The Witch Is Back by Brittany Geragotelis

I felt him come up on my right.
    â€œHad, we agreed no more lies. What’s really wrong?” he said softly. I slowed down as I reached the garbage can and tossed out the remnants of my dinner. After taking a deep breath, I turned to face him.
    â€œOkay, fine,” I said, feeling the anger rushing out of me in waves. “How’s your ex doing? It looked like you guys were having a pretty deep conversation.”
    A look of surprise crossed Asher’s face before turning into a smile.
    â€œAhhh, so that’s what’s got you so worked up!” he said like he’d just cracked the Da Vinci Code.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” I said, annoyed by his smile.
    Then he took my hand in his and kissed it softly. “You are so adorable when you’re jealous,” he said finally.
    I narrowed my eyes at him before pulling my hand away and stalking off. He quickly caught up with me again, this time cutting in front of me and walking backward to keep me from getting away.
    â€œLet me make something completely clear,” I said through clenched teeth. “I am not jealous. I don’t do jealous. In fact, I don’t have anything to be jealous of .”
    As the words reached my ears, I realized they weren’t true, despite the fact I desperately wished they were. I’d always thought that girls with jealousy issues just had low self-esteem. But now I was seeing that it was more than that.
    Jealousy is like PMS. It makes us crazy and there is no cure.
    And apparently I wasn’t immune.
    Asher nodded in concession, but didn’t look the least bit convinced. “You’re right. You have nothing to be jealous of,” he agreed, bending forward to try to kiss me.
    But I wasn’t ready to let him kiss this away. I took a step back and his lips met air.
    â€œI don’t like the way she acts around you. Or the fact that you guys are having secret conversations,” I said, turning and stalking back to the main house. “And I’m pretty sure she wants you back.”
    I didn’t tell him that she’d said as much earlier.
    â€œWe aren’t having secret conversations, Hadley. And she doesn’t want me back. But we do have some things to clear up, and to do that, I’m gonna have to talk to her.”
    My mouth dropped open as he admitted that he was planning to talk to Brooklyn again.
    He saw the look on my face and started to explain. “Look, there’s some unfinished business between Brooklyn and me, and we both need closure. But that’s all it is: closure ,” he said, grabbing onto my arm and forcing me to slow down.
    â€œI thought that door was already closed ,” I said, upset.
    â€œIt is,” he said, growing frustrated himself, and running a hand through his hair.
    I hated that Brooklyn had once been privy to recognizing mannerisms like this. It made me sick to my stomach.
    Asher put his hands on both of my shoulders and looked at me seriously. “I was wrong back then, and I have to make things right. I think it’s time you heard the truth about Brooklyn and me.”
    Then he told me the whole story.

Chapter Nine
    Leading me out of the dry Colorado heat and into the chilly air conditioning of the lodge, Asher sat me down on the padded benches at the base of the enormous stone fireplace. A few people shuffled around us, heading back to their rooms for the night. I watched a girl just a few years younger than us walk along the second-floor walkway that hugged the four walls of the room before disappearing into one of the suites. Looking all the way up to the third floor and the ceiling beyond it, I was reminded of how deceptively large this place was.
    It made me feel small.
    â€œI’m not sure where to begin,” Asher said, finally.
    Well, I’m not sure I’m ready to hear this, so I guess we’re even. Out loud I said nothing.
    Looking down at his hands for a moment, Asher seemed to be