Page 116 of Charmed, I'm Sure
“No, Maddie said that.” She spun on her heel, fixing me with a hard glare.
“Was she wrong?”
Her nostrils flared, but she didn’t deny it.
“Fuck, Magnolia. What has gotten into you?”
“Gotten into me?!” She threw up her hands. “They threw bricks through my windows, Taylor! Sent me dead flowers with Mother only knows what crawling around in the dirt. Egged my house. Do I need to go on? What would you have me do?!”
“I don’t know! But sure as shit not that.”
I ran my hands through my hair, inhaling deeply in an attempt to quell my rising anger. I wasn’t mad at her—I was madforher. And yelling wouldn’t get us anywhere. So, with a calmer tone, I asked, “Why didn’t you have spells or something on the windows? You know, to keep something like that from happening?”
Fire blazed in her eyes, and her mouth popped open in shock. “Why didn’t I? Gee, I don’t know, Taylor. Maybe because having unbreakable windows when a brick is thrown at them isn’t the best idea for a suspected town witch.”
She fell silent after that, breathing heavily through her nose as she held my gaze. And when I didn’t respond—because what the hell could I say to that?—she turned, walking toward the railing.
I gave her a few moments, letting the tension settle so neither of us said something we’d regret. But the silence was unbearable.
“I’m sorry,” I finally said. “I… I shouldn’t have said that. Shouldn’t have questioned you or how you use your magic.”
Her head bobbed slightly, but she didn’t say anything.
“Mags, baby, please talk to me.”
“I can’t do this,” she whispered into the night, her gaze never straying from the yard.
“Can’t do what, baby?” I asked, cautiously closing the distance until I could lean on the railing beside her.
Tears tracked down her cheeks, and the sight gutted me. I hadn’t even realized she was crying. When I reached for her, she jerked away, squeezing her eyes shut.
“Please don’t. I can’t—” She took a shuddering breath. “I can’t do this right now.”
The tremble in her voice. The tears on her face. The way she wouldn’t look at me or let me touch her…
My stomach bottomed out.
It wasn’t a this she couldn’t do—it was us.
And though I knew that deep in my bones, some masochistic part of me needed her to say it. I needed to hear the words.
“What can’t you do, Magnolia?”
Glassy eyes met mine, her bottom lip quivering. “You already know what I’m going to say, Taylor.”
“Then say it.” There was more bite to my tone than I intended, but I couldn’t help it. Fissures formed in my heart, spreading wide and deep, and it fucking hurt.
“Us.”
It came out as more of a croak than a word, like it hurt her just as much to say it as it did for me to hear it. And that was something—I guessed. It meant she still cared, still wanted this. She just didn’t believe she could have it.
But when I opened my mouth to say as much, she shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself like a shield.
“Don’t you get it? They want me away from you. I’m not good enough for the town’s golden boy, and I can’t do this anymore. I’m just. So.Tired.”
“Please, Magnolia, don’t do this.”
“Taylor, I don’t want to, but I can’t do this right now. I need time. Space to figure out what’s best for both of us.”
