Wicked Betrayal

  “Yippee.” I closed my eyes.

  “It’s not my place to say - ”

  “Then don’t say it.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I like James,” Lucas said. “But for the record, I’m Team Peter.”

  “There’s no Team Anybody. It’s just me. I’m going to die alone.” In exactly seven months. Happy Halloween everyone! Did you hear? Alex’s ancient witch uncle sacrificed her and burned out her eyeballs.

  I stood up. I needed to pee. Bad.

  “Where are you going?” Lucas asked.

  “To the bathroom.” Or maybe I’d walk home.

  I swayed through the crowded living room. The music was so loud that I couldn’t concentrate. Or maybe it was the alcohol. Whatever the case, I was having major difficulties functioning. And my stomach felt queasy. I had to get out of here.

  I could’ve squirmed my way out the front door or went straight toward the bathroom. No harm. No foul. But, obviously, I liked torturing myself. I peeked into the kitchen.

  Peter’s arms were folded across his chest, making the veins in his forearms bulge. He had on a black t-shirt and jeans and looked fantastic. It hurt to think that he’d once been mine.

  Actually, he’d always been mine. For seventeen years. First as my best friend and then as my boyfriend. I’d always assumed that it would be like that. And when we grew older, the boyfriend title would turn to husband.

  That whole being a witch-thing really screwed up my plans.

  Peter’s best friend, Sage, was next to him. His long arms animatedly swung in every direction as he told a story to Peter and the three girls surrounding them. I stood transfixed in the hallway. Peter didn’t seem interested in anything or anyone, but he was still out at a party. Mingling. Talking to other girls. Moving on. Which was what I wanted him to do, right? So why was I so completely miserable?

  The lights flickered.

  “Is there a power outage?”

  “Dude, what’s with the lamps?”

  “Sadie, where is your electrical box?”

  I bit my lip. Calm down. Not here. Icy blue eyes roamed from Sage’s face up to the flickering lights and then over the room until they landed on me. Peter blinked and his face softened. He pushed past the girls and headed in my direction.

  “Lex!”

  I twirled around too fast. The room tilted. I braced myself against the doorframe before I face planted in Sadie’s hallway. I had to get out of here. Hordes of people filled the living room. It was like fighting a concert crowd. It was almost as loud, too.

  A Cooper twin stepped in front of me. “Alex, are you okay?”

  You know you’ve had too much to drink when you could no longer tell your friends apart. I couldn’t remember what color shirt Lucas had on. And I couldn’t see well enough to search for the small scar over the eyebrow that was a sure-tell sign it was Lucas.

  “I’m fine.” I pushed past Lucas or Logan and ran out the front door. I stumbled down the porch and raced across the lawn.

  “Lex! Wait!”

  I ignored Peter, but my legs weren’t working very well. I tripped over my feet and landed face first in the grass. There went my graceful getaway. I rolled onto my back like a turtle. The stars above were spinning and, despite the humiliation of falling in front of half the school, I started laughing.

  “Lex?”

  I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stop laughing.

  “Lex? What’s wrong with you?”

  Strong arms lifted me into a sitting position. That killed my laughing fit. The movement was too much for the alcohol swimming in my brain. Why on earth would people drink if this was how you felt afterward? I squeezed my temples to stop the pounding.

  “What’s the matter with you? Are you drunk?” Peter asked.

  “That would be a yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not? Are you having fun being single? Partying it up?” The spinning increased.

  “What are you talking about?”

  I pushed his hands away. “Forget it. Let me go, I’m walking home.”

  “You’re not walking home. And what do you mean - am I having fun being single? Of course I’m not. I don’t want to be single, remember? You broke up with me.”

  “We broke up three days ago and you’re already at a party.”

  “So are you,” Peter said.

  “Sadie didn’t tell me it was a party. She tricked me.”

  “Well, she didn’t trick me. She told me you’d be here. That’s why I came. Come on, I’ll drive you home.” Peter helped me to my feet. He guided me over the grass toward his truck. “What did you drink?”

  “The punch.”

  “Ah, never drink the Cooper punch.”

  “The twins made that?”

  Peter shrugged. “Who else?”

  “I couldn’t smell or taste the alcohol. No wonder they both got A’s in chemistry.”

  “Hey, Peter.”

  My shoulders went to my ears. The sound of her voice was worse than nails on a chalkboard. My feet melted into the concrete. I couldn’t take another step. It was physically impossible.

  Olivia walked toward us.

  “Thanks for the call,” she said to Peter. “Tonight should be fun. See you inside, handsome.”

  A huge gust of wind roared through the street and rattled the trees. Hundreds of green leaves fell to the ground. I stepped away from Peter.

  “Lex.”

  I kept walking. I could walk home. It wasn’t that far. I was on the verge of vomiting anyways. I couldn’t handle this right now. The wind stopped, but I couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t conjure a hurricane. Or a tornado that would throw a house on top of Olivia.

  I squeezed the bridge of my nose. Witches really shouldn’t drink. Ever.

  “Lex, will you please stop?”

  Headlights rounded the corner. It was the red Range Rover. Thank goodness. I waved my hands in the air like a lunatic. Remarkably, James stopped in the middle of the street. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he drove right by me. I was a mess in every sense of the word.

  Peter spun me around from behind. “Olivia’s lying.”

  I smacked his arm. “Don’t twirl me like that! I’m going to puke all over you.”

  “I didn’t call her. I swear.”

  “Leave me alone.”

  “Don’t you see she’s playing games? She’s a master manipulator. She’s trying to come between us and it’s working. Don’t let her win.” Peter wrapped his arms around me. “Would you listen to me? You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

  I struggled against his grasp, but I would’ve had a better chance with a professional wrestler. He was too strong. Stupid muscles.

  “Lex.”

  I couldn’t be around him right now. “Let go of me.”

  James hopped out of the Range Rover. “Get your hands off of her.”

  “Screw you, Lover Boy.” Peter looked down at me. “Lex.”

  “Olivia’s waiting for you,” I said quietly. I detached myself from Peter and stumbled into the street.

  James steadied me. “Are you okay?”

  “Can you drive me home?” I asked. “I don’t feel so good.”

  “She’s drunk,” Peter said.

  “I can see that.” James guided me to the passenger seat. “I wonder why that is?”

  Peter shoved his hands in his pockets. “So now it’s my fault she’s drunk?”

  “I’ve never seen her drunk before.”

  “Do you realize that everything was fine until you showed up? Now, everything’s gone to shit.”

  “Peter, stop,” I said.

  “Aren’t you tired of trying to take my girlfriend, James?”

  “Last time I checked, she wasn’t your girlfriend.” James calmly walked in front of the car and slid into the driver seat. “Because apparently you’re into bitchy blondes.”

  CHAPTER 7

  “It looks like I missed one heck of a party.” James turned off Sadie?
??s street.

  “I’m never drinking again.” I slid lower in the seat and shut my eyes.

  “What happened?”

  “Olivia showed up.” Her name rolled off my tongue. A flash of murderous anger flooded over me.

  “Whoa.”

  James gripped the wheel with both hands. The car swayed across the road. The dashboard lights flickered and the odometer needle twitched from side to side. James slammed the breaks and we veered off the street.

  I rolled down the window and sucked in a breath of fresh air. “Sorry.”

  “You did that?”

  “Not on purpose.”

  “That’s incredible.”

  “Not really.” I pushed opened the door and stumbled out.

  “Where are you going?”

  I bent over and vomited. Red slush spewed all over the grass. The door slammed and James ran around the front of the car. He placed his hand on my back and held my hair with his other hand.

  “You don’t want to see this.” I wiped my mouth. My body convulsed and the rest of the contents of my stomach splattered onto the ground.

  James rubbed my back. “Don’t worry about it.”

  After I’d vomited three more times, James helped me into the car. We drove to my house. He guided me inside and I collapsed on the couch. It was a little after midnight and Emma was already asleep in her bedroom. James switched on the lights and went to the kitchen.

  “Drink this,” James said when he returned.

  “That’s how this night started.”

  He handed me a glass of water. “It’ll make you feel better.”

  I chugged the water. The queasiness subsided, but I still felt horrible. “I should have stayed in tonight. I can’t get into trouble if I’m in bed. I think I’m going to stay in bed from now on.”

  The shrill ring of the house phone shattered my ears.

  James dived for the phone before it woke Emma.

  “Hello? Uh, yeah. Sure. She’s right here.”

  I lifted my head off the cushion. “Who is it?”

  “Anne Marie.”

  I made a face, but James handed me the phone. He lifted my legs and sat at the end of the couch.

  “Hello?”

  “Why is James answering your house phone?”

  I sighed. “Because I’ve been vomiting for the past hour. Why didn’t you call my cell?”

  “I did. You didn’t answer.”

  “I don’t have the energy to argue. Is everything okay over there? If it is, I have to go.”

  “Peter’s home. He’s upset.”

  “I am, too.”

  “He didn’t cheat,” Anne Marie said. “And you shouldn’t break up with him because of what happened to me.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “You saved him,” Anne Marie said. “I know how much you love each other. I saw it in your eyes on the Bell Tower. And what you can do… the magic. It’s amazing. I don’t blame you for what happened. And neither does Peter.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Can you give him another shot? You two really need to talk it out.”

  “I appreciate the call, I really do. But can we do this later? I feel horrible right now.”

  “Fine. Just remember what I said.”

  “Bye, Anne Marie.” I handed the phone to James. “Don’t you love it when the whole town is in your business?”

  James smiled. His eyes lowered to my chest. “I think you need to change.”

  I glanced down. A bright red stained covered the front of my shirt. “Ew, gross.”

  “Where are your clothes?”

  I sat up. “It’s okay. I need to shower, too. It’s late. I can take it from here. Thank you so much for everything.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, the room isn’t spinning quite as much.” I smiled. “I really appreciate your help. And the drive home.”

  “Anytime. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Bye, James.”

  I followed James to the door and locked it after he pulled out of the driveway. I needed to shower and change, but all my clean clothes were in the dryer downstairs. I descended the basement stairs. I waited for the musty stench of the stale basement air to hit me, but all I could smell was fruity vomit.

  I flipped on the light switch. The clean grey cement was crowded with boxes. I headed toward the laundry area, but froze.

  Sitting in the middle of the room was Grandma Claudia’s silver gilded mirror. The bubble wrap and tape that should have been wrapped around the mirror was discarded off to the side. The cracked pieces of glass fitted together like a perfect puzzle.

  How in the world?

  I’d smashed the mirror to pieces last time to stop the spirit from pulling me into the mirror. I leaned forward to get a better view of the shattered antique.

  A shadow moved across the fissured glass. My stomach plummeted to my toes as a figure appeared inside the mirror. I wished I was dreaming or still drunk, but I wasn’t. Everything was perfectly clear and perfectly real. I swallowed, but the reflection didn’t. My broken reflection grinned back at me with blood red eyes.

  The spirit was back and it looked really pissed off.

  CHAPTER 8

  Someone took a sledgehammer to my head.

  I sat up in bed. My brain throbbed inside of my skull. The events of the night before flooded back. Foggy and painful.

  After the red-eyed spirit encounter in my Grandma Claudia’s mirror, I freaked out. I had no explanation of how the mirror moved to the middle of the basement, unwrapped itself and put all the glass pieces together. I doubted Emma did it, but I’d ask her later. The spirit was obviously still trapped, but the idea of it under my roof was too incredibly disturbing. And the way the spirit had looked at me - so furious and angry - was horrifying.

  I’d thrown a blanket on top of the broken glass and rewrapped the mirror. I didn’t know what to do with it. I couldn’t throw it out with the garbage. Maybe I could bury it? I rubbed my face. I had too much to deal with. Witch problems. Spirit problems. Boy problems.

  My argument with Peter still bothered me. Was he right? Was Olivia playing with me? Did the alcohol fuel my anger? I checked my cell phone. It was one o’clock in the afternoon and I had two missed calls from Peter and one from James.

  Energy was needed to eat or shower. And I didn’t have any, so I moved from the bed to the couch. I called James and thanked him again for taking care of me last night. I desperately wanted to call Peter, but I didn’t.

  Everything was so screwed up and it was nobody’s fault but my own.

  The day dragged on minute by minute. Emma was working at the diner and I was home alone. I walked Scooby around the block and watched night fall. My eyes were glued to the clock. Each minute felt like twenty. How was I ever going to get on with my life?

  On the bright side, I only had seven months left to be this unhappy. By the time Halloween rolled around, I’d be jumping at the chance for Liam to sacrifice me.

  I couldn’t stand being cooped up any longer. And I couldn’t stop thinking about the mirror in the basement. Thankfully, James and Lucas had brought my car back from Sadie’s early this morning. I grabbed my keys and rushed out the door. I drove around town - past Hawthorne Prep, Hazel Cove Cemetery and Hazel Cove High. I ended up near the water on the far end of Main Street.

  Most of the shops were closed, but the light was on at the Hazel Cove Diner. Emma was still working. I parked beside her car and jogged up to the door. The closed sign was flipped out, so I knocked on the glass.

  Emma was sweeping behind the counter.

  I waved.

  Light green eyes lit up. She unlocked the door. “What are you doing here?”

  “Can I keep you company while you close up?”

  Emma touched her dirty apron. “You want to hang out with me while I clean?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “How about some stale coffee and a piece of pie while you wait?”

 
“That sounds perfect.” Red circular barstools lined the counter. I hopped on the closest one and watched my mother pour coffee.

  “It’s not as tasty as your grandmother’s apple pie, but it’ll do.”

  She was right, it wasn’t as good, but it didn’t matter. I ate my pie and sipped the strong coffee while Emma wiped the bar. “Speaking of grandma, did you unpack the mirror that was down in the basement?”

  Emma’s nose flared. “The scary cherub mirror holding the spirit that killed my mother?”

  “I’ll take that as a no.” Just what I’d expected. I had a spirit who could remove bubble wrap. Super.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “It unwrapped itself last night.”

  Emma’s eyes widened.

  I shook my head. “New subject. I can’t deal with that now.”

  “Okay…you slept late today.” Emma tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

  “Rough night.”

  “And you didn’t go to school all week.”

  “Rough week.”

  “Are you still not speaking to Peter?” Emma rinsed out a dishcloth.

  “How do you know that?”

  “He stopped by a few hours ago and asked me if I’d talk to you. He said you weren’t taking his calls.”

  “I broke up with him.”

  “That’s what Peter said. He also told me that you were drunk off your butt last night and you started a fight with him. Do you want to tell me what’s going on? Because that doesn’t sound like the Alexandria I know.”

  I sighed. “I don’t know what to do anymore. I keep making all the wrong choices.”

  Emma frowned. She looked uncomfortable with the discussion. Seventeen years of being an absentee mom and then trying to be one had to be difficult. She got credit for trying. She threw the dirty rag in the sink. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Nope.”

  “Does it have something to do with what happened with Liam and Anne Marie at school?”

  I shrugged. “Kind of. Peter and me… it’s not going to work out. I’m a witch. I’m dangerous.” And there was a slight possibility that he liked Olivia. Or maybe I was ridiculously paranoid and jealous.