“Are you okay?” Cal asks, as we climb a tree. The ghosts circle around the base of the tree, but he can’t see them. And Tessa took my amulet away, instead giving me a gold necklace with a black charm. I’m defenseless. 

“I’m fine. It’s just a bit creepy out here at night.” I say, cold even with my sweatshirt on. Cal nods, and smiles. 

“Do you want to cuddle up next to me?” He asks, winking. 

“You’re ridiculous.” I tell him, and keep climbing. I hold my shoes in one hand, because I’m not climbing this tree in heels. I sit up in the branches, and sigh, looking down at the ground. Turbrook’s mountain stands above the trees, already snowy, in November. Tessa’s voice drifts up to us, from below. Henry follows her around. 

“Where are you going?” He asks. 

“We should be hiding, Henry. Or Kathy’s going to find us.” She informs him, and keeps walking up the hill. “There should be a big boulder somewhere around here.” She says, tapping her chin with her painted finger. 

“Who cares about hide-and-seek?” Henry asks, stepping closer to her. Dangerously close to her. “We can play our own little game.” I glance over at Cal, who also watches them. We need to go down. I mouth to him. He nods, and starts climbing down also. 

“Henry, what are you doing?” She asks, backing away from him, and into a tree. 

“Shhh…” He says, and kisses her, pressing her against the tree, holding her prisoner.

“Henry!” She tries to yell, out of breath, but he pins her arms to her sides and continues to attack her with kisses. “Stop it! I don’t want to do this right now!” She wriggles out of his grip, and starts to walk away, her arms folded. He grabs the hem of her skirt, ripping it, and pulls her back into a trapping embrace. She whimpers in fear, and I descend the tree faster. “Let me go!” She screams, flailing around. “Henry!” He smiles, and kisses her again, and again, and again. 

“Let her go!” I yell, jumping down from the tree. Henry turns to look at me, and scoffs. I pick up a thick branch, and hold it as a weapon. 

“Oh, like that’s going to do any good.” He says, tearing Tessa’s silky sleeves. She kicks him, but he has no reaction, and just kisses her face, neck, and collarbone. Cal jumps down too, and folds his arms. He’s taller than Henry. “Do you need something, Wilson?” 

“Let her go.” Cal says firmly. Henry smirks, and throws Tessa on the ground. I run to her side, and she sobs into my sweater, her dress torn, and her heart broken. 

“She liked it. Didn’t you, sweet?” He asks, Tessa, who screams as he reaches for her ankle. I pull Tessa out of his reach, and stand up, aiming a punch at Henry’s face. He catches my wrist in his hand, and squeezes it, then throws me against the rough bark of a nearby tree. My head spins as I try to sit up. I almost can’t see when Cal delivers a blow to Henry, actually hitting the mark, unlike me. Henry stumbles back, clutching his bleeding nose, and Cal massages his knuckles, bending down next to Tessa. 

“Are you okay?” He asks. She cries silently, staring at the ground. As Henry walks away, back towards the house, he lifts her up gently, and carries her over to me. She leans into my shoulder, and I put my sweater around her. The ghosts are gone now, because the fog has moved elsewhere on the island. I look up at Cal. 

“Could you get my mom? And Officer Lambert, if he’s there.”

“Why would Officer Lambert be at your house?” He asks. 

“He’s dating Mom. Now go!” I gesture for him to leave, and he runs off, towards the lights in the distance that mean civilization. I brush Tessa’s hair out of her face, and hug her gently. A few minutes later, Mom and Isaiah come running up the hill, Cal close behind them. 

“Oh, baby.” Mom says, pulling her close, and putting a second coat around her. Cal notices I’m shivering, and pulls off his jacket, handing it to me. I thank him quietly, as Isaiah walks over to me. 

“What happened?” He asks, folding his arms. 

“What happened is that you were too blind to notice that Henry was only dating Tessa for her looks, and he just assaulted her!” I inform him. “So thanks for protecting me, but it seems like she is the one in more danger.” Isaiah sighs, and walks away, bending down next to Tessa. 

“Could you explain what happened to you? In detail?” He asks, pulling out a notepad and pen. Tessa stares at him, her eyes filling with tears. 

“Isaiah, this is the exact wrong time for a police investigation.” Mom tells him, helping Tessa stand up. “If she doesn’t want to talk right now, then she shouldn’t have to.” 

“But, the culprit-”

“We know who the culprit is, Isaiah. It’s Henry Dearing, one of our neighbors. Why don’t you start with questioning him, because he walked out of this with zero trauma, and is free to talk.” Mom leads Tessa down the hill with no more words. Cal walks down with me. The party guests smile when they see Tessa.

“The game is over, you won!” They cheer. Kathy is the only one who notices Tessa is upset, and comes over to walk next to her. “Wait, what’s wrong?” Maryann asks, as Kathy hugs Tessa, patting her shoulder. I glare at Maryann, and walk into the house with Mom, Cal, Kathy, and Tessa. Tessa, slumped and crying, walks up the stairs to our room with Kathy, the tissues in her hands already soaked. 

Someone knocks at the door, and Mom goes to answer it, leaving Tessa on the couch next to me. My sister hugs herself, staring at the ground. She hasn’t spoken a word since our birthday party three nights ago, and it’s scary, because she’s usually so talkative. I hear Mom yelling, and stand up, running to the door. 

“I don’t want you within a thousand feet of my house, after what you did!” She screams at Kendrick, who stands on the doormat with a plate full of cookies. 

“Mom, this is Kendrick, not Henry.” I tell her. 

“Henry’s my brother.” He says quietly, and holds up the plate of cookies. “My mom wanted me to bring you these to apologize for his actions.” Mom thanks him quietly, and walks inside with the cookies. 

“How is your mom holding up?” I ask Kendrick, walking outside. 

“She was furious. Henry was her favorite, no joke, and now he’s in juvenile detention.” Kendrick whistles. “Lara Junior says hi.” Oh, right, he named his fish after me.

“That’s nice.” I say, shivering in the November air. 

“I heard about your friend.” Kendrick says. “I’m so sorry about the coma and all.”

“It’s fine, I…” I sigh, my eyes warming up, ready to cry. “I’m going to visit him again today, once Tessa stops crying.” 

“Is it that bad?” He asks, hands in his pockets. 

“Yeah, she’s a mess.” I say, rubbing my arms. 

“Well, give her this from me.” He says, and pulls me into a hug. I hug back, almost crying, but not bothering to hide it. He notices my tears as he pulls away, and hugs me again. “And this one's for you.” I smile. 

“Thank you, Kendrick.” I mumble, then go back inside to Tessa, who has now curled up on the couch in a fetal position, sobbing. I lay down next to her, and give her Kendrick’s hug, then go get my shoes and coat on to go to the hospital. 

“And there’s a recap of what’s happened.” I tell Jack, holding his hand. “I know everyone would be a lot happier if you were here, including myself.” I rub my amulet with my hand. “I- I wish that I could do something good for once.”

The amulet starts to glow in my hand, and I quickly hide it under my black dress as the doctor comes in. He just hung up a no-witches sign, after all.