Page 6 of Bewitch

Brooke takes it and looks. Blinking a few times, she lets out a low whistle. “Geez. Are you going to leave him your number for all of this?”

Kaylie burst out laughing. “No way!”

“Not your type?” Eliza asks.

Kaylie gets out her card and puts it in the sleeve. “Connor!” she calls.

“All finished, ladies?” he asks.

“Yes. Thanks, cuz.”

“Anytime, Kaylie.” And he walks away.

We all turn to gape at her.

She shrugs. “Trust me. It works on people who aren’t family too.”

Eliza leans over to watch Connor. “Your cousin is cute. You could give him my number.”

“Trust me. He’s cute, but he can also be a bit of a dick. He doesn’t like to share his tips with the bus boys. I’ll leave him a decent tip this time, but I always make sure to slip the bus boy a little something, too, to make sure they get some.”

“Aw, so you do have a heart,” I tease.

We all laugh and poke fun at one another as we wait for Connor to bring back her card and then for Kaylie to tip the bus boy. By the time we make it back to campus, I’m starting to feel pretty good about things.

Maybe I really will be able to put Lucas in his place someday.

CHAPTER3

It’s late. An hour or so has passed since we returned from the restaurant. Brooke booked it out of here after applying some makeup, probably off to go see her boyfriend, Declan King. Honestly, I am so very happy for her because Declan has made her so happy, but I’m still a little shocked that things worked out between them. Declan had been an ass to her at first, trying to get her to quit karate. He works at the dojo, but she refused to be bullying, to deal with his shit, and she earned not only his respect but also his love. It’s also to see how much loving her has changed him for the better.

Not only that, but she’s been changed too. She has so much more self-confidence, and she’s a real winner in my book. Brooke honestly is my hero. She took down a criminal. Seriously. I kinda of a girl crush on her.

I get ready for bed and lie down and try to fall asleep. Maybe if I roll over onto my back. Nah, my back is seriously sore. On my side? Not much better, plus now my neck is hurting me.

Maybe a glass of water would help.

Quickly, I climb out of bed and open our mini fridge. There are several water bottles inside, and I grab one and gulp it down. Before I shut the door, I eye the food inside. There isn’t a lot. One of us needs to replenish our food. There is American cheese and some lunchmeat that should be eaten soon. There’s also jelly, and I know we have peanut butter by the bread. One sandwich couldn’t hurt, right?

“No, Dawn,” I say out loud. “Don’t even think about it.”

I head back to bed, but it’s no use. I’m hungry. Seriously hungry. My stomach feels like it’s eating away at itself.

Maybe I should have something. Something small. Not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s way too easy to overload with peanut butter. A ham and cheese sandwich. Not that lunchmeat is the healthiest, but maybe we can get real sliced turkey meat and chicken breast instead. Next time. Healthy food options.

But for now, I grab myself two slices of bread and put them on a paper plate. I get out the cheese first and eat a slice of it while I put another slice onto the bread. Hmm. We have mayo… No. No, I’ll be good. I put a slice of ham and then another and… I’ll be good and only add another half of a slice. There. I slap the top bread on and eat the sandwich. Damn! That really hit the spot!

I lick my lips and eye the cheese. One more slice couldn’t hurt. I just love cheese. Who doesn’t? And the ham. There’s two and a half slices left. I might as well eat them. A second sandwich wouldn’t hurt. It’s not that bad. Lunchmeat isn’t the best, no, but it’s not terrible for you, and it has to have some protein in it.

So I make myself a second sandwich and realize there’s only two slices of cheese left. What’s the point in keeping them around when we’re out of lunchmeat? Down the gullet they go too.

After throwing out the trash, I head back to bed, but while my stomach is now no longer trying to digest itself, I can’t stop thinking about that peanut butter. I really love peanut butter. It’s my favorite, and the bread is really fresh, so you just know that the peanut butter and jelly sandwich is going to be divine.

But no. No. I won’t. Tomorrow. I could have a PB&J sandwich tomorrow. Not right now. All I need to do is fall asleep.

It’s not easy, having a love/hate relationship with food. It’s not easy to know when enough is enough, and I’m trying to reestablish a healthier routine for myself, but the thing is, I let myself go without eating for far too long. I’m hungry all over again, and sleep isn’t going to happen. Not tonight. Not yet at least. Not anytime soon.

Damn it. Why couldn’t Brooke be here? If she were here, I would be able to talk to her and distract myself from my stupid stomach.

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