Page 9 of The Accidental Witch

Greer nodded. “I think I can help. My apologies for not softening the blow upon my entry. I didn’t know you hadn’t already explained who you were, and I didn’t know for sure if she was human. I should have been more sensitive.”

Why did everyone keep saying that? Of course she was human!

Marty raised her hand and smiled at Greer. “I’m Marty Flaherty, and we’d love for you to explain to us the whys and hows of your grandmother and her…hand, but as you can see, we have a situation.”

Robbie watched the exchange as they all introduced themselves, made pleasantries, and she vaguely listened as Greer explained how he’d found her and that he was very aware of the women and their organization.

She heard him say the wordslegends in their communityin reference to the ladies, but none of it was truly registering. She was still back at talking broom. And what did he mean by theircommunity?

As she began to crash, and her laughter subsided, Robbie tried to parse all the words everyone was saying. So we had talking broom, her hand that could set things on fire and was somehow this hot guy’s grandmother’s hand, three women who didn’t appear fazed by these oddities, a castle in Long Island…oh, and a little blue man.

Replaying all that in her head again, somehow the words began to stick—reallystick.

And now she was terrified. Why had they come here, and how could they get the frack out?

Exhausted, Robbie sank back into a chair, her stomach aching from laughing so much as she tucked her hand to her chest and pondered escape.

That was when Greer finally approached her, his green eyes now sparkling and friendly. “Hi, Robbie. I think I can help you with…your hand, if you’ll just let me explain.”

Robbie looked up at him, and despite her mouth going dry because he was so tall and handsome, her eyes quickly scanned the room, looking for an exit. She didn’t care how cute he was. She didn’t want his help.

Nina moved closer, making her shake. “She’s gonna run, ladies,” she muttered. “I can smell it.”

“Everyone just hold the phone,” she heard Wanda order. “We can’t help her if she doesn’t understand who’s doing the helping. I think it might be time for the reality check. It’s not how I like to introduce ourselves, but this isn’t healthy for Robbie. She’ll need to come to terms with what’s happening to her the sooner the better. We’re her new reality.”

Marty planted her hands on her hips. “Do you really think she’s stable enough? I mean, we don’t even know if Greer’s right.”

“It doesn’t fucking matter if he’s right, Ass Sniffer. It’s obvious she’s got some shit goin’ on. She has a damn broom that talks. In order to help her, she needs to know about us.”

All this talk about knowing who they were was really making her antsy.

Greer held up a hand. “I don’t mean to be rude, Mrs. Flaherty, but I’m right. I’ll explain how I know whenever you’re ready.”

Robbie looked at all of them, standing there talking about her as though she wasn’t even in the room. Of course, it was only fair they talk around her. She wasn’t exactly presenting as rational after that laughing jag, but she didn’t want to see whatever they wanted toshowher.

Robbie’d seen enough. Heard enough. Had enough.

She was going to take herself, her fried hair, and Grammy’s hand back to her sad apartment and figure this out—alone.

Yep. She was gonna run.

Hopefully, when she grabbed T’s hand, he’d be able to keep up. He exercised, she’d seen him do it in the gym at her mother’s mansion once or twice, when her mother was away ruining the world one deal at a time.

Though, as she looked at his shiny shoes, she wondered if he wouldn’t slip, but it was a chance they were gonna have to take because she wasn’t sticking around for whatever they wanted to show her.

Robbie began to rise in slow increments, remembering what Nina said about running. She sent an eyeball signal to Tottington, who’d been positively silent since she’d yelled at him—something she’d never done in her whole life, and he’d been with her since she was three years old.

Hitching her jaw toward the arched entryway to the basement, Robbie bulged her eyes to emphasize they should skedaddle.

The literal second she picked her sneakered foot up, Nina was there in a fuzzy blur of motion, grabbing her by the back of her jacket.

“No,” she said, her nostrils flaring, yanking Robbie up so they were eyeball to eyeball.

“No what?” she said on a gulp, rounding her eyes in innocence as her feet dangled above the floor.

“You’re not gonna make me fucking chase you. Save theBambieyes for someone with fucking feelings. It’s late. You’ll never get the fuck away from me, and I have zero tolerance for your bullshit because whether you like it or not, whether I like it or not, you need help. Sono.”

Before she reflected on the idea that this woman was holding her one-hundred-and-fifty-pound ass in the air as though she were a paper bag, Robbie found herself compelled to mention Nina’s skin.

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