Page 22 of Handcuffs and Hexes

“The Wall?” I guessed.

“Yeah. They raised me as a normal girl. Growing up, Mom didn’t even like it when I read books with magic in them, like somehow they would jog my memory or something.”

“It must’ve been hard for them to keep magic from you if you were born here,” Liam said.

She nodded. “They fought a lot. I think Dad missed magic and Darlington a lot, but I didn’t know back then. I just thought he was sad all the time. And Mom would get upset that he was sad, like it was proof that she wasn’t enough.”

“Did you ever find out why they left?” I asked.

She was quiet for so long that I thought maybe I’d asked too much.

But then she said, “Chief said my mom pissed off a witch. The witch cursed my mother with an unhappy life if she didn’t apologize. Mom doubled down and called her a bitch. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Mom insisted on leaving Darlington and the witch behind. Dad did it because he loved her, even though it made him miserable.

“Chief knew my grandparents well; my granddad was on the force. It was tough for him to lose his son and me. According to Chief, my grandparents called and wrote all the time, but I never got any of their letters.

“When I got the letter about the house and asked Mom about it, she told me never to call her again.”

“Shit. I’m sorry.”

“No big loss.” She shook her head. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this.”

“Because it’s been a tough twenty-four hours, and you feel safe around me?” I waggled my brows. “And it’s the whole recovering-from-the-magic-hangover thing. It makes you prone to seek connection. Don’t feel self-conscious. It’s normal. Your life story is safe with us.”

“Did you know the first time Seth admitted he loved me was during a magic hangover?” Liam offered.

“Oh really?” Hazel raised a brow.

“Yep! So feel free to offload about your life. Seth turns into a total needy bitch.”

That had Hazel chuckling.

“Guilty as charged,” I said. “Now, let’s go grab your clothes and laptop.”

Chapter 11

Hazel

Liamwateredmyhouseplantsas I disappeared into my bedroom to pack a bag. After spending time in their loft, my little home with its white walls and generic furniture seemed so characterless.

The only thing I’d done after inheriting it was rip out all the dated wallpaper and paint everything white. It hadn’t felt right to keep my grandparents’ furniture when I didn’t remember them well, so I’d kept only the pieces I thought would restorewell and went with cheap particle board stuff for the rest. I never did end up restoring those pieces, even though it had already been years.

To be honest, I sometimes wondered if I’d only kept them because I wanted to know more about my lost childhood and thought the secrets were hidden in them somehow, like I’d look at that old dresser one day and all my memories would come flooding back. Realizing that my parents had kept a big secret like Darlington and magic from me made me question who I really was. And The Wall hadn’t helped.

“I think that’s it,” I said, checking once again that my charger and my laptop were both in the bag.

I’d thrown in several changes of clothes, making sure the pieces were both comfortable and not too raggedy, a challenge considering I usually lived in sweatpants and T-shirts when I wasn’t in my uniform. My only saving grace was that I actually had an extensive collection of cute bras and underwear. It stemmed from the fact that I wore a uniform almost every day. It was the only thing I could have fun with.

Nothing super sexy or strappy. No thongs or wired pushup bras that would make doing my job difficult. But they were still cute. I got away with lace here and there, and I particularly liked the set with the heart-shaped candies and “Eat Me” written all over them. They weren’t something people would expect under my tough exterior, and I liked being secretly unpredictable.

Cute undergarments were my little secret.

Liam had forced Seth to drive the long way around to my house on the other side of town, taking a giant detour around The Breach. He seemed to think that getting too close to it would put Seth at risk.

During my ride home, I’d gotten caught up with all the events since yesterday.

After realizing that The Breach had called in magic users, Chief moved some things around and spared more of the force to guard it. The police and the EA put out a joint warning that any male magic user must stay at least a one-mile radius away from the epicenter and was offering to pay for hotel stays for anyone affected.

Except that hadn’t stopped more brainwashed men from showing up. Last I heard, they were setting up an emergency detention center because they were expecting more.

---