Power of the Tribrid - The Awakening

Chapter 4

I sat there staring at the screen. What should I do? Should I keep my apartment and work 2 jobs just to survive? Sell mom's house, my family home and live off of the money or buy an apartment? Another alternative would be to give up my apartment move into mom's house and commute to the job that pays the most? My stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. There was a lot to think about but first, breakfast. I got up from the bed, got dressed, then headed downstairs to find Mrs Peters sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea in hand.

"Hey, livvie," she greeted me as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

"Hey, Mrs Peters. I'm sorry for your loss," 'I said as I gave her a side hug.

"I should be saying that to you. She was your mom."

"She was yur friend first," I smiled at her.

"Come, sit and eat. The girls will be here soon. We will be with you each step of the way to ensure that her wishes are fulfilled and that you have sorted everything that you need to," my eyes widen in surprise. "It's going to be tough but, your mom left a plan." Mr Peters pushed a binder towards me.

"What's this?"I asked in confusion as I opened it.

"We all wrote down our last wishes and kept a copy each. Each one of us picked a name out of a hat and that person would be our, um ... executor, if you want an official title to it. Basically, someone was allocated to ensure remaining family members didn't mess things up and that they got the send off they wanted," I was shocked and impressed.

"Is that what my mother thought I would do?" I asked shyly.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, Livvie," she started. "Some of the girls have more than one child and they have made it clear that they were only interested in getting certain things at the end of it," she explained. I felt a little better with her words.

"I'm glad she had a friend like you Mrs Peters. I honestly wouldn't know where to start."

"Tabitha."

"I'm sorry?" Who was Tabitha?

"My name. You're not a little kid anymore, Livvie. You can all me Tabitha."

"Thank you, Tabitha."

"You're welcome," she smiled as she held my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Now, eat up. We will go through the list with you when the girls get here." I nodded and went back to eating my breakfast.

After washing my dishes, I went and stood out on the porch. Thankfully, the storm had lifted. I looked over at the house. There was no sign of the shadow man. Who was he? What was he doing in my mom's house? What does he want with me? A cold chill coursed through my body causing me to shiver. It felt like I was being watched but it felt calming an nothing like I felt last night. Wrapping my arms around me, I turned and went back into the house.

I sat on the sofa, thinking about the way life was like with my mom but, I didn't have time to dwell on it because at exactly 4 o'clock, the girls walked through the front door.

Abigail - 5 feet 2 inches. Short, curly, back hair with natural grey highlight and blue eyes.

Rachael - 5 feet nothing. Slim build with brown hair and grey eyes.

Laura - 5 feet 6 inches. Blonde, shoulder length hair and brown eyes.

Ashlyn - 5 feet 4 inches. Cuddly build, wavy auburn hair and emerald green eyes.

Then, of course, there was Tabitha. 5 feet 2 inches. Natural grey, shoulder length hair and matching silver eyes. Which is extremely rare. She's the only person that I have seen in my entire life with that eye colour.

It would seem that my mom would've been the sixth member of this group of women, who were now sat around the kitchen table waiting for me to take my mom's place.

"You all know why we are here. This is Olivia and she's going to need our help." Tabitha called the meeting to order. Well, that's what it felt like. A club meeting and not a group of friends getting together.

"We're sorry to hear about Faye," Ashlyn said as she gently squeezed my hand.

"Thank you," I managed to get out without my voice breaking.

"We are all here for you. Whatever you need," Rachael said. They all seemed to know mom really well. The stories they told of her made me giggle and warm inside to know that she wasn't mopping around after I moved away from home.

"Faye had a hint of the devil in her," Tabitha said. "She was always up to no good.

Playing practical jokes to get a kick out of the other's misfortunes."

"Or to get the attention of fit men," Abigail cut in.

"Do tell," I insisted.

"Well, a few months ago, we were taking a peaceful stroll to the market to pick up some bits for our monthly tea when Faye spotted some of the local firefighters raising funds for the station repairs," I was smiling already and a little embarrassed for mom's behaviour before I even knew what she had done. "The mad woman pretended to faint in front of them. Two of them came running over, faster than a speeding bullet," I couldn't retain my giggle. "They had they're hands all over her and she just laid there enjoying every second of it," Abigail said. Laughter erupted around the room.