What makes my days so weird is that they aren’t weird. I mean, people are hooking up, couples are forming, and it certainly looks like the spells are working, but no one is questioning that. Like, how in the world is this even possible? Does everyone just accept that magic exists, swallows it whole without flinching? It seems so surreal to me, a joke, just like Mr. Tremmel said, even as I write spell after spell. Even as I see the most unlikely couples form.
It’s so strange and unbelievable.
I realize that what’s making it weirdest of all is that I have no one to talk to about it. Sure, I can talk to Abby but she doesn’t care as much about the reason why the spell is working as she is about how well the spell is working and how much more money we can charge the people who are falling for it. Mr. Tremmel still hasn’t agreed to write her reference letter. I don’t know why he’s holding out, but she’s in a frenzy to get him to do it, which means she’s driven, hungry to impress him. She squeezes charisma out of every pore and sprinkles charm like confetti so that more people come to our booth to buy our spells.
I check my phone for the millionth time to see if Ethan has texted. He hasn’t. I look around the crowded hall. No sign of Ethan hanging around, either. He should be back from New York by now but he wasn’t in math class this morning.
Are u back yet? I text him even though my last text asking if he’s okay is just sitting there unread.
I miss him and I’m starting to wonder if he might be really super angry with me over something when my phone vibrates.
Yeah, I got back yesterday
I blink at my phone. What the heck? Why didn’t he tell me he was back? Maybe he is upset about something.
I feel like I haven’t seen u in forever. Wanna hang out? Come over tonight
Abby comes around to my side of the booth with a coffee and sets it down in front of me. “Mel picked us up some caffeine reinforcements. I told her you like it black.”
“Um, thanks.” It’s not usual for Abby or Mel to give me a thought when they’re planning a coffee run so I’m a little startled that this time is different.
“I know your hand probably hurts by now but I was hoping you’d be able to write one more spell today.”
I frown as I crane my head around to look at the front of the booth. No one is standing there. “Who for?”
“Oh, this is a special order. For Doug and Marion.”
I take a sip of my coffee. It’s on the cooler side of lukewarm but I’ll take it. “Okay. A crush spell?” I start to pull the crush spell book toward me.
“No, the true love one.” She picks out a pristine piece of peachy-pink origami paper and hands it to me. “And don’t alter it, okay? Just put those names in but keep everything else exactly as it’s written.”
I sigh. “Okay.”
She smiles but it looks kind of sad to me. Am I seeing the real Abby once again?
“Thanks. I’m going to start packing things up.”
I nod. Usually Abby makes me do that so she can go pester Mr. Tremmel.
Before I start writing, I click on my phone to see that my text to Ethan is still just sitting there. Delivered but not read. What the hell?
I’m about to send him another message, maybe a not so nice message, when another text comes in. It’s Luca. I can’t help the smile from spreading across my face and I know I look like a fool grinning down at my phone but I don’t care.
Have you ever been to the old Grady Farm?
Um…no
I’ve heard the rumors. The place is haunted. There are also stories about alien sightings and that’s even weirder than the ghost stories. No one is allowed on the property, though, so not even Mom has been able to investigate.
Why? Isn’t it closed to the public?
I’m working on a job there. I want to show you something. Wanna go after school?
My curiosity is piqued if only because I know it’s forbidden territory. No one has been able to explore the farm for a very long time and it’s a century-old place so I know there’s going to be treasures to see there.
I’ll have to think about it…oh wait, of course I do!
Lol cool, I’ll pick u up at the bell
I’ll meet u at the front doors
And that’s all it takes for me to be smiling for the rest of the day, all troubling thoughts of Ethan and magic and my mom gone from my head. All what’s left is anticipation.
I sigh, pick up the fancy feather pen that Abby forces me to write with now, and begin Abby’s spell.
Chapter Nineteen
The pathway up to Grady Farm isn’t what I expected. It’s less horror-esque and more nature walk. Even though it’s the worst part of the spring, the sun is out for once and there are birds chirping. We are in a forest, kind of, but there are clearly marked trails that are easy to walk on.
“The Historical Society is revitalizing the space.” Luca holds my hand as we walk and he’s got a backpack slung over one shoulder.
“So it’s not privately owned anymore?”
“Nope. They’re turning it into a nature center.”
A haunted nature center. I chuckle to myself. My mom will be all over this when it opens. “What part are you working on?”
“You’ll see.” He smiles at me and squeezes my hand. “Looks like your business with Abby is still booming.”
“Yeah. Two more days to go, but Mr. Tremmel told us that we’ve already gotten As.”
“That’s cool. I never could get a great grade with that teacher.” Luca laughs. “He wasn’t too forgiving with all the practices I needed to attend.”
“That’s not fair, though.” I frown. “I mean, that was your thing, right? There should be something for athletes, special considerations.”
“There usually are, but Mr. T wasn’t too accommodating. I think he has something against ‘jocks.’”
“Well, maybe the boys, but definitely not the girls.” I snicker. “He lets Abby and her friends get away with murder.”
Luca snorts. “Doesn’t Abby always get her way?”
Well, not always. Abby clearly doesn’t know how to convince Mr. Tremmel to write the letter she needs. “I can’t really complain because it was her idea to do the love spells in the first place.”
“Like I said before, really brilliant idea that obviously paid off.” He laughs. “Who knew that fake love spells would be such a hit?”
I grimace. Should I tell him? Will he think I’m lying?
“I guess everyone just wants to be happy, right? Like us.” He squeezes my hand again.
“The spells work,” I say softly.
Luca leans closer. “Huh?”
I look up at him. He frowns, leans even closer. “I said, the spells…they actually work.”
“Yeah right.” He laughs, lifts my hand, then kisses it.
“I’m serious, you can ask Abby. Ethan, too. We’ve experimented a few times.”
He stops walking. “So when I saw Ms. Black flirting with Mr. Sampson the other day…”
I nod, a little surprised but also not. “Well, she came for a spell on Monday.”
“Are you serious?” His eyes are wide. I can’t tell if he’s really believing all this or not.
“I can’t explain it but it’s happened too many times to not see a pattern.”
“It could be giving people confidence,” he says. “You know, having the spell in their hand could give them the push they need to go for what they want…who they want. It might not be magic exactly but more like going after something in a confident way may actually make it happen.”
“Yes, that’s true.” I’ve seen it over and over again with Luca. He’s so sure of himself all the time and goes after what he wants. His confidence definitely attracts me so maybe he’s right and it isn’t magic after all.
The burden of possibly in
fluencing people’s lives like I have been shifts a little as I think about how Luca might be right and this might not be about magic at all. Maybe it’s just giving people the push they need to be brave.
Then I remember Kelly and Big Dave and Will and Amanda.
“We experimented on some people who didn’t know that we were writing them a love spell.” I wince. “They were obviously into one another, so we just helped them along a little to see if it would work. And it did.”
“Huh.” He tugs my hand and we start walking again.
“Do you think it’s weird?” His silence is unnerving. Maybe he’s rethinking wanting to date me. Maybe he thinks I’m too much like my mom. Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut.
“It’s totally weird but stranger things have happened. I mean, you probably see all kinds of weird things at your house.”
I nod. Too many weird things. But all of them explainable. Mostly.
“I’m surprised that people aren’t just writing their own spells. I mean, if they work like they say they do, why spend the money?”
Yeah, about that… “I don’t know if anyone else has tried, but when Abby did, nothing happened. It seems as though I’m the only one who can write spells that work.”
He frowns, then shrugs. “Well, if anyone is going to be able to cast a spell, it’s going to be you, right? You do live in a creepy old mansion with a parapsychologist for a mom.” He wraps his arms around me and we nearly stumble into the brush.
I laugh as I slip my arms around his waist. We’re just like that for a minute. Holding each other, being together. I look up at him and smile.
“I never doubted that you were special.” He looks down at me, all laugher gone.
His eyes are shining and I get a sense of comfort knowing that he’s showing me acceptance when he could have reacted so very differently to what I’ve just told him.
Our lips touch and I hold him close, knowing that I’ve been more honest with him today than ever before. Also knowing that for a normal guy like Luca to still want me around after what I’ve just said, well, that’s as unbelievable as it is special.
…
The sun is just starting to slide down to the horizon when we get to the old Grady barn and it, too, is not what I’m expecting.
“It’s not falling apart.” I shield my eyes from the glare of the low hanging sun. The barn looks pretty old. Probably as old as my house but it’s not a shell of a building like I figured it would be.
“It was when we started. Wait until you see inside.” He tugs my hand and smiles like he’s ten and not eighteen.
It’s infectious and I can’t help but run along with him to the giant red barn doors. He pulls out a key and unlocks the door.
“Special access.”
I’m totally in awe when we walk inside. It’s huge. The beginning of a walkway is set out, with stones laid but not yet cemented into place. The dirt is freshly turned and someone has brought in some metal tables and chairs but they’re not set up yet, just piled near the doors. It’s also heated which makes me very aware of how cold my face and fingers actually are now that the sun has started to set.
“They’re turning it into an art center. This will be a butterfly garden.” He points to the sides of the walkway as we move along them. “In the summer, they’re going to open all the doors and also the roof.”
I look up and gasp. One side of the roof has been completely replaced by windows.
“This is gorgeous!”
“Yeah, I like it here.”
I look closer at the butterfly garden and it reminds me of something my mom has written a lot about. “My mom has this belief about butterflies. She says they’re messengers for the dead.”
“I bet she’d love to investigate a place like this, right?”
“Yeah, she would.”
There are more windows all along the top of the south side of the barn but the sun is below them now and it’s getting dark. Luca and I walk farther along the path.
I spot a ladder near the back. “What’s up there?”
“That’s where we’re going.”
Just as it gets a little too dark for my liking, the lanterns I hadn’t noticed turn on. All along the walkway, the muted light of small lamps flare to life. It casts an eerie but beautiful glow on everything.
“That’s so pretty!”
“Wait until you see it from up there.”
We get to the ladder and he motions for me to go first. Heights are not my favorite but there’s no way I’m turning into a wuss with Luca around. He’ll catch me if I fall, right?
Once I’m up, I take a look around and he’s right, it’s worth the climb. The view alone is stunning. With all the lights below, it’s like the night sky flipped itself over. But above there are real stars just starting to poke out and twinkle in the twilight sky.
Luca motions behind me once he’s up, too. “There’s cushions over there.”
I turn around to see the beginning of a loungelike seating area laid out. “What’s this for?”
“The historical society wants to have a quiet space up here for writing groups or artists to come and work. Mr. Columbus has me and one of the other guys working up here to get it in shape while him and Samuel do the stones below.”
He opens his backpack and pulls out a blanket.
“You came prepared.” I smile, helping him spread the blanket over the cushions that are on the floor.
“I brought these, too.” He pulls out a container and opens it. “My mom baked us cookies.”
They smell fresh. My stomach rumbles. “Yum.” A pang of sadness hits me as I try not to think about how Ethan bakes me cookies when he knows I need them. I miss him. I slip my phone out of my pocket and just in case I missed a text from him, but nothing is there. He still hasn’t read the last one I sent.
Luca sits down on the blanket, then pats the spot next to him. I slip my phone back into my pocket, plop down, and take a cookie. A cookie is a cookie. No way I’m passing one of these up.
“So magic spells work and ghosts are real.”
“They are?” I whip my head around, my eyes wide. Then burst out laughing. “I’ve never seen a ghost, so honestly, I don’t know.”
“I read one of your mom’s books. She thinks ghosts are real.” He takes a cookie for himself and chomps away.
“She has no problem believing anything unusual.” But try to convince her that my new boyfriend is a decent guy and she’s all skeptical.
“She’s a smart lady.”
Yes, but when it comes to supernatural stuff, she has no ability to think critically. There was that one night when we were at a grocery store pretty late and some young guy started trailing us, telling her that he could see a small child following her and asked if she had a secret baby or something.
My mom totally stopped to chat with the guy while I gave him a serious stink eye. He could have been a dangerous predator or a fanatic who was obsessed with “Dr. Marshall” and wanted to cause her or me harm. It’s not like we haven’t had a few scares with some of the fan mail that’s come over the years. My mom has no ability to turn away from someone who claims to have a story about ghosts. She’ll listen to anyone and everyone.
That night I made such a fuss that she agreed to leave but not before she handed the guy her card and told him to call her later. She handed her card, which has our address on it, to a complete stranger who looked like he hadn’t slept for days. Not even grocery shopping is safe from the strange and unusual, and Mom has no problem falling for every weird story she hears. That’s why I worry about her.
“Yeah, well…” I move in close to him. “I don’t really want to talk about my mom or ghosts right now.” I run my hand up his leg, feeling bold. Is it too soon? Does he want to do this tonight? Would he have brought me here if he didn’t?
“We’re pretty alone up here.” His voice is deep and gruff. “Everyone is gone for the day.”
He wants this. I nod as I slide my body closer to his.
His hands are on my hips. His lips are on my lips and his kiss is a spark that ignites it all.
We can’t keep our clothes on even if we tried. Hoodies come off, then T-shirts. I can’t get enough of running my hands against the muscles of his chest, his arms are so lean, powerful as he lifts me and pulls me closer. He unhooks my bra; I unbutton his jeans. Soon we’re flesh on flesh, and there so much heat and pleasure that I can’t catch my breath.
“You have a condom?” If he doesn’t, there’s one in my bag. My mom insists I keep one always even though she doesn’t actually want me having sex. Just in case, she always says. Better to be prepared.
He nods, reaches, breaks away from me by a fraction as he pulls a condom from the side pocket of his backpack. I doubt his mom made him put it there.
Sex with Luca is different. It feels special. He looks in my eyes, making sure I’m comfortable, that I feel good. I’ve never known someone to be so considerate. Every step of the way he checks that I’m with him. And I am with him, 100 percent.
For the first time I’m with a guy who actually cares if I’m enjoying myself. And when I do feel that burst of pleasure cascade through me, I’m blissfully, mind numbingly, satisfied. We lay in a tangle of sweaty arms and legs on the blanket, not at all chilled by the cooler air around us. My breathing matches his. My hand is on his chest and I can feel his heart pounding away. Is he feeling the way I am?
I cuddle into him and he drapes his arm around me, then kisses the top of my head.
“Your hair always smells so good,” he says as he reaches up to twirl my hair around his fingers. “Like flowers and vanilla.”
Love Spells and Other Disasters Page 17