Crushed (10 page)

But where was her purse?

It had fallen under the seat. Kristen leaned forward, holding her breath as sharp pain stabbed through her core. Her hand caught the strap, and she raised the purse back up to the seat. She opened it with one hand, rummaged around, and pulled the phone out. Another problem hit her.

Who was she going to call?

Feeling like she might puke at any second, she pushed the door open and fell out of the car. She hit the dirt with a hard thud. Her cell phone landed next to her hand.

Pebbles embedded themselves into her flesh. The ground was covered in broken sticks, small rocks, and dried leaves. Her arms scraped against the stuff as she tried to push herself up. The adrenaline was wearing off now, and she experienced the first wave of true pain.

She sat on her knees and looked at the car. It was a total wreck. The champagne-colored hood was bent in half. The thick tree trunk was almost in the center of the engine. There was a ton of damage. Her father was going to kill her.

What if the cell phone didn’t get reception out here? She picked it up and checked for bars. There were five. She kissed the phone but didn’t use it. Not right away. She had no clue who she should call for help. She could call one of her sisters, but they were both super pissed off at her. What if they didn’t want to come get her?

She could try Zach, but it was a little early in their relationship to be calling him for favors in the dead of night.

Of course, she couldn’t hide the damage to the car from her dad for long. He was going to eventually find out. Maybe she should tell him while he was out of town, give him some time to get over his homicidal feelings. She needed to call him. Mind made up, she pushed a button.

A shriek from above alerted her to danger.

The owl had returned.

It dove down and knocked the phone from her hand. The owl gracefully turned in the sky and came back for her. If it weren’t for the danger it posed, the owl might have made a beautiful sight. It wasn’t a regular owl. A witch was controlling that enormous bird. She was sure of it.

Did Brittany hate her enough to kill her?

Kristen took three steps backwards, then spun around and ran as fast as she could in the other direction. Fear made her legs pump harder than usual. She was going to beat the thing, reach safety somehow—if she couldn’t outrun it, then she would grab a stick and knock the thing out of the air. Even if it had a witch controlling it, it was only an animal. If she could think clearly, she could come up with a spell to use against it.

Then, her trouble doubled.

A silver wolf came out of nowhere, blocking her path. With an angry snarl, it raced to meet her. There was nowhere for her to go. It leaped at her. She ducked, going down on hands and knees. The wolf leaped over her. She turned her head and watched in awe as the wolf jumped into the air a second time, paws raised, and struck the owl. The gigantic bird almost went down. Regaining balance, it flew away, disappearing in mere seconds. Kristen found herself alone with the wolf. It watched her through crystal blue eyes.

Kristen grasped the end of a large stick and lifted it high. She would need a weapon if it tried to attack her. Every inch of her body ached. Her neck hurt when she turned her head. She wasn’t sure she could fend off the furry beast by herself, but she was sure going to try. Afraid to move, afraid to breathe, she stared at the wolf, waiting for it to make the first move.

It did.

The wolf turned and ran off as if a noise only it could hear had startled it. Relieved, she closed her eyes and lowered the stick. A familiar voice called her name. She climbed to her feet and yelled for Cyndi. She hadn’t had the chance to call anyone, yet there her sisters were like a tiny miracle.

A tearful Cyndi ran to her and gave her a quick hug, saying, “I am so sorry. I hate it when we fight.”

“Me too.”

Cyndi sobbed. “I loved Jake, and I wanted to marry him.”

“I know. That’s why I couldn’t tell you he was cheating.”

“I understand why you crushed him. I just wish you hadn’t. It makes me sick to my stomach that I kissed him after he’d already kissed Gina. You should have told me.”

Tears pricked the backs of Kristen’s eyes. “I’m sorry. He doesn’t deserve you.”

Cyndi wiped her damp face as she laughed. “Well, he’s got what he deserves now. Gina is a bigger witch than all three of us put together. She’s going to drive him nuts. So, I guess you get your wish for prom this year.”

“Wish?”

“Yeah, you know, you wanted the three of us to go together. No boys. We can do it now since we’re all guy-free.”

Kristen nodded. “That’s right. I wanted to go to the prom with my sisters.”

A flash of Zach’s smiling face nearly blinded her mental eye. Until Cyndi spoke of going to the prom together, Kristen hadn’t realized she was hoping to go with Zach. They hadn’t talked about it, but she desperately wanted to go with him. Now what was she going to do? Brittany would kill her for even suggesting it, and poor Cyndi would stay home, missing the prom completely.

“How did you know I was here?” Kristen asked, changing the subject so that maybe they could both stop crying.

“Grandma Noah called,” Cyndi said. “She was worried about you.”

“How did
she
know I was out here?”

“She had a vision after you left, and she told us exactly where we could find you. Grandma’s never wrong.”

“We?” Kristen looked past Cyndi to find Brittany standing in the background, hands in pockets.

Brittany casually closed the gap between them. She playfully punched Kristen in the arm. “Glad to see you’re still breathing.”

“Thank you.”

Cyndi beamed at them both. “Are you two making up? Please tell me you’re making up.”

“I don’t know.” Brittany shrugged. “I wanted to kill you earlier, but then when I thought you were actually dead, I felt kind of bad about it. So we’ll wait and see how I feel tomorrow.”

Coming from Brittany, it was practically an apology.

Kristen hugged her with one arm and raised the other for Cyndi. Cyndi stepped into the embrace. The three of them shared a rare group hug. They usually kept mushy moments to special occasions, but Kristen remained shaken by her experience. Thrilled to be alive, she didn’t care if her sisters thought she was a crybaby.

Brittany ordered, “Fix the car so we can go.”

Cyndi went to the damaged vehicle and did her thing. With a wave of her hands, she fixed the smashed car, and Kristen felt like kicking herself for not remembering her sister’s ability to un-break things. She should have called on Cyndi first thing. Instead, she had been planning to call their dad. That was a confrontation she was glad to have missed.

“Thank you.” Kristen hugged her sister again.

“What happened?” Cyndi asked. “Did someone run you off the road?”

She shook her head. “It was that owl again. That thing is being controlled by a powerful witch, someone who wants to seriously hurt me.”

Her eyes went to Brittany.

Brittany shrugged. “Guess you should watch who you piss off.”

Both Kristen and Cyndi did a double take. A moment ago, Brittany had waved the white flag. Now she was doling out veiled threats. What was happening to her? She was back and forth, hot and cold, calm and dangerous. Kristen had the feeling she was looking at the powerful witch behind the owl.

Cyndi took a step in her twin’s direction. Her brows drew together over stunned eyes, and her face paled. When she spoke, her voice quivered. “Britt? Your aura is black.”

Later that night, when the girls were safely at home, they gathered in Kristen’s bedroom for a family meeting. Brittany joined them with obvious reluctance. She plopped down on Kristen’s bed with a heavy sigh, and Cyndi sat next to her.

Kristen paced over the red area rug in bare feet while trying to explain her fears about Zach. When she gave them the list of possible reasons why he might not be under her spell, Cyndi gasped at the title of vampire, but Brittany seemed more concerned about a powerful witch being in town.

Kristen finished her story and stood off to the side, waiting for the consensus. She twisted her fingers in nervous agitation. When neither of her sisters spoke, she added, “The spell obviously didn’t work on Zach. One minute he’s doing everything I ask, and the next, he’s ignoring me.”

Brittany snickered. “Did you actually think he would be easy to control?”

“I gave him a very simple request. He’s done a lot bigger things than lick a sidewalk. He carried my books and gave me his jacket, and you saw him hop on one foot, rub his stomach, and pat his head in front of everybody. There was resentment in his eyes a few times, but he followed every single command except that one.”

Cyndi made a face. “You asked him to lick a sidewalk? Why would you do that?”

“Maybe you pushed him too far and broke the spell,” Brittany said. “I warned you.”

Kristen shook her head. “If the spell had been broken, the dust would have returned to my bottle, and it’s empty.” She removed the glass vial from her dresser drawer and showed it to her sisters. “Anyway, Grandma is always right. She told me to remove the spell because if it affected him at all, it’s messed up now. It needs to be undone. I need to un-crush him tonight.”

Brittany picked up a pillow and absently pulled on a tiny, red bow. “Why? Isn’t this exactly what you wanted? You wanted him, and you got him. Is he a good kisser?”

Cyndi gasped. “You kissed him?”

Before Kristen could say anything, Brittany went into painful detail over Kristen’s date with Titan High’s rebel. Every word carried an ounce of bitterness with it. Although they had fought many times over the years, Kristen hadn’t felt like her sister hated her until now.

“Something is really, really wrong here.” Kristen tore the pillow from Brittany’s grasp and set it out of her reach so she would stop pulling on the bows. “I need to remove the spell.”

“Forfeit the game, then.”

“This isn’t about a stupid game!” Kristen shouted. “This isn’t about winning some money or a car. It’s over, Britt. There’s something off about Zach, and Grandma is going to tell Dad everything if we don’t stop. Game over.”

“You are such a little drama queen.”

“Someone has tried to kill me.
Twice!
”

“OMG!” Brittany leaped to her feet. “You are so overreacting. Grandma Noah won’t tell Dad a damn thing. She doesn’t want him to know any more than we do. Less, in fact, since she’s lied to him his whole life; and there’s nothing going on with Bevian except for the fact that you shouldn’t have crushed him in the first place. He’s way too strong for you.

“If there were something magical about Bevian, I would know. I’ve been paying special attention to him for over a year now, and you’re wrong about him. You just can’t control him because your powers aren’t strong enough.”

Kristen noticed Brittany didn’t have anything to say about the fact that someone had tried to kill her twice now. She wondered if that meant Brittany already knew about it or simply didn’t care.

“What if I’m not wrong?” She hadn’t wanted to tell them the next part, but it seemed to be the only way to grab their attention. “I had the dream again when I fell asleep in the car on the way home.”

Brittany rolled her eyes.

Cyndi gasped. “Three times.”

“Actually, this was the sixth time.” Kristen cringed as she recalled the dream in vivid detail. It had been the worst nightmare she’d ever had. “I saw my accuser’s face.”

“Who was it?” Cyndi asked.

“Zach. It was Zach. He accused me.”

Cyndi covered her mouth with both hands.

Brittany snickered. “If he does, it’s only what you deserve for crushing him in the first place. By the way, I don’t see why we have to stop the game just because you have a personal problem and can’t handle it on your own.”

Kristen stared at her sister, incredulous at Brittany’s attitude. True, the girl could be a little self-absorbed at times and was angry with her at the moment, but they were sisters. Blood was more important than lust. Wasn’t it?

“What is wrong with you?” Kristen asked. “Just because I fell for someone you thought you wanted, you’re mad enough to let me get killed? You don’t even know him.”

“You did it on purpose. You crushed the guy I liked, stole him out from under my nose, and now you have to live with the consequences.”

Kristen was shocked by Brittany’s vehemence and her lack of memory. “You told me to crush him.”

“I was joking.”

Cyndi stood next to Kristen and said, “I vote she removes the spell.”

The room went dead silent.

“You what?” Brittany glared at her twin. “You’re actually taking her side against me?”

“She’s my sister, too.”

The statement filled Kristen’s heart with a glowing warmth, but it was short-lived.

Brittany stormed out of the room without another word. A few seconds later, they heard her bedroom door slam shut. It was dangerous to make Brittany mad. Both girls would need to watch their backs until she calmed down.

No one could hold a grudge like Brittany.

Kristen said, “I hope you realize that if you don’t stand up to her someday soon, you are going to be dressing like her when you’re forty.”

The bedroom door opened, and their father stuck his head in. “What’s going on in here?”

“Nothing, Dad.” Cyndi sighed.

“I heard a door slam.”

“Brittany got mad at me.”

He smiled. “Good. At least she’s home.” He handed Kristen an envelope. It didn’t escape her notice that it was already open, which he made no apologies for. Winking, he said, “You got your first application in the mail. It’s a good school, not the best, but we can use it as a backup plan.”

She forced a smile, unsure if she would be alive long enough to attend college. “Great. Thanks.”

He nodded his balding head as he backed out of the room. His parting words rang in her ears. “We’ll fill it out together this weekend.”

Once the girls were alone again, Kristen said, “We need to do something about Brittany before she loses it and kills one of us.”

“She’ll cool off,” Cyndi said in a hopeful voice.

They smiled at each other in a reassuring manner, but neither of them actually believed it. Kristen added, “Maybe we should put some sort of protection spell over each other. Grandma told me about one.”

Cyndi nodded eagerly. “Let’s do it now.”

“First, I need to call the Crushed spell back to me. Stand in front of the door in case Dad decides to come back.”

Kristen stood in the center of her bedroom and waved a hand over the tube. It would be a lot easier to call back the spell if she were standing next to Zach, but she didn’t want to wait for morning. “Zach Bevian, you are no longer crushed. I set you free.”

The pink smoke instantly appeared inside the vial. She stared at it in silence as her time with Zach played in her brain like a cherished movie. A sigh parted her lips. She pulled the cork and released the smoke. Without another color to war against, it quickly faded.

She’d lost Zach forever.

###

Going to school the next day had Kristen feeling nauseated. Her hands were clammy. She wiped them on her cute, black-denim mini. Since putting the crushed spell on Zach, she’d found him at her locker every morning. One time he had even surprised her with her favorite brand of latté. She was used to starting her day off by gazing into his clear blue eyes while having short, inane conversations about stupid things neither of them actually cared about. Even though it had only been a short time since she’d placed the spell on him, she had come to look forward to his company.

He probably wouldn’t even speak to her now. They would return to their old habit of ignoring each other. It would hurt, but she would have to learn to live with it. Maybe someday he would come around. Maybe someday he would talk to her again.

And maybe someday cows would learn to fly.

Kristen entered the school behind her sisters, her Gucci bag swinging from her shoulder. Head bent low, she walked without purpose. It was funny how much things had changed. The stuff that used to mean the world to her didn’t matter now. Grades didn’t even seem as important as they had last month.

As usual, the girls walked the hallway together with her in the middle, traveling to theme music only they could hear. It was nice to have at least part of her routine remain the same. Even though Brittany was pissed off at her, she continued to do the usual stuff with them. No one spoke until…

Brittany turned on her. “What the hell is going on? I thought you said you removed the spell last night.”

“I did.” She pushed her way passed Brittany to find Zach waiting at her locker with a big grin on his face. For a moment, she thought she might be dreaming. She would have asked her sisters to pinch her, but she knew for a fact that Brittany would do it, and she’d make it hurt as much as possible. “I don’t get it.”

“Either you don’t know how to retract a simple spell, or you are a liar.” Brittany shook her head. “I’m going with the second option. First, you lie and go out with him behind my back. Then you lie about removing the spell. You are a liar and a cheater. Now I know why they used to burn witches at the stake.”

With a last, vicious glare, Brittany spun around and marched down the hallway alone. She frowned at Zach as she passed him, but he didn’t seem to notice. His eyes were on Kristen, glued to her as if she were the only girl in the long, brightly lit hallway.

“I think he really likes you,” Cyndi said with a smile. She gave Kristen a cheerful shove in Zach’s direction. “Maybe you were right, and he was never under a spell. Enjoy.”

A breath of light blew through Kristen, refreshing her soul. Was it possible? Giving up his jacket? The kiss? The motorcycle ride? Had it been just the usual boy-girl stuff? Did Zach Bevian like her enough to do those crazy things just because she had asked?

She flushed guiltily as she remembered asking him to rub his stomach, pat his head, and hop on one foot. He had to like her big-time to do something like that. Did he like her that much? Did he
love
her?

Her face infused with heat.

Kristen couldn’t wait to find out. She hurried to her locker, to Zach, with a smile on her face. She was so glad she had put on the black-denim mini and two-layer top even though she hadn’t cared what she wore that morning. The world around her took on a fresh, beautiful glow. “You got here early,” she said.

He shrugged. “I hate being late.”

“Me too.” Another thing they had in common. She frowned. “If you hate being late, why are you always tardy to class?”

“I have a reputation to live down to.” He touched his abdomen. “It isn’t easy. Trust me. I have an ulcer coming.”

“Then why don’t you just go to class on time?”

He grinned. “I’m complicated. Don’t try to figure me out.”

A wave of shyness washed over her as she wondered what her next move should be. Knowing he wasn’t under a spell put a lot of pressure on her. What if she said or did the wrong thing? She needed to carefully choose her words. She didn’t want him to stop liking her.

She removed a blue notebook for science class and the textbook from her locker while he waited patiently behind her. She used the moment to take a few deep breaths and steady her nerves. The dragons returned to her stomach, and they brought friends along. She shut her locker. Turning around, she smiled at him.

“Do you want me to carry your books for you?” he asked.

White-hot shock pierced her soul. Her smile died a quick death with the memories his innocent statement brought with it. The times she’d ordered him to carry her books, among other things, came rushing back to smack her in the face. He probably thought she was the most self-centered, bossy girl on the planet.