by Scott Tracey
“Wow, your girlfriend is pissed.”
That caught me off guard. Jenna? My girlfriend? “Now who’s digging for information?” I said, trying to sound teasing but a little afraid it just came across as desperate.
The girl snickered, shaking her head and looking away. “So far off, cowboy. Besides, most sisters I know don’t yell at their brothers like that.”
“You haven’t met my sister,” I muttered.
“Love to,” she announced as if that had been an invitation. Then she hopped off the sidewalk and made a beeline for Jenna.
Seven
“Everyone knew Sherrod was the leader. But Cy Denton and I grew up together. He controlled the school. Everyone wanted to know him. He was the star of every play, the one who threw the best parties, and the funniest guy I’ve ever met.”
Sara Bexington (S)
Personal Interview
“Who is this?” Jenna demanded, once I caught up. The girl just stood there while Jenna’s glare homed in on me. Jenna would rip out her spine and dangle it out of reach like a cat toy if I didn’t interject.
“What happened?” I countered.
“I asked you—”
I cut her off. “What. Happened?”
“Bailey’s … upset,” was all she said. Her eyes flicked to my mystery girl (when did she become my mystery girl?), and I realized that there was a whole undercurrent to the situation that she wasn’t going to reveal in front of a stranger. That’s what you get for thinking you could have an afternoon free, I thought, actually able to feel my blood pressure rising.
“What did you do?” It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Jenna’s bad mood was her way of overcompensating.
“I didn’t do anything,” she said, her voice growing more shrill. In other words, she had GUILTY written across her forehead in big black letters.
“Fine, then Bailey took something you said out of context. Just tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know what happened,” she snapped. “We were in the store trying things on, and Mal and I had this tiny little disagreement, and when I walked out of the dressing room, Bailey had taken off.”
“Taken off?” My stomach sank.
“Yeah, like gone. Ran away, planning on never coming back.”
“Well it’s good to see you’re not being overdramatic about it,” the girl suddenly chimed in.
Jenna whirled on her. “And who the hell are you?”
“Jen—” I tried to grab her arm, but she threw me off. “Leave her—”
“My name’s Ash,” the girl said. I probably looked
like Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel, the way I gaped. After struggling for half an hour, she offered her name up to Jenna in the first thirty seconds? As casual as can be?
Jenna didn’t understand the significance. “Better question, why are you butting into our conversation?”
“Because you’re making a scene,” Ash said. At some point during the conversation, she’d pulled out her phone and was texting casually, her eyes barely glancing over the screen. “I figured if you stop yelling at your brother for a minute, maybe you’d realize that.”
Jen whirled on me. “Who the hell is this girl?”
“We met at the bookstore,” I said. “And then we went out for coffee.”
”You’re drinking a milkshake.” Jenna made it an accusation.
“Going for coffee is a euphemism,” I explained patiently, carefully avoiding Ash’s eyes. “There’s a smoothie shop across the street.”
Jenna’s hand flexed into a fist and then relaxed. “This wouldn’t be a problem if they’d show us—” There were spells that could track the coven bond. Spells we weren’t allowed to know. Truth be told, there were a lot of things we weren’t allowed to know.
I cut her off. “I know.”
“It’s ridiculous,” Jenna snapped.
“I’ll help you look,” Ash volunteered. She slid the phone back into the pocket of her coat, looking between us expectantly.
“Thanks,” Jenna said as snidely as she could manage. “But this is a family thing.” And just like that, I knew that Jenna and Ash would never be friends. Ash wasn’t the type of girl who backed down to Jenna’s attitude, and as a result, Jenna would never see her as anything more than a bitch.
“I know the area, and you don’t,” Ash smiled, a saccharine look that didn’t hold an ounce of sweetness. “I’m also an extra pair of eyes, and in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of places to hide around here.”
“Justin,” my sister growled, “get rid of her.” Watching the two of them was like watching a pair of wolves circling each other.
“You’ll need all the help you can get,” Ash added, looking up at me.
“Ash can help me look. You should go find Mal and Cole,” I said, pointing back the way Jenna had come from. “The last thing I need is Cole doing something stupid, too.”
Jenna and I shared one last look, hers promising a conversation I wouldn’t want to have, before we both went in different directions.
“How old is she? Your sister?” Ash asked, while we waited for a gap in cars so we could cross the street.
“Bailey? She’s fifteen.”
Ash hmmed. “And what does she like?”
What does she like? “I don’t know,” I said, struggling. “Girly stuff? Makeup? Clothes?”
“Girly stuff,” she repeated, her lips twitching. “All right then, c’mon,” she linked her arm through mine, attaching us at the elbow.
“Where are we going?” I asked, essentially letting her drag me down the block.
“You have a lot to learn about girls,” she grinned, “whether or not you’re related to them.”
Bailey running away wasn’t what I was afraid of, not even close. Her particular talent was evocations, literally bringing things out in people and affecting their judgment. She still hadn’t learned that magic couldn’t solve everything. And her magic, much like Cole’s, had a tendency to take on a life of its own.
Like the time she stopped a fighting couple, pulling out their feelings of love and attraction for each other. A spell that quickly spread, enveloping everyone for a full city block who dropped what they were doing and hooked up with the nearest person. That had been … awkward. I’d never had to pair a “safe magic” lecture with a “safe sex” lecture at the same time.
When people talked about which of us had the most destructive potential, they always looked at Jenna, sometimes at me. My vote was Bailey—there was nothing scarier than the ability to change how everyone around you felt. What was worse was that she didn’t understand exactly how bad that was.
“It’s not far,” she promised as we headed back in the direction of the bookstore. We crossed onto one of the side streets, and tucked in between an art gallery and a Banana Republic, we came to the pet store, Unleashed Boutique.
“Seriously?” I asked, pointing up to the sign.
Ash sighed, shaking her head at me. She had her phone in hand and was typing something out as we talked. “Not a pet lover, nice.” Once again, I tried to open the door for her and she opened the other door instead.
“I like pets just fine,” I said, already canvassing the store for my sister. The puppies lined one whole side of the store. An older couple moved to the other side of the aisle, and revealed Bailey.
“Bailey gets attached to things she shouldn’t,” I said quietly over my shoulder. “I’m probably going to have to pull her out of here kicking and screaming.”
Bailey looked up, the splotchiness in her face already starting to fade. “It wasn’t my fault,” she said preemptively.
I held up my hands. “Not here to judge. What’s with the running away?”
Bailey sighed. “I just needed to get away. Then I found the pet store, and the puppies were so cute and
floppy and … ” She didn’t need to say anymore. One of the many flaws in Bailey’s life was that no one would ever let her have a pet. She wanted a dog more than anything.
“Aww, he’s so cute,” Ash said, crouching down next to her. “You’ve got good taste.”
“Thanks. Who are you?”
Ash grinned and looked up at me. “Come on, don’t be rude. Make the introductions.” So I did. Bailey’s eyebrows raised as she looked up at me. I could only imagine the sorts of questions she was building up to.
“We should get going, Bails. You know you can’t run away.”
“Why not? You did.” She didn’t say it with any malice, just honest curiosity.
“I didn’t run away,” I said carefully, “I just wanted some time to myself.
“So did I,” Bailey said.
Ash started laughing softly to herself. “Well, as fantastic as this has been,” she said, “it’s after midnight and my pumpkin’s turning into a carriage.”
I blinked. “What?”
Ash sauntered backwards towards the door with a rueful smile. “I have a prior engagement.” She pivoted just as the brunette from earlier appeared in the doorway, wearing sunglasses.
“Where’d you run off too?” Maddy demanded, pulling off her sunglasses.
Ash turned to look at me, her smile widening. “I found a distraction.”
“You know, I thought about leaving you,” Maddy announced. She didn’t look at me at first, focusing her attention on the girl who was too busy twisting my insides up to pay attention. “I thought we had plans and you run off with some … ” She turned to me, and her lip curled, “guy.”
“Don’t be like that,” Ash said with a smirk, “you know I still love you best.”
“Whatever,” the brunette sniffed. “We’re going to lunch. Are you coming?”
Ash looked up at me, her auburn hair gleaming in the sunlight. “Sorry,” she said to me. “I have plans with my friends.”
“It’s fine,” I said casually. You should ask for her number. Or give her yours. I could feel her friend’s stare even through her sunglasses, and it was putting me on edge. Just ask for her number; otherwise Mal’s never going to let you hear the end of it.
“C’mon, we’re leaving.” Maddy had already started moving away, phone in one hand. She looked at me one last time, cool and contemptuous.
“So wait,” I said. She turned and looked up at me expectantly. “I … uhm.” How in the hell were you supposed to ask a girl for her number? Without looking like a tool.
Ash seemed to read my thoughts. My nerves made her eyes sparkle even more. “Don’t worry, big guy. It’s a small town. I’ll find you again.”
“That’s not what … ”
“Ash!”
“Run on home, practice, and we’ll try again next time.” She flipped around and bounced out the door just behind Maddy, who was texting furiously.
I followed behind Bailey, glancing at a cage full of puppies struggling over a chew toy and falling over themselves. Bailey grabbed the door and held it open. I was about to step through, and then I saw the guy across the street.
He was standing in line at the pretzel kiosk, dressed in khakis and flannel. But the last time I’d seen him, he’d been Quinn’s backup at the diner. I hadn’t thought much about him at the time, assuming he was another Witcher or something. But now he was watching us? There were people watching us when we went out now? I hesitated in the doorway.
“Come on, Justin,” Bailey said, pulling on my arm. “I want to go get some coffee before we have to deal with Jenna.” She saw me staring across the street and turned that way. “What are you looking at?”
I shook my head and faked a grin. “Come on, I found this shop you’ll like,” I said, hoisting my smoothie. That was all it took to distract Bailey, who started telling me all about what kind of dog she wanted to get someday.
At the corner, I glanced back, but he was gone.
The mood in the SUV on the way home was somber. Bailey was still embarrassed and blushing, Jenna wasn’t pointedly not talking to any of us, and the guys didn’t feel the need for small talk. Maybe Cole did, but for once he picked up on the context clues and kept his hyper thought process to himself.
Once we were in the driveway and the tension had exited the car along with us, Cole nudged Malcolm. “Hey, why’s Justin smiling?”
I looked up. “Huh?”
Malcolm stared at me, even narrowing his eyes a bit. “Why are you smiling?”
“What?” I felt my forehead crinkle in my confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Justin met a girl,” Bailey announced with glee. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“You met a girl?” Malcolm’s smirk was obnoxious. Not only was he going to take credit, but he was going to be a dick about the whole thing.
“Maybe if you get laid you won’t be such a pain in the ass,” Cole announced, loud enough that people three streets over probably heard.
I moved to hit him, but Mal got there first, cuffing him on the back of his head. “Seriously?”
“Dude!” Cole started rubbing his head, looking all flustered. “Jenna says that all the time!”
We all turned to find Jenna, but she was already disappearing across the street and into Bailey and Cole’s house with Bailey in tow.
Malcolm came up beside me. “She’s still pissed off?”
I nodded. Bailey was back and everything was fine, but that didn’t mean that Jenna was going to let it go. “Just give her some space. Maybe Bailey will calm her down. Or maybe she’ll just be pissed for days like usual.”
“Well yeah,” Cole wormed his way in between us, like this was some sort of “guy talk” moment. “She’s totally embarrassed. She caused a scene, and Bailey got upset. Bailey still hasn’t forgiven her for making us move again. Jenna might act like she doesn’t care what most people think, but we’re not most people, right?”
I opened my mouth to argue with Cole out of principle (I mean, I can’t remember the last time the boy got something right), and then I stopped.
“Insight into the devil’s mind,” Malcolm murmured. “Powerful stuff.”
Cole seemed to shrink. “You’re making fun of me again,” he complained.
“Actually, he’s not,” I said, ruffling his hair. “Besides, who cares if Mal makes fun of you? He still sleeps with a teddy bear, remember?”
That was all it took to make Cole start laughing. “Oh yeah!”
Mal glowered, but that was to be expected. A couple of years ago, boredom had set in and Cole and I came up with a plan. We’d found a stuffed bear that had been left in our hotel room. We waited until Malcolm fell asleep, and tucked it in the crook of his arm. For an hour we’d mess with him, until he shifted position. Each time snapping a photograph of him with the bear.
Once someone finally told, he’d tried deleting all the pictures. Cole, being the genius he was, had sent copies to his email account. He’d promised to delete them, but he never did. Jenna had too much influence on Cole, and she knew good blackmail when she saw it.
“Cole, if those pictures turn up as posters in the girls’ restrooms again, I’m going to staple you to the ceiling,” Mal threatened, pointing his finger in the much smaller boy’s face. “I’m serious.”
I almost pointed out that the posters hadn’t been nearly as bad as the Facebook group that one of them had started. We never ended up at a school with more than a thousand kids, but after the first week the group had almost five times that many followers. Another week and that number had almost tripled, but by that time Mal found out the password and shut it down.
Now Cole was nearly bent over, he was laughing so hard. “I can’t make any promises,” he said, and then yelped, as Mal lunged for him.
“In only a pair of tighty-whiteys,” Mal added as he started chasing
after him.
The horseplay continued on for a few minutes in the yard as Mal went after someone half his size and twice as agile. To Cole’s detriment, though, was the fact that he kept slipping and sliding every time he hit one of the ice patches on the concrete. Malcolm just plowed forward like some sort of unstoppable monster.
“Maybe the one where you suck your thumb?” Cole giggled, dodging under Mal’s arm and running for the backyard.
Not a minute later, Cole came sailing around from the other side of the house, but Mal’s pursuit had stopped being so intense. “Screw this,” he said, coming to a stop. “If I’m going to work up a sweat, I might as well go to the gym.”
He looked at us expectantly, and Cole and I both immediately dropped our heads. “Is Quinn calling me?” I wondered, moving for the front door.
“Yeah, I think he is,” Cole said from just behind me.
Mal snorted, but didn’t push it.
We walked through the front door to hear raised voices. I instinctively wrapped my hand around Cole’s mouth. His first instinct to being told “be quiet!” was to talk all about how quiet he would be.
“… of course they don’t know anything,” Quinn was saying from the kitchen. I left the front door cracked open and eased the two of us into the stairwell, out of his line of sight if he should cross to the hall.
“And I told you that was a mistake,” Quinn continued a moment later. There were no other voices, so he must be on the phone. What was a mistake?
“They don’t know why they’re here yet,” he continued. “But they’re not stupid. They’ll figure it out. Then what are you going to do?” He waited only a moment, but when he spoke again, his voice had changed. “Are you sure?”
Cole was squirming against my arm, looking up at me. I held my finger over my lips, then nodded back towards the front door. Just before we slipped back outside, I heard one last comment.