Page 104 of Bewitch

I gape at the picture. The guy has to be nuts. This is a picture of Eliza!

I turn the picture over. It says nothing on the back.

“This is Eliza.”

“No. That’s my Lola. Would I carry a picture of Eliza in my wallet? That is what you think of me? No, no. The two of them were like twins, separated by years. I… Lola died… The anniversary is in two weeks. I cannot believe she has been gone from me for so long, but now, she is back!”

“She is not back,” I say firmly. “Eliza is not Lola. You can’t forget that. Leave Eliza be.”

“Maybe I should tell her—”

“No, you shouldn’t,” I say firmly. “You need to stop. Let Eliza go. Let Lola go. They aren’t one and the same. You can’t save Eliza with an umbrella. Eliza doesn’t need saving.”

“I know they aren’t the same,” he says, “but if I tell her—”

“You’ll scare her half to death. Instead of focusing on her, maybe you should focus on your work so you don’t lose your job.”

I press the umbrella harder against his chest, and he finally takes it. Without another word, he walks away down the hallway.

So much for working on my paper. I walk up and down the hallway of Eliza’s class, and as soon as it’s done, I grab Eliza’s arm and shove her into the bathroom.

“Supposedly, you remind him of his dead granddaughter,” I say in a rush. “I told him to stay away from you, and I hope he listen, but if he doesn’t, you need to tell me, okay?”

“His dead granddaughter?”

“That’s what he said,” I stress.

“That’s so sad.”

“And it might or might not be the truth.”

“Why would he lie about that?”

“If he’s not right in the head… He might be trying to make up a story to throw our scent off him.”

“I don’t think this makes me feel any better.”

“Especially because you’re supposedly a dead ringer for the girl.”

Eliza blanches. “Yeah, definitely not,” she mumbles.

“Do you want me to stick around all day?” I offer.

“No. No. You go to your classes, but I’ll make sure I’m not alone at all, and hopefully, he will listen to you and back off.”

“I hope so,” I say. “I really do. And maybe he is telling the truth, but either way, he needs to stop.”

“Agreed.”

CHAPTER31

All I can say is that I hope that everything is fine with Carl now that he knows his attentiveness to the girls has been noticed. God willing, he’ll leave them all alone from now on, too scared to risk doing anything and getting fired.

Which means I can return my focus on the gym and baking.

And Lucas.

Only, I drive around the lot as soon as I arrive, and I don’t see his car anywhere.

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