AN: I'm really sorry, guys. I've just run out of inspiration for everything I've been writing. Call this my official note of slowatus. Some stories will be discontinued, unfortunately, since I've lost whatever magic I had for them. I'm going to continue with Pearl Drops and I hope to complete it. It's been going on for five years now, and that's really a long time.

Part Five: Chaos

Chapter Fifteen: You Will Suck the Life Outta Me

Derek was silent. That was never a good sign. He just stared at her, also a very bad sign. Hailley parted her lips in silence, opening her mouth as she thought of something logical to say in explanation. Nothing was logical about this.

Nothing at all.

“Dad...”

“Hailley, are you having a problem? I... I would rather believe that this is Daughter related than you were involved in drugs or—”

“Dad!” She jumped up, a hurt and wounded look twisting her features. Drugs, really? All of this had come down to drugs?

Her wounded look was mirrored on his face. He was just as hurt, just as upset and confused as her. He stood up as well, grabbing her into a hug. She let him crush her to him, nearly sobbing into the warmth of his fatherly embrace.

“It's not easy being the parent of a goddess.” Derek smoothed back her hair. “I worry that one day you won't come home...”

Hailley's mouth went dry. She had never thought about it, the day when she would turn seventeen. She had never thought about anything that dealt with being a Daughter. How could she just leave her dad?

“I'll come home, Dad. I'll come home. I'll forget everything, I promise.”

“I know...” But his voice was so sad, she just couldn't handle it. She knew that he didn't know. He thought that she probably wouldn't.

She was afraid...

Because sometimes, Daughters didn't come back home to their fathers before their time even came. Jimena had said so only once, but it stayed with Hailley.

Derek didn't punish her for the night before, and she didn't tell him about had happened. He thought it was because of her goddess status, and she just didn't know.

Sitting on her bed, she fiddled with her cell phone. Resting against her thigh was the mask, perfectly settled in its ancient case. She should call someone. She needed to call someone. Blaze, maybe? Or maybe Torrence. Torrie could see... Maybe... Perhaps she just really needed Jimena right now.

She groaned to herself. There was no “perhaps” about this. She needed her mentor.

xXxXxXxXx

Hailley didn't even bother to call Jimena. She would just show up. Show up and throw herself at the older woman and cry and beg and explain how damn terrified she was, and why wouldn't she believe Hailley about her nightmares? And why was she still carrying the mask around with her?

How did that happen? She had left it! She was sure of it!

Chest heaving, Hailley stared at it. She could not believe ridiculously close was to tears right now. She stood outside of the Killingsworth house, gripping the source of her horror in her hands so tight. Her fingers hurt so bad...

“Ji-Jimena!” She tripped her way up to the front door. Her own body was rebelling against her. It wanted to go. It didn't want to be here. She screamed her mentor's name again.

The door was beginning to open. Collin. Jimena's husband. “Hailley?” He asked her name in confusion.

“Y-yes,” she answered meekly. Why was he giving her that look?

“Hailley, why are you wearing that mask?”

“What?” Had she asked the question out loud, or was it only in her head? She was just clutching the thing. When had she touched it to her face? Her hand laid flat against it, but she could only feel her own skin. “What?” She asked again, and though she was perfectly shaken on the inside, her voice was controlled, calm.

“Do you need me to call your father, Hailley?”

Jimena wasn't even home, was she? He would have offered to get her before offering to call Derek. She couldn't be helped.

Collin stepped outside, reaching for her. She took a step back, her body reacting against her mind. He gave her a quizzical look, and she hoped that he could see her dismay. She wanted to say something, but instead she lifted her hand in a wave. The words that tumbled from her lips were not the ones that she wished to say.

“No, that's okay. I don't even know why I'm here, actually.” She laughed and shook her head. “Tell Jimena I said hi, okay?”

xXxXxXxXx

Hailley woke up in the park this time around. It was dark still. Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket (thankfully she was still clothed, still had her phone), she saw that it was three in the morning. Her cheeks warmed in streaks, and she realized that she was finally crying. A beep echoed in her ears. There was a message in her voicemail. Or, messages really.

What's happening to me?

She punched in her voicemail number, entered her code, and waited to see what this would be about. Her eyes closed.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Hail? Are you insane? How... Where the hell are you?! Did you think that we wouldn't find out when you decided to crash a Follower party? You're lucky Ariel was lurking around, though who knows why the hell she was.” Blaze's voice came out in a rush of anger, each word pronounced with a near-murderous intent.

Beep.

“Hailley...” Auriella's voice was soft, sleepy, and there was a quick pause. “You're not going to tell anyone what you saw, right? I mean, why were you sneaking into my room through my window? Please... Look... Just don't tell... Can we talk about this?”

Beep.

“Hailley, just wanted to let you know that I'm not angry for the intrusion on my control. We need to talk. Don't do this on your own; it's not like you,” Torrence reminded her, sounding completely calm. How Hailley envied her. Where was the old Torrence, who didn't have to struggle with visions?

Beep.

“Collin called me. You haven't come home. Do I need to ground you? Would it even work?”

Beep.

“Hey, it's Alessandro. I, uh, got your number from Nikolas. I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I don't know why, but I keep getting this feeling that I need to help you. Please call me, okay?”

Hailley deleted the messages, her phone feeling more like a rock in her hand, cold and heavy. If she went to a Follower party, and that Daughter of Mischief had to rescue her, how did she get away?

“The mask...” She muttered to herself. “It's possessing me.”

There. She finally admitted it.

She needed help. Finding the number on her phone, she held back the urge to cry again.

“Hello?”

“How can you help me?”

Hailley had come to the conclusion that Alessandro was really a great guy.

Or that he was an incredibly creepy idiot who was going to destroy her.