Chapter 33 Unfortunate Endings
They celebrated in the streets of Salem until even the stars blinked tiredly and the great horned owl turned to the forest. Watching loyalty change in the streets of Salem in front of their eyes was a kind of magic that not many humans experience, but the greatest surprise was Freida holding out a warm cup of mulled cider to Tilly with a smile.
"You don't have to rehire me. I know that how I treated you was wrong.
But if you did take me back, I have some ideas for the inn.
I will still be kind of a grumpy person because that's how I came out of my momma's womb, but I can bake and I think we should think about mass producing your honey wine and selling it.
Also, the wallpaper in the foyer gives me a headache. "
Tilly suddenly felt the tension held between her shoulders release as her head tipped back and she laughed. God, it was a good laugh. The kind that heals those small cracks inside of you that seemed to matter so much, sapping you of energy.
"Freida," she finally said. "I would love to have you back."
"Really?"
"Well, no. You were mean, and I've learned to trust my first impression of people.
But," she looked over her shoulder at Jen and Judy laughing.
Bess, Tess, and Eloise were handing out flowers and small pink cups of coffee from Ursula's floral truck.
She didn't know where the others were, but watching them serve and talk with the townspeople, many of whom only a couple of hours ago were marching to run them out of town.
..there was a kind of healing when you allowed room for someone who didn't understand you to quiet themselves and learn.
Maybe they would change and grow, and maybe they wouldn't. But Tilly stood there under the tired, sparkling sky and wondered if she wanted to live in a world where people weren't allowed grace.
She turned back to Freida, a softening in her heart blooming, and finished, "But I have also learned that it's rare to find people who are willing to admit a closed mind and then open it. So, the Crescent Inn could use you."
Freida's smile was so big that Tilly felt her heart swell. "Then I'll be there tomorrow."
"But I'm not changing the wallpaper."
"We can talk about it."
Tilly laughed. She finally made her way from the quieting celebration to The Lost Souls, drinking her warm mulled cider as she walked through the wooded walkway. Her body was tired, her mind cozying in that fuzzy place after a long mental fight.
She thought about Astra's accusations of Theo's intentions, and that fuzziness shifted. She wanted to throw out her words along with the entirety of her manipulation, but still...
When you spend your life questioning your rightful place in rooms and among others, it can become default to believe that someone does not authentically want you.
Her abusive ex-husband showed her that. Ronnie certainly did. Her mother and her sister started the cycle.
And where does that cycle end?
Jen would say it ends with deciding for herself where she belongs, forgetting feelings altogether, and asking for what she deserves.
One of the problems is that you believe you're an option and treat others like they are a priority. And then you get your heart broken by the uneven circumstances that you agreed to.
She smiled at the memory of those words from Jen on their cupcake walk. They were honest and didn't leave room for Tilly to side-step the part she willingly played for years.
And it took her a long time to dismantle the voices that would try to put a price tag on her worth. But, if this season were a lesson, it is that even after healing and growth, you will find yourself in a place that will test that.
She stopped walking when there was a break in the canopy of trees, the sliver of moon brighter than usual, and a soft shade of purple she suspected at the hand of Crystal's returned magic. She remembered making wishes on stars and the moon when she was younger.
Women never outgrow that phase, wishes, and dreaming. It was their charm, and perhaps part of their power.
She closed her eyes as a chilled breeze brushed against her face.
"I wish that I could let go and love myself enough to know when I'm being loved well."
"A witch's moon is a very powerful magic," a low voice whispered just behind Tilly's ear.
She startled and looked up into the chief's dark eyes.
He was so handsome that it did something to her chest. She was drawn to him. Could she trust herself?
Astra's voice and taunting words rushed to the surface. He could see them bubbling there, ringing her eyes in distrust.
Thoughts tripped over each other in her mind.
Before those thoughts spun too intricate a web, he captured her mouth with his in a kiss.
It was dark and commanding, like him; quieting the voices, both Astra's and the ones she had been fighting.
Her chest filled with light, and when her hands found his chest as she responded to his lips, she didn't have time to think.
She could only feel, and what she felt was safe.
She felt settled as his arms pulled her into him.
But he pulled back after a short time and slid the rough pad of his thumb over her cheek.
"We have things to talk about."
She eyed him, still feeling the effects of his kiss. "Just answer this - are you after my blood to sire vampires?"
He surprised her when his teeth flashed white in a brilliant smile. The man knew how to make her stomach dip. "Tilly, when I bite and drink from you, it will be for much more delicious reasons. Not to make more vampires."
She bit her lip. He watched the movement, and she saw the heat there in his gaze before his eyes slid back to hers. "We'll talk. But tonight your mind is tired and I'd like to walk you home."
It was simple and sweet. She felt a sudden kinship with this man, more than physical attraction and need, more than longing. She felt...taken care of.
She wasn't sure she'd ever been taken care of. Not without the price of being controlled.
"I would like that," she said with a smile as he took her small hand in his. "And we will talk before the delicious reasons," she added with gumption.
She felt it, that boldness that had started disappearing a few weeks ago.
"Mhmm," was his reply with a dimpled smile. It was hardly an agreement, but she knew she could trust him. And she also knew she wouldn't be able to change the order of things if this man kissed her again.
"So, Rob is in jail?"
He nodded as they walked. He took hold of a thick branch hanging in their way, holding it up for her to walk under. "Crystal had one hell of a group of lawyers at The Pink Farm who took on Jessica's case. They should not be trifled with," he chuckled.
Tilly frowned. Then she laughed at the realization. "She knew he would do something wild at the town hall."
Another slow nod. "Physically removing a person without reason and then detaining them," his stoic face gave away how he felt about that. "Battery at best for him and the men who followed his orders. False imprisonment at worst."
"God, I hope he doesn't slip out of those charges," she said. Watching him be arrested felt like watching good win at the end of a beloved book. She could only imagine how it made Jessica feel.
"And Astra?"
He was silent and thoughtful for a moment before he answered. "They have been charged. Whether it sticks," he lifted a hand in the air.
That was enough for now, at least.
"Why do you like me?" she blurted, then stopped walking, her hand slipping out of his. He turned slowly, facing her. "I..." she licked her lips, trying to find words. "I guess, I'm not sure if I trust it."
He looked at her and then closed the distance between them.
His hands lightly grasped her face. "You've got this fight in you that isn't born of insecurity, Tilly.
It's born from having battled and won against insecurity.
From the moment I met you, I could feel it, and it drew me in.
" His fingers lightly brushed her jaw. "And you're beautiful and also kind.
You're odd. And that's all I know. But I'm asking you to trust me. "
She did.
Maybe it was the witch's purple moon, or something far more human.
"Okay," she whispered.
His eyes lit at that one word. "Okay," he whispered back, leaning down to seal this moment with a kiss on her forehead. "Let's get you to bed."
The quick flash of a smile made him laugh as he took her hand again. "Not that kind of bed, dirty woman. Sleep and rest."
Her lips formed a pinched pout at the disappointment as he walked her up the steps of The Lost Souls House.
Lady Macbeth and her little ones were playing with bubbles there as Sulphur watched from her spot on the wicker chair, and Casper lay a willing victim of being jumped off of.
He smiled and shook his head at the scene.
"This house is odd."
She smiled as the door opened and Bess wandered out with a bowl of popcorn, followed by Eloise and Ursula, all wearing pajamas and face masks, making them look like green ghosts.
"Hey, hottie!" Eloise called. "Popcorn, cheese, and wine on the porch to celebrate cutting down our enemies.
Want to join, chief? We've got extra face masks. "
"I'll pass tonight. Maybe next time," he replied with a smile in his voice.
"Yeah, this house is odd." Thank God for that.
He pulled her in for a short, but delectable kiss, followed by a whisper for only her ear that heated at his words, "Tomorrow night, a different kind of getting you in bed."
She smiled dreamily.
"Night, handsome."
He stopped; they all looked at Portia, who watched him from the rail.
His smile was beautiful. "Goodnight, fierce Portia," he replied, dipping his head.
And then he was off.
They all watched him, and when Tilly joined them, taking a glass of apple honey wine, she sighed.
"We're really odd," she said.
Bess nodded. "Thank God for that," mimicking her thoughts.
"Cheers," Ursula said, raising her glass.