

She couldn’t have been more right.

Because something was happening to me. And I was terrified.

I curled my hands around the steaming mug of tea my grams had set in front of me, letting the warmth seep into my fingers. The smell of cinnamon and sage filled the kitchen, a scent that had always been comforting, like home.

But right now? Right now, I didn’t feel comforted. I felt... alone.

I stared down at the dark liquid in my cup. “I don’t know, Grams. I just—I feel like I’m alone in this house.” My voice came out quieter than I wanted it to. “Mom’s never here. She’s always working. It’s like she doesn’t even notice when something is wrong with me.”

Grams sighed, stirring her own tea. “Oh, baby, Claire loves you. She just... she gets caught up sometimes.”

“Caught up?” I scoffed. “That’s a nice way of saying she cares more about work than me.”

Grams reached over and placed her hand over mine. “Work helps her. It’s a distraction from the real world.”

I frowned, looking up at her. “The real world?”

Her expression softened, like she had been waiting for me to ask. “The world isn’t just what we see, Vanessa. There are things—things your mother refuses to acknowledge. But I know you feel them. You always have, haven’t you?”

I swallowed hard, something inside me twisting.

She was right.

Ever since that night, when I threw that thing without touching it, something inside me had shifted. My skin buzzed like there was electricity under it, and the whispers—God, the whispers—I could still hear them if I closed my eyes.

I hesitated, then finally said it. “Grams, I think something’s wrong with me.”

Her grip on my hand tightened. “No, baby. Nothing is wrong with you.” She leaned in, eyes filled with something deep and knowing. “You’re special, Vanessa.”

I almost laughed. “Special?”

She nodded. “I felt it—the moment it happened. That’s why I came. I knew my grandbaby needed me.”

I bit my lip. “Knew? How?”

She let out a slow breath. “Because you’re like me. Like my mother. Like her mother before her. You come from a long line of Bennet witches.”

The words landed heavily in the space between us.

Witch.

I pulled my hand back. “No, Grams. No, that’s—” I shook my head. “That’s not possible.”

But it was also the only way this all made sense.

She smiled softly, like she had expected me to react that way. “It is, Vanessa. Your great-great-grandmother was a powerful witch. My mother was one, too. Even your own mother, though she refuses to accept it.”

My breath hitched. “Mom?”

Grams’ face darkened, sadness creeping into her eyes. “Your mother blames herself for what happened when she was a child. She convinced herself that if she ignored this part of her, it would just... go away.”

“What happened?” I asked.

Before she could answer, the front door swung open.

My mother’s heels clicked sharply against the wooden floor as she walked in, her eyes instantly narrowing when she saw my grandmother sitting at the kitchen table.

“What are you doing here, Rachel?”

Grams didn’t even flinch at the coldness in her tone. “I came to see my granddaughter.”

Mom scoffed, setting her bag down on the counter. “I told you to stop showing up unannounced.”

Grams took a slow sip of her tea, completely unbothered. “And I told you—I felt that Vanessa needed me.”

Mom let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Felt?”

I straightened in my chair. “Yes.” My voice was stronger than I expected it to be. “I need her.”

Mom’s gaze snapped to me, something like betrayal flashing across her face.

“At least she listens,” I continued, the words spilling out. “Especially now that something is clearly wrong with me.”

Mom’s jaw tightened.

She turned back to my grandmother. “I should have known. You’ve already started filling her head with this—this nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense,” I shot back.

Mom ignored me, keeping her focus on Grams. “I’m not doing this with you, Rachel. I won’t have you ruining my relationship with my daughter the same way you ruined ours.”

Grams sighed, but there was a sadness in her eyes. “I’m not here to ruin anything, Claire.”

“Well, you can stay in a motel or something,” Mom snapped. “I won’t have you bringing your witchy, voodoo, magic-is-real garbage into my home.”

My home.

Like I didn’t live here, too.

Grams gave me a long look, then stood up and pulled me into a hug. She whispered softly against my hair, “I’ll see you tomorrow, baby. We’ll talk more then.”

I clenched my jaw, my body rigid.

Mom might have been ignoring me before, but she sure as hell heard me when I turned to her and said, “You know what, Mom? The only one ruining our relationship is you.”

Then I walked to my room, slamming the door behind me.