Cursed (10 page)

With sadness in her heart, Sasha pulled on her pajamas and crawled under the covers. She tried to block out the image of Evan breaking her heart. The sympathetic tone of his voice when he rejected her echoed in her head.

I like you. I do. I just don’t have space in my life for a relationship.

It was over and there was nothing she could do to change it. Evan had made it clear that he didn’t have time for her. She understood. Really she did.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. This was the worst birthday ever.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Sasha asked Jenna to give her a ride to school the day after her birthday. She was too depressed to ride her bike. She didn’t want time alone to brood over her mistakes and losses.

“It was great meeting Evan,” Jenna said. “Where is it where he works?”

Sasha stared out the window at the passing landscape. Jenna was winding her way out of the neighborhood.

“He works at the Second Cup,” she mumbled.

“Is that on South Lamar?”

“South Congress,” Sasha said wanting to change the topic. “What are you doing this weekend? Wanna do a movie?”

Jenna waved her hand at Sasha. “I get it; you want to keep him all to yourself.”

Sasha sighed. It was going to come out eventually.

“It’s not that,” Sasha said. “It’s not what you think.”

“You’re seeing him right?”

“Not really,” she said. “I mean no. We aren’t together.”

“Really? I thought,” Jenna stopped. “When you told me about him I thought you wanted more.”

“I do,” she said despondently. “I mean I did. It’s complicated.”

“Why are you being such a turd?” Jenna said annoyed. “Evan is hot and smart. What’s not to like?”

Sasha sat up straight. “It’s not like that. He doesn’t like me Jenna.”

“I saw how he looked at you,” Jenna said turning into the school parking lot. “I thought he liked you.”

Sasha cleared her throat. “Jenna,” she said slinging her bag over her shoulder. “He told me he didn’t want a relationship. He said he didn’t have time.”

“Oh,” Jenna said getting out to the car and putting her drink on the roof. She gathered up her books, locked the car door and picked up her can of Coke. “Sorry. I definitely thought there was something there.”

Sasha walked alongside Jenna toward the school entrance.

“Me too,” she said wiping away a tear.

Sasha moped around the house debating internally about whether she should tell her mother about the most recent attack.

Everything seemed calm and safe. She hadn’t seen Nefar in days nor any of his henchmen. Maybe they were waiting for another opening or had given up.

Sasha tried not to think about her birthday dinner. It ended with such heartache she wasn’t sure she could ever think about it without being sad.

She didn’t know what to think about Cady’s flirting with Evan but it didn’t matter anymore because Evan didn’t want her. She couldn’t blame Cady. She didn’t know Sasha liked him. She never told her about him.

Sasha stood outside a set of curtained glass French doors. She wasn’t allowed in her mom’s home office where her business associates gathered. They were at the house a lot, sometimes excessively. She didn’t know how her dad put up with it. Strangely, he didn’t seem to notice them. She never saw him exchange words with anyone except Dominic.

Her mother’s friends were a variety of ages. Her mother was for sure younger than Dominic. He was like 100 years old, or looked it. Her mother acted like he was Sasha’s substitute grandfather because she didn’t have one. Sasha always thought grandparents were supposed to love grandchildren unconditionally. That wasn’t Dominic. He was this highly critical, second guessing force of aging nature. She could never get out of a room without him making some kind of caustic remark.

Like the time she forgot to pick up business cards her mother asked Sasha to get after school. She had a track meet and by the time she arrived at the shop, it was closed. Dominic was in the office with her mother when she got home. She explained why she wasn’t able to run the errand. Dominic cut in with a snarky remark before her mother could react.

“When your mother asks for a favor there are no excuses,” he said in his nasally voice. “You drop everything for her. Think of her like she’s your queen and you are her humble servant.”

She bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. He was so ridiculous, pompous really. He was dressed in a tweed jacket with an ascot knotted at his throat. His back was so ramrod straight, she was convinced he had a stick up his butt.

Willow Bean told Dominic he didn’t understand teenagers and was being too harsh. That was the extent of her admonishment. Sasha couldn’t see Dominic married with children. He couldn’t stand mess. If the kitchen had dishes in the sink, he demanded to sit in another room as if a kitchen mess were a contagious disease.

Sasha couldn’t stand the guy but her mother insisted on inviting him to every family event as if he were her real grandfather. His white skin had a million wrinkles; so many in fact that it was hard to tell if he added any over the years. She felt as if he had always been an old geezer since she’d known him.

It was Dominic she ran into while searching for mother. He was in the front office leafing through a newspaper, while Gigi used a laptop. Gigi was the youngest of the quartet. She didn’t know anyone’s ages but Evie and her mother seemed about the same age, while Gigi appeared 10 years younger and Dominic looked ancient.

They were a strange group of real estate professionals her mother has known forever. She wasn’t sure how Dominic, being decades older than everyone else, fit in and didn’t ask. Gigi was her mother’s assistant. Whenever Sasha asked her mother how old Gigi was, she told her she was closer to Dominic’s age than hers. That didn’t make sense. She was of tiny stature, well under five feet tall with smooth skin, golden blond hair and big warm brown eyes. She was Sasha’s favorite of her mother’s friends. She always seemed happy to see Sasha, asking about school work and running.

If she wasn’t going to tell her mother about Nefar, she wanted to at least get information from her. If her mother wouldn’t spill her secrets, maybe at least Sasha would get answers to some pressing questions.

“Hey,” she said to Gigi, ignoring Dominic. “Where’s my mother?”

Before Gigi could answer, Dominic made a production of folding his newspaper and gave Sasha a sharp, piercing expression.

“Can I help you with something?”

She tried to give him her best withering smile. “Are you my mother?” She said.

Dominic’s face froze. He didn’t like her combative tone, she could tell. He was of the generation where children were not seen or heard. He hated it when she showed attitude.

“Really, Sasha,” he said in a bored tone. “I hardly think-.”

He broke off as her mother rushed into the room.

“You won’t believe who I saw-,” she stopped when she saw Sasha. “Honey, what are you doing here?”

Sasha swiveled and faced her mother. It was obvious her presence interrupted whatever her mother was going to say. She never had an easy time talking to her mother. It had always been hard even though her friends loved Willow Bean. When Cady spoke to her mother, there was deference in her voice. She seemed in awe or star-struck. It was like her mother was a rock star and Cady was the groupie. Sasha didn’t get it. Willow Bean was just her mother. She was always running around to client’s homes or on the phone making deals. Sasha didn’t see the appeal.

When she’d asked Cady about her fascination, she told Sasha she wouldn’t understand.

“She’s my mother,” Sasha said losing her patience. “What isn’t there to understand? Why do you think she’s so great?”

Cady paused thinking. “She’s Willow Bean. Your mother is very cool Sasha, trust me.”

That wasn’t an answer.

Jenna’s interest seemed more basic. She couldn’t get enough of her mother’s stories about her strange clients. There was the woman who required a house with four bathrooms even though she lived alone, and the man who restored his authentic historical home down to removing the plumbing and electricity and building an outhouse in the backyard. She dropped his listing when he refused to get modern plumbing.

“I need to talk to you mom,” Sasha said suddenly uncertain. Willow Bean paused before responding, her mouth parted slightly. She seemed uncomfortable with Sasha in the room. Sasha’s mother crossed the room and took her phone out of her purse. She fiddled with it. Sasha assumed she was trying to find a reason not to talk to her.

“How about before dinner?” Willow Bean said after consulting her calendar. “I have to talk to Dominic. It’s urgent. I’ll come by your room, ok?”

Disappointed that she was ranked below Dominic in her mother’s scheduling, she slinked to the door without responding. She knew when she wasn’t wanted. She closed the door behind her softly.

She was about to walk down the hall and reconsidered. The glass doors were paper thin. It wouldn’t hurt to listen for a while.

Her mother seemed breathless as she spoke. Sasha crouched onto her knees to hear better.

“I’m pretty sure it was Nefar,” Willow Bean said.

“That’s impossible,” Dominic said. “I have put up charms. Vania shouldn’t be able to find us.”

“I didn’t say he saw me,” Willow Bean said. “I saw him.”

There was a grinding noise that blocked some of the discussion.

“The question isn’t whether he can see us it’s is it possible?” Gigi said, sounding irritated.

There was silence for a few seconds. Now Dominic sounded less irritated.

“I’ve used every ounce of knowledge I have to keep us safe,” he said carefully, “But I guess nothing is 100 per cent.”

“We need to find a place to hide Sasha,” Willow Bean said. Fear struck in Sasha’s heart as she listened to the fear in her mother’s voice. She felt goose bumps on her skin.

“We can’t risk him finding her,” Willow Bean said. “He’s not here for any of us.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Dominic sounding dismissive. “How are you going to explain it?”

Sasha heard her mother moan. “I don’t know,” she said sounding like she was crying. “She knows there is a threat out there. I told her I’d handle it.”

“And we will,” Dominic said in a reassuring voice. “Magic can’t hurt her. You know that.”

“We’ll think of something,” Gigi said. “Don’t panic. We can’t afford to panic.”

“I suggest you tell her everything and we’ll face the attack together,” Dominic said. “We don’t hide.”

Her mother sounded shrill when she responded. “I can’t tell her the past 17 years have been a lie. She won’t forgive me. We need to find another way. This isn’t about pride Dominic. This is my child’s life and I want to keep her safe.”

Sasha heard Dominic sigh.

“We’ll hire someone to shadow Nefar,” Dominic said in a conciliatory tone. “Will that make you feel better?”

Her mother must have nodded because there was no response before Dominic said, “Fine. That’s settled.”

Sasha scrambled to her feet afraid she’d get caught eavesdropping. She ran soft footed down the hall to her bedroom.

Sasha didn’t want to go into hiding. It meant she’d never see Evan again. Even though he said he didn’t have time for her, she still held hope that they could be friends. Or that maybe he’d change his mind. It wasn’t totally unrealistic. He had said he liked her.

She couldn’t tell her mother anything about the fireball attack. It would only worry her more and encourage her to devise a plan to keep Sasha safe. She had to make it seem as if there was no threat.

Sasha was desperate for answers and wanted to know what her mother meant when she said the past 17 years have been a lie. She’d have to stifle her curiosity. It wasn’t worth the risk. She’d rather be ignorant than alone.

She was reading a novel, The History of Love, for her English class when her mother knocked on the door. She came in without Sasha saying anything, closed the door and eased herself slowly onto the end of her bed, keeping her distance.

“Sorry about that,” she waved her hand toward the door. “It was just business.”

Sasha was tempted to tell her she’d heard everything but stopped herself. She didn’t want to risk losing Evan. Willow Bean patted her foot through her sock. “What is it you wanted to tell me?”

She was at a loss. Her mind raced for a fake reason.

“You want to talk about the amulet?” Willow Bean said frowning. Sasha studied her hand and removed it from the pendant. She laid her hands in her lap. She didn’t know she’d been gripping the necklace but used it as a conversation starter.

Sasha told her mother what happened when she took off the amulet to show it to her father. There was nothing supernatural in the story that posed a threat to Sasha except her physical response to removing the necklace.

“Oh that’s terrible, are you alright?” her mother scooted down the bed and gathered her into a hug.

“Mom, mom,” she said pushing her away. “I’m fine. I don’t understand why I stopped breathing.”