I’d driven back into Savannah with no real destination in mind. I had nowhere to go and I wasn’t sure where to start. What to do first. I could call Margo, but going there meant facing Rathe. I expected a call from Heath soon. He’d wake up and find out I was gone. Possibly find out that I left in the middle of the night. He would be worried and call me right away. Margo would sleep later than Heath. She’d track my location then call me. I could expect Duely to text at some point today, too. He wasn’t worried about me last night. He had more faith in my safety than I did.

Pulling into the almost empty parking lot of a shopping center, I parked the car. The few cars here had been parked for awhile. They had frost on them and were empty. The city wasn’t awake at this hour. It would slowly start to come alive within the next hour. I had no reason for being parked here. The stores weren’t open yet, but driving around wasting gas wasn’t helping anything. I needed a plan. Continuing to dwell on the events of the past twenty four hours wasn’t helping me focus on the issue at hand. I had no time to feel sorry for myself. I had to figure out where I was going to work, sleep, bathe.

I glanced down at my wrinkled clothing. I couldn’t do much looking like this. I would need to clean up before I began going into businesses applying for jobs. No one was going to hire someone who looked as if she’d slept in her clothing, possibly on a bench, in a park all night. I did a quick check in the mirror to see my hair wasn’t any better than my clothing. There was a leaf stuck in the tangled strands. I plucked it out. I had no where to take a shower or even a place to change clothes. My friends’ apartment was a major- no way in hell - for me. Rathe was the last person I wanted to see today.

What was so wrong with me? I had worked hard to be good. I didn’t abuse my powers. I tried my best to live a regular life. One that wasn’t one big easy ride due to magic. I didn’t want to be charmed yet I was. I was different than my family and different from my friends. I fit in nowhere.