Page 106 of Charmed, I'm Sure
At least, it had—until today.
If someone asked me to make a list of words to describe Magnolia Bellevue,quietwouldn’t even be in the top fifty. And yet, that’s exactly what she’d been since I picked her up from the manor.
Quiet.
Not the comfortable kind, like when we sat on my porch, wrapped in an easy silence, or when we drove home from an errand. No, this was the other kind. The kind that made your head spin with all the terrible things that could be spiraling in your partner’s brain—but you’re too chicken shit to ask what’s wrong because if nothingiswrong, then you’ve just created a problem by assuming one existed in the first place.
And I hated it.
The ride to the festival had been eerily silent, which I might’ve attributed to her being tired from work—except I knew better. It was the way her gaze stayed trained out the window, how she leaned as far away from me as possible, that had my mind spinning through an obnoxious amount of—likely irrational—scenarios.
Every answer was minimal. One or two simple words. A hum to signal she’d heard me. There may have been a smile stretched across her crimson-painted lips, but it was forced and subdued, never quite reaching her eyes. And those sparkling winter blues I loved so much? Dim.
Not even the sight of the town decked to the nines in a Southern winter wonderland seemed to lift her spirit. She just looked on with indifference, a gray cloud hovering over her head as we made our way toward the vendor stalls.
When I helped her outof the car, I’d tried to take her hand—she shoved hers into her coat pockets so fast I barely saw the movement. When I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, she stiffened before sidestepping around a puddle and away from me.
I had no idea why she was so tense, but I was bound and determined to coax her shoulders away from her ears and bring some ease back into her uncharacteristically rigid frame.
The smell of spiced cider filled my nose, and I nearly groaned, my mouth watering at the scent. Resting my hand on the small of her back, I didn’t miss the way her muscles tightened, her eyes pinching shut for the briefest second before she relaxed—just barely—into my touch. Ignoring the pang of hurt in my chest, I plastered on a smile and asked, “Would you like some?”
“Hm? Oh, uh, sure. Sounds good.”
She met my smile with a hesitant one of her own before her eyes flicked around the booths. I wasn’t sure what—or who—she was looking for, but whatever she saw had her stepping away from my touch, curling in on herself.
“You okay, sunshine?” I asked as we stepped forward in line.
“What?” It came out in a nervous breath, her eyes roving cautiously over our surroundings before settling back on me. Whatever she saw there made her gaze soften, and she pulled her hand from her pocket to grab mine.
“Sorry, I’m just a little—”
“Distracted?” I questioned, raising a brow.
“Yeah,” she answered sheepishly.
“Baby, what’s going on? You’ve been in your head since I picked you up,” I asked in a hushed whisper, tightening my hold on her hand. Now that I had her in my grasp, the last thing I wanted todo was let her go.
Unfortunately for me, she didn’t seem to share that sentiment.
“It’s just been a long day.” We took another step forward, and she sucked in a sharp breath as she glanced over my shoulder. “I, uh… I need to use the restroom.”
I quirked a brow at the rapid—and random—shift in conversation before scanning the area for signs pointing to the porta-potties. But before I could point her in any direction, she patted my chest.
“I’m just going to run down to the shop for a minute. Meet me there?”
CharCutiewas a good block and a half away, and while I didn’t think anything would happen, it was dark. And bad shit still happened in small towns.
“I can walk with you.”
“It’s not that far. I’ll be alright.”
Before I could respond, she pushed up onto her toes, pressed a kiss to my cheek, and was off.
I’d been standing outsideCharCutiefor what felt like hours—but had realistically only been about ten minutes—when the front door finally swung open.
Only, instead of the cotton-candy ball of sunshine I’d been hoping for, I was met with a sober-faced Jaelyn, her caramel eyes boring into me with a mix of irate anger and sympathy.
It was confusing, to say the least.
