[i][u] Notes: I tried fixing it like "Nutty" suggested. I'm not sure if I did the dialogue right though?

[u][b] Stella - Chapter 1

“Stella!” I heard my name being called.

“Mmmmffff.” I grumbled as I pulled my soft pillow on top of my head.

“Stella Eleni Timothy!” My dad yelled up the stairs. I peeked my head out from under the pillow to look at the clock. 10:36.

“It’s a damn Saturday!” I yelled back removing my pillow. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep, once I was awoken I couldn’t get back to my dreamland no matter how hard I tried. So, as much I hated to, I sat up in bed with the covers twisted up around my waist.

“Hey Stell you gonna come down or what?” Shane said pushing my bedroom door open. His light brown hair looked as if he’d just rolled out of bed as well. Oh, by the way, Shane’s my retarded brother. Well, he’s not literally retarded but you get the picture. He was wearing jeans with ratted bottoms, barefoot as usual, and no shirt. At 17 he was definitely toned and loved to show it off. Even if it was just around the house.

“You look like hell.” He told me with a smirk.

“Yeah, you’re one to talk.” I sneered.

“Hey what’s taking you so long man?”

My other brother Seth said as he waltzed in beside Shane. Yeah, all our names start with an ‘S’. Don’t ask, our parents were hippies back in the day. Seth, like Shane, had sandy brown hair only Seth had a crew cut instead of a shag. Seth was wearing jeans with holes in the knees and a black tee. And, of course, barefoot. I can’t say much, hell half the time I’m barefoot too.

“Looks like we gotta get Stells outta bed.” Shane grinned mischievously.

“Oh no.” I said my eyes opening wide. Seth caught on quick.

“What a good way to start a Saturday morning.” Seth grinned rubbing his hands together.

“DAD!” I screamed as they lunged for the bed. Seth grabbed the tops of my ankles while Shane grabbed the tops of my wrists. They started swinging me back and forth. I couldn’t help but laugh as they did. “You guys--” I started but kept laughing hysterically.

“I’m so gonna kill you!”

“Won’t that be rather hard considering we’ve got your ankles--” Seth started. “And wrists?” Shane finished.

“What is going on here?” My dad said walking in on our scene.

“Dad!” I said giggling my head off. He smiled at scene before him, his green eyes lighting up. He let out a bellowing sound that he called laughter.

“Okay, okay put her down before she pukes.” My dad said still grinning from ear to ear. His deep brown hair was still wet from what I guessed to be the shower. Unlike Shane, he wasn’t toned or muscular at all. He wasn’t quite fat but he definitely wasn’t in shape. I staggered trying to get up, my feet getting caught in my too long purple pajama bottoms.

“So,” My dad started crossing his arms.

“Are you going to come down and eat breakfast with us or let your brothers eat all of it?” I sighed dramatically acting as if it was such a hard decision. “Well, I guess I’ll eat with you peasants.” I joked rolling my eyes. They all looked me eyebrows cocked up to their hairlines. “Joking! Jeez.” I said cocking my head to the side as if it were so obvious. Which, in my eyes, it was. “Uh-huh.” Dad said rolling his eyes this time.

“Lemme do something with my hair first.” I said walking over to my full length mirror.

“Thank God! We won’t have to look at that unruly mop while we’re eating.” Seth said in high pitched voice and holding his hands out in front of him. I cocked one eyebrow at him threateningly.

“Like, I was so like joking!” He finished fluttering his eye lashes. Shane busted out laughing. He leaned against the door frame clenching his stomach. I grabbed one of my sneakers and through it at the two of them. Seth dodged it easily walking out of the room grinning like a Cheshire cat. Shane followed still laughing his ass off.

“Stupid retarded brothers.” I mumbled to myself. I grabbed my hairbrush and, without looking in the mirror, started sliding the brush through my long hair. I feel the brush slide down from the top of my hair to the middle of my backbone where my hair stops; then gliding through my wispy bangs carefully. I walked to the side of the room where I threw my sneaker and retrieved it throwing it back beside my bed. I tossed my brush onto the bed as well and walked to the mirror. My deep chocolate brown hair was shiny from my brushing and my brown eyes were shining. My fair skin went together well with my black cotton tank top and purple cotton pants. I was a combination of both my parents unlike my brothers. Seth and Shane both looked like mom. They both had her sandy brown hair, and big brown eyes, and softly tanned skin. The only thing of dad they have is his face shape. Square jawed and round. Other than that, there’s no trace of dad in them whatsoever. Except for the fact that, well, they’re guys. Oh, and they both have swimmers bodies. That would be because they’re swimmers. Shane, the captain of the swim team does freestyle. While, Seth does the backstroke. As for me I don’t do any sports, unless you count skateboarding.

Anyways back to me. I have my dad’s deep brown hair, and my mom’s big brown eyes, and my dad’s fair skin. Huh, funny how the girl looks more like the dad and the boys look more like the mom. Weird. But, hey that’s me. My face shape was like my mom’s though; heart shaped with high cheek bones. My body, not exactly toned like the retards. I wasn’t fat by no means, but I wasn’t like sickly-anorexic-wannabe-skinny either. I’m in between, I’ve got breasts, by that I mean I’m not flat as a board, and an ass, and by that I it doesn’t hurt when I sit down because I’ve got some cushion back there. And I’ve got an hour glass figure with some stomach, not flat but not bulge either.

Yeah, I’d say I’ve got a pretty good body. I turn away from the mirror proud of my image and hurry down the stairs. I walk through our heavily furnished living room and into the kitchen. Yummy smelling aromas fill my head making me hurry even faster.

“Omelets!” I shout as I park my rear onto a white barstool closest to the counter in the kitchen. Seth sat in front of me, Shane beside me, now wearing a white t-shirt, and Dad across from Shane. We had a dining room but we preferred to eat at the bar that overlooked into the living room.

A plate was set out before me with a bacon and cheese omelet steaming on top. I was in heaven. I immediately grab my fork and start shoveling it in like there’s no tomorrow.

“Hey slow down Stell.” Shane said poking me with his fork.

“What? I’m hungry.” I mumbled with my mouth full.

“Obviously.” Seth said grabbing the salt.

“Hey Stell, make it rain will ya?” Shane says looking out the window.

“Three times three.” I say in a sing song voice.

“Aw come on? What’s the point in being a witch if you can’t do anything?”

I turn and give him a cold stare.

“Because whatever I do it comes back to ME times three.”

“Okay?” Seth suddenly butts in.

I scoff, “Forget it.” I return to eating my omelet and feel the urge to say something else.

“And I’m not a witch! I’m a Wiccan.” I proudly state my title.

“Whatever.” Shane and Seth say in union.

Dad was to engrossed in the morning news to bother with us at the moment. It was nothing unusual. I glance over at the mantle above the fire place in the living room. A picture of a beautiful woman smiling stared back at me. I hated that woman even if she was my own mother. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering how I could hate my own mother. Easy, she abandoned me because I was different. By different, I mean a Wiccan. Or witch whatever you prefer. I’ve never quite figured out why it was such a shock to her. After all, my grandmother; her mother, was a witch too.

My grandmother used to say that the Wicca blood just skipped a generation with my mom. My mother hated Wicca. Therefore she hated me. The only reason she tolerated her own mother was because she didn’t have a choice. My mom hated her, but my grandmother was always around and my mom was the type of person who, how can I put this? Cared about how other people saw her than how her own family did. She wanted us to look and act like a perfect little family. Then suddenly I was a problem she didn’t want.

None of us knew what I was until my fifth birthday, ten years ago. I was playing outside in the fallen leaves with Shane and Seth while my grandmother, my mom, and my dad talked. They were the only family I had, neither of my parents had brothers or sisters and my dad’s parents had passed earlier that spring.

The sun was beating down on my mom’s hair making it shine. My dad wasn’t bulging back then, he was muscular like Shane is now. My grandmother, Cynthia Stella Demetrius; Cynthia meaning Moon and Stella meaning Star was beautiful for a woman in her late 50s. She had deep brown eyes (they run in the family) with shoulder length brown hair. It was curly with hints of grey but clashed well with her fair skin. I guess you could say I look like my grandmother instead of my parents. Huh go figure. She’s the one that named me by the way. Always used to say I had a light that illuminated from within like a star in the sky. Back to my grandmother. She had plenty of wrinkles but, for some reason, they seemed to compliment her nicely.

It was October so the pile of leaves we were jumping in were filled with different colors. Red, Orange, Yellow, and Brown leaves would fly into the air every time we made a jump. I could feel the cool autumn air caress my skin and tangle my hair when we did. Shane and Seth were both seven at that time (twins) and were at the stage where they wanted to be daredevils. They would jump from the top of the swing set into the small pile of leaves.

“SHANE, SETH!” My mom screamed when she saw what they were doing. “Uh-oh.” Seth said. Shane was already climbing back down and Seth was trying to follow. That’s when everything went wrong. Shane had gotten down and was slowly walking towards the table where my father sat angrily. Everything happened so fast. Seth’s foot slipped as he was trying to get down. Dad was scolding Shane while my mom let out a shriek.

“SETH!”

My dad stood up but was too slow. Grandmother gasped. My pile of leaves had moved from one place to another in a matter of seconds and had grown even larger. Seth fell with a crunch. Luckily it was the leaves that crunched and not his bones. They all turned to looked at me. I looked back at them confused and scared. All I did was think about the wind around me gathering more leaves and pushing them and my pile under Seth when he fell.

My dad rushed over to Seth sweeping him up into his arms. Seth was crying, obviously confused and scared like me. I stared at them wishing he would come pick me up too.

“Star.” My grandmother said walking swiftly over to me. My mother trailed behind with shock filled eyes. Grandmother knelt down on one knee placing both of her hands on my shoulders as she spoke, “This is important Star,” She started, calling me by my name’s meaning.

“Did you have anything to do with the wind moving the leaves?” My mother gasped placing a hand over her mouth.

“She can’t! It skipped over me and Bruce has no Wiccan blood in him!”

“Quiet Tabitha!” She shouted at her scornfully.

“Star, please tell me.” She told me with a pleading look.

“I--I-- I,” I stuttered still shaken. I felt the wind brush across my face as though it was kissing me and suddenly I felt calm.

“I thought about the leaves moving to catch him.” As I said this I felt my eyes water and tears pour down my face. The calmness I had just felt was gone and I was terrified. My grandmother smiled her kind smile and hugged me.

“Oh, sweet Star, don’t be afraid. This is a gift. The Wiccan blood of our ancestors has passed on to you.”

“No!” I heard my mother shout. I looked up at her tears still sliding down my face. Her eyes were narrowed and her nostrils were flaring. She was a combination of pissed off and disgusted. Mostly disgusted, I think now looking back. I didn’t want her to be angry with me. I wanted her to hold me and tell me it would be okay like grandmother was doing. I ached for her affection.

“Tabitha this is your daughter.” My grandmother said releasing me and standing up to face her daughter. “I know you don’t like your heritage but you have to accept it sometime.”

“No I don’t!” She said balling her hands into fists. My grandmother continued despite her outburst.

“It’s a part of you whether you like it or not.” My mom rolled her eyes at this last part. I stood there feeling like a blender with different emotions being dumped inside of me and mixed. Confusion, anger, sadness, and yearning were just a few. I felt as though I would explode if were to feel anything else. I wanted everything to stop but it didn’t.

“The Wiccan blood may have skipped but it’s obvious it has rejoined within her.” Grandmother said motioning to me.

“I’ll have nothing to do with her then!” Mom shouted at both of us. The rest may not have been making any sense but I knew what her last sentence meant.

“No mommy! I’ll be good I swear!” I said rushing towards her with my arms held out. I felt as if my entire world was crashing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. If I had let Seth fall, would she still be angry with me?

“Get away from me!” She shouted side stepping me.

“Tabitha!” My dad raised his voice suddenly joining the group.

“This is our daughter.” He said picking me up. I didn’t want him to hold me. I wanted him to end the fight. Stop the fighting. I had thought. I wanted him to hear it. Stop the fighting! I suddenly screamed inside of my head. He jumped and stared at me silently. My tears were steadily pouring out like a faucet that couldn’t be shut off. He looked back at mom suddenly sure of himself.

“Boys go inside.” Grandmother said sternly looking over dad’s shoulders. They did as they were told and another outburst didn’t start until we all heard the door shut.

“How can you take her side?” Mom said in shock.

“This is our daughter, it shouldn’t matter if she has Wiccan in her or not. And whether you want to admit it or not,” He started.

“Don’t you dare try to patronize me!” She shouted pointing a finger at him.

“Tabitha, our family has Wiccan blood therefore we practice Wicca. It’s our choice just like it was your choice to pretend like it wasn’t true. Just because Star has it doesn’t give you the right to shun her.”

Grandmother said motioning to me once more.

“I’ll have nothing to do with the monster.” I heard her say; her voice filled with disgust. My lips trembled as she said the last word. Monster. That’s what she called me. Another emotion entered the blender. Fear. My entire body trembled with it.

I heard a loud sound as if a tree branch had broken in two. Grandmother had slapped mom; her daughter. She held her face with both of her hands obviously in pain.

“You will not speak of MY granddaughter that way.” She said defiantly, emphasizing the word “My”. “How could you say that?” Dad said suddenly releasing his hold on me. I rushed over to my grandmother wishing once more everything would stop. I wanted to crawl under my bed and hide until the pain I felt had passed.

“I don’t want anything to do with you either Bruce. Or any of YOUR children.” She said. As her peace was spoken, she walked away calmly towards the house.

“Mommy?” I said, hoping this was all a bad dream and by saying her name I would wake up. She turned and looked at us disgust apparent in her face.

“I’ll be packing my things. Don’t bother me.” As she said this I heard a sob escape my father. I looked up at him. Tears were falling down his face too. He covered his face with his hands and walked toward the car.

“Cynthia,” He wept. “Please watch Seth and Shane and,” He paused looking at me. I looked back at him with fear. Was he going to call me a monster too?

“Stella.” He finally finished.

“Of course Bruce.” She replied with sorrow in her eyes. They shared a look that I didn’t understand. I know now what that look meant. Mom was going to leave and she wasn’t coming back.

Dad sadly stepped into the car, started the ignition, and pulled out of the drive.

“Is daddy leaving too?” I blubbered.

“No my sweet Star. Daddy just needs a few minutes by himself.” She stroked my hair as she said this.

“I--Don’t-----Understand!” I sobbed loudly. She knelt down and held me in her arms as she spoke.

“I know, I will explain everything to you later. I promise.” She whispered.

“You are a Wiccan and I will teach you everything I know.” She continued.

“I’m--A----Monster.” I whimpered. I wanted to scream, to run, to hide, to just disappear.

“No, no, no, no. Your mother just shuns anything she doesn’t understand.” She tried to explain.

“You are not a monster. You are my granddaughter. Understand?” She said taking my face in her hands. “Don’t you listen to anything your mother says, listen to what your heart says.”

My mother left as soon as my father came back. He gave her the keys reluctantly and let her leave. He knew there was no point in trying to stop her, she was too stubborn and too afraid.

My grandmother started teaching me Wicca soon after. She taught me spells for healing mostly. At the beginning of every lesson she would ask me the same question,

“What is the most important rule when casting a spell or practicing Wicca?” And I would answer with the same response every time,

“I will receive three times what I gave; whether it be good or bad.”

This was the rule she made me repeat over and over again. To her it was the most important rule. So it is now the most important rule to me.

Candles were important to her as well.

“Each colored candle has a meaning of it’s own.” She’d said.

“You burn the candle according to its color’s meaning.”

Which is why I always have five white candles stationed on my desk in my bedroom. White is a balance of all the colors, it symbolizes cleansing, truth seeking, and healing. The number of candles represents the five elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit which unites the other four.

Shane and Seth know about me being a Wiccan too. They like to watch me practice spells sometimes. I thought they would be like mom and shun me when they found out. But, they didn’t thankfully. Actually, I thought everyone would shun me which is why I keep my Wicca practicing to myself.

Grandmother died seven years after mom left. My blender was turned on again and I thought I’d never stop crying. I used to wonder if a person can run out of tears. I finally figured out it couldn’t be true considering all the tears I’ve shed.

“Stella?” Shane said pulling me out of my trance. His hand moving in front of my face is annoying.

“What?” I said looking at him blankly.

“Jeez what did you just like leave the planet or something?” He asked. I roll my eyes and take my empty plate to the sink. As I do this I notice dad isn’t sitting at the bar counter anymore.

“Where’s dad?” I ask my brows furrowing.

“He just left for work.” Seth said with his mouth full of orange.

“Duh!” Shane said slapping me in the back of my head. I narrowed my eyes at him threateningly.

“I’m headin to practice.” He said swiftly retreating to the living room.

“Since, SOMEONE won’t make it rain for us to skip.” Seth said sliding from the seat to join Shane; picking up his duffle bag as he did.

I hear the door slam and watch them walk to Shane’s beat up Durango. That thing had been through hell and back but was still dependable for transporting the team to different swim meets. As I watch them drive off I head upstairs to get dressed. I’d been getting strange feelings for a couple of weeks now and it was time I found out what they were about. I needed to talk to Espen.