Chapter Five
HAZEL
I toss and turn in my sleep, my mind a jumble of everything.
I think about Marissa and her curse, and just how much she must truly hate me to have pulled that off.
Gertie’s advice rings in and makes me afraid.
If I try to send the curse back to Marissa—which is one way to get rid of it now that I know who sent it—and my magic fails, I could cause the spell against me to become even stronger.
Or, I could injure myself. Or, if I sent it back using my own faulty magic, I could injure Marissa.
I don’t take that as lightly as Gertie does.
I mean, I’m all for people getting what they deserve, but I don’t condone violence.
And then there’s the vision with Jamie this morning.
What was that about? Gertie says that it means I can watch over him, but why?
And what in the world am I supposed to do if he gets hurt in the middle of the forest?
Gertie says I’ll know when the time comes, but how can I help if I can’t rely on my healing magic while this curse hangs over me?
“Bark! You’re a ball of nerves,” Skip says, sidling up to my bed.
I roll onto my side and punch my pillow in frustration. “Sorry. I can’t sleep.”
“You’ve got too much on your mind. Place your hand on my head, I can help.”
I slide my hand out from under the covers and Skip slips his face into my palm. Within moments I feel totally relaxed and at ease. “Thank you,” I murmur as I start to doze.
Skip barks softly and whimpers as he curls up next to my bed.
I feel myself slip into sleep as Skip, Gertie, Jamie, and Marissa all float away into the ether.
Jamie is breathing heavy. The moon shines on his face, which is contorted in pain.
He hisses as he writhes on the forest floor, a fire crackling next to him throws odd shadows that obscure my view.
Above him, the falls fill the night with the roar of water crashing down into the lake.
Jamie’s hand presses against his abdomen while the other is balled into a fist. He calls my name, though his voice is barely a whisper. “Hazel…”
I wake with a start and sit up in bed, clutching the sheets to my chest. The vision was so clear, so urgent. I could feel his heart racing.
“Oh my god.” Is the vision coming to me in real-time or has this already happened? Is it about to take place? I never asked Gertie for clarification on her own visions and I feel stupid now for the oversight.
“Bark bark?” Skip calls from the floor. There were no words that time.
“I have to go to him.” I can’t believe what I am saying. I pull my jeans out of the hamper and slip them on, then grab a tee shirt and hiking boots. I don’t waste time looking for socks. I have to go. I have to go to him.
Jamie needs me—I feel it in my bones.
When I get in the car, I don’t have to think; I know exactly where to go.
Jamie’s camping up near the lake at the base of Devil’s Crown.
There are only a few places around the lake to check.
The ride out to the park takes several minutes.
I follow the two-lane road around the lake, passing the trailheads and grassy places popular with campers.
There’s nobody at the first three, and when I come around the bend to circle the lake, my headlights catch the reflectors on the back of his pickup.
I floor it, and race to him, hoping he isn’t too badly hurt already and that I still have time.
When I arrive at the campsite, Jamie’s pickup blocks the access and I have to leave my car on the road. I hurry up the hill. Clouds obscure the moon and the forest goes suddenly dark. I wish I had grabbed a flashlight or taken my phone with me. As I crest the hill, I see him.
Jamie is lying on his back, next to the remains of a dying fire. He’s holding his belly, his face contorted in pain. He inhales sharply and though sound of the rushing waterfall across the lake muffles all sound, I can hear him call out. “Hazel…”
Oh my god, he sounds so weak. He can’t even shout. “I’m right here! I’m here! Don’t worry, Jamie. Everything’s going to be all right, now.” I drop to my knees at his side, and begin checking for injuries.
Jamie’s eyes go wide as I touch him. “What the fuck?”
“Lay back, it’s all right. Are you badly hurt?” I try to recall which side was injured from my vision, but it’s foggy and unclear.
“Hazel? What the? Why are you here…?”
I move my hand down his abdomen just as the clouds part, throwing bright moonlight over my hand, which is about an inch away from Jamie’s huge erection. I stare at it for a moment before I come to my senses.
I freeze. “Oh! Oh… Okay… Oh my god.” I close my eyes. Then I open them and cover them with my hand. I want to disappear. I turn my head away and feel so completely awkward I don’t know what to do. So, of course, I clamp a hand over my mouth as I start giggling.
Jamie pulls up his pants and sits facing me. “Oh. Uh… Hazel, don’t cry. It’s not that bad.”
I shake my head and then gasp for air, and then start laughing in earnest. “Jamie. I am so, so sorry. I laugh when I am nervous. It’s not funny.” I catch my breath.
He shrugs. “Well, it might be a little funny, I guess.” He looks confused. “Not what you’d expect to find while walking in the woods at night alone. What are you doing here?”
“I saw you. I thought you were hurt. I saw your face…” When I realize that what I saw in the vision wasn’t pain at all. I feel the heat rising in my cheeks. The faces he was making that I interpreted as pain were… quite the opposite. Then I remember. “You called my name…”
Jamie gasps. I can’t tell in the dark, but I can imagine his face turning all shades of red. “Yeah… about that.”
He goes silent for a moment and I feel like I need to reset everything so we can try to start over. I have no idea what Jamie knows about Diablo Falls or his grandmother, so I start slow.
“You know that your grandma is a… a special woman, right? She told me that she saw things. That she frequently had visions. About you.”
Jamie nods and raises his shoulders. “Yeah. Everyone knows she’s a witch. It’s why she loved living here. And she’s always talking about the visions she gets for me. Weird how it never happens with my brother, only me.”
“Yeah. Well, today? When I fainted? It wasn’t a normal fainting. I mean… yes, I fainted, but while I was out, I had a vision of you, here, at the lake. But I thought you were hurt, because your face, the tension in your body…”
His brow furrows. “And that’s why you came out here? Because you thought I needed help?”
I nod. “I called Gertie today to ask her about it. She said that I was meant to watch over you.” I meet his gaze and I can’t help but smile. “So when I saw the vision tonight, your face was all… you know. Like you were hurt. Except when I got here…”
“Oh man.” He laughs softly and rubs a hand over his face. “I can only imagine how that looked.”
I stop for a moment and wait for him to look at me. “Still…you said my name.”
“Yeah. Um…”
I realize he’s about to try to explain. I move to get up. “I’m sorry. This is terribly awkward. I shouldn’t have come.”
He wraps his hand around my wrist, gently, but firmly. “No. Hazel. You don’t have to leave. I did say your name… and before you get totally grossed out about that, I should explain. When you passed out today? You weren’t the only one who saw something.”
Now it’s my turn to be surprised. “Really? Gertie never mentioned you had abilities.”
“I don’t—I never had anything happen like that before. But today, when our hands touched, I saw you. And me. And we were…”
“We were what?” I ask.
“We were together.” His voice sounds low and serious.
I arch a brow. “Together?”
He nods. “We were touching.” He lets go of my wrist and runs the back of his fingers down the length of my arm. It sends a thrill through me.
I swallow, hard. “Touching?”
He leans toward me, his mouth inches from mine. “You tasted like strawberries.”
“They’re my favorite,” I whisper as I close the gap between us.