Chapter 28 We Aren’t Witches
Claire
Everett walks into the bedroom holding the brown bag from Citrine Brews. He climbs onto the mattress next to me, and I watch as he slowly unpacks it, unwrapping each crystal as he sets them on top of the comforter.
“Alright, so what do each of these do again?”
“The blue one is the apatite crystal. The clear one is quartz and is supposed to make the other crystals work better. And the green one is jade. Figured we could use a little good luck.”
“Right. So how do we do this?”
I shift in the bed, crossing my legs and sitting across from him. He mirrors my position, and I study each of the crystals.
“I held the apatite in the cab and then said what I wanted. So, maybe we hold it together and say we want to go home.”
He smirks.
“What?”
“Just remembering you said you wanted me.”
I exhale. “Of all the times I need you to focus, it’s right now.”
“You’re right.” He picks up the blue stone and then sets it down.
“What?”
“Should we light a candle or put on some music? I don’t know, the vibe seems off. Doesn’t feel magical enough.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well in the movies, the witches are usually sitting in the dark by candle light and music plays in the background while they say their spells.”
“We aren’t witches.”
“Hold on.”
He jumps out of bed and jogs out of the room. The sound of cabinets and drawers opening and closing drifts through the house, and then a few moments later he returns holding two candles and a lighter.
“What are those?”
“All I could find was a Christmas tree scented candle and a cookie scented one, but I think it’ll work.”
He walks around the room setting one candle on each bedside table and lighting it. Then, he flips off the light and joins me back in bed.
“Okay, where were we?”
“We were going to hold the stone and say what we wanted.”
“And then what do we do?”
I think back to my conversation with Cami at the coffee shop. “Cami said we needed to put the apatite under our pillow, and then I guess we go to bed and wake up back in New York.”
He picks up the stone and holds it out towards me. Reaching out, I grab it, and he wraps his hands around mine, causing electricity to pulse through my body. My pulse quickens, and I attempt to control my breathing and stay calm.
“On three?” I ask.
He nods, beginning the count. “One.”
“Two,” I say.
“Three,” we say together. He nods, encouraging me.
“We want to go home,” we say in unison, both freezing and looking around the space, but nothing has changed.
This is just the first step. We still have to sleep.
“Maybe we say it a couple of more times to be sure,” he suggests.
I nod again, inhaling deeply. The mix of pine and sugar cookies fills my nostrils.
“We want to go home,” we repeat two more times.
Pulling away, I turn and place the little blue stone under the pillows at the top of the bed and then the other two stones on the nightstand.
We both move to blow out the candles then nestle under the covers. He reaches out, pulling me into him.
“Night,” I say.
“Good night,” he says, kissing the side of my head. “I’ll see you in New York, Sugar.”
I exhale, melting further into his embrace. Our breathing begins to even out, and I close my eyes, hoping that we’re right.