bed, and I’ll get to it in a sec.”
“Are you feeling alright?”
I sighed. “Did Ella Mae tell you what happened last night?”
Courtney shook her head.
I sat down on the edge of the bed and picked at a green leaf on top of one of the strawberries. “One of the cheerleaders from Cypress was kidnapped at the party last night.”
Courtney put a hand to her chest. “Oh my gosh,” she said quietly. “Did you know her?”
“I’d just met her yesterday,” I said.
“I don’t get why you’re in trouble, though,” she said.
It was hard to explain these things to Courtney when she didn’t really know the whole truth about Peachville. Or at least, I didn’t think she knew. We had all been brought to this house because we were special, right? I already knew that Courtney had some magical powers. More specifically, I’d already learned that she could move items with her mind and she could recharge a witch who had used up her power. Still, that didn’t mean she knew about the demon gate or the fact that the town was inhabited by a powerful coven of witches.
Frankly, I didn’t want to be the one to tell her, either. After how crazy it made Agnes, I didn’t want to risk another girl being mad at me for being chosen over her. I didn’t know how it worked or why the Order chose one girl over another, but I was fairly certain that despite any magical abilities, Mary Anne and Courtney weren’t ever going to be invited to join the cheerleading squad.
“It’s complicated,” I said. “I’m not really sure I should talk about it.”
Courtney’s gaze dropped to her hands. I felt bad about shutting her out. I could tell she wanted a friend, and I really owed her after she recharged me the night I went upstairs to steal the memory spell book. But I had no choice. I’d already gotten one girl kidnapped. I didn’t need to pull someone else into my crazy life.
“I get it,” she said, her dark blonde hair falling down over her face. “Did you have something for me to take to Jackson?”
I walked over to my desk and grabbed the folded note. I hesitated before I handed it over to her. Could I really trust her with this? I wanted to believe that she was on my side, but every time I trusted someone, they either turned out to be a psycho or they turned up dead.
“I won’t read it,” she said, holding out her hand.
I handed her the note. “I know,” I said. “I just don’t want to get you in trouble.”
Courtney smiled. “I’ll be okay.”
She stuffed the note in the pocket of her jeans.
“I’ll let you know if he writes back,” she said.
When she was gone, I sat on my bed and ate some of the breakfast. Courtney was so quiet when I first got here, but after Agnes died, she really came out of her shell. Still, I hadn’t seen her with any friends at school or anything. She never talked about any of her friends, either. Did she even have any?
Maybe that was why she always seemed so eager to help me out or talk to me about what was going on in my life. She’d definitely tried to reach out to me several times. She’d even trusted me with her magic secrets. I suddenly wondered what Courtney’s real story was. And Mary Anne’s too, for that matter. I mean, here we were, three girls living in the same house day in and day out, yet we hardly knew a thing about each other’s past.
There was a reason each of us were brought here. According to Morgyn, it was because we were all either adopted or motherless, and we all showed some kind of tendency toward magic. But where were Courtney and Mary Anne from? Did they have families out there? Or were they adopted like me?
Could their past have something to do with Caroline’s disappearance? I didn’t have anything connecting Caroline to this house, but the look on Mary Anne’s face last night made me think she was hiding something. To me, finding out more about the girls I lived with might be the first step toward figuring out who wanted me dead.
If
“Are you feeling alright?”
I sighed. “Did Ella Mae tell you what happened last night?”
Courtney shook her head.
I sat down on the edge of the bed and picked at a green leaf on top of one of the strawberries. “One of the cheerleaders from Cypress was kidnapped at the party last night.”
Courtney put a hand to her chest. “Oh my gosh,” she said quietly. “Did you know her?”
“I’d just met her yesterday,” I said.
“I don’t get why you’re in trouble, though,” she said.
It was hard to explain these things to Courtney when she didn’t really know the whole truth about Peachville. Or at least, I didn’t think she knew. We had all been brought to this house because we were special, right? I already knew that Courtney had some magical powers. More specifically, I’d already learned that she could move items with her mind and she could recharge a witch who had used up her power. Still, that didn’t mean she knew about the demon gate or the fact that the town was inhabited by a powerful coven of witches.
Frankly, I didn’t want to be the one to tell her, either. After how crazy it made Agnes, I didn’t want to risk another girl being mad at me for being chosen over her. I didn’t know how it worked or why the Order chose one girl over another, but I was fairly certain that despite any magical abilities, Mary Anne and Courtney weren’t ever going to be invited to join the cheerleading squad.
“It’s complicated,” I said. “I’m not really sure I should talk about it.”
Courtney’s gaze dropped to her hands. I felt bad about shutting her out. I could tell she wanted a friend, and I really owed her after she recharged me the night I went upstairs to steal the memory spell book. But I had no choice. I’d already gotten one girl kidnapped. I didn’t need to pull someone else into my crazy life.
“I get it,” she said, her dark blonde hair falling down over her face. “Did you have something for me to take to Jackson?”
I walked over to my desk and grabbed the folded note. I hesitated before I handed it over to her. Could I really trust her with this? I wanted to believe that she was on my side, but every time I trusted someone, they either turned out to be a psycho or they turned up dead.
“I won’t read it,” she said, holding out her hand.
I handed her the note. “I know,” I said. “I just don’t want to get you in trouble.”
Courtney smiled. “I’ll be okay.”
She stuffed the note in the pocket of her jeans.
“I’ll let you know if he writes back,” she said.
When she was gone, I sat on my bed and ate some of the breakfast. Courtney was so quiet when I first got here, but after Agnes died, she really came out of her shell. Still, I hadn’t seen her with any friends at school or anything. She never talked about any of her friends, either. Did she even have any?
Maybe that was why she always seemed so eager to help me out or talk to me about what was going on in my life. She’d definitely tried to reach out to me several times. She’d even trusted me with her magic secrets. I suddenly wondered what Courtney’s real story was. And Mary Anne’s too, for that matter. I mean, here we were, three girls living in the same house day in and day out, yet we hardly knew a thing about each other’s past.
There was a reason each of us were brought here. According to Morgyn, it was because we were all either adopted or motherless, and we all showed some kind of tendency toward magic. But where were Courtney and Mary Anne from? Did they have families out there? Or were they adopted like me?
Could their past have something to do with Caroline’s disappearance? I didn’t have anything connecting Caroline to this house, but the look on Mary Anne’s face last night made me think she was hiding something. To me, finding out more about the girls I lived with might be the first step toward figuring out who wanted me dead.
If
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