Page 94 of The Neighborhood Witch

“Where’s thering?” Hugo shouted.

Alice lowered her head to hide her eyes beneath the wide-brimmed hat. She bit her lip, preventing her from saying anything she would soon regret.

Hugo clapped his hands together before placing them on his hips. “So, you do know, don’t you?”

“You don’t need the ring, Hugo,” Alice replied.

“You don’t know what I need,” Hugo shouted in a fury Alice never heard before. Her body tightened. “You don’t know how difficult this is for me. I want one thing. One thing that will help me, and you took it from me. Hand it over.”

“No,” Alice was quick to reply. “You don’t need it. Even though it was gone, you kept reaching for it. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”

Hugo threw his hands into the air. He stormed to the front door.

“Hugo!” Alice shouted as he opened it. “Let’s talk about this.”

The walls of the house shook as he slammed the door behind him. Alice ran after him.

The springtime air was breezy and slightly warm for this time of year. The sky grew a colorful orange and yellow as sunset approached. Hugo charged down the front steps. Alice was quick to follow him out the door. He let out an audible huff as he strode off the steps onto the walkway. He cut across the grass toward his silver car parked in front of his house.

“Hugo!” she shouted. “Hugo, let’s talk about this.”

He continued toward his car. “What’s there to talk about?”

“I tried to help you.”

He stopped and turned back. “How is this helping me? Huh? How?”

“I…” she struggled to get the words out. “I didn’t want to see you hurt again.”

“This. This hurts worse.” He pointed at her with both hands open, like he was accusing her of a grievous crime. He stood there for a moment. “How do I know you didn’t plant that box on Christmas? That note?”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Alice replied. Her expression changed to hurt, and tears formed in her eyes.

“How do I know that with all of your magic… Wait, I’m sorry,magick with a K…that you haven’t put some spell on me, and you’re slowly making me forget about her. And you’re”—he struggled to find the next words—“you’re changing everything. Maybe I never wanted to change a thing or move on.”

“How dare you?” Alice asked in a soft tone. “After all we’ve been through, this is how you act?”

Hugo licked his lips and peered off into the distance for a moment. He focused back on Alice. “I’ve got to go.”

He pulled his keys from his pocket and continued into the car. He slammed the door shut behind him and started the engine.

“Hugo, wait!” Alice yelled.

The car pulled away. She ran after it. In the heat of the moment, with all the emotions coursing through her body, she raised both of her hands. “Hugo,wait!”

She snapped her fingers. An explosion of purple arcane magick erupted from under the hood. The car rolled to a dead stop. Alice cupped her hands in shock at what she had done.

Hugo exited the car and glared at Alice. His eyes widened with unmistakable furious anger. He stood there motionless, silent, and in disbelief at Alice.

“I’m sorry,” she said through her hands. She slowly dropped them. “I’m so, so sorry. I… I just acted.”

“Fix it,” Hugo said in a low command. “Fix itnow!”

Alice snapped her fingers again. The car revved back to life.

“We’ll talk when I get back,” Hugo said. He grabbed the car door, slammed it behind him, and sped off down the road.

Alice was left there in the middle of the street, crying and alone.

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