“And what about you?” Sascha asked, turning her full attention to the other guy, Dane. She’d abandoned her food as soon as the boys sat down, and was now leaning forward and resting her chin in her hands.
Uh-oh. Someone’s looking boy-crazy again.
“Just two,” Dane answered. “My pad is far from here, so my folks wouldn’t let me come for years.”
Dane’s long, wavy blond hair fell into his face as he bent forward to take a bite, but he shook it away just before it landed in his food. Asher’s other roommate was similarly attractive, with wide blue-green eyes and strong cheekbones. Thinner than Hudson and dressed in khaki cargo shorts and a printed tee, he gave off a lazy surfer vibe. His looks, combined with a super-cute accent, would make him a hot commodity among the female campers.
If Sascha had her way, though, he’d be off the market soon.
“Wait, where are you from?” Sascha asked, mesmerized.
“Australia,” he responded.
“Told you chicks dig the accent,” Hudson said, shaking his head. “It’s not fair that the rest of us have to try so hard and all you have to do is talk.”
“Australia? That’s so exotic,” Sascha said. Dane looked at her funny, but then smiled again easily. “Do you have a pet kangaroo?”
“No one keeps those vermin as pets,” he said seriously. “’Roos are particularly vicious creatures. They can easily flatten a child with a single back-heel if you’re not careful.”
“No way,” Sascha said, her eyes growing wide. “But they’re so cute.” As she said it, she looked sad, like her dreams of one day owning a pet kangaroo had been dashed.
“Hey, Had,” Asher said quietly as Sascha continued to pepper Dane with questions about his life down under. “You okay?”
“Uh-huh,” I said curtly. My brain was still burning with the image of Asher and Brooklyn walking into the dining hall together and I didn’t trust myself to say much more without blowing up.
So I looked around the room like I was really interested in all the decorations, when I was really just trying to avoid him. I could feel him staring at me though, and willed myself not to give in and face him.
“You sure?” he asked me again.
“It’s just . . . been a long day,” I said passive-aggressively. It was true. It felt like the longest day in my life and I was totally over it.
I suddenly felt the need to flee. If I stuck around, I was going to explode and I didn’t want to do it in front of the whole cafeteria. Standing up, I grabbed my now-empty tray and looked for the closest garbage. “I’m tired. I’m gonna head back to my room.”
I waved to the others and then walked as confidently, and quickly, as I could away from Asher. But after a few steps, I felt him come up on my right.
“Had, we agreed no more lies. What’s really wrong?” he said softly. I slowed down as I reached the garbage can and tossed out the remnants of my dinner. After taking a deep breath, I turned to face him.
“Okay, fine,” I said, feeling the anger rushing out of me in waves. “How’s your ex doing? It looked like you guys were having a pretty deep conversation.”
A look of surprise crossed Asher’s face before turning into a smile.
“Ahhh, so that’s what’s got you so worked up!” he said like he’d just cracked the Da Vinci Code.
“What are you talking about?” I said, annoyed by his smile.
Then he took my hand in his and kissed it softly. “You are so adorable when you’re jealous,” he said finally.
I narrowed my eyes at him before pulling my hand away and stalking off. He quickly caught up with me again, this time cutting in front of me and walking backward to keep me from getting away.
“Let me make something completely clear,” I said through clenched teeth. “I am not jealous. I don’t do jealous. In fact, I don’t have anything to be jealous of.”
As the words reached my ears, I realized they weren’t true, despite the fact I desperately wished they were. I’d always thought that girls with jealousy issues just had low self-esteem. But now I was seeing that it was more than that.
Jealousy is like PMS. It makes us crazy and there is no cure.
And apparently I wasn’t immune.
Asher nodded in concession, but didn’t look the least bit convinced. “You’re right. You have nothing to be jealous of,” he agreed, bending forward to try to kiss me.
But I wasn’t ready to let him kiss this away. I took a step back and his lips met air.
“I don’t like the way she acts around you. Or the fact that you guys are having secret conversations,” I said, turning and stalking back to the main house. “And I’m pretty sure she wants you back.”
I didn’t tell him that she’d said as much earlier.
“We aren’t having secret conversations, Hadley. And she doesn’t want me back. But we do have some things to clear up, and to do that, I’m gonna have to talk to her.”
My mouth dropped open as he admitted that he was planning to talk to Brooklyn again.
He saw the look on my face and started to explain. “Look, there’s some unfinished business between Brooklyn and me, and we both need closure. But that’s all it is: closure,” he said, grabbing onto my arm and forcing me to slow down.
“I thought that door was already closed,” I said, upset.
“It is,” he said, growing frustrated himself, and running a hand through his hair.
I hated that Brooklyn had once been privy to recognizing mannerisms like this. It made me sick to my stomach.
Asher put his hands on both of my shoulders and looked at me seriously. “I was wrong back then, and I have to make things right. I think it’s time you heard the truth about Brooklyn and me.”
Then he told me the whole story.
Chapter Nine
Leading me out of the dry Colorado heat and into the chilly air conditioning of the lodge, Asher sat me down on the padded benches at the base of the enormous stone fireplace. A few people shuffled around us, heading back to their rooms for the night. I watched a girl just a few years younger than us walk along the second-floor walkway that hugged the four walls of the room before disappearing into one of the suites. Looking all the way up to the third floor and the ceiling beyond it, I was reminded of how deceptively large this place was.
It made me feel small.
“I’m not sure where to begin,” Asher said, finally.
Well, I’m not sure I’m ready to hear this, so I guess we’re even. Out loud I said nothing.
Looking down at his hands for a moment, Asher seemed to be collecting his thoughts. Then, he raised his eyes to mine and began to talk.
“Brooklyn and I went to school together before I moved in with my aunt. I was interested in her back when she was just this quiet sort of clumsy girl with no friends, who blended into her surroundings.”
“Um, how is that possible?” I cut in. “The girl is practically a supermodel. No way she was ever a wallflower.”
Asher sighed. “That was before. Before she used magic to change herself,” he said. “See, Brooklyn’s parents were sort of weird about using magic—they were always worried that people would find out they were witches and persecute them—so they bound her powers until she turned sixteen.”
“I’ve heard of low-magic households, but I thought they were just an urban legend. Like a well-adjusted former child star—you know they must exist but you’ve never seen one yourself,” I said.
“Right. And if you deny a witch the right to cast for most of her life, she’s likely to go a little crazy when she finally does get to use her powers. Which is exactly what she did. Brooklyn changed her hair, her height, her eye color—everything about herself to ensure that she would make a name for herself at our school. Only, she sort of became obsessed with becoming popular and was willing to do anything to achieve that. Even lie and cheat.”
I knew something about her was fake.
“Wait, so, I don’t understand why you think that y
ou need to make things right with her if she was really that awful,” I said, confused. “Sounds like she owes you an apology. Not the other way around.”
“I’ll get to that in a minute, but first, I have to tell you what broke us up. I want to be honest with you: I liked Brooklyn. A lot.” I couldn’t help but wince when he said this. Even though I knew that their relationship was in the past, it still hurt to think of him with her. “I liked her when nobody else knew who she was. Not only was she my first girlfriend, but she was one of the first witches I ever got close to. I trusted her, even when I began to catch her in lies. But then she started making decisions that hurt other people—innocent people—all so she could fit in with the group of popular kids at our school. We finally broke up when she kissed another guy.”
I could tell the memory hurt him and I wondered how a person could be so messed up that she could cheat on Asher. He was practically perfect. Well, as perfect as a teenage boy could be. Still, I could understand Asher’s decision to end things immediately. I would’ve done the same thing. No hesitation.
“While all of this was going on with Brooklyn though, things had started to get weird around my house,” he continued. More people were coming back from dinner now, and Asher and I had to scoot closer together in order for me to hear him without his having to talk too loudly. I reached out hesitantly and took his hand, letting it rest on his leg. “My parents had begun to fight and were having whispered conversations whenever Abby and I were around. They got really over-protective and wanted us home all the time. At first I thought they were having problems in their marriage, even though that didn’t make any sense because they never fought.
“The day that Brooklyn and I broke up, I decided to find out what was going on with my parents once and for all. My plan was to confront them both and try to make them work things out—go to therapy or something. But when I got there, my parents were gone, and Samuel Parris was waiting for me. And well, you know the rest.”
I did, and the memory brought back pangs of sadness for every life that was lost at the hands of Samuel Parris and his clan. During the weeks after my mom was killed I’d had dreams and visions, which had made me feel like my mom and I were still connected. But now, there was nothing except the occasional feeling that she was with me. And even that had been diminishing lately.
At least the memory dreams I often had of my relatives’ deaths hadn’t extended to her yet. It wasn’t exactly the way I wanted to remember her. In her last moments, screaming as the flames bit at her skin . . .
I shook my head to try to clear it of the grotesque image I’d just conjured.
“So, I left for my aunt’s right after that. I had no idea that Brooklyn tried to meet me that day. I just left. No explanation, no note, no forwarding address. I disappeared and never looked back. Of course, there was a lot going on and I had some pretty rough stuff to deal with, but I still should’ve at least e-mailed her to let her know I was alive. Even though our relationship was over, it didn’t mean I didn’t still care about her.”
My heart swelled with love for this guy who was so good that he worried about an ex’s feelings despite everything she’d done. Not many guys his age would care, let alone try to atone for their own misdeeds.
“And then I moved and met you, and my life changed forever. It was torture lying to you. Not just because I fell in love with you, but because I know how lies can ruin a relationship. And I know how it feels to be betrayed. That’s why I’m grateful every day that you gave me a second chance. You’re a more forgiving person than I was, and I feel like I need to learn something from you. Let Brooklyn know that I’m not mad anymore. I can understand why people do things they wouldn’t ordinarily, when something they care about is threatened. We all make mistakes.”
Guilt swirled around inside my head as I realized that Brooklyn might not be the evil villainess that I’d made her out to be. She was hurt over losing Asher, something I could totally understand. It must’ve been awful to have him just disappear like that, with no clue where he’d gone or why he’d left. Or whether he was okay. She’d probably beaten herself up ever since. Not that she wasn’t also at fault. There were no excuses for what she’d done to him.
“Maybe I could be nicer to Brooklyn from here on out. It sounds like she’s gone through a rough time,” I said, forcing myself to try to see things from her perspective.
“She has in her own way,” Asher said, looking around the room as if he were just noticing the other kids for the first time. “And truthfully, she’s not as strong as you are, Had. That’s one of the things that attracted me to you right off the bat. I knew you weren’t the kind of person who’d let anyone influence her into doing something she didn’t want to do. You’re a leader, not a follower.”
“Aw, shucks,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “If I’d have known our fights would end with you telling me how awesome I am, then I would’ve gotten mad at you a long time ago.”
“As cute as you are when you’re mad, I really hate fighting with you,” he said.
“Me too,” I said. “Let’s try to avoid that in the future, okay?”
“Deal. I love you, Had,” Asher said, placing his hand on my cheek and then brushing his fingers back until they were resting on the back of my neck. Pulling me toward him, he planted a soft, sweet kiss on my lips. “Nothing’s ever going to change that.”
“I know,” I said quietly. Then I sighed and looked straight into his eyes. “Okay, I guess it makes sense for you to talk things through with her. You know, just to clear the air and everything. And I’ll try not to kill her the next time I see her . . . which is going to be, like, every second of every day for the next month.”
Ugh.
Asher just laughed. “Thanks, babe,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about Brooklyn, though. Promise.”
The conversation with Asher helped to put my mind at ease. Knowing the details of their relationship turned out to be oddly comforting. What I’d been imagining had gone on between them was so much worse than what had actually happened.
These were the times when having an active imagination did not come in handy.
By the time we’d finished talking, the sun had already set, and we were both exhausted, so Asher and I said our good nights and went to our rooms. When I finally got to mine and stepped inside, I saw that both Abby and Colette were already there. Pajamas on and makeup off, the girls sat on their beds, suspended several feet into the air.
“Hey,” I said, locking the door behind me, and crossing to my side of the room. I began to change out of my outfit, and then slipped into a pair of boy shorts and a matching tank. Plopping onto my bed, I lifted my feet onto the bedspread and waited as the mattress lifted off the ground and joined the others.
“Everything okay?” Abby asked. She closed the book and rested it in her lap. Her initiation of the conversation was yet another in a long list of surprises that the day had brought. When my brain finally caught up with my mouth, I smiled at her gratefully.
“Yeah, Abby. Everything’s fine,” I said.
“You guys left so fast after dinner and we weren’t sure where you’d gone,” Colette said. She was in the middle of painting her toenails a lime green color. Well, technically, she was using magic to apply the shade to her feet. I looked down at my own naked nails and decided to join her. She tossed me a coral-colored bottle—the “it” shade of the summer—and I began to paint.
“We just . . . had some things to talk over,” I said, cryptically.
“Like Brooklyn?” Colette asked, looking up from what she was doing.
“Among other things,” I said, sneaking a peek over at Abby, who’d gone back to her book.
“Can I ask you something personal?”
Uh-oh.
“Sure,” I said, reluctantly.
Colette let the brush fall back into the top of the polish and twisted the cap closed before tossing it to the end of her bed.
“I couldn’t help but
notice that your last name is Bishop,” she started, slowly. “Well, either it’s a coincidence and you have a really famous name—or you’re her. If you don’t want to talk about it, I totally understand, but just . . . wow.”
I didn’t usually mind talking about my lineage and I was happy to get off the subject of Brooklyn. The Bishop name still held weight in the witch world. And even though it was a lot to live up to, I welcomed the challenge. I was proud of Bridget—she was a strong, confident woman who was more powerful than any one man. But right now, I felt too distracted to deal with a Bishop fan.
But it was Colette, and so far she’d been pretty cool to me. So I humored her.
“I’m her,” I said, forcing a smile onto my face though I wasn’t really feeling it. “My great-great-great-great-great-grandmother was Bridget Bishop.”
“That means you were the one who finally got rid of Samuel Parris!” she gushed, touching the corner of her glasses as she adjusted them.
“How do you know about that?” I asked, curious to find out how everyone seemed to know about what happened that night. It’s not like we’d taken an ad out in the Witchy Times or anything.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m sort of a magic nerd? I keep my ears open to what’s going on in the witching world and know all about the most influential witches. People have been talking about what you did for months now. It’s really quite incredible, Hadley. It must’ve been so scary.”
That was putting it mildly.
I looked over at Abby, wishing she’d take some of the attention away from me. After all, the story involved her just as much as it did the rest of us. I cleared my throat and went back to painting my nails.
“There were scary moments,” I said carefully. “A lot of people were hurt—even killed—and we were left to fight them on our own. But we all really believed in each other, and the coven, and we came together in the end. It was really hard, but we did it.”
“I can’t believe you killed Samuel Parris and got rid of the Parrishables,” she said in awe.
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