Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1) by Tricia Drammeh Page A

still…”
    “Come on, Rachel. You two looked
perfect together. There was so much chemistry between
you.”
    Oh, my God. If Becky could see what
Jace and I had together, why fight it? I liked Jace. He liked me.
Why shouldn’t we be together?
    Becky continued, “You owe it to
yourself to go out with him at least once, just to see where it
leads.”
    Right. She was absolutely
right.
    “He could do so much better than
Alisa. He’s making a damned fool out of himself by traipsing around
with her. You need to get him away from her. Consider it a public
service.”
    Right. No. Not right. How could I even
consider it? Alisa was in love with Jace. I couldn’t be the person
to take him away from her. I wouldn’t do it.
    “You know what I heard?” Becky asked
in a conspiratorial tone.
    Oh, I wanted so badly to ask. Even if
what Becky was saying wasn’t remotely true, I wanted to sink into
the comfort of a good old-fashioned gossip session. I wanted to
squeal with delight over the outrageousness of whatever Becky had
to say. I wanted to verbally bash the girl who unknowingly kept me
and Jace apart. It was so tempting. So. Very. Tempting.
    “I heard…”
    I cut her off. “You didn’t hear
anything. You’re making stuff up like you always do.”
    “Rachel…”
    “Look. I miss you. I’d love to hang
out with you. But I also meant what I said when I told you to leave
Alisa alone. If we’re going to hang out, we need to find something
else to do besides bash on your cousin.”
    “You’ve changed,” Becky said. Her
voice was no longer laced with sweet, southern hospitality and the
promise of coffee. She sounded harsh—the same way she always
sounded when she didn’t get her way.
    “Yeah, I guess I have.”
    “You’re seriously choosing my
charity-case cousin over your best friend? Awesome.”
    “I’m not choosing Alisa. It’s not like
I’m hanging out with her. I just think you’ve gone far enough. You
don’t have to be nice to her, but at least leave her in
peace.”
    “Oh, I will. You’re blackmailing me,”
she said, referring to the pictures in my cell phone. “Oh, yes. You
come across as a sweet little cheerleading, church-going southern
girl, but deep inside, you’re just like me.”
    “I don’t think so.” But I wasn’t so
sure. Was I just like Becky? I had been her enabler for years,
encouraging her, listening to her gossip, shunning anyone she
didn’t like. Maybe she was right. I was a blackmailer and a bully
just like her.
    “Guess we won’t be taking our little
shopping trip after all,” Becky said casually. “Too bad. Maybe you
can go to church instead. Or do some volunteer work. Or walk an old
lady across the street. After all, you’re such a good person. On
the surface.”
    Becky walked away, leaving me feeling
worse than I ever had. I couldn’t have Jace. I couldn’t be friends
with Becky. And I was a horrible person. Things couldn’t get
worse.
    ***
    After three weeks of denying my
feelings for Jace, avoiding situations where the two of us might be
alone, and pretending I was happy he and Alisa were closer than
ever, I finally convinced myself I’d made the right decision. When
my phone rang early one Saturday morning, I answered it without
looking at the caller ID. Jace’s voice set me back to the
beginning—those sleepless nights after our almost-date where I had
to sit on my hands to keep from texting him and telling him I
changed my mind.
    “I can’t do this,” he said.
    “Do what?”
    “I tried.”
    “Jace, what are you talking
about?”
    “I see you every day and it’s killing
me that I can’t tell you how I feel. You won’t let me…”
    “Jace, let’s not do this…”
    “No, let me talk. You’ve been avoiding
me for three weeks. Let me say this without interruption,” he said
when I started to speak. “I think I’m in love with you. I know I
am. If you don’t feel the same way, I understand. But if you’re
holding back because of Alisa, it