Page 69 of Charmed, I'm Sure
The sound of Magnolia saying she missed me echoed in my brain long after the line had disconnected, a smile etched on my face as I stared down at my screen. The last few weeks had been rough. Our lives felt more out of line than ever. She was busy at work—more than usual with the upcoming holidays and all the extra catering gigs. My job was always busy, so that wasn’t anything new. But she’d been steadily pulling away since the incident in Baton Rouge, and though I understood to an extent, it still hurt.
From where I stood, nothing around town seemed different. Then again, as she so pointedly pointed out, I’d never been on her side of things when it came to the people here. Since we’d barely had a moment to talk, I had no clue what was going on on her end.
Blowing out a heavy breath, I stood from the wicker loveseat my mom had set up on the back deck.
“Soooo, who’s the girl?” Addy drawled, her sudden presence nearly making me jump out of my skin.
“Jesus f-ing Christ, Adelaide!” My hand flew to my chest, my heart hammering against my ribcage. “Why do you insist on sneaking up on me?”
I whipped my head in her direction just in time to see her give a nonchalant shrug and slide a spoon from between her lips. “Why do you make it so easy to startle you?”
“Do youneedsomething, oh loving baby sister of mine?”
She padded over to where I stood, plopped onto the cushion I’d just vacated, and held out a second spoon. “Iwasgoing to see if you wanted to share this ice cream with me—”
“That’smyice cream, Addy.”
“It’s in the main freezer, TayTay, therefore it’s now communal ice cream,” she said with another shrug. “Anyway, I will still share, but now it comes with a price.”
“You’reblackmailingme over my own ice cream?”
“I am.” She nodded decisively. “Now, who’s the girl? And don’t even try to deny it.I heard you, Taylor.”
The fact that my sister was asking mewhoI was talking to made my heart feel a little lighter.
“I told you I would tell you when there was something to tell.” A small smile tugged at my lips as I sank down next to my sister and snatched the proffered spoon. Perhaps Sophie hadn’t told every Tom, Dick, and Harry about seeing us. Maybe, justmaybe, she’d changed her ways like I had.
That misguided thought died with the next words out of my sister’s mouth.
“Fine. But you wanna tell me why Claire is saying you were in Baton Rouge with Magnolia Bellevue, of all people?”
Shit.
Shitshitshitshit.
“What?” I countered, trying to sound calm as I dug the spoon into the silky, frozen cream.
Every second felt like an eternity as Addy took another bite of Rocky Road and adjusted her position. My nerves prickled as I waited, my breath catching in my lungs, my mind spinning on how to direct this conversation.
After what seemed like a lifetime, Addy said, “Claire texted me a bit ago and said that Sophie wouldn’t shut up about how she had ‘the gossip of the century,’ or some bullshit like that.” When I just stared at her, she rolled her eyes and continued. “Evidently, sheswearsshe saw you and Magnolia in Baton Rouge a few Saturdays ago.”
“Addy, you know better than to believe anything that Sophie Larson says,” I said with a slight scoff, trying to mask the rising panic in my chest.
“True, but then Claire sent me this.” Her phone screen illuminated her face before she turned it toward me.
That fucking bitch.Everyone knew that Sophie was a blabbermouth, and most people brushed aside whatever she had to say. But this time, she’d apparently taken it upon herself to acquireproof.I’d seen her pull out her phone, but I never suspected she’d stoop that low. Thankfully, the picture glaring at me from my sister’s screen was blurry at best. My face was obscured by pixels, and Magnolia’s was blocked by the bill of her hat. But there was no mistaking the hair peeking beneath the edge of the cap.
I could feel Addy’s eyes drilling into my face as mine stayed glued to her screen. It was as if she were testing me, trying to see which path I would take when the facts were staring me in the face. I could either tell her everything and hope that Magnolia would understand, or I could continue to feign ignorance.
I knew which way Iwantedto go, but it wasn’t just me in this scenario, and the words tasted like acid as they fell from my lips.
“Why on Earth would I be hanging out with Magnolia Bellevue?”
Shock widened Adelaide’s eyes, her mouth gaping slightly before she tongued a canine, bobbed her head in disbelief, and let out a mocking scoff. Disapproval flashed in her eyes, her lips turning down at the corners as she patted me on the shoulder before unfolding herself from the cushion. “I’m going to bed.”
“What about my ice cream?” I called after her as she rounded the edge of the loveseat.
“You don’t deserve ice cream,” she shouted over her shoulder. “Oh, and Taylor?” When she reached the French doors, she turned halfway, narrowing her eyes at me in the best impersonation of our mother I’d ever seen. “I may not have all the details, but you and I both know you’re lying. So do us both a favor and just stop, mmkay?”
