Page 33 of A Touch Charmed

I glanced around, where a small crowd had gathered. Not like they did during grade school fights. They didn’t form a ring around us and catcall or anything like that. It was more subtle. Walking by at a snail’s pace. Gathering in small groups and acting like they were discussing what to do next while keeping one eye on the two of us.

I hated having this kind of scrutiny on me. I should’ve been used to it, given how I grew up, but I never liked it. Attention had never been something I sought out.

“Let’s just go.” I hugged myself as I kept my head down.

I didn’t want to do this here. Finding out he’d slept with Paige stung. Having Olivia, of all people, confirm the rumors about Finn hadn’t been great either, but it’s not like I expected him to sit around and wait for me to come back. We’d been over for years.

Too many thoughts and emotions overlapped and spun out of my control as I followed him away from the festival grounds. All of the residents knew magic had returned to the island, thanks to the curse’s attempt to light the forest on fire during the second earthquake, but I didn’t want to put on another show. We’d given the town enough gossip for one day.

And while I didn’t want to fight with him about whatever he’d done when I was gone, we had to talk about what had happened with Olivia. I’d spent days living in our little magic bubble, pushing the past away and living for the now. But the past wouldn’t go away just because I didn’t want to face it. This was a small island. We’d continue to run into Olivia and my old insecurities would keep popping up if we didn’t deal with it.

As we walked through the woods, he kept a closer eye on me than the trail. I kept a closer eye on the ground. We made it too easy for the curse to sneak up on us. Neither of us was paying attention until thick black smoke surrounded us. I stumbled backward and my ass hit the leafy forest floor. I couldn’t see anything. Not even my hand in front of me.

“Finn?” My voice shook as I reached into the dark. I’d been so lost in my own head, I had no idea if we were close to home or miles from it.

My heart pounded against my lungs, making it harder to breathe. He didn’t answer me. I dug my nails into the dirt and screamed his name. No response. Nothing but a black void.

“I’m here.” His arms came around me, holding me tight against his chest. Sweat slicked the skin on his arms and his heart hammered against my ear. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight and I fucked up. We should’ve gone around the island.”

“Are you hurt?” Tears choked my voice. “Where were you?”

“I’m not hurt.” His voice held a slight tremor. “This is a mental attack. Got pulled into some bad shit. We need to get out of here, but I’m afraid I’m going to run us into a tree or get my legs tangled around a vine going a million miles an hour.”

A soft murmur hovered around the edges of the smoke that surrounded us. At first, I couldn’t make out the words, it just sounded like incoherent whispers spoken on the opposite end of a crowded room. But soon, it crawled inside my head. Demanded attention. Forced me to listen and remember everything in painful detail. As if I were living it all over again.

“I got the internship!” I held my phone tight to my chest, still in disbelief. My future, everything I’d been working toward was finally coming together. This would open so many doors for me. Doors that had no connection to my father.

“Hell yeah.” Finn lifted me up and spun me around while I buried my laugh in his neck. “I knew you’d get it. And they’re able to work around your class schedule?”

“My classes won’t be a factor. This is over winter break.”

“Wait.” Finn set me down. “You’re not coming home for winter break?”

“No.” I drew the word out carefully. I’d told him that when I applied for the internship.

Hadn’t I?

“You know I’m just starting my business.” His voice began to rise. “I can’t come to you at all for the next year, and now you’re telling me you can’t come back to me either?”

I stared at my feet. “This is important.”

“And I’m not. Is that what you’re saying?”

What the hell? I hadn’t said anything close to that. I looked up, the urge to defend myself rising up in me, but I didn’t know how to scream or yell or fight. The only thing I knew how to do was be quiet. So I didn’t say anything at all.

“You don’t even care, do you?” The bitterness in his voice sliced through me. “You’re just trying to get one step closer to that fancy new life you’ve always wanted.”

Tears burned the corners of my eyes, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how bad his words hurt. I’d been nothing but supportive of his dreams. Why couldn’t he do the same for me? “You’re being a real asshole right now.”

“Finally. Some honesty from you.” He flung his arms out. “I know you’ve got more, so lay it on me. Tell me what a piece of shit I am. Tell me you’ve always been too good for me. I know you’ve been holding back, so let it all out.”

“Is that really how you think I see you?” My voice was barely above a whisper. “Or are you just trying to punish me for how you see yourself?”

He stormed toward the front door.

“You’re just going to leave like that?” I asked.

He stopped at the threshold and turned back to me. “I need to cool off before I say some things I might regret. We’ll talk later.”

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