Page 20 of A Secret Crush Valentine's

“I don’t care,” she said, her voice trembling. “I’ll walk as long as I need to. I’m not… I’m not going through all that, not again.” She wanted to sound assertive, but her words sounded more like a plea.

Damon opened his mouth to respond but seemed to think better of it.

They continued traveling through the woods in silence for what seemed like half an hour before either of them spoke again.

“Hey, Red?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s life like back on earth?” Damon wanted to know.

The question caught her off guard. Julia blinked. “Huh?”

“What’s it been like since I disappeared?”

She shrugged. “Earth is… earth, I guess.”

“Fair enough. What about my parents?”

Absentmindedly, Julia twirled her hair between her fingers. “I’m not sure. They moved out of Laudville a year after the accident. There was a funeral for you and everything. When the police couldn’t find your body, everyone figured you were dead. Your parents were distraught for weeks, and…” Her voice trailed off as she caught the expression on Damon’s face. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “It’s okay. They moved on in the end.”

She hoped that was true. She’d told herself that she had moved on, but that didn’t seem to be the case because the nightmares and memories hadn’t yet ceased.

“What about you?”

Her breath nearly froze in her throat at his question. Julia’s mouth went dry.

She decided to be truthful. “I… well, I was just as distraught, to be honest. I quit the newsletter. I didn’t go to school for a while, either. It was all so much for me to process. And… memories kept coming back. For a while, I couldn’t close my eyes without seeing you struggling in the water.”

Another moment of silence passed between them. Then Damon asked, “Did you go to the Valentine’s Day dance?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t.”

“Why not?”

“I was at home,” she replied. “Recovering from the accident.”

And I didn’t want to go to the dance without you.

Valentine’s Day was barely weeks away now. Julia wondered what his response might be ifshetook the initiative and asked him to dance with her. She let the thought slip from her mind.

Damon’s lips parted, and this time, she was certain he was going to say whatever was on his mind, but all that came out was a muttered, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said, resting her hand on his. “We’ve both had our share of bad luck. On the bright side… it looks like our bad luck brought us back together.”

“You know, when you put it that way…” He smiled a smile that warmed her insides. Julia’s heart fluttered in her ribcage.

In shadows cast by spells, I wallow in pain,

Magic’s touch, a twist that breeds disdain.

Not bad, she thought.

God, if only she’d known she would end up on this mountain, she would’ve packed several pens and notepads on her way to the airport. She suppressed a chuckle at the thought.

In his warm embrace is a spell so tragic.

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