The Memory Witch

by Wood, Heather Topham

  “So, I know you’re not with Mason, but are you dating anyone?”

  “No, I just broke up with my boyfriend a few weeks ago,” I said.

  As Connor launched into a story about a crazy cat lady, I became aware of his hand resting on my knee. Once he was finished, he leaned in towards me. “I have a confession to make.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve been thinking about kissing you for the last ten minutes,” he said.

  I blushed and tried to think about how to respond. Should I just kiss him? I’ve been with Tanner for so long that I wasn’t sure how to react in this situation. I never dated before Tanner and had only kissed one other boy. Now that I was single, should I be testing out the waters and kissing new boys? Connor cupped my chin with his left hand while drawing me closer with his right palm.

  I didn’t have a chance to reply since a pair of strong arms came from behind me and wrapped around my waist. I was pulled backwards and off of the stool. I had the sensation of falling before someone steadied me from behind. I turned around and found myself in Mason’s embrace.

  “You’re coming for a walk with me,” he ordered with a severe look on his face. I was so surprised by his expression that my tongue felt lodged in my throat. Mason started to lead me away from the bar.

  “Hey! We were talking!” Connor protested.

  “I’ll deal with you later, Evans,” Mason growled and grabbed my hand.

  He brought me over to a corner of the bar with the least amount of people. “Mason, what the hell are you doing?”

  My irritation was at an all-time high. He rudely interrupted my conversation after disappearing for a good twenty minutes. I didn’t appreciate being manhandled either.

  My protests fell off my lips as Mason’s intense gaze drank me in. I was locked into his stare, entranced to the point that I didn’t know if anyone had ever looked at me in that way. He pressed me against the wall and leaned in. In an urgent whisper, he said, “When you’re out with me—you’re with me.”

  “But I thought you said…”

  “To hell with everything I said,” he groaned. I was ready for his kiss. I tilted up my chin and parted my lips in anticipation. His lips possessed mine in a desperate embrace. The kiss was full of need and desire. His hands were moving down my back and I gripped him tightly to my body. The only thing that mattered at that moment was the emotions he was stirring inside of me. My body was making the decisions while shutting out my over-analytical brain.

  This was unlike any kiss I ever had before. I marveled in the excitement of being devoured by someone so completely sexy and completely off-limits. His kisses were intoxicating and I felt desire build as his tongue slid inside of my mouth. He nipped at my lower lip before moving away from my mouth. If this was what kissing was like after Tanner, I could get used to it.

  “This is such a bad idea,” he moaned into my ear. “But when I saw that jackass touching you, I had the strongest urge to punch in his face.”

  “He asked if he could kiss me,” I confessed. I felt like I was playing chicken on the tracks. As much as the intensity of Mason scared me, I was also thrilled by it.

  “You really want me to hurt him, huh?” he half laughed and groaned. His look turned serious. “I shouldn’t be acting like this. I shouldn’t be this possessive. We definitely shouldn’t be kissing in the corner of a bar.”

  “There’s a lot of shouldn’ts in there,” I pointed out.

  He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I should get you back to the house. If Stella checks on you, there may be hell to pay.”

  “No more kissing, then?”

  “No more kissing…ever,” he said uncertainly.

  “Okay, then you won’t mind if I go back and kiss Connor?” I teased. “If you’re not interested, he seemed to be.”

  “Don’t push it, Quinn. I will go all caveman on your cute ass and throw you over my shoulder to keep you away from him,” Mason warned. With his shoulders tensed, he led me out of the bar and over to his truck.

  The ride back was silent. I kept trying to guess what Mason was thinking. Did he regret the kiss that much? I understood he never wanted to get involved with a witch, but it’s not like I was filled with an overwhelming urge to cast a love spell on him. I would want someone to fall for me because of the emotions I stirred inside of him and not because magic forced them to.

  He pulled around to the back of the Chadwick House and cut the ignition to the truck. I hopped out of the truck and started heading towards the house. If he was going to give me the silent treatment, I could return the favor.

  “Quinn, wait,” he protested as I marched away.

  I stopped and crossed my arms over my chest. I waited for him to start.

  This time the kiss was unexpected. One minute I was standing there with a scowl and the next I was melting in his arms. I cupped my hands over his cheeks and kissed him back with everything I had inside of me. He crushed me against his chest and I reveled in the warmth of his body.

  His breathing was ragged as he spoke. “I’m walking inside and not kissing you anymore.”

  “Okay.”

  “This is wrong on so many levels.”

  “Completely wrong.”

  “But I can’t stop.”

  “Then don’t,” I whispered. This was all the permission he needed. I was captive to his lips and could stay this way forever. There were probably a million sensible reasons not to be kissing Mason. Yet, at that moment, I could care less.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next afternoon Mason found me alone in the workshop typing on my laptop. It was Sunday, which meant I got some time to myself. However, since things ended with Tanner, I had very few people to call. Amber was my best friend and my other friends were mutual friends of both Tanner and Amber. I wasn’t overly surprised to not hear from them after the breakup.

  Tanner had written me a few messages online and left several voicemails in the days following our confrontation. I deleted them all. I had no urge to hear his sorry excuses. There was no room for forgiveness in my heart. I blocked both him and Amber from my contact lists and hadn’t heard from either of them since.

  The phone call with my mom that morning had lifted my spirits. The day earlier, she had the sudden urge to buy a lottery ticket. That ticket had won her $10,000. I cheered with her on the phone and never let on that I was behind her windfall.

  When I saw Mason walk into the workshop, I unconsciously put a finger to my lips. They still felt swollen and warm to the touch. The night before had seemed like a dream. I had to tap into all of my self-control to finally stop kissing him and sneak back into the house undetected.

  “Hi,” Mason said awkwardly. “We should talk about last night.”

  This was expected. Mason had expressed his reservations early on and I suspected he might try to turn me down gently. I had already resolved that I had to keep my distance from my neighbor.

  As I tossed and turned in my bed, my brain went into overdrive. I needed to focus on figuring out what my mother was concealing from me. This meant I had to locate a spell to reverse the amnesia and learn how to cast it correctly. Mason was a distraction. In only a few days of spending time together, he already consumed most of my thoughts.

  Besides, I wasn’t the right kind of girl for Mason. I was a virgin and I wasn’t ready to go down that road with anyone. I had too many fears when it came to sex and this couldn’t be erased after one night of kissing a boy—albeit the hottest guy I’ve ever seen in the flesh.

  “What’s up?” I asked feigning distraction and not looking away from my computer screen.

  “I’m sorry about last night. I feel like I took an advantage of you when I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t do that,” he said. I swiveled to look at him and took in his sheepish expression.

  I pushed down the pain I felt at his obvious regret and instead gave him a forced smile. “You didn’t take advantage of me. I knew what I was doing.” I chewed my lowe
r lip before speaking. “Mason, we don’t have to do an autopsy on last night. We kissed—it’s not a big deal. I’m not looking to date you.”

  He leaned back on his heels. “Don’t think that I didn’t enjoy what happened. It’s just…”

  “Complicated,” I said and added, “I get it and I agree. We’ll just forget it ever happened.” Not likely, but the lie slid off my tongue easy enough.

  I almost laughed at the surprised expression on his face. He obviously expected me to be upset and my nonchalance was throwing him for a loop. Truthfully, my assignation wasn’t the only reason that I needed to stay away from Mason. There was something dark and destructive about him that puzzled me. His shoulders seemed to carry a heavy burden that he could never be rid of. I had a feeling the more I discovered about him, the more dangerous it would be to become entangled.

  After a minute of being tongue-tied, he responded, “Well, okay then. I’m glad we’re feeling the same way.”

  “See you later, Mason,” I dismissed him.

  After a long moment of staring at me with an uncertain expression, Mason finally left. I let out a shaky breath once the door of the workshop closed behind him. Pretending I didn’t care about Mason was going to be a little harder than I anticipated. How would I be able to put up this indifferent façade for months? The thought of watching a string of women walk through his door would be heart-wrenching. The only salve for my fragile heart would be to pretend Mason didn’t exist.

  ***

  Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Before I knew it, the air was frigid and the draftiness of the Chadwick House became insufferable. I ended up wearing layers to bed in order to stay warm as I slept. The coldness seeped inside of me and I felt myself grow hard and distant. During my months of isolation, I became single-minded. I would master the spells and use magic to find the answers I sought.

  Stella gave me more freedom as time marched on. I was provided with a set of keys in order to freely access her books, herbs, and tools to cast. After a month of doing spells, she allowed me to start working directly with the clients. As much as I was disgruntled over wearing the headdress, it did seem to put the customers at ease. I guessed a beautiful witch was less frightening than an old and withered sorceress.

  I had learned so much in such a short time. I could heal any kind of surface wound and Stella had me cure a man’s debilitating arthritis. I had helped at least five people welcome new love into their lives. One of the most touching clients had been a couple that had a half a dozen miscarriages over the past two years. It was enthralling to know I was able to help make their dream of a baby come true.

  It wasn’t to say all magic came easy to me. Learning how to cast was certainly a trial and error process. When I headed into dangerous territory, Stella was usually quick to negate the spell and instruct me on what I had done wrong. I resented her insistence on erring on the side of caution. My body craved to be whole again and to have my memories restored. The sooner I mastered my abilities, the sooner I would be able to uncover the truth surrounding my amnesia.

  My blind ambition almost turned deadly during one early morning spell. A woman in her late forties had come to us looking for ways to improve her sex life with her husband. The client explained how after years of marriage, things had turned stale in the bedroom and she wanted to reignite the lust they felt for one another after they first married.

  The spell was simple enough. The words required me to ask that the fire between the couple be returned. As I whispered the spell, I imagined a fire burning between a man and a woman, growing stronger and brighter with each passing second.

  The wooden surface of the table went up in flames. I screamed and jumped backwards. I was seconds too late. The fire caught on the tips of my hair and the singed smell assaulted my nostrils. I panicked and began waving my arms wildly around. Not the most sensible action when you’ve caught on fire.

  A torrential downpour of water flooded over me and the fire was doused. Stella stared at me without a lick of concern on her face. Instead, she scowled while holding an empty jug. For once, I was grateful for her lack of empathy and her ability to remain calm in the direst of circumstances.

  “What was that about, Quinn? I haven’t seen that poor of a cast since I accidentally killed my cat with a gluttony spell when I was twelve,” she scoffed.

  I shook my head at her. “I said the words correctly. I was visualizing a fire raging between the two of them, but didn’t think it would be taken so literally,” I mumbled.

  “Quinn, you must get this through your thick skull. The words are just words without your power. The ingredients and chants will do nothing in the hands of someone who doesn’t have magical blood. If you will fire into existence, it can happen. Some witches are able to perform casts without herbs or chants. As you use your powers more, you’ll be able to access those kinds of abilities.”

  Stella had gone into lecture mode. She was ruthless when it came to teaching me the craft. She swore one day I would thank her for her methods. That day seemed a long time away.

  The accident aside, there was no denying that magic was seductive. Continuously, I reminded myself of my mother’s warnings. I avoided using any of the spells directly for my benefit. The only spell I desired for personal gain was one that would give me my memory back. Yet, Stella shot this idea down every time I brought it up. Instead, I turned to searching her dozens of spell books for answers.

  I forced Mason to become a non-entity in my life. If I saw him coming, I went the other way. If he tried to strike up a conversation with me, I made excuses and cut it short. My treacherous heart still went into overdrive whenever I was near him. This made it all the more important to keep my distance. I had already experienced a broken heart and didn’t need another one so soon.

  Stella’s heart must have grown three sizes over the holidays. She allowed my mother to come up for Christmas Eve and stay the night. I was even permitted to borrow her car for a day to shop for presents. This was thrilling considering I hadn’t left the Chadwick House since Mason took me to the Marksmith months ago. Unsurprisingly, no other invites to sneak out were dispatched from my hot neighbor.

  I waited with baited breath for my mother’s car to pull into the driveway. Rising from my perch on the porch, I hurried down the steps as I saw her silver Honda crunch over the gravel of the driveway. My mother didn’t have a chance to say hello before I launched myself in her arms. She squeezed me tightly and I felt tears prickle my eyes. Talking on the phone hadn’t eased the ache of missing seeing her beautiful face.

  Her hands smoothed down my hair and she pulled me back to look closely. “You look different…more grown up.”

  “I missed you, Mom,” I whispered.

  “I missed you too. I’ve been counting down the days until I would be able to see you.” She walked through the door and I took her coat out of her hands. She asked in a soft tone, “Are you sure we should stay here? Maybe we could head back home or get a hotel.”

  I shook my head empathetically. “It will be fine. I’m making us a feast tonight, just for the two of us.” I pulled her close and said into her ear, “I don’t know if Stella is alone or not for the holidays. I felt bad just leaving her.”

  My mother looked surprised and I didn’t blame her. Who would’ve thought Stella could grow on me? We still antagonized each other on a regular basis, but a mutual respect had also developed. Moreover, I stopped laying blame on her for the holes in my memories. Stella only cast the spell and made the deal, my mother had to be the one to accept it.

  I showed my mom to the guest room Stella had me prepare earlier. For the next two hours, we sat on the bed and talked about nothing and everything. My mother carefully sidestepped the topic of Tanner, but did mention seeing Amber at the mall.

  “I tried to talk to her, but she acted strange. I barely had two words out before she told me she had to go,” my mother stated.

  “Her and Tanner became an item while I was away. I ha
ven’t talked to either of them since I found out,” I sighed. “Let’s not talk about her though. We only have a short time together and I want it to be fun. Remember how we always opened one present on Christmas Eve? Let’s do that again.”

  “Yes!” my mother enthused and dug through her luggage. I headed to my room to retrieve her present. My shopping list was the shortest it had ever been. The majority of the gifts were for my mother. I had made a last minute decision though to buy Stella and Mason presents as well.

  When I arrived back at the guest room, I tore through the wrapping paper of the small box she had placed in my hands. A beautiful pair of diamond studs greeted me. I gasped, “Mom, these look like they cost a fortune. You shouldn’t have gotten me something so extravagant.”

  “Of course I should. Every woman needs a good pair of earrings to own,” she insisted.

  I relented and accepted the gift. The winnings from the lottery ticket had helped her get on her feet. I sympathized with how much it bothered her to never be able to buy me expensive gifts during the holidays. Her smile was beatific after I tried them on for her.

  I handed her a gift and she eagerly opened it. I had bought a silver frame and placed an old photograph of me as a baby with both of my parents. I loved the picture. My mother was giving my father a soft smile while he was grinning down at me in his arms. I was overdressed in a frilly white get-up and had an adorable smile that could only be achieved by the young and innocent.

  My mother grew still as she looked down at the gift. Tears streamed down her face and I had a sudden rush of guilt. I thought my mother would enjoy being able to have a framed photo of our lost family. My intention was never to bring her sorrow.

  “I’m sorry, Mom. I found the picture a couple of months before I left. I figured it would look nice in a frame,” I said and took her hand in mine.

  “I love it, I do,” she persisted. However, there was no masking the sorrow in her eyes. Gently, she placed the frame face down on the bed. Her eyes were downcast and a black cloud had descended and brought down the cheerful holiday mood.