Magic and Mayhem

by S. Usher Evans

  Damn, but we were really similar.

  "Alexis Carrigan?" A tall, willowy woman with dark skin appeared in the hallway.

  I popped up so fast I almost got dizzy. "Right here."

  She waved me over, and I followed her into her office, leaving James behind to read through some old magazines about the school. I sat down in the chair across from her, fidgeting as I replayed every grade, every note on my application. There had to be a misunderstanding. There was no way they wouldn't give me aid.

  I exhaled and forced my worries down to a dull roar.

  "Well, we're excited to have you this year as a Hoya," the admissions officer said, folding her hands over her desk. "What can we do for you?"

  "I just got my acceptance letter and I noticed it didn't have any financial aid offers," I replied. "Just wondering why that was."

  "Oh, well, let's take a look." She entered my information into the computer and we exchanged polite small talk on where I was from and why I chose Georgetown.

  "You're from Florida?" she asked, pausing.

  "Uh. Yeah. Was visiting on a school trip.

  She squinted at her computer and shook her head. "Well, it looks like we've declined to offer you any aid."

  My chest seized. "W-what? Why not?"

  "Says your guardian doesn't meet the minimum requirements for need-based scholarships."

  I laughed, nervously. "That's…impossible. My sister works at a pharmacy."

  "It says here she makes in excess of a hundred thousand a year."

  "That has to be a mistake," I said, swallowing hard. "I mean, there's no way that…"

  Something thudded in the back of my mind and I saw Marie's extravagant apartment. I saw the way my stone lit up when Nicole talked about taking extra shifts at the pharmacy. A conversation with Gavon two years ago about how he'd been left a sizable fortune and was meeting with an investment banker to manage it.

  "I can resubmit your application and see if we can find something somewhere," she said with a frown. "But—"

  "No need," I squeaked out, caught between pure fury and wanting to bawl my eyes out. "Thank you."

  I stormed out of the admissions office, and felt James take his place beside me. "What's the deal?"

  Balling my fists, I seethed. "I think my sister has been getting money from Gavon and not telling me about it."

  I sat at the dining room table, my phone in front of me with a group text to my sisters asking them to meet me at home. I'd been so angry I couldn't even speak to James, and he'd simply cautioned me to take a deep breath and calm down before I threw him a death glare so cold he actually shivered. I was grateful he couldn't follow me into the apartment, because I needed to have private words with my sisters, and I didn't want him here with his logic and reason about why I shouldn't scream at them.

  Marie arrived first, helping herself to some food in the fridge while I stewed at the kitchen table. She was smart enough not to speak to me once she saw my face, and made herself scarce while we waited for Nicole to arrive home.

  When she finally did, she glanced at me and Marie nervously. "Lexie, what's going on? Marie, what are you—"

  "Have a seat," I said quietly.

  Nicole sat and shared a glance at Marie, who shrugged as she joined her. Neither said a word as I gathered my thoughts.

  "So as you know," I started evenly, "I applied to Georgetown University."

  "You've only mentioned it fifteen thousand times," Marie said with a smirk.

  I glared at her and she shrank back in her seat. "I received my admissions decision today," I said, summoning the paper and sliding it toward them.

  "Oh my God, you got in," Nicole said with a gasp. "Lexie, that's…that's incredible! Congratulations!"

  "Why don't you look happy?" Marie said, eyeing me.

  "I'm not happy," I said, staring at the table and willing myself not to set it on fire. "Although I got accepted, paying for it is an entirely different story."

  Nicole's smile faded. "Lexie, we talked about this. You knew how much money it would be. This can't be a surprise to you."

  I snorted. "No, the surprise wasn't the cost. The surprise was what I found out when I went to the financial aid office to ask why they hadn't given me any assistance. Turns out, my guardian doesn't meet the minimum requirement for need-based financial aid. Turns out, she's been getting a lot of money every month."

  The faded smile on Nicole's face disappeared entirely. "Lexie, I can explain."

  "Oh? Please enlighten me." I summoned the other paper I'd rustled up—Nicole's tax return. At the time, I hadn't questioned why she had been so evasive about letting me see it. Now it was clear. "Enlighten me how eight thousand dollars just appears in your account every month?"

  Nicole swallowed. "I didn't ask for it. He just put it there. I haven't touched it."

  "Bullshit," Marie said with a snort.

  "Don't you start with your fancy apartment in Las Vegas," I snarled at her. "You didn't tell me either—"

  "Why do you think she kicked me out?" Marie said with a death glare to Nicole. "Dad gave me money, too. Only I'm not too proud to use it."

  I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "So all this time, all the conversations about how I needed to work through college and save my money and…and you could've just paid for it?"

  "Do you really want Gavon's money paying for your education?" Nicole said. "There's no telling what he'll ask for in return."

  "Oh yeah? What did you get in exchange for this money?"

  "A promise that he would leave us alone."

  Twenty-Four

  Silence echoed in the room, and I honestly thought I'd had a stroke. "I'm sorry. What?"

  Nicole continued, but it was less sure than before. "I told him I would take this money if he left us the hell alone. And he has, so as far as I'm concerned—"

  "But you lied to me," I said. "You told me Gavon didn't want anything to do with us."

  "It was for your own good—"

  "How?"

  "Because the sooner you got it through your head that he's a bad person, the better."

  "You maybe could've asked me about it first," I said. "After all, he's my—"

  "Don't you dare call him your father," Nicole snarled, rising to her feet. "He hasn't been a father to any of us. He's done nothing but ruin lives and make things worse for us. Everything was fine until he came back, and then Jeanie ended up dead."

  "He didn't kill Jeanie, Cyrus did," I said. "And it's thanks to some bullshit political beef."

  Nicole's face grew pale. "How…how do you know that?"

  "Because guess who's been at school with me all year," I said, too angry to even care about the consequences. "James, Gavon's apprentice. He's the one who's enlightened me about all the stuff you two decided to keep from me."

  Nicole gasped, covering her mouth, and Marie shook her head.

  "Did you know that Gavon passed an edict so no one would come after us?" I said. "One week after Jeanie died. But nobody thought to tell me that, so I spent a year studying every book I could find and erecting at least twenty barrier spells around you and this house to keep us safe. And now I find out you're taking money from him and forcing him to stay out of my life?"

  The whole thing became riotously hilarious to me. All this time, I'd assumed Gavon had kept his distance because he didn't want me in his life. His actions had left me confused and angry, too—especially when he acted like he really cared what happened to me. Now, to find out that he did care, but Nicole had been the one…

  "I can't believe you didn't tell me," I said with a shake of my head.

  "And I can't believe you didn't tell me his apprentice was skulking around your high school," Nicole said. "Lexie, he could've hurt you—"

  "We're evenly matched," I replied hotly.

  "Lexie," Marie spoke up for the first time, "look, I didn't agree with what Nicole did either, but—"

  "And then you ran away for two years. Like you get a say in this
conversation, Marie."

  "Wow, fine," she said, holding up her hands. "You're on your own."

  "Yeah, I am on my own," I said, standing up. "Because, apparently, my sisters think that I'm still the same kid they can keep secrets from. Well, you know what? I'm seventeen, and I'm one of the most powerful magicals in a generation. I come from not only a Clanmaster, but two Guildmasters. I'm not helpless, and I'm not an idiot, and I'm definitely not a child."

  Nicole jumped to her feet. "You're seventeen, and until I say otherwise, you're grounded."

  I waited for my magic to peter out, to disappear as it had with Jeanie. But it remained as powerful as ever under my skin. So I'd been right all along—Nicole didn't have the power to ground me.

  "You can't ground me," I said with a scoff. "You're nothing but a useless potion-maker."

  As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. I might as well have slapped her.

  "What the fuck, Lexie?" Marie cried. "Uncalled for."

  "I think it's time for you to leave," Nicole said, eyeing me coldly.

  "You know what? Fine. Here." I waved my hands, recalling all the barriers around the apartment. "See what happens when you don't have my magic keeping out all the bad guys."

  And with that, I transported myself to the sparring beach and burst into tears.

  "Went that well, huh?"

  I lifted my head, knowing I was already red, puffy, and ugly, but only caring that James was there for me. I stumbled forward, sniffing and hiccupping as I sobbed, and fell into his arms. To his credit, he didn't pull away, but held me close to him while I got tears, snot, and who-knew-what-else onto his shirt.

  "T-t-t-they've been l-l-l—" I started, but I couldn't get the words out.

  "Deep breath," James said, wiping the tears from my face. "Can't have you passing out."

  I sniffed, gulping down as much air as I could. "Nicole's been lying to me…"

  "Yeah, and?"

  My gaze shot to him. "You knew?"

  "No, I didn't know, but this is the kind of stuff your family's always done," he said. "They lied to you about Gavon, they lied to you about this. What's new?"

  He had a point there. I laid my head back on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and grateful for his presence. "I guess I thought…I don't know. I thought they'd changed. I thought after everything that happened, everything I've done…they'd…" I shook my head. "And Gavon. He never told me either."

  "What are you babbling about?"

  "Gavon gave my sister money, and she told him to leave us alone," I said, looking up at him. "All this time, I thought he didn't want me. But now…now… Now I don't know what to think." I sucked in a breath. "I took down the barriers around my house."

  "Why?"

  "Because I was mad. I should go home and put them back up. Apologize to my sisters. Fix this—"

  "No. You want them to know how much you've done for them? Let them think they're in danger." He squeezed my hand. "Besides that, there's the edict, remember? Cyrus can't hurt them."

  I frowned. "Yeah, but—"

  He cocked his head to the side, brow furrowed, as if considering what to say. "You know what I think? I think you should forget them."

  "W-what?"

  "Forget them. You got into your top school. If being in high school this year has taught me anything, it's that that sort of thing is important. And you'll figure out the money." He gently brushed away the tears still falling down my face. "No more of this. You're a Warrior, damn it. We don't cry."

  "Yes, we do."

  "Look at me," he tilted my chin upward, "you are a strong, powerful magical. You could take on the entire New Salem Guild if you wanted to, and they know it. Your own Gram is terrified of you. And you're upset because some people lied to you?"

  "But—"

  "But what?"

  "But it hurts," I whispered.

  He pressed his lips against my forehead and my knees almost buckled at the gentleness of it. "Then let's do something to help you forget what they've done. We should celebrate."

  "I don't know if I have the focus to transport right now." Or the energy. But I had nowhere else to go. Nicole had kicked me out. Something ached in my chest. Perhaps my heart was breaking

  James tightened his hold around me, crushing me to his body. "Lucky for the both of us, I have plenty of focus to go around."

  Cold air hit me first, freezing both my lungs and my tearstained cheeks. The rest of me was still surrounded by James' warm embrace. I didn't know if he was being kind because I was a mess or because he wanted to be; either way, I probably would've done anything he asked.

  "Are you going to look or are you going to stare at my chest all night?"

  I lifted my head and sucked in a breath. We were in a city—New York, by the skyline—on a rooftop overlooking what appeared to be the Brooklyn Bridge. But what had taken my breath was the table and chairs, the dinner, the candles—the wine.

  "What…is this?" I said.

  "I saw it in a movie once. Right? Girls like this sort of thing, don't they?" He released me to walk over to his setup, and held out the chair. "I'm supposed to do this."

  "Did Gavon throw some rom-coms into your education?"

  "I had to watch a few with…with the others," he said, and I was glad he didn't mention their names. Because this was looking an awful lot like a date.

  "Did you really put all this together for me?" I asked, crossing the roof and sitting down.

  "Yeah, I said we'd celebrate, didn't I? Although I wasn't expecting you to be hysterical when you returned from talking with your sisters."

  "Sorry to disappoint."

  He flashed a grin across the table as he magically uncorked the wine. "You never disappoint."

  Okay, now I was sure this was a date and I was also sure my heart was about to explode from pumping so fast. I took the glass of wine from James and sipped it, trying not to look disgusted by the sour taste.

  "Yeah," he said with a similar reaction. "I wasn't sure which one to buy."

  "Buy? You mean you didn't…"

  "Somebody told me that you can't just use magic to get what you want all the time."

  "Is this a date?" I blurted, my loudness falling over the edge of the rooftop.

  James chuckled as he took my hand, and kissed my knuckles. "Do you want it to be?"

  I ripped my hand out of his and stood quickly, backing up a few steps. "James, I don't know what this is, and you're freaking me out."

  "Ah shit," he said, throwing down his napkin. Suddenly, the charming James was gone and he was back to normal. "I was trying to do something nice for you. I'm sorry if I… But I thought that you…"

  "I don't know what I think," I said, turning away from him and leaning over the roof. He came up beside me and we watched a ship putter along the river. "But this is…yeah, this is freaky."

  "So is how I feel about you." He sighed deeply. "Lexie, I think I'm in love with you."

  My eyes widened, and I became very interested in the ship. There was no way I'd just heard what I thought I'd heard.

  Sure, I'd been crushing on James for a while. But that was firmly in the boyfriend-and-girlfriend, let's-hold-hands-and-go-to-the-movies kind of crush category. With one phrase, James had just leapfrogged over that into a much more serious and terrifying world. A world where I let him past the barrier into my apartment, where I trusted him not only with my life, but with the lives of my family.

  "Lexie."

  I shook my head, gaze still rooted on the ship and hoping it wouldn't burst into flames, because I was fairly sure I wasn't in control of my magic.

  "Damn it, you're making me feel like an idiot here."

  Finally, I glared at him. "You can't spring that kind of thing on me without warning."

  "I already told you I liked you!"

  "Like isn't love, James," I said. "You said you loved me. That's…"

  "I know exactly what it means." He swallowed. "You haven't blasted me off the roof
top, so that's a good sign."

  "I don't understand. You…we're just…we're friends?"

  "My best friend," he said. "And somehow along the way, I fell in love with you. As much as I tried not to."

  I snorted. "Thanks."

  "You know what I mean. You realize this isn't…I mean, this isn't the most ideal situation." He closed his eyes. "Disaster waiting to happen."

  "Then why did you tell me at all?" I said, folding my arms over my chest.

  "Because I couldn't not tell you. Not the way you look right now. Not after seeing you so upset." He unfolded my arms and pulled me closer to him. "I'm going to kiss you again."

  "Why are you asking all of a sudden?"

  "Because you don't like it when I surprise you tonight."

  He didn't wait for my response, pressing his lips to mine. Over the past few days, I'd become used to the soft pecks and brief flashes of something more passionate. Tonight, he was testing the waters, moving slow and deliberately to see if I'd object.

  And although I didn't object, I also didn't know how to reciprocate.

  He released me. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

  "It's not that. It's just…" I whispered, staring at the skin on his cheeks instead of his eyes. "I really thought you just thought of me like all the other girls you've dated."

  He chuckled, and the vibration tickled my stomach. "I haven't dated anyone but you in weeks."

  I glanced up at him, realizing he was right. The last girl he'd dated was Mary Catherine in January, and that had been a one-week thing. I'd thought he'd just been too preoccupied with his induction match but…

  "Halfway through that date with MC, I realized I wanted to be with you instead. I don't want to be with someone I can't be honest with or someone I can't be myself around. I can be myself around you." He brushed a hair behind my ear. "And you don't give me an inch."

  "I don't, do I?" My heart pounded in my chest. He was so close, and I was about to fall off the edge. Would it be so bad if I did? "What makes you think you're in love with me?"