Page 1 of Unhinged Magic
nknown
Iwatched.Existingsomewherein the veil between life and death. A place where I stillfeltbut could not touch. Where lost souls like mine smudge the boundaries between this life and the next, sitting like unwritten words of poetry. Prose on the tip of one’s quill, waiting to be forged in ink.
I asked myself again, was this really existing at all? Was a place of such solitude worth the immeasurable amount of pain?
Always, the answer isyes.
A breath of air coasting from slightly parted lips broke my thoughts. She slept peacefully, chocolate hair fanned around her, caressing fresh linen. I often wondered, if I could reach out and touch it, what it would feel like. Because over time, memories have faded.
I remembered how my hands once delicately held her soul in mine, in the form of butterfly kisses and timeless whispers. Memories I could never rid myself of, nor move on from. Because love is immortal, with infinite lines of fictional boundaries. Once planted in one’s soul, it has its own heartbeat that breathes only to consume you, giving youeverything.
The thought blurred my vision.
I had everything once. I hadher.
I dropped my gaze to my youthful palms, just as foreign to me as she was. She looked familiar, yet a stranger at the same time. Like the years had shaped her into a modern beauty. An exquisite existence. I would give anything to brush her silken hair from her shoulders and have one last taste of her crimson lips.
That was why I could not leave.
The shackles around my heart were something I could not break free of.
One day I may escape this leash. One day, my world may crumble.
But these moments will never be lost, never become unhinged from my heart.
Skye
“Youfirst.”Morganmotionedme forward from where she stared cautiously down a set of concrete stairs, a solid beat filtering up to meet us from below.
I got it. The new girl never wanted to be the first to enter a room full of strangers, and Morgan knew exactly zero people in this town.
Coming to my brother’s house with her in tow was not part of my plan, but Morgan being Tyler’s new neighbor meant he had a special interest in who she was. Orwhatshe was or wasn’t, rather.
I didn’t waste time, keen to see Tyler for the first time since my move back to Cutters Cove three weeks prior. Between unpacking and the casual shifts I had picked up at the local cafe, it just hadn’t happened.
With each footfall, the hair on my arms lifted, an unexpected shiver climbing my spine as I descended the stairs. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hesitant to see everyone again after many years. Especially since...
I shook my head, pushing the thought from my mind.
Deep breaths.
I forced myself to calm. They didn’t know. And they wouldn’t unless I told them.
As I hit the bottom step, the feeling became stronger. I pulled my denim jacket tighter around me, trying to dim the unease in the pit of my stomach.
Ignoring it, I forced a smile, my chest releasing as I sighted Tyler inspecting the grill outside. I closed the distance between us swiftly, hugging him from behind.
“Hey big brother, thought fixing the grill would be your jam,” I said, giving him a knowing look.
Tyler turned to me, his dark hair and steel gaze reminding me of my father’s, a flash of annoyance creasing his forehead. I bet it had something to do with the gas bottle perched on his thigh.
“Hey sis, long time no see.” He landed a peck on my cheek, his frown lines dissolving.
Tyler and I were born with the same gift in our bloodline: the element of fire lingered in our veins. I knew he could easily light the grill with his thermo magic, but give the guy something that needed fixing and he would happily head to the garage.
We had always been close, and he had made the effort to keep in touch through my years away, even coming to visit a few times, while mine back home had been nonexistent.
He motioned to my now-brown hair, a brow arched high. “No more blonde?”
