Page 54 of The Glittering Edge

“I know you care about her,” she says. “And she seems like a nice girl.”

That might as well have been an insult.

“I’m going to study,” Alonso says, and it’s the truth. But his mom probably thinks that he’s going to study physics. Instead, Alonso dips down into the basement, closing the door quietly behind him.

For the first time in his life, Alonso wants nothing more than to disappear into his family’s spell books. If magic is the only thing in Alonso’s life that will make him feel a sense of control, he’ll take it.

Penny

EVEN NIGHTMARES CAN BECOME ROUTINE. THAT’S WHAT PENNYlearns over the next few days, as she, Ron, and Naomi figure out a schedule for visiting Anita in the hospital. Penny is there every morning while Ron manages the café. They switch in the afternoons. If Penny can’t go back in the evenings, Naomi goes to the hospital instead, sometimes with her parents and twin sisters.

But Penny never gets used to it. Not really.

It’s been almost two weeks since Anita’s accident. During a slow afternoon at Horizon Café, Penny is standing behind the counter, staring off into space. That happens a lot these days. Sometimes Penny doesn’t even realize it—she’ll sit at green lights until the car behind her honks, or the cashier at the grocery store will have to politely tell her that her groceries are bagged and it’s time to pay. Penny’s mind is like a boat on messy currents; she can’t control where it goes.

The bell above the door jingles, and Alonso walks in for his cleaning shift, snapping Penny out of her latest mind trip. He nods at her in lieu of saying hello, and for once, Penny is grateful for his standoffishness. Forcing herself to act normal around the customers is hard enough; at least Alonso leaves her alone, preferring to mop the floors with noise-canceling headphones on, the music so loud Penny can always identify the song.

But today, when Alonso is about to leave, he says, “You look like shit.”

“Thanks.”

“I tell it like I see it.” He gestures vaguely toward the parking lot. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

“My car is here.”

“Leave it. You shouldn’t drive when your eyes are that puffy.”

There it is again—it’s like that moment at Corey’s party, when Alonso asked how her summer was going.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Alonso asks.

“Nothing.”

“Come on, what?”

“I don’t know!” Penny sighs. “Sometimes you’re really… nice.”

He grins. “Shocking, huh?”

“Kind of?” Penny wrings her hands. “That probably sounded mean, didn’t it?”

Alonso laughs, his voice husky. He’s wearing a loose tank top that probably had sleeves once, and his biceps flex as he pulls his messenger bag over his shoulder. “C’mon. Give me your bag.”

Penny clutches her purse to her chest in protest. Alonso shrugs and opens the door for her.

“Sonice,” Penny teases, and Alonso mutters something about not getting used to it.

Alonso’s car engine sounds like the lungs of an old smoker, which is good, because it gives Penny an excuse to stay quiet during the three-minute drive. When he pulls up to Penny’s house, she doesn’t get out.

Alonso raises an eyebrow. “You gonna accuse me of being nice again?”

“Actually, I have a question.”

Alonso considers her, eyes roving her face in a way that makes Penny want to look away. “So do I.”

“You first.”

“Why were you in the woods that day?”

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