Cursed In Love (The Adams' Witch Book 2) (6 page)

“That could have something to do with it. There are a lot of different factors at play here,” Travis said. “I wish I knew all the answers, but I don’t.”

“So, are you going to help us find Courtney or not?”

He scratched the back of his head. “I am.”

My face lit and I was two seconds away from saying thank you when Travis opened his mouth and ruined it. “It’s not so you and Drakie-poo can play house one day though. It’s because two Naturals have gone missing and who knows who else could be next.” He glanced toward his sister who had her eyes closed and face turned up toward the sun. A fond look crossed his face.

“I wouldn’t expect you to do it for any other reason. And I’m not saying I want to play house with him one day. We haven’t known each other that long. But can’t you understand it isn’t right that he’s not able to make that huge decision for himself? People should be able to make decisions like that when they’re themselves and not by someone else’s hand.”

“If he was a better man, he never would’ve been able to be spelled into it.”

“Travis…” Jennie warned.

“What do you know about it?” I spat.

His lip quirked up. “More than you realize. I’m just sayin’, I don’t think this kid is worth all this fuss you’ve put on it. He—”

“Let it go, Travis,” Jennie said.

“Whatever. No skin off my back.”

He helped his sister up and we walked toward the Jeep again. The drive to my house was quiet. Veins had popped out of Travis’s arms and the sinewy muscle was plain to see as he shifted the Jeep from gear to gear. Before I knew it, we were pulling into my driveway.

“Thanks for the ride.”

I jumped out and walked toward the front steps when I heard Travis’s footsteps behind me. “Hey. I almost forgot to give you this.”

I turned, and he held out a necklace. I touched the sparkly black stone. In the middle, a line the color of copper wound in a circle, almost like looking at a tornado from the top down. “What is it?” I asked.

“Thankfully Adams is a lot like Salem and there are legit Wiccan stores around town.” He pointed toward the black stone. “This is black tourmaline. It’s a protection stone.”

He turned the gem, making the sun glint off little chips inside of it. It was truly beautiful. “How’s it supposed to protect me?”

He handed it over and I took it from him. “The stone itself will protect you from evil spells, but, I also worked with it. It’s a lot stronger than it used to be with just the stone.”

His voice held so much confidence I actually laughed. “You are full of yourself, aren’t you?”

“If you knew more about me, you’d be full of myself, too.”

He took back the necklace and unclasped the back. “Here. Let me put it on you.” I objected, but he twisted me around anyway. I lifted my hair from my shoulders as he fastened it around my neck. His hands dropped to my collar bone as I let my hair down and then his fingers trailed along the thick black cord the stone hung from. “Don’t take it off,” he said.

The coil on the main stone stared straight ahead. The feel of the stone on my throat was comforting. I flushed as his fingers slid down my arms. “Thank you,” I said.

He bent over and whispered, “You’re hot when you blush like that.”

A shiver ran up my spine as his words, along with his breath, caressed me.

He chuckled and turned back toward the Jeep. “Remember, don’t take it off,” he called over his shoulder.

Instead of nodding, or telling him okay, I ran up the steps and shut the door behind me. I moved the white lacy curtains out of the way of the front window and peeked out at the Jeep. Jennie had turned toward Travis. He threw his head back in a laugh and then shrugged before peeling out of the driveway.

I didn’t know what just happened, but it was clear Travis was having an effect on me. I fingered the necklace and smiled. I was glad he was on our side.

CHAPTER FIVE

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jennie and I had gym class together. Today, Mr. Roberto thought outdoor kickball was the absolute best way to condition our bodies. I told him I had cramps. So did Jennie.

We sat on the bleachers next to the baseball diamond and talked about the curse, about how to find Courtney, about how hopeless it all was. I took the necklace Travis made for me out from under my shirt and fingered the black stone.

Jennie stared. “What…? Holy shit. Where did you get that?”

“Um, your brother made it for me. He didn’t tell you?”

She reached out, touched the main stone, and then yanked her hand back. “No. He didn’t tell me.”

I pulled it away from my chest so I could look down at it. “It’s pretty, huh?”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Do you even know what it is?”

A rash of heat warmed my neck. “He told me some of it. He said the middle was a protection stone and also something about Adams having nice shops.”

She smiled and shook her head. “He’s full of shit. That’s a homemade protection necklace. Bastard. It’s really nice. He couldn’t have made me one?”

“Maybe you could ask him?”

She rolled her eyes. “Please. He’s been pissing me off since he got here. I’m not asking him for a damn thing. He thinks following me to school and home and practically to the bathroom makes up for all the shit he did.”

“You’re mad at him for trying to protect you?” I leaned back on the bleacher behind me. “That makes sense.”

“You don’t know him like I do. I wish he wasn’t even here.”

Jennie didn’t realize how fortunate she was. I didn’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I’d wished for a brother or sister to hang out with when I had a dead father and a MIA mom. It would’ve been so much easier to go through it all with someone else. To lean on each other for support. To whisper our dreams and fears to in the middle of the night. “I don’t think you realize how lucky you are.”

“Lucky isn’t the word for it.”

“At least you have someone…multiple people, I should mention, who are there for you. Your brother came all the way from Salem when he heard about the missing Natural just so he could protect you.” I turned away from her and watched a girl sprint to second base. “I wish I had that.”

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

I shook my head and ignored her. Those who had it all never realized it. It was ridiculous to argue with her about it.

“He seems to be right there for you, too. So, it’s not as if I’m special or anything.”

“Are you kidding me?” I turned toward her. “He’s probably only being nice to me because I’m friends with you. Hello.”

“You’re so naive, Sarah. Travis only does things that benefit himself. He probably gave you that necklace so he can get in your pants.”

My mouth dropped. “That so isn’t happening.”

“Well, my brother doesn’t know that yet. You should’ve seen the way he was smiling at you when you almost melted all over his car. I almost vomited in my mouth.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it…I just like cars. But whatever, it doesn’t matter. I’m just telling you your family should be everything to you. What would happen if you didn’t have them?”

Jennie frowned. “I know your father’s gone and that sometimes your mom isn’t much better, but you don’t understand my family.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Sometimes she was so off base.

“Back to my beginning point…Travis put a hell of a lot of time into making that necklace. That thing is bullet proof. I can feel its powers from here. He must have wanted to make damn sure nothing happened to you.”

“And by me not getting hurt, you wouldn’t get hurt either. We all know I’m an absolute spare in all this Wiccan stuff. If I’m safe, you’ll be safer.”

Jennie shrugged and looked away. Her jaw tightened, and I hoped a little of what I said had gotten through. Whatever happened between her and Travis, they should work it out. You only got one set of family, and when they were gone from your life, they were gone.

If she wouldn’t listen, I needed to drop it. There was another reason I pretended to have cramps other than not wanting to run around and get all sweaty. “So…”

“So…” Jennie said, mimicking me.

“I had an idea last night. A possibility we haven’t explored yet. The thing is, I want you to hear me out before you just turn it down.”

She chuckled. “That means I’m going to hate it.”

“No. It means you might not approve, but let me get it all out before you say anything.”

She leaned against the metal railing and stared at me. “I’m waiting for your dose of light bulb. Bring it at me.”

I closed my eyes and thought of the best way to approach the subject. Coming up with zilch, I decided to just spill it all out. “I still want to find Courtney and the other missing Natural, but, I was thinking, what if you bound Drake to me?”

Jennie’s face hardened, her lips cementing into a frown. “Sarah…”

“No, just listen first. If I’m bound to Drake and him to me, won’t he be able to see me for who he met before? Won’t I be able to help him get out of it?”

Jennie ran her hands through her hair and tugged at the ends. “Stop thinking like that. One. You barely know Drake. I can see why you’d want to help him because it’s not fair and all, but you barely know him. You wouldn’t want to be bound to him. Binding is like a promise that you can never take back. Why would you want to be bound to someone you barely know? Two. It can’t be done. You cannot be bound to two people at the same time because there’s only room for one. Two make a whole, not three. And three, you are more nuts than I thought you were.”

Heat pricked behind my eyes. I knew she wouldn’t like the idea, but I didn’t think she’d dismiss it with such finality right away. “Please. Tell me how you really feel.”

“Hey, if you need a healthy dose of reality check, I’m going to give you one.”

“No, what I need and deserve is a shot.”

“Not like that you don’t. Or did you miss the part where I said it can’t be done. Binding is one thing to one thing. That’s it. There isn’t room for you in their comfy cozy little world.”

“Fine. Great. It was just an idea.”

“A freaking terrible one.”

I dug my nails into the skin of my upper arms. Jennie was never one to hold back, but this was too harsh. I’d come up with a viable alternative. Surely, if Drake’s eyes were even open to me, he’d remember what he said to me and how much I meant to him.

A hand touched my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that, but it’s absolutely impossible and I don’t want you to think for one second that it can happen.”

“It’s fine.”

She sat up and pulled at my arm to make me look at her. “Can I ask why Drake is so important? I don’t think it’s great that he’s being forced to be with someone against his will either, but that’s because I know. He doesn’t. Clearly, he’s ignorant of the fact that he liked you or anyone else for that matter besides Marlene. So, why can’t we go on letting him be happy? You saw him in the diner. He’s absolutely shining with how happy he is. It was cute, actually. If you like that kind of thing.”

He was happy. That was clear. Part of me hoped he was miserable inside, pining away for me. What if he was a prisoner in his own body? From the outside, he was fine, happy, but inside, he knew what he was doing was wrong. Was it awful that I felt that way?

Probably.

“It’s not right.”

“Okay. I’ll give you that. Just don’t try to come up with anymore bright ideas about how to fix it. Let me work on it. I’ll come up with something.”

“Don’t forget about Travis. He said he’d help now.”

“Trust me. I won’t forget about Travis. He won’t let me. Did I mention he almost followed me into the freaking bathroom this morning?”

I laughed. Besides Drake, Jennie was the closest person to me. I trusted her. If she said it couldn’t be done, it couldn’t be done.

CHAPTER SIX

Again, I was in the backseat of Travis’s Jeep as he drove toward Pentagram Park. Jennie peered around the headrest and smiled. “I told you I’d think of a good plan.”

Jennie’s plan involved, Travis, me, Pentagram Park, and an awesome locator spell.

My body thrummed with electricity. This could be it. This could be the night I’d get my answer to how to unbind Drake from Marlene. I even had to admit Jennie’s plan was way smarter than my whole bind-me-with-Drake plan. Now that I thought about it, it did sound like a terrible idea. What if I woke up and realized I didn’t want to be bound to Drake anymore? My mom sure as hell never stayed attached to one guy for long. Not that I thought I was anything like my mom, but I was seventeen. Lots of things could happen between seventeen and the rest of my life.

“Yeah, you’re a real genius,” Travis said. “I told Mom and Dad to name you Einstein.”

I laughed and Jennie shot me and her brother a look. “Oh, suck it. No one asked you.”

“Let’s not forget who the real hero of this plan is. Me. Sarah has no magical powers and you, dear sister, are barely any stronger.

“Whose fault is that?”

Travis’s jaw tightened. Jennie flopped back in her seat. The rush of air that had electrified the inside of the Jeep moments before was sucked out by a vacuum. I needed to know what the hell happened between these two.

“Do you guys ever plan on telling me what you’re not telling me?”

“No,” they both said in unison.

“Well, that’s fantastic.”

Travis drummed his hands against the steering wheel. “We should probably talk about how this is going to go down. Jennie, did you get the personal item?”

Jennie bent over in the front seat and pulled out a white teddy bear with a pink nose. “This was outside the James’s house. They have all her stuffed animals out there like a shrine just waiting for her to come home.”