"Yes, I understand," Cindy said. Leese recognized the business tone. "But when we talked on Monday, you said Friday evening was fine. I made appointments around that, and I'm not sure if Alex is available—"
She held the phone away from her as the voice on the other end grew louder. Leese and Cindy locked eyes, and Leese gave her a sympathetic smile. She dropped her purse on the back of a chair on her way to raiding the fridge. Scanning the shelf reserved for her, she made a mental note to stock up soon. She was down to her last chocolate pudding.
Cindy was still on the phone when Leese returned to the living room with a soda and snack. She searched for a place to sit, without much luck. Leaning against the wall, she watched as Cindy argued. Her voice went from calm, to stern, to caring, all in the space of three minutes.
Leese didn't envy her position in the company of Demons LLC.
"I'll try," Cindy said, clenching her eyes shut. Leese knew Cindy had given in. "I can't promise anything, but I'll talk to Alex."
Cindy let out a breath and shoved a stack of papers aside to collapse on the couch. Leese moved toward her and reached out to shift another pile.
"No!" Cindy said. "Not those. I'm not done yet." She looked around her, finally settling on the pile to her left. Moving the mess to the floor, she leaned back to let Leese pass. "Sit here."
Leese climbed over her sister-in-law and settled in next to her. She kicked her shoes and rested her feet on Cindy's lap, as a joke. Cindy tried to work over the distraction, but decided it was time for a break. She leaned back and cast Leese a look of distress.
"Tough day?" Leese asked.
"That was Mrs. Friedman," Cindy said. "She's convinced there's a ghost in her house. She wants Alex there as soon as possible. But he's already booked all week."
"Oh, the woes of a struggling business."
"Yeah, struggling." Cindy laughed at the word. "Alex is talking about quitting his day job. The only struggle going on is keeping up. We're so busy. And there's only one of him. I haven't seen him in a week."
Leese dismissed her with a wave.
"You've seen Alex every day since you were five. You can survive a few days."
"Yeah, well, I can't go too much longer without him stripping me down—"
"Cindy." She clenched her eyes shut, trying to keep the image at bay. "Stop."
"What?" Cindy teased. "You don't want to hear about how your brother grabbed my leg and—"
"Cindy!" Leese was irritated, but couldn't stop from laughing. "Keep your sex life with Alex to yourself." She was desperate to change the subject. "Anyway, I thought you guys had help? What about Nate and Kylie?"
Cindy gestured around the living room.
"Do you see them now?"
"Well, since they're ghosts, no."
"Exactly. They might be here, they might not. It's hard to manage a couple of spirits. They're not really employees. They've got their own lives to live, anyway."
Leese chuckled.
"Not to be mean, but actually, they kind of don't."
Cindy joined in with her own laugh, then rested her head on the back of the couch. They were quiet a moment, before Cindy turned to face her. Cindy gave Leese that look. Leese visited often. She'd been ridiculed throughout her life for being close to her brother and his best friend. She'd spent just as much time at their house as her own apartment. That closeness didn't fade away with the beginning of adulthood. Ever since leaving the hospital, every few visits, Cindy would go into big sister mode. Leese recognized the look very well.
Sometimes it was annoying. Other times it was refreshing. It was always unavoidable.
"How are you doing?" Cindy asked.
"A dog puked on me. Besides that, I'm fine."
Cindy sat up, and Leese didn't see it coming. Cindy hunched over and wrapped her arms around Leese's legs. Leese's eyes shot open as Cindy pulled off her socks.
"Don't you dare!" Leese said. "I'm not ten years old anymore."
Cindy lightly tickled her foot, sending shocks up her leg. Leese laughed and tried to pull away, but Cindy didn't release the hold. She gripped the arm of the couch and tried to pull her way to freedom, but Cindy dragged her back.
"You brought this on yourself."
Cindy continued the assault. Leese laughed, trying to speak through gasps for air.
"Stop! Only Kevin tickles me—"
They both went quiet as the tickling stopped. Cindy looked at her with sorrow. Leese grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest, but it didn't offer comfort.
"Still thinking about him?"
"Of course," Leese said, with more anger than she meant. "People break up all the time. I didn't think I was going to marry Kevin. But I'm still pissed. I'm still hurt."
Cindy nodded.
"I get it."
Leese finally let it all out.
"He waits until I get out of the hospital to tell me he still has a thing for his ex. Who the hell does that? When I was there, slumming in that room, he barely stopped by. Didn't bring me flowers, or anything."
"He's an asshole. And you're better off without him."
"Do you know what really pisses me off?"
"What's that?"
"He thinks I actually believe him. He thinks I'm that stupid."
Cindy's brow furrowed as she looked at Leese, confused.
"Uh, what?" she said. "What do you mean?"
Leese leaned forward.
"He doesn't care about his ex. He's not trying to get back together with her."
"Well, that's silly," Cindy said, laughing. "That's a crazy thing to lie about."
"Not when you're a witch. He thinks I don't know him. He blames himself for what happened. So, what did he do? What was his answer? He pushed me away."
Cindy was quiet, not knowing what to say. They'd danced around the topic of Kevin since her recovery. Leese kept her thoughts and feelings to herself. Everyone took Kevin's story at his word, but she knew better.
"Leese," Cindy said gently. "If that's what's going on, then isn't Kevin right? Isn't it his fault?"
"What?"
"People are always after him. I'm not saying he can help that. But maybe he did a good thing? Breaking up with you? Now you can go out and find a normal boyfriend. When you're ready. No vampires, werewolves, witches, or whatever else is out there."
Leese gestured to the mass of papers around them.
"This is coming from the woman married to a guy with wings, that fixes haunted houses."
"I didn't say I was the best example."
They laughed before Cindy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed.
"I don't know. I guess it wasn't meant to work out." Leese's chest hurt as she kept tears in check. Cindy and Leese had cried on each other's shoulders many times over their lives. Leese knew she couldn't hold it in forever, but didn't feel like bawling on the couch. "If Kevin sees me as some sort of damsel, that he needs to protect and feel guilty over, then it was never going to work."
"I am going to miss one thing about him, though," Cindy said.
"What's that?"
"That awesome rock. That was some neat shit. And I already threw it away. So did Alex."
Leese nodded. Everyone close to her was cutting Kevin off. She thought of Victoria. Victoria hadn't shared her feelings. Leese knew the wise vampire was probably playing it safe, staying out of their young romantic drama.
"Yeah. I gave mine back."
A few tears escaped. Cindy hugged her again, briefly, before pulling away with a scowl.
"You smell terrible."
Leese laughed and tugged at her scrubs.
"I told you. Dog puke."
"Go take a shower. You're not going to impress any human guys smelling like that."
Leese stood up and climbed over Cindy. She pretended to trip, only to shove her scrubs into Cindy's nose.
"Ah, sorry. I'm blond and clumsy."
"Damnit, you're nasty," Cindy said, shoving her away. "Get off me."
Leese was nearly to the bathroom down the hall. Cindy had turned her attention to her laptop, typing at a fast speed. Leese had a hand on the shower faucet when she heard Cindy, frustrated.
"Shit."
Frowning, Leese returned to the living room. Cindy held her head in her hands, hovering over the laptop.
"You okay?"
Cindy pointed at an online calendar.
"I have a walk-through scheduled tomorrow night. I forgot all about it. And I double-booked with a possible client interview."
A walk-through, for Demons LLC, was the first visit to a potentially haunted house. They were so busy that Alex couldn't afford to drive to every house sight unseen. Cindy often visited a home first, got to know the family, recorded statements, took pictures.
"Alex is busy?"
Cindy let out a sigh.
"Yeah, helping a possessed child in Pennsylvania." She smacked a fist into her thigh. "Shit."
Leese thought of her plans for tomorrow night, and immediately felt the heartache once again. She didn't hesitate.
"Is it close? Give me the address. I'll do it."
Cindy eyed her with doubt.
"You? Want to do a walk-through?"
"Yeah. Why not?"
"Well, you've never done one."
"I went with you a few times."
"Yeah, but, it's not the same."
She put her hands on her hips.
"No offense, Cindy, but it didn't look that hard. It's not like you were curing cancer."
"Oh, wow, you just have everything under control then. But, are you sure? I just kind of thought, you know, you would want to get away from supernatural stuff for a while."
Leese knew Cindy was really talking about Kevin. But keeping busy could only help her.
"It's okay. Tomorrow is actually perfect." She lowered her head. "Tomorrow night, we were supposed to go to dinner with Mom. So, this is good. It'll get my mind off things."
"Whoa, wait," Cindy said, turning on the couch to face her. "Dinner? You and Kevin? With Mom?"
"Yeah. But hey. At least now I don't have to wear an uncomfortable dress."
"Oh, Leese."
There was so much compassion in Cindy's voice. It took Leese by surprise. She looked at Cindy with a curious frown as she rose to her feet.
"Uh, yeah?" she said. "What's up?"
"You fell in love with him."
Leese scoffed at the thought.
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"I didn't fall in love with anyone. I just wanted him to meet Mom."
"Bullshit."
"I'm twenty-one, Cindy."
"So? That means you can't fall in love? Hell, I think maybe I loved Alex at eight. Maybe nine."
"We all don't meet our soul-mates in grade school. Sometimes, we don't get to meet them at all." Leese was upset, frustrated. Her attempt to get Kevin off her mind had only led to talking about him. "We broke up. We're both adults. We'll both live, and move on. He'll find a nice, witchy girlfriend out there somewhere. Whatever it is he's looking for. And I'll be fine."
The words were strong. She almost believed them. She did believe half of them, and the potential in the other half.
But her armor was cracking. Her lip quivered, and she took a deep breath to reel in her feelings.
It didn't work. Cindy was already moving. She approached Leese and embraced her, dog vomit included, as the tears started. The sisters said nothing. There would be time for encouragement and sarcasm later.
Leese knew she'd be fine. Those words weren't a lie. But she also knew there'd be some waterworks and ice cream in the meantime.
CHAPTER 8
Kevin took one last glance at his project as he approached the wall. He'd only started a few days ago, but it was coming along nicely. More than anything, it helped take his mind off Leese. He missed her terribly, but between his project, touring the town of Sanders, cooking food and magic with Martha, he managed to not think about her every other moment.
Leese was probably already out and having fun. He could see it in his mind. Alex, Cindy, and Leese, all out enjoying Baltimore's nightlife. Dancing and having fun. Maybe even Zoey and Victoria joined them. They didn't need a witch in the group, with a target on his back.
He surveyed his work. The floor was finally clean. He'd taken care of the cobwebs, which were more than he thought. Maybe he'd give the ceiling a fresh coat of paint. But that was later, perhaps on the weekend. He hadn't told Martha about his project, and didn't plan to until much later. He wanted her to be impressed.
Opening a portal, he stepped over the threshold, across the world, back into Martha's basement. The air was chilly, bringing out goosebumps along his arms. Kevin was mindful of the time. It was nearly three in the morning, and he wanted to get a cold glass of water before settling in for the night. He needed to be quiet rummaging through the kitchen, to not wake Martha.
He jumped with a gasp when he realized he wasn't alone.
Turning to his left, he noticed a shape on the couch. It was Martha, sitting with her legs crossed. He reached behind him and slid his hand across the portal, closing it. The light disappeared along with his magic, but he could see she was reading a book.
His book. His spell-book.
A flurry of emotions took hold. Confusion, curiosity, even anger. Why was she reading his book? He was fully aware she had the book much longer than him, keeping it safe for him. But he wasn't sure that gave her the right to just pick it up whenever she felt like it.
Another emotion poked at him as he took in her silhouette. Fear. She was eerily quiet as she turned a page carefully.
"Martha?" he said. "Uh…what's up?" He tried a joke, to ease the hairs standing on the back of his neck. "Was my chili too spicy? Can't sleep?"
"I'm so jealous," she said. "I don't make portals very often. They're not exactly subtle. I can't close them. It's very strange, the little differences between a half witch and a full-blooded one."
There was so much they hadn't talked about yet. She didn't know of the fights with a half vampire, half witch. She didn't know how he saved Tiffany from a group of werewolf hunters. It wasn't something that came up while making simple potions over the stove.
But it was all in his book.
"Martha," he said. "Are you okay?"
She set the book next to her and leaned forward, covering her face in frustration.
"I don't even know where to begin."
Kevin wanted to approach his friend, but kept his ground. He'd never seen Martha anything but energetic and happy.
"You can travel the world?" she asked, pointing at the wall he just emerged from. "By using a picture?"
"Yeah. Believe me, it blew my mind at first, too."
"When were you going to tell me?"
"I wasn't." He changed his approach when she frowned. "Well, I was, but it was supposed to be a surprise. I was going to take you to Paris. I know you said you always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower."
"Amazing." Martha shook her head. "How are you coming up with this magic? Recipes using phones and tablets? Your parents always thought there was a magical cure for werewolves, and I never believed them. But you finished the spell!"
He shrugged. He'd only used the cure once, on an old teacher from high school.
"I don't know. I'm not doing anything weird. At least, I don't think so."
"I guess it makes sense. We evolve, just like anything else. The materials in our everyday lives change. We've gone from bat claws and bird hearts to kitchen ingredients and technology. From cauldrons—" She gestured to her own. "To stoves."
"I don't know what to say," Kevin said, finally approaching to sit on the couch. "I just write down what shows up in my head. Like you told me to."
"I saw something in your book about vampires. What was that about? I didn't get a chance to read it."
Kevin hesitated. If the magic behind portals and werewolf cures was too much, he wasn't sure what her next reaction would be.
She held up her hand.
"Wait. A vampire? You are friends with a vampire?"
"Yeah. Her name's Victoria."
Martha let out a sound of disgust. She stood up and headed for the stairs. Kevin watched her leave, stunned, before jogging behind to follow.
"Martha? What's going on? What's the problem?"
"You're going to get yourself killed."
They walked into the kitchen. Kevin stood near the table while Martha poured herself a glass of water. Her hand trembled as she drank.
"Actually, I came here to not get myself killed. What are you talking about?"
"Victoria's not your friend, Kevin."
"Uh, yeah, she is."
"No. I've told you. Our kind, we don't make friends like that. Everything out there. They all hate us."
"Well, we didn't start off great, I'll say that." He decided to keep the details vague, leaving out the part where Victoria broke his neck and buried him. "We fought a little. But Victoria's one of my best friends."
She shook her head.
"She's only using you. For your magic. For what you can do for her. Eventually, she will kill you."
Kevin regarded her, watching what almost looked like hate dancing in her eyes. He'd never seen her like that before.
"Victoria will never hurt me."
"What magic have you done for her?"
He didn't want to say. The conversation was only getting worse.
"She…uh…she can walk in the sun. It's…just another potion that came to me. And it's just a guess, maybe instinct, but I think even a half witch can…."
He trailed off as Martha sat at the table. Her knees shook, and he thought he'd have to lunge forward to keep her from collapsing. A tear ran down her cheek, and Kevin decided silence was the best course of action.
He wasn't sure what was going on, or where Martha was coming from. The silence grew awkward, and Kevin wouldn't be the one to break it. Instead, he grabbed a diet soda, the only kind Martha drank, from the refrigerator.
Damned and Cursed (Book 8): Witch Trial Page 9