Chapter 11 - Gabriella
I chewed on my cheek as I stared at my bedroom door.
I could still see it all going down—how I moaned loudly, my nails digging into his skin, how I panted and said his name.
How I came so hard I saw stars. I leaned forward, throwing my face into my pillow.
I wanted to scream, but then everyone would know I was awake.
I was embarrassed and couldn’t face him in the daylight. It was one thing to be confident at night, but another when I could see his face.
I lay in bed until it was nine, and then I pulled myself out.
I checked the hallway before I went down.
The house was quiet, and I headed into the kitchen and made myself a cup of coffee.
I was pouring the coffee in my mug when I heard a door, and my body stiffened.
I realized it was Hazel coming down the hallway.
“Morning,” she chirped. “Where were you last night? Nora and I were looking for you. You freaking abandoned me.”
“Oh, we had a bit of a situation, so Westley and I left early.”
She paused as she got to the fridge. “A situation? What does that mean?”
I shrugged. “Kyle and Ivan were bothering me, and it pissed Westley off. So, we left.”
“You left? Why did you both have to leave?”
“Well, because he was angry, and I didn’t really feel like staying there after that.”
She pulled out the milk and tilted her head. She watched me for a moment before her eyes widened. “Oh my god! You had sex!”
“What!? No, I didn’t!” I felt my face grow hot.
She laughed. “Yes, you did! Your hair is a mess, and your face is red. You also have a… I don’t even know what, but there is a look in your eyes. You fucked him, didn’t you!”
“I did not… we… no… we didn’t have sex.” I felt like my body was on fire, and I turned my attention to my coffee. “Don’t say stuff like that.”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” She walked over, snatching my coffee away, spilling part of it onto the counter. She held it out and waved her hand. “I need details because you’re lying. You’re hiding something. I’m your sister, and I know your voice pitches high when you’re trying to hide something. Spill.”
I scoffed, trying to act normal. “No, I’m not. Give me my coffee.”
She held it out further. “Then tell me what happened. Clearly something happened.”
“Nothing happened.” I was practically yelling this now. “Would you give me my coffee?”
“I call shit!” She stepped back, moving my coffee out of reach. “Spill. Or I swear to god, I’ll drink this myself.”
My shoulders dropped. I could keep saying nothing happened, but she would only keep pressing. “You don’t want to know.”
“I do, considering I’m living in this house, and if you two are fucking I’m going to need earbuds.”
“We aren’t fucking,” I sighed. “But… we did… other stuff.”
Hazel’s jaw dropped, and she looked stunned. “Like what?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not telling you the details. Now give me my fucking coffee.”
Hazel chuckled. “When did this happen? Are you guys legit now? You guys a thing?”
I shook my head. “No, it just happened last night. We have a lot of things to figure out. And it was a one-time thing. Heat of the moment.”
She scrunched her nose up. “Sounds complicated and like you’re trying to convince yourself.”
I glared at her. “And I would like to be done talking about it. Now, give me my coffee for the love of god and tell me how the party went for you?”
She beamed, jumping a little but still not giving me my coffee. “I had so much fun. The witches and I were laughing all night. We are actually going out for lunch today.”
I smiled at her, leaning back in my chair. “You’ve made some good friends, sounds like.”
She nodded as she sat down. “I have. They are great.” She handed me my coffee. “But you’re still my best friend.”
I laughed as I grabbed my coffee, taking a sip. She stared at me. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me more?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” She didn’t need to be traumatized by the truth, but I had to admit it was nice to tell her a little.
An hour later, I headed to the library needing something to do. I needed to get my mind off what happened last night, and I knew books were a good way to do that.
I found Marium starting the coffee maker when I got in. The library was quiet today, and hardly anyone was in the parking lot when I pulled in. I took a deep breath in, feeling myself relax just from being in this atmosphere.
“Morning, Gabriella. What brings you in?”
“I was just going to look for a new read.” I headed over to the kitchen area, watching as she poured herself a mug. She tossed a few sugars inside and stirred. “What are you looking for today?”
“Do you remember what book I gave you last time I was here?”
Marium nodded. “The spell book? Yeah, I put it away as you asked. I don’t know how I lost it there in the first place. I must not have brought my good reading glasses.”
I chuckled. “And where exactly are those books held?”
“Second floor in the back. We have maybe two shelves of books. The witches look at them on occasion, but oftentimes they get their own. We have little kids who like to read through them now.” She took a sip of her coffee and placed the pot back on the burner. “So, what do you want with them?”
I came up with a good lie. “Hazel has been helping with the witches, so I just thought maybe I would look through it and see if it’s anything I could recommend to her for a read.”
Marium nodded, accepting my lie easily. “That’s smart. I figured after the last time you were here, you were going to ask me to burn them all. You looked so flustered.”
I waved my hand. “No, I just remembered something and was in a hurry.”
Marium shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first person to ask. I hear it all the time.”
I imagined she did. But I didn’t worry about her. She was a sweet lady, but she had a sharp tongue. She didn’t stand for anyone’s bullshit, and sometimes I wished I could be like her more.
“Thanks, Marium.” I turned and headed up the stairs to the second floor.
I walked past the mystery section and the science wing.
I could hear people talking, and someone was tapping their pencil on the table.
There was a small seating area on the second floor with bean bags and low-riding chairs.
There were tables pressed against the wall with little lamps.
And just down a little further was the witch area, but it wasn’t labeled. I could feel it in the pull and the way the aura just shifted—like people disliked the area so much that the emotion stuck.
I slipped into the aisle and scanned the rows. There were books with no title, and stacks of papers that had long been forgotten. It surprised me how it all looked compared to the rest of the library.
Marium kept things clean and organized, while this section looked abandoned. It ached my heart a little.
I looked over the shelves, trying to find the one I had picked up the other day. I ran my fingers over the bindings, feeling a tingle running through me.
I pulled my hand back and looked at it. I had been telling myself that what I felt before wasn’t real. I didn’t have magic, so I shouldn’t feel a pull toward these books. Yet, I was.
While Nora and Jade were witches who came into their powers, I never would. Our mother had another witch strip our powers from us when we were little. She explained she did it to keep us safe. She wanted us to grow up normal and have every opportunity that the other children would have.
I never felt like a part of me was missing until now. Feeling that tingle going over my entire body felt like a missing puzzle piece was coming home. But I didn’t understand how. She had another witch take it.
I remembered that drive to the witch’s house.
Her name was Ruth. She was a powerful woman and a close friend of our mother.
I was only four, and Hazel was two when we went.
Our mom told us the entire drive that we had to do this.
That we were going to be moving to a new town, and that she wanted us to settle in.
She wanted us to have the life she never got.
Hazel cried the entire time because she felt it. She felt her powers at a young age, and she didn’t want to part with them. I just remembered staring at my little hands, wondering if it even mattered.
When we arrived, Ruth had her kitchen set up for us.
It was like walking into an operating room.
She had her book of spells out and a few vials on the table.
Ruth explained she would take some of our blood and lock our powers into it.
After that, she would burn them so they would return to the Earth.
Hazel screamed. She begged our mother to reconsider. She didn’t understand why we had to change.
I shook my head, clearing the memory away, because after that, we did have a good life.
We moved to the town we grew up in, and we did blend in.
People hardly noticed us, and we lived semi-decent lives.
It wasn’t until we moved here that people suddenly started talking about how we were original settlers of the town, but that we moved there.
I pulled the book free and sat down, sliding it into my lap. I held it, just staring at it, letting that feeling soak over me. How was this even possible?
I opened the book, staring at the pages. They were worn from use, but you could tell they were cared for. The binding on the books was holding steady; it was the pages that showed damage from all the years of being flipped back and forth.
I felt a warm spread over me, like a blanket had been dropped onto me. I sank into the feeling, hating how it felt right.
I reached for another book, still feeling that tingling with it. I decided to try to read a little. I needed to make sure this was real and that my mind wasn’t just tricking me.
I flipped through books, reading pages about spells. I scanned, looking for something about what happened with Hazel and me. If we had our powers stripped and returned to Earth, I shouldn’t be able to do anything. But maybe you couldn’t take this feeling away.
I felt my eyes burn as I read over different information. There was history about witches, and journals some had left behind. There were witches making potions and trying different techniques to learn new spells.
I slammed the book shut and pressed my forehead against the bookshelf. I felt like I was getting nowhere with this. Even if I did have magic, no one could know. I would be looked at like a dark witch, and people would talk. And I know that things would only get worse than they were.
The silence was broken by Marium. “Westley, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. What brings you in?”
My body tensed up, and I looked around me. The piles of books, half open. The pages were scattered all over. It was a mess.
I quickly started shoving everything back, not needing anyone to know I was here. I knew if Westley found me, he would start asking questions that I didn’t have answers for.
I slipped out of the area and hurried back toward the stairs. I felt my heart racing as I moved, trying to get as far away from that area as possible.
I looked over toward the counter. Westley leaned on the counter, talking to Marium. He smiled that charming smile, and I watched Marium roll her eyes. He probably told her a joke, and she chuckled.
I made it down the stairs, and I watched his eyes flick over to me. I stiffened, knowing I had nowhere I could run.
He said something to Marium before he rounded the counter, coming my way. I swallowed, not sure what I was going to say. My mind was a mess between what happened yesterday and what had just happened upstairs. I felt like I was losing my mind.
“Hey, I didn’t see you this morning.”
I shrugged. “I slept in.” It was an easy lie and kind of the truth. I slept in an extra hour, but still I had enough time to run into him before he left.
He frowned, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I want to apologize for last night.”
I felt my mind seem to pause. Was he apologizing for what happened between us when we got home? Was he regretting what happened?
“Oh?” I felt my voice break, and my heart seemed to stop beating.
“I should have controlled my anger better. You are right to be worried that they would bother your sister. I know if I had actually gotten my hands on either of them, it would have ended badly for everyone. You and your sister included.”
I felt my shoulders sink a little, relieved. A part of me wasn’t sure what I would have done if he had been apologizing for what happened at the house.
“Well, thank you. That means a lot. But you weren’t wrong either.
You’ve done a lot to help us, and I should have told you more.
You weren’t wrong that I clearly haven’t been handling things well.
” I needed to figure out what I wanted. A distraction, maybe, to get my mind off everything for a while.
An idea sparked. “How about dinner. As a thanks for everything that you’ve done.”
He frowned. “Gabriella, you don’t need to do that.”
“But I want to. Besides, you were the one saying we needed to look like a real couple. And real couples go out for dinner.”
I could see a hurt expression cross his face. “You don’t need to thank me for anything that I’ve done. And I don’t want to make you do something you’re clearly not comfortable doing. You said you wanted space.”
That was true, but I also had his mouth in between my legs last night, so clearly I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. I groaned. “Just agree to have dinner with me, Westley. We could argue about it, or you could save both of us a lot of time and just say yes.”
I batted my eyes, trying to give him a sweet smile. He eventually sighed. “Fine, but I’m paying.”
I scoffed. “That entirely defeats the purpose of my thanking you.”
“Good, because I already told you that there was no reason.”
“Fine,” I said, crossing my arms. “You can pay. This time.”