Chapter 12
Lukas
Puddle and Pear seemed to be Forrestbriar students’ favorite summer break hangout, because nearly every table, inside and out, was filled with students I either knew or could assume were collegiate because of their outfits and looks.
I even saw some students who were clearly from another academy donning their schools’ colors and names.
Once I received my pear tea and plate of lavender puffs for the group, I waded through the dense crowd enjoying their Saturday afternoon.
I gave plenty of hellos and head nods to the patrons I knew from school as I made my way outside to the upper terrace.
There, my friends sat at a wide table that overlooked this end of Larkshollow.
This little town was only ten minutes from the edge of Forrestbriar and was quite the social spot, regardless of whether we were in or out of our semesters. It was always bustling with academy students, families, and especially singles on the weekends, because of its incredible nightlife.
Without school to see our group every day, we all met here on Saturdays, when everyone was free, to catch up.
Since Henri and Noah became a serious item, Henri’s friend group quickly became Noah’s and my friend group.
Before Henri, Noah and I mostly spent our time with the football team, or just together at one of our houses.
That was when I wasn’t spending much time with my girlfriend.
“Finally, I’m starving,” Ivy said the second her eyes landed on me. Well, landed on the tray of lavender puffs I was carrying. The tray didn’t even touch the tabletop before she was reaching over to grab two of them.
“Hello to you, too,” I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes as I took a seat next to Noah. He raised his glass of ale to me in greeting before taking a puff himself.
Ivy laughed, somewhat embarrassed. “Hey, Lukas.”
I just laughed back, giving her and her longtime boyfriend, Remy, a smile.
The terrace was filled with the sounds of the busy tables around us, as well as the sounds of the crowded street below.
I watched as mothers corralled their children whilst they shopped, an elderly lady carried entirely too many bags on her own, and some younger teenagers ate snacks as they practiced small magic.
“How is the case going?” Henri asked, leaning across Noah to look at me. She patted the hand of mine that rested on the table near my cup in greeting.
This was actually the first time I’d seen her since she’d returned from America, so there was a lot to catch her up on.
Since she returned a few days before finals, she stayed holed up in Noah’s flat to continue studying…
or that was what Noah claimed. I was sure he just wouldn’t let her out of his sight after being away from her for an entire week. Vomit.
“Where do I even start? So much has happened.” I racked my brain to think of how to tell her as much as I could without boring the entire table with tedious details.
“Oh, so you know how I was going through Aster’s lab books?
Well, there was another set of handwriting that appeared at random places with seemingly nothing to do with what was on those pages. ”
“Wait, is this public knowledge? I’m not sure you can share details like this,” Henri interjected.
“I’m a potions mastery, Henri, not policy. Anyway, I started paying more attention to the handwriting and what it was saying, and realized I needed to dive deeper and find out who the writing belonged to, so I broke into the staff library to see if—”
“You did what?” Henri squeaked, disbelief all over her face, but unmistakable curiosity accompanied it.
“I broke into the staff library after hours, keep up,” I teased and then continued, keeping my voice low.
“While I was there, I found a notebook that had the same handwriting. Almost the whole notebook was about love potion-making. Then, a loose paper fell out of the notebook. And guess what the loose paper was about.”
Everyone, even Noah, was now leaning closer to me to hear what I was saying, anticipation on everyone’s face. Henri was nearly in Noah’s lap from trying to get closer to listen.
“What was on the paper?” Henri whispered.
My voice was only a whisper, but I checked my surroundings before saying a word. “How to spellc-ast a love potion.”
No one said a word. Actually, it sounded like no one was even breathing. It was just as shocking to them as it had been to me.
“Someone else was working with Aster,” Noah muttered, glaring down at the table.
This subject was one of the easiest ways to make him angry, because he recalled how terrified and angry he was over Henri being poisoned and locked in a closet.
Henri placed her hand over Noah’s clenched fist that rested on the table.
“Did you check it against my handwriting?” Ivy asked quietly, shame and tears in her eyes.
“I already did, don’t worry. It wasn’t your handwriting.”
“And it still isn’t your fault,” Henri added, looking at her best friend with sympathy. I felt like a jerk for not mentioning upfront that it wasn’t Ivy’s handwriting.
“It’s not, Ivy. You were manipulated beyond your control, and you will get your justice,” I commented softly. Her watery eyes met mine as Remy rubbed her back, and she nodded.
“So Aster had an accomplice?” Henri asked quietly, shaking her head. “Wait, you can’t use that in the trial because it would be illegally obtained.”
“That’s exactly what Els—what I thought. So, I convinced Ed to get a warrant to search the staff library to find matching handwriting. I didn’t check all of the records there, but surely they’ll retrieve the notebook and hopefully other documents that tie the handwriting to its owner.”
“So whoever helped Aster is on staff at Forrestbriar?” Remy said, a haunted look on his face.
No one responded, because the truth had already settled into our bones. Noah’s hands clenched and unclenched into fists, and Henri hugged closer to his side. There were tears in Ivy’s eyes, and suddenly I felt like the biggest arse in the world.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“No, please. It’s not your fault. I can’t wait for all of this to be over.” Ivy gave me the fakest smile as she wiped away her tears and sat up straighter. “Sorry to everyone else who still hasn’t eaten a puff, because I’m probably going to eat the rest.”
The table broke out into light-hearted laughter—except for Noah, of course, who was still huffing.
The discussion moved on to less serious topics, such as the trip Ivy and Remy were taking next week to rest before Ivy had to be on the witness stand.
I paid attention to everyone, joining in the conversation where I could, and eventually bought more lavender puffs for the table (Ivy ate most of them).
As the afternoon gave way to early evening, our group went its separate ways.
I finished up my pear tea and threw it in the bin at the edge of the terrace, my eyes immediately locking on bright blond hair. Elsie was walking down the main street of Larkshollow, by herself, with a large shopping bag in hand.
Turning, I hastened toward the stair exit of the terrace so I wouldn’t have to walk back through the crowds inside.
“You’re in a hurry,” came Noah’s voice behind me. I could tell from his tone that he already knew why I was moving so quickly. Halting, I waited for him and Henri to catch up.
“Sure am.” I glared at him, seeing the devilish look in his eyes. I could have smacked him.
“Would it have anything to do with a certain blond woman?” He peered over my shoulder for a few moments. “One who just turned down Whimsal Lane?”
I turned my head quickly to watch her figure as it disappeared around the corner. Rolling my eyes as I looked back at Noah, I nearly growled at him. “Yes, and you’re going to make me miss my chance to carry her bags.”
Before he could say anything else, I pivoted and started down the staircase.
“That’s so cute.” I heard Henri’s very loud comment as I took two steps at a time, dodging another couple who were rudely taking up nearly the entire width of the staircase.
I laughed at my friends before finally hitting the paved sidewalk, speeding up to reach Elsie.
It being a Saturday, the sidewalks were crowded from edge to edge, and it took a great deal of patience and zigzagging to catch sight of Elsie’s bright hair.
I considered calling her name out to get her attention, but somehow I didn’t think she’d appreciate that.
After more dodging and weaving through the crowd, I finally caught up to Elsie as she was about to walk into the same bookstore where we’d previously run into each other. I slowed, letting her enter the store, catching the door before it closed.
“I’d say it was a coincidence seeing you here,” I said lowly, but I could tell by her stiffened shoulders she heard me, “but I quite literally followed you in here.”
Elsie turned, her face illuminated by the shop’s warm light, along with the golden haze that came through the front window.
“You followed me?” Her eyebrows were high on her face, and I wasn’t sure if she was upset with me or not. Perhaps I shouldn’t have followed her at all.
Yesterday, she’d been extremely quick to leave, and seemed uncomfortable about something. I’d hoped it wasn’t me that made her uncomfortable, because I’d thought our date went incredibly well.
But now, seeing a similar look on her face was crushing my hope. And making me feel like a huge arse for the second time today.
“I was leaving Puddle and Pear and saw you walking down the street. Thought I’d catch up with you.” I smirked at her, wanting it to charm her.
She didn’t seem charmed. Instead, she looked around as if someone was going to jump out at her from the corners of the room.
“Everything okay?” I asked, my face falling into a serious expression. I didn’t want to leave wondering if I’d done something wrong. Whatever I’d done, I would find out what it was and apologize. When she didn’t respond, I added, “Have I made you uncomfortable? Or hurt your feelings in some way?”
“No!” she responded quickly, shaking her head. Her arm reached out to grab mine, and my eyes locked onto where she was touching my skin. “Sorry, Lukas. No. I’m honestly just…I don’t know.”
I looked to her face to see her mind whirling behind her blue eyes, and I placed my opposite hand over hers, which still rested just below my elbow. “It’s okay, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t do something to offend you.”
“I…I really appreciate that, Lukas.” Why was there a shocked look on her face?
“Of course.”
After a moment’s pause, Elsie stepped closer to me. “Help me pick out a book?”
I lifted a brow, relaxing at her calmed expression. There were no longer any lines of worry around her eyes. “Oh, because I’m an expert at that?”
Elsie giggled, grabbing my hand to lead me to the romance section. “Well, maybe you shouldn’t do the choosing.”
“No, no. Leave it to me, Elsie. I’ll find the smuttiest book they have to sell here.” I smirked at the scandalized look on her face. “What? You think Henri didn’t inform Noah and me exactly what was in the books you picked for her?”
“I-I…oh, whatever. Smutty books are fun.” She turned to the shelves, red coloring her cheeks.
“I’m not judging. At all.” My voice nearly caught in my throat, and I fought the urge to cough or clear it. Just seeing her blush had me wanting more of her.
I spent the next few minutes grabbing books off the higher shelves that Elsie couldn’t reach, flipping through the pages until I could read a spicy scene out loud. When it didn’t appear that she was uncomfortable, I continued on, earning her laughter and her shushing.
“This is the one. In fact, I should just buy a copy for myself. Take notes and such.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her before realizing that could be taken as presumptuous, and I stilled.
Elsie didn’t seem offended or concerned in the slightest, grabbing the book from my hand and smacking me on the chest with it. “That makes you an incredibly smart man, Lukas Bristol.”
I couldn’t help the ridiculous smile that took over my face as I reached for a second copy that I truly did intend on reading.
“Go out with me tomorrow.” I didn’t intend for it to be blurted so strongly, but Elsie’s reaction was immediate. Her whole body stilled, and she looked away from me. Had I misread this entire interaction and our last date? I took a step back, hoping that I wasn’t crowding her.
“That depends,” she finally responded, a small smirk creeping onto her lips. “I will accept on one condition.”
I wasn’t entirely sure I was breathing correctly, since I’d expected rejection from her.
This woman, who was nothing short of quirky and hilarious and beautiful, was actually considering a proper date.
Not one where we bumped into each other and went out together conveniently, but one where I asked, and she said yes.
Where I would pick her up and take her out, then return her home safe and sound.
“Anything,” I whispered, remaining still as she stepped closer, letting her be as close to me as she wanted. I leaned in when she pressed the book in her hand against my chest.
“You take me to High Score, and I get a skee ball rematch.” The look in her eyes had me fighting every urge to grab her face and kiss her. I clenched my jaw.
Then, I took a big, dramatic breath through my teeth, shaking my head with a lazy grin on my face. “Darling, I’d love to take you to High Score. But I can guarantee you won’t be winning skee ball.”
Her cheeks deepened in their red color, but her eyes had a resolve of steel as she patted the book against my chest once more, her face impossibly close to mine as we both leaned in.
“You’re on.”