A Touch of Water (Touch of Magic Book 1)

by C. K. Johnson

  I wanted to know more. Why Melissa was warning me against Drew, and what in the world was going on in Caitlyn’s head. I pulled out my phone, hesitated, and put it back in my pocket. This needed to happen in person. Guess I was heading to Ms. Pierson’s class.

  “And here we find ourselves again, Lilly.” Ms. Barns’ voice stopped me in my tracks.

  “Sorry. I was trying to find Caitlyn.” I turned around but didn’t quite meet her eyes.

  “What a coincidence. I’m looking for Caitlyn as well,” she said, pointing toward Ms. Pierson’s room. “I suggest you get to class,” Ms. Barns said, shooing me away.

  I nodded and took off before she changed her mind.

  Mrs. Hart gave me a quick you’re late look before turning back to the class. I slipped into my desk and pushed my luck by pulling out my cellphone. I held it in my lap and texted Caitlyn.

  Me: What gives?

  The screen stayed blank.

  Me: What’s going on?

  My text glared back at me, a big red flag that this was over more than my interrupting her conversation with Drew. Minutes ticked by with no response.

  “Lilly, what do you think?” Mrs. Hart’s voice cut through my distracted thoughts.

  “Yes,”

  “The answer?” she said, raising an eyebrow and pointing at the board.

  I scanned the board and croaked, “Dysentery.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “A lot of the soldiers died from disease, the top killer of which was dysentery,” I said.

  Gran used to ramble on about it. “Your great, great, great-grandmother helped with the plague; your great, great-grandmother helped with malaria, your great-grandmother helped with typhoid, cholera, and the Spanish flu, and I, I used our gift to help with smallpox and polio.” This was real. She really meant it.

  “That is correct. Try to look a little more focused, Lilly,” she said before continuing with the lesson.

  All the things Gran had rambled over the year were setting in now. Our gift was meant for something bigger than me helping my friends; it could help a whole lot of people, and I couldn’t even get it right with one.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket and I glanced at Mrs. Hart. Her back was turned, but if she caught me, she’d read it to the class, then take my phone. I chanced it.

  Caitlyn: You little

  Mrs. Hart swooped in and yanked it out of my hand before I could finish.

  “Please,” I said, wishing I could catch a break.

  Mrs. Hart glanced at the message, then back to me. “Come see me after class.”

  I nodded and did my best to focus through the rest of class, relieved she hadn’t read it out loud. Only two days ago, she had taken Janie’s phone and announced she planned on throwing a party when her parents left for Hawaii. That hadn’t gone well for anyone.

  By the time the class ended, I felt like a pressure cooker and the bell signaled the release of steam. I shuffled up to Mrs. Hart’s desk and waited while she answered another student’s question. “Lilly, I’m going to let this pass because you haven’t had a problem like this in the past. If you want to talk about it, I’m always open, and so is Ms. Barns,” she said, removing my phone from the phone graveyard in her top drawer.

  I nodded and hurried out, waiting until I was in the hallway to light up the bright screen and read the rest of the message. The color left my face. Caitlyn was accusing me of narking on her to Ms. Barns about ditching. According to Caitlyn, we were done being friends. She should have known better. She—I stopped the thought and growled. I didn’t seem to know her anymore these days.

  Me: Fine. Ms. Barns told me before class was looking for you!

  “Hey, long day?” a familiar voice said as I exited my last class.

  I smiled and glanced up, pleased someone cared if I was around. “Yeah, you could say that. How about you?” I asked to Tyler.

  “Want to use your superpower to heal my sore armpits?” he said, lifting one of the crutches.

  “Are you honestly asking me to check out your armpits?” I said, wrinkling my nose.

  “Had to ask? Hey, that doesn’t count as a wish, does it?”

  “You didn’t say I wish. So no,” I said, shrugging and starting for the exit.

  “I didn’t say I wish the first time either,” he added, following slightly behind me. “Let me get that,” he said as tried to open the door for me.

  “I’ll give you a pass this time,” I said, a little amused to watch him try to negotiate the crutches, his backpack, and the door while still leaving room for me to pass. “And you did, you just didn’t say it out loud,” I said with a wink.

  “So now you’re a mind reader? What am I thinking right now?” he asked. I met his gaze and was surprised to see he was taking this seriously.

  “Relax, Charming. I don’t read minds. You want me to take back that first wish, I’ll take it back.”

  He shook his head before I’d even finished. “I guess the emotion today is still anger?” he asked, skipping right onto another topic.

  “No, I think it’s more like betrayal.”

  “That sounds bad. Want to talk about it?” He nudged me playfully with one of his crutches.

  “You don’t want to hear it. Besides, it’s complicated,” I said.

  “More complicated than this?” he asked, glancing down at the cast on one of his legs.

  I opened my mouth to tell him, “It’s girl stuff,” when over his shoulder I saw Melissa striding toward us. Someone in the police department should hire her. I was ready to confess and I didn’t even know what she was mad about this time.

  “Lilly, I need to speak to you privately,” she snapped.

  “Hello, Melissa,” Tyler said, flashing her a smile that made my heart start fluttering again.

  She glared at him then added, “Now!”

  I shrugged and followed her over to a deserted section of grass.

  “I thought I told you to take care of her,” she said the moment we were out of earshot.

  “I tried to find her. She wasn’t in class and she’s not answering my texts. She thought I narked on her to Ms. Barns,” I hissed, not willing to take any crap for this.

  “She’s got the water bottle,” Melissa growled.

  “What!” My adrenaline shot up and I glanced around the schoolyard, but the only one looking over was Tyler. He waved.

  “Be quiet. Yes, I saw it. Caitlyn’s been hanging out with Drew, and Drew got into it with Jacob for some reason, and the next time I saw her, she was carrying that thing around for the whole school to see. How did she get it?”

  “I was out Friday night, so maybe then. What should we do?”

  “If you don’t get that thing back, I’m going to rip it out of her hands by whatever means necessary,” she said.

  She suddenly smiled, a creepy twist that made my gut churn. Then I heard Tyler say, “Hey, Jacob. How’s it going?”

  I nodded at Melissa and then headed back to Tyler. “Everything okay?” Tyler asked as I reached him.

  “Just Caitlyn. She’s being stupid,” I said. I felt something brush my hand and glanced down. Tyler was trying to take mine through his crutches, but his hand wouldn’t extend that far. He should have gone over the handle instead of under it. I extended my fingers to meet his halfway, so just the tips were touching.

  “Anything I can do?” he asked. I smiled and reluctantly broke the touch.

  “No, but thanks for asking. I’m going to head over to Caitlyn’s house and camp out until she shows up,” I said. I had to make myself step back so I wouldn’t linger beside him anymore. “See you later.” I had already planned to give Caitlyn a piece of my mind for taking the water bottle, and now she was cutting into my time with Tyler.

  Chapter Eight

  Me: I know you stole the water bottle. Meet me at your house.

  I closed my eyes and hit send. A response came almost immediately.

  Caitlyn: I’ll be there in ten minutes.

&n
bsp; I hugged my arms closer, wishing I had brought a jacket. It was starting to get cold at night, and I didn’t look forward to winter. I wasn’t sure about many things in the future, but one of them is that I wanted to live in Arizona so I’d always be warm.

  The ten minutes felt like an eternity. The deep rumble of Drew’s motorcycle announced Caitlyn’s approach long before I saw her. The engine sputtered as Drew pulled over. He barely paused long enough for her dismount, before speeding off.

  I sighed in relief when I spotted the water bottle. “Here,” Caitlyn said, sliding it out of the mesh on the side of her backpack and tossing it at me. I lurched forward, scraping my knees as I dove to catch it.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, rushing back up the steps and standing in front of her door.

  “Me? What’s going on with me? What’s going on with you?” she said, shoving me.

  “You stole the water bottle. You’re getting mad at me for things I didn’t do. I didn’t tell Ms. Barns; she was looking for you. You blow me off in class for Drew. I don’t understand.” I refused to move though my gut dropped a little as she balled her fist and tried to get past me.

  “It’s my water bottle. Why do you get to keep it? And Drew and I were talking, which we don’t do anymore. You’re too busy with Tyler these days.”

  “I’ve been out with him twice. Once when he was on a date with someone else.” Why was she flipping out on me? I kept remembering the look she gave me in the janitorial closet when everything went down with Melissa, but I didn’t know how to fix this.

  “You have your water bottle. Now leave.” The streetlight glinted off a new skull and crossbones ring she was wearing as she pointed to my car. I didn’t budge. “You want to know what’s going on? You’re a freak, okay? You messed with me, and then Emily, and now Melissa. You have no idea what you’re doing, and it makes me sick. I can’t be around you anymore.”

  My head jerked back at the pronouncement of freak. I sucked in a breath to stop the tears that threatened to sneak out. So this is what she’d been hiding. My best friend was frightened by me and wanted me to stay away. Now that I had the water bottle back, I could, I would do as she requested.

  “Fine,” I whispered, afraid if I said anything more, I’d lose it.

  My chest grew tighter with each step I took toward the car. I managed to crawl inside the dark interior before I released a ragged breath. A tear escaped, and I sniffed, willing it to stay in until I was at least around the corner. I wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and not leave it until Friday; maybe not even then.

  When I arrived home, I adjusted the rearview mirror to look at my reflection. I didn’t look good. I was several shades of splotchy at best. My only hope was that my mom had gone to bed. The light through the living room curtains told me it probably wasn’t going to happen.

  “You’re past curfew,” she said as I pushed open the front door. The light over the kitchen sink wasn’t bright enough to show the expression on my mom’s face and how much trouble I was in for coming home late. Even if it had, my mom also had the best poker face ever.

  I ran my sleeve across my face and sank down in the chair beside her. “Caitlyn and I had a fight. I was waiting for her to get home so we could talk.”

  “And how did that go?” She grabbed a napkin and slid it over to me.

  “Not good,” I whispered, letting her wrap me in a hug.

  “I’m so sorry, hon. You and Caitlyn have been friends for a long time. Want to tell me what happened?” she asked as she led me to my bedroom.

  “I’ve changed, she’s changed. It’s all different now.” I curled up on my bed and hugged my comfy pillow to me.

  “I know it’s not fun to hear, but people change. I wish you could have been here to see the expression on your father’s face when I told him you were going hiking. And now you’re dating that Tom guy. Maybe it’s all just a little too much for her. And maybe she needs a little time to adjust.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  She brushed my hair back and kissed my forehead. “I know it’s hard to hear, but Mom always believed everything happened for a reason and despite all the things I stopped believing, that’s one I still hold close. You’ll find someone else and things will get better. Get some sleep. Everything will look better in the morning.” She walked to the door and flipped the light off. “Love you.”

  “Love you too,” I closed my stinging eyes. There was no way this would look better in the morning.

  .o0o.

  “Time to get up,” I heard from outside my door. I groaned, rolled over, and shoved the pillow over my pounding head.

  A few minutes later, the door opened and my brother Charlie tugged my pillow off me and threw it across the room. “Mom sent me to wake you up.”

  I glared at him and he shook his head. “You look gross.”

  “Thanks,” I croaked. “You look gross, too.”

  “You’re sick. Uck,” he said and ran out of the room. A few minutes later, I heard my mom’s familiar footsteps coming down the hall. I rubbed my eyes and stared at the clock. I wasn’t just a little late. I had missed first period, and at best would make it to second period at this point. Mom must have felt bad for me.

  “I gave you a pass on first period. But you can’t stop going to school over one fight. Charlie said you were feeling sick. Are you really sick?” she asked as she laid her hand on my forehead. It felt cold on my hot forehead. “You do feel a little warm.”

  I sniffled. “Can I stay home today?”

  “Today, but that’s it.” She held my gaze until I nodded. “Okay, go back to bed. I’ll call the school. If you stay home again tomorrow, I’m going to assume you’ll be too sick to go on your date.”

  I grabbed my pillow, covered my head again, and started to drift off when my phone buzzed. I hesitated. Part of me wanted not to look, but I couldn’t help it. I flipped it over.

  Tyler: You okay?

  The phone buzzed again and an unknown number scrolled across the top. I exited Tyler’s text and clicked on the unknown sender.

  It’s Melissa. Did you get the bottle?

  My shoulders sagged.

  Me: Yes.

  When she didn’t respond after a few seconds, I texted Tyler.

  Me: Sick.

  Tyler: Can my second wish be to make you better?

  Me: You mean third wish. No, I can’t use wishes on myself.

  Tyler: Wish I could. Miss you.

  I froze, a silly grin spreading across my face.

  Me: Miss you, too.

  The phone buzzed and I eagerly clicked on it again, waiting for Tyler’s next message.

  Melissa: Did you hide it?

  I think I left it in the car after last night’s events. I didn’t even bother to bring it in. I checked my phone again for a text from Tyler, and when nothing new showed, I went out to the car, grabbed the stupid bottle and brought it inside, shoving it in the back of my closet in one of the hiking boots I would never wear again. That should do it.

  Me: Yes

  Tyler: Yes, what?

  Me: The water bottle. I hid it.

  I rubbed my blurry eyes. They were still puffy from my tear fest.

  Tyler: What water bottle?

  I paused. Why was Melissa asking what water bottle? I went to text the one you just asked about, you dummy and paused. Fiddlesticks, I’d hadn’t realized I’d switched to Tyler. I’d just texted him about the water bottle.

  Me: Never mind, wrong person.

  Tyler: What happened to my water bottle, by the way?

  Me: I think I left it there.

  For the first time, I thought about his water bottle. My gut dropped as I thought of all that pain I’d shoved into it. Most of it was gone to begin with. Some had evaporated during the process, but I didn’t know it could be transferred. No one would be stupid enough to touch a broken, almost-empty water bottle. Unless they were one of those save the environment types who tried to save the world by picking up litter. C
rap.

  I’d have to check. Just in case. This weekend, I’d hike up and see if I could find it. I’d need to stop and get a few new water bottles while I was at it, one for in case there was some still water in there and a new one for Tyler.

  Tyler: Then what water bottle?

  Me: Are you using a wish to find out?

  Tyler: No!

  I laughed and put the phone down. I had a date with sleep right now. When I woke up later, I’d worry about everything.

  .o0o.

  Melissa strode up to me before I even made it to the school doors. “You never answered,” she snapped, looking either way. Yeah, like she wasn’t making us stick out more.

  “It’s safe, okay?” I replied and smiled as my eyes rested on Tyler leaning against my locker. “I’ve got to go,” I said, heading for him.

  “Hey, Melissa. Do you know about this water bottle?” he asked, making air quotes.

  Melissa’s eyes widened, then she turned and glared at me.

  “You are wrecking the surprise,” I said to him. To Melissa, I winked and said, “Don’t say anything.” If possible, her eyes widened even further. “We’ll talk later.”

  “So Mister Nosey. I heard a rumor you missed me,” I said, resting my hand on his chest. Despite being bedridden for more than a week or so, he hadn’t lost any of his muscle. He wrapped his hand around mine and grinned.

  “Feeling better?”

  “Yeah,” I said as I spun my locker combination and started pulling out textbooks.

  “Good. We still up for this weekend?”

  “Of course,” I said, blushing a little.

  “I’d walk you to class, but I wasn’t kidding about how these rub,” he said as he nudged my shoe with the tip of one of his crutches.