“But we’re making progress with Karen. Given time, she’ll likely want to help us.”
“Well, time is a luxury that is in short supply. And now that the coven is onto her, they won’t stop until they turn her against me.”
“But maybe if we just came clean.”
“Too soon,” Penelope said, shaking her head. “I need to win her trust, and we need to make sure she’s completely in love with you...that’s the only way to ensure she’ll go along with our plan. But that isn’t the real problem.”
“What is?”
“Her power. There is so much brimming inside of her, more than she even realizes. I think she fears it, fears tapping directly into its source and unleashing it. I need to get her past that wall, but I don’t have time to coax her over it or even lead her around it. I’m going to have to bust right through it.”
“But this, what you’re doing,” Bobby said, gesturing toward the items laid out on the counter, “it just seems so wrong. You’re messing with people’s lives, potentially ruining them.”
“Collateral damage.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
With a sigh, Penelope stopped stirring and turned to face her son. “Do you want things to stay the way they are? Is this how you want to exist? Don’t you want things to get better?”
Bobby didn’t answer, just looked down at his feet.
Her expression and tone softening, she said, “I know this has been rough on you. It has been rough on me too, but I promise Mommy is going to make it all better. Just like when you were a little boy and skinned your knee.”
“I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt...especially not Karen.”
Penelope tilted her head and gave her son a quizzical smile. “So in our quest to get her to develop feelings for you, it would seem you’ve developed feelings for her as well.”
“She’s a nice girl.”
“Well, I promise you she won’t be hurt...nothing permanent anyway. I just need her to realize how strong she really is, what she’s capable of. And I don’t have time for finesse or subtlety. I need to get her there fast, and this is the best way to do that.”
“But what about the boy?”
“What about him?” Penelope said, turning back to her baking.
“What you’re planning to do to him...he doesn’t deserve that.”
“Oh, and we deserve what we’ve been through?”
“I’m not saying that, but is it right to cause someone else pain to alleviate your own?”
“Now you’re starting to sound like that useless ex-coven of mine. It’s not like I’m going to kill anybody. Whatever pain I inflict will be worth it in the end. You’ll see.”
“But, Mom—”
“Bobby, please leave me alone and let me work!” she yelled. She’d gotten flour on her hands up to the wrist. She removed her handmade bracelet and placed it in a small wooden box next to the bowl, snapping the lid closed. When she glanced over her shoulder, she was relieved to see that her son was no longer in the room.
“It’s going to be okay,” Penelope said to herself, taking some herbs from a baggie and sprinkling them into the mixing bowl. “Mommy’s going to make it all better.”
* * *
Karen was sitting at one of the cafe’s outdoor tables when she heard someone behind her say, “I remember you.”
She glanced up from her book and smiled when she recognized the boy standing there. “Hi, Jacoby.”
“Fancy meeting you here,” he said, then laughed as if he’d just told a joke.
Karen waited for him to say something more but he didn’t—he just stood there, smiling at her. “So,” she finally said, “did you find your friend last weekend?”
“Oh, no. I think I was at the wrong school.”
“Um, okay, so why are you back?”
“It was just such a beautiful campus, I decided it necessitated further exploration. Plus, I thought there might be a chance I’d run into you.”
Karen felt herself blushing, followed by a strange needling she couldn’t quite identify...no, she knew what it was. Guilt. Over Bobby, as if she were being somehow unfaithful to him. Which was ridiculous since there was nothing intimate between them, not really, and there was nothing between her and Jacoby. She didn’t even know him, although perhaps she could change that.
Remembering her manners, Karen kicked out the chair across from her and said, “Why don’t you have a seat?”
With a smile, the young man sat.
“What are you drinking?” he asked.
“Peach tea with honey.”
“Mmm, sounds yummy.”
“Want a taste?”
“Sure you don’t mind?”
“You don’t have cooties, do you?”
“No, not that I’m aware of,” he said with a sincerity that made Karen laugh.
“Well, then, I guess it’s okay.”
Jacoby leaned forward and wrapped his lips around the end of the straw. As he sipped at the tea, his eyes closed and he actually moaned. When he leaned back, he looked almost drugged…but that was how he usually looked. “That has to be the best thing I’ve ever tasted in my life.”
“It is good, but still not as good as dark-chocolate brownies.”
“Mmm, I need to try some of that too.”
“So, Jacoby, I know you don’t go to Furman, but are you a student somewhere?”
“I guess you could say I’m a student of life. Just soaking in as much experience as I can, letting it mold me. I feel like I’m constantly evolving. Know what I mean?”
“Um, sort of,” Karen said, thinking that she didn’t really know what he meant at all, seemed rarely to know what he meant, but she did enjoy listening to his peculiar way of speaking. “So if you don’t go to school, what kind of work do you do?”
“I help people…but I don’t get paid for it.”
“So what, you volunteer at soup kitchens or something?”
Jacoby shrugged. “I just help out where I’m needed, that’s all.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Hey!”
Karen and Jacoby both started at the voice and turned to see Brittany and Derek a few feet away. Brittany was sporting a wide grin while Derek was munching on cookies from a large Ziploc baggie.
“So what do we have here?” Brittany said, striding to the table. She stood with her hands on her hips, talking to Karen but not taking her eyes off Jacoby. “So this must be the elusive Bobby. I must admit, I was starting to think you’d made him up.”
Jacoby smiled up at Brittany and held out a hand. “I’m Jacoby, and I don’t think I’m made up.”
Brittany shook his hand, casting a quizzical glance at her roommate. “Oh, so this is a different young man?”
“Yes,” Karen said. “Jacoby and I met the other day.”
“Well, aren’t you being the busy little beaver. Good for you.”
“Would you like to join us?” Jacoby asked.
“We’d love to,” Brittany said, addressing Jacoby directly, “but we’re in a hurry. I’m just stopping in for a quick muffin.”
“Don’t know why you’re paying for muffins when I got cookies right here,” Derek said, his mouth full, making his words soft around the edges.
“Please, like I’m going to put those things in my mouth. You don’t even know where they came from.”
“She’s just jealous,” Derek said with a wink at Karen. “They were left for me by a secret admirer.”
“Yes, left in the hall outside his apartment. Who knows who made them or what they put in them. Gross.”
Derek stuffed a whole cookie in his mouth and smiled as he chewed. Brittany remained stone-faced for a moment then broke into a giggle. “You’re such an idiot. Come on.”
The two headed for the café. Before pushing through the door, Brittany turned back and mouthed, “He’s cute,” and gave Karen two thumbs up. For a moment it felt like old times, the two of them best of friends.
&n
bsp; “So who’s Bobby?” Jacoby asked.
Karen felt another stab of that irrational guilt and stammered. “Um, he’s…well, he’s a friend.”
“It’s good to have friends. What’s his last name?”
She found she had to search her memory a moment before coming up with it. “Jersey. Bobby Jersey.”
“Oh, I know him.”
At first Karen was too surprised to speak. What were the chances that the two strange young men she’d met recently would already be acquainted. “Really? What a small world. How do you know Bobby?”
“Well, I don’t really know him personally, I just know of him. It’s actually his mother that I know. We used to work together.”
Karen frowned. “Worked together? You mean, the volunteering you do?”
Jacoby didn’t respond right away, and when he did, he didn’t exactly answer her question. “She was the one who really needed help though. And I tried to help her, but she was…unreceptive.”
Karen didn’t think of herself as a nosy person, but she suddenly thought what a great opportunity this was to mine for a little information. “I haven’t actually met Bobby’s mother, but from what he’s told me about her she sounds a little off.”
“She’s unstable,” Jacoby said matter-of-factly. “What is it they say…she’s got issues.”
“So is she like super religious?”
“In a way. Definitely having trouble letting Bobby go. I feel sorry for him.”
“Yes, I sense a lot of sadness in him.”
Jacoby went silent again, looking at Karen with such naked intensity and straightforwardness that she dropped her eyes to the tabletop. “Be careful around him.”
This caused her to look up. “What? Are you saying you think Bobby is also unstable…maybe dangerous?”
“I’m just saying…be careful. And his mother most definitely cannot be trusted.”
This turn of the conversation was making Karen uncomfortable, and she started to wonder if perhaps Jacoby had his own agenda in telling her these things, trying to sour her on Bobby. But maybe she was just flattering herself.
“So what are your plans for the next hour or so?” Jacoby suddenly asked, brightening. “I’d love a tour of the campus if you’ve got the time.”
Karen smiled. “Sure.”
Chapter 9
“So where are you headed tonight?” Brittany asked when Karen came back from the bathroom.
“Just Coffee Underground.”
“Alone?”
“Well, I’m meeting someone there.”
“Do tell,” Brittany said and winked at her. “Is it Bobby or Jacoby?”
“Actually...well, both of them said they were going to try to make it.”
“You tramp, I didn’t know you were all kinky and shit.”
“What?” Karen said, pulling up her skirt. “No kink, nothing like that. I’m just....”
“You don’t have to explain it to me,” Brittany said with another wink. “You just want to get them both side by side so you can size them up and decide which one you really want. Smart move.”
Karen laughed but didn’t refute her roommate. Mostly because ever since Brittany had seen Karen with Jacoby, she’d been treating Karen differently. Like a girlfriend, like a confidant. It was rather sad and vaguely insulting that it took the notion that Karen had guys interested in her to make Brittany start treating her like a human being again, but it felt so much like old times that Karen didn’t want to complain.
The other reason Karen didn’t refute her roommate’s silly notion that she wanted to get Jacoby and Bobby together so she could decide between them was...well, maybe it wasn’t so silly. She still didn’t know for sure that either of them had romantic designs on her, but if she was going to be completely honest with herself she’d have to admit she felt the beginnings of feelings for both of them. In some ways they were vastly different—Jacoby bright and personable, Bobby more sullen and withdrawn—but they shared a common awkwardness and lack of guile that she found endearing and appealing.
As she buttoned her blouse, Brittany came up behind her. “So...is that what you’re going to wear?”
Karen sighed, figuring the Indian Summer of Brittany’s renewed kindness had abruptly ended. “Why, what’s wrong with it?”
Brittany scrutinized the outfit for a moment then shook her head, laughing. “I guess nothing. Not what I’d wear, but you’re obviously doing something right. I mean, some guys really dig that naughty librarian thing.”
“Well, I’m not exactly what you’d call a naughty girl.”
“Not yet,” Brittany said, playfully goosing her in the side before flopping across her bed.
“So do you have plans with Derek tonight?” Karen asked.
“No, he’s been acting weird lately.”
“Like weird how?”
“I don’t know, just sort of distant, flaky. He actually forgot we were supposed to meet for lunch earlier today, and when we are together, it’s like his mind is somewhere else. I’ve decided to take a little break from him for a couple of days.”
“Uh oh, this isn’t the beginning of the end, is it?”
“I don’t think so. I’m just giving him a wake-up call, a reminder of just what he’s got. Pretty soon he’ll start missing me and shape up, mark my words.”
Karen smiled and nodded. “So what are you going to do tonight?”
“Homework,” Brittany said, throwing an arm melodramatically over her eyes. “It hasn’t exactly been a priority lately, and I suppose I should get caught up before I flunk out.”
Karen briefly considered inviting her roommate along to Coffee Underground, but two things stopped her. One, she was meeting Jacoby and Bobby there and didn’t really want to share them (and to continue being honest with herself, she harbored a small but real fear that the guys would prefer Brittany if they spent enough time around her). Two, she hadn’t mentioned to her roommate that tonight was the night she was finally going to read one of her poems to the crowd. If she felt the urge to chicken out again, she’d have two friends there who wouldn’t allow her to do so.
Could be three friends if she invited Brittany, but she just couldn’t do it. Despite the renewed camaraderie of the past couple of days, she couldn’t help but worry that her poetry would just be a trigger for Brittany’s derision and ridicule.
“Well, I shouldn’t be out too late.”
“If you’re back before midnight, I’ll be very disappointed.”
Karen chuckled but wasn’t sure if her roommate was joking or not. “I’ll try to come home covered in hickeys and knocked up.”
Brittany suddenly shot up from the bed and pulled open the top drawer of her nightstand, rummaging around. Then she hurried over to Karen and shoved some foil-wrapped packets into her hand. Karen stared at them for a few seconds before realizing what they were. “Oh no, I’m not going to need these.”
Brittany wouldn’t take them when Karen held them out. “Maybe not, but better safe than sorry.”
Not wanting to argue, Karen stuffed the condoms into her purse.
“Now,” Brittany said, placing a hand on Karen’s shoulder and giving her a maternal look, “you go have some fun tonight. Don’t overthink everything like you tend to do; just let loose and enjoy yourself.”
“Gee, thanks, Mom,” Karen said with an eye roll, but actually she was quite touched by her roommate’s concern. Perhaps it was possible for them to patch up their tattered friendship.
* * *
Jacoby was waiting for her at the bottom of the steps that led to Coffee Underground’s entrance. He didn’t notice her at first, staring off into nothingness while idly twisting his goatee around a finger. When she spoke his name, he glanced up and his face broke into a smile.
“Hi, Karen, fancy meeting you here.”
She wasn’t sure if that was meant as a joke or not—with Jacoby it was hard to tell—so she merely smiled back as she stepped next to him. “Have you been waiting here lo
ng?”
“Um, for a little while I guess, but I don’t mind waiting. Gives me lots of time to think and observe.”
“Observe what?”
“Just life. It’s endlessly fascinating, don’t you think?”
“I suppose it can be,” she said, looking around at the surroundings, nothing more than a few rusted metal tables and some drooping plants. “But there doesn’t seem to be much life around here to observe.”
“Oh, you’re wrong. Look, over in that corner is a whole army of ants swarming over a single chocolate-covered cherry. That alone could keep me busy for hours.”
“Well, I can’t promise to be as interesting as an army of ants, but hopefully I won’t bore you too much.”
“You could never bore me,” Jacoby said, holding out a cocked elbow like a proper gentleman. “Shall we go inside?”
“Certainly, fine sir.”
They entered the busy coffee shop. The line was long, so Karen decided against getting a drink. Besides, her nerves had her stomach churning like a witch’s cauldron. There were no empty seats up front, but they were going to the back theater anyway.
As Karen led him that way, Jacoby stared wide-eyed at the people they passed. This obviously rubbed some the wrong way, eliciting a few rude comments that seemed to faze Jacoby not at all. He actually smiled and waved at a guy that called him a “douche.”
“So who’s more entertaining to watch, ants or people?” Karen asked as they made their way down the short hall to the theater.
“Hard to say. Let’s call it a tie.”
The theater wasn’t exactly packed like the coffee shop, but there were maybe a dozen people already seated on the benches, and that was actually a pretty good turnout for poetry night. More people than Karen wanted for her debut. At least she’d have some supporters in the audience. Speaking of which, she paused at the back of the theater and scanned the benches.
“Looking for your other friend?” Jacoby asked.
“Bobby, yes. He promised to be here, but I don’t see him.”
“Well, there are still a few minutes until it’s supposed to start. I’m sure he’ll be here.”
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