Falling for the Genie (Genie's Love, Book 1) (11 page)

I throw the door to my apartment open and dash to my room. My eyes go straight to my night table. But it’s not there. Scurrying around, I check all over my room, then the entire house. The lamp isn’t here, and neither is my genie.

“Sebastian?” I call.

No response. I call again, but nothing. The house is dead quiet.

I think back to what happened in the alley a few hours ago. I told him to take his lamp and get out of my life. My throat constricts. He must have done just that.

“Sebastian, please!”

I don’t know where he is. Where to go searching for him. Can I summon him if I concentrate hard? If I shout loudly? I try that. A few times, but he doesn’t show up. I return to the dumpster—maybe the lamp is there, where I first found it. It’s filled with a lot of trash and after digging through it, I don’t find the lamp.

Dropping to the ground, I bury my face in my hands. Why did I tell him to get away from me? Pushing my knees to my chest and resting my head on them, I whisper, “Sebastian, please. I need you.”

Nothing. The image of Andy’s loved ones sitting in the waiting room enters my head and I blink the tears away. This was my only shot at saving him. Why won’t Sebastian come?

Smoke fills my lungs along with a whooshing sound. I look up, and as the smoke vanishes, I see the outline of my genie, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. I jump to my feet and fling my arms around him. “You came.”

He stands there as still as a statue. With the relief of seeing him, I forgot we had that argument and that I said very hurtful things. Clearing my throat, I back away from him. “I know I have no right, but I need a favor. A wish, I mean. I’m ready to use my second wish. It’s very important.”

His arms are still crossed as he cocks his head to the side. “You have every right, Master. I’m here to grant you your wish.”

I don’t like the formal way he’s talking to me, but I deserve it. I was the one who severed our friendship. Stepping closer, I place my hand on his that’s resting on his chest. “I’m sorry for all the terrible things I said to you.” Though he was wrong to get involved in my love life, I shouldn’t have said those words.

He doesn’t blink. No emotion registers on his face. “What’s your wish, Master?”

I can’t stand the way he’s looking at me. The tightness of his lips, the stiffness of his body. Am I his biggest enemy now? “Please don’t do this. I hate myself for the things I said to you. For all the pain I caused.”

He eyes my hand that’s still on his chest and moves back a bit, causing my hand to drop. When he brings his eyes to mine, they aren’t any softer. Clearly he’s still mad at me, and I don’t blame him, but I can’t think about myself now. Andy is close to death. My relationship with my genie should be at the bottom of the list. Right now, I need to save my best friend’s fiancé’s life.

“There’s been a terrible accident,” I tell Sebastian, ignoring the way his cold eyes pierce through me. “You can’t give back life, but you can heal, right? Heal completely and make a person as good as new?”

With his lips still pressed together, he nods.

A breath I didn’t know I was holding leaves my mouth. I shut my eyes, thinking of my words carefully so I don’t screw this up. “I wish for Andy Levitt to make a full recovery.”

Sebastian stares at me for what feels like hours before spinning and flapping his arms around. “Your wish is my command.”

The last time I wished, I felt a gust of wind. I don’t feel anything this time, which is probably because I’m not the one benefitting from the wish. I have no clue if it worked, if I wished correctly. I need to get back to the hospital.

I turn to Sebastian, about to thank him, but he crosses his arms over his chest as smoke fills the area. It lessens until it vanishes into the lamp, which then disappears. He doesn’t leave the lamp behind. He doesn’t want me to take it.

I can’t think about that now. I have to get to the hospital to make sure the wish worked the way I want it to. If not, I’ll use my third wish. I
won’t
let Andy die.

***

Macy, Max, and Andy’s mom are sitting where I left them. When Macy sees me, she throws her arms over me, hugging me close. My heart skips a beat. Does this mean…?

“What’s wrong?” I choke, holding back my tears.

She pushes herself even closer to me. “There’s no change. I just want my best friend here when he…when he…”

“No,” I say. “Don’t think that. Andy is going to make it.” He has to. I pull off and wipe her eyes. “Did you call your parents? Do they know?”

She nods. “They’re on the cruise they won in that sweepstakes.”

Right. I almost forgot. I wish they could be here for Macy. They’ve known Andy for years and love him like a son. They would have been thrilled of the news of their engagement. Maybe that could still happen. Maybe my wish will work.

“I didn’t call them,” she continues. “I don’t want to ruin their fun. Not until—”

There’s a commotion coming from the door that leads to Andy’s room. Nurses and doctors rush inside. Andy’s mom tries to ask what’s going on, but the medical staff waves her off. We all look at one another, confused.

Did my wish work? Is that what all the fuss is about? I close my eyes and hold onto Macy, keeping my thoughts positive.
Please, please let my wish be a success
. I don’t know who I’m talking to, but I hope they’re listening.

I’m not sure how long we sit here on pins and needles before the doctors gather us and tell us that they’re not sure how it happened, they have no medical explanation, but Andy has woken up. After being at death’s doorstep, he’s made a full recovery.

Andy’s mother collapses on a chair. Macy’s eyes fill with tears, although this time they’re tears of joy. She hugs Andy’s mom. Max wraps his hands around my waist and buries his face in my hair.

“I can’t believe this,” Macy breathes, wiping the tears with her sleeve. They just return and she gives up. “Can we see him?” she asks the doctor.

“Yes, but only a few at a time. We don’t want to overwhelm him.”

As Andy’s mom and Macy leave, Max smiles at me. “Wow. He’s alive. I can’t…” He shakes his head. “Wow.” He pulls me into his arms. “I thought I was going to lose one of my best friends.”

“It’s a miracle,” I say, which it sort of is.

As I rest my head on Max’s shoulder, I see a shadow behind the door. It moves aside, and I have a good look at him. Sebastian. He must have been watching all of this.

I raise my hand, ready to wave, but he doesn’t seem to pay attention to me. His eyes are on Andy’s room.

“Be right back,” I tell Max and head over to where the genie is. The hospital is filled with people who’ll think I’ve lost my mind by talking to something invisible, but I don’t care.

“Thanks, Sebastian. Really. Thanks so much for all of this.”

His eyes move from me to Max, then to me, and roam around the hospital. “You don’t have to thank me. I only fulfilled your wish.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re the one who saved Andy. You don’t know how much this means to them. To all of us.”

“You made a wish. I only granted it.” His intense blue eyes meet mine. “You used your wish to help someone else. Not many masters do that.”

It wasn’t even a question. Of course I would do anything to save Andy.

“Sebastian, are we going to talk about—?”

“Your boyfriend must be wondering where you ran off to. Might want to get back to him.”

With that, he disappears. “Wait!” It’s no use. He’s gone. Is that it? Are we nothing more than master and genie now? Did I lose my friend? Will he only show himself when I summon him?

“Lily?” Max calls. I return to the waiting room. “It’s our turn to see Andy.” He takes my hand and leads me inside.

Andy is lying on the bed. He looks good, not like he got hit by a truck. Macy is still in the room, Andy’s hand clasped in hers. Her tears haven’t subsided.

Andy smiles when he sees us and slaps Max’s hand. “Andy,” I say. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention…you saved my life. Thank you so much. I owe you big time.”

He shakes his head. “You don’t owe me. There was no way I’d let anything happen to you.”

Macy pokes me. “He’s upset we found the ring.” She rolls her eyes. “He almost died and is mad he couldn’t surprise me. Men.”

I chuckle at the big frown on Andy’s face. “I had something special planned,” he mutters.

She gently slaps his chest. “Be happy to be alive, dummy.”

“I
am
happy.” He squeezes her hand. “Your future husband isn’t going anywhere.”

More tears splash down her cheeks. She bends forward to give him a kiss.

Max and I exchange a glance before leaving the two of them alone. We walk down the hallway to the back of the hospital, where there are two large windows. The view isn’t much, just the hospital buildings and the surrounding houses.

Max stares out, just like I am, but I notice an odd expression on his face. “Are you okay?” I ask him.

He nods. “Yeah, but thinking.”

“About?”

He shrugs. “Us.”

“What about us?”

He turns to me. I still can’t understand the weird look in his eyes. “Why did you run into the street? Is it because of what happened in the alley? When that dumpster almost crushed me? And you started…”

Talking to an invisible person? I take his hand. “Can we forget that ever happened and go back to before?”

He faces the window again.

“Max?”

“Sure,” he finally says. “We can forget that happened.”

I don’t want to say my next words, but I need to. “Max, do you think I’m crazy or something?”

He shakes his head. “Of course you’re not crazy. I don’t even know what happened. But you’re right, let’s forget all of that. I had something special planned for tonight. I was going to take you to a concert of your favorite band.”

I feel my jaw drop. I had been so excited for his surprise, but I never expected this. “Really?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

I kiss him. “That’s okay. We’ll have other opportunities.”

It sucks that my genie ruined Max’s surprise. But I’m not going to let that spoil anything. What happened earlier today is forgotten. Max and I are starting over now. Clean slate. No more Sebastian interfering. No more drama.

I
am
going to have my genie in my life again. We’re going to figure everything out and see where we stand. I’m still not sure how he feels about me, and as much as I need to know, I can’t. Because this was wish number two. One more and he’ll be gone.

Max wraps his arm around my shoulder. “I have another surprise for later this week. It might not be as good as the concert, but I think you’ll love it.”

“Tell?”

He sweeps his thumb and index finger across his lips, signaling a lock.

I groan. It’s not that I hate surprises. I love them, really. But Daisy’s death surprised the hell out of me, and I’ve become wary. I know this is different. Max might not cause my heart to flutter like Sebastian, but he’s a great guy who treats me well. Despite what my genie believes, Max is a gentleman.

I visit Andy the next day after work. Macy hasn’t left his side, even though he’s doing well and is set to leave the hospital later today. She told me this when she called me to let me know she was taking off from work. I was more than happy to take her shift.

He’s out cold now. Apparently, Macy didn’t leave his side last night and the two of them, well, let’s just say they stayed up all night celebrating their non-engagement. Macy can barely keep her eyes open, but the chair isn’t so comfortable and she’s having a hard time sleeping. She looks bored out of her mind and seems happy to have my company.

“Is he doing okay?” I ask her. I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m worried the wish is only temporary. Maybe Sebastian wants to get back at me, though I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be that cruel. I guess I feel responsible.

She gives me the biggest smile ever. “Better than okay. He’s going to be treated like a king for the next few days. I’m going to wait on him hand and foot.”

I laugh. “I’m really so happy for you. For both of you.” I hug her.

She holds onto the hug for a bit before pulling off and raising her eyebrows. “Okay, tell.”

I look at her, confused. “Tell what?”

“How you did it.”

“
What
?”

She throws her hands up. “All I know is that one minute I’m bawling my eyes out and you tell me you’ll be right back and the next minute my boyfriend wakes up from near death.”

“And you think I had something to do with it?”

“Uh huh.” She narrows her eyes. “You’ve been acting weird lately. I thought, you know, it was everything that was happening with your mom. I figured maybe having a guy in your life would help, but you’re still acting weird. And Max told me you were talking to an invisible person. I told him that was nuts but…”

I don’t listen anymore. I’m torn. The best option is to keep Sebastian a secret because he’s leaving soon and I don’t want Macy to think I’m insane. But she’s my
best friend.
We’ve always told each other everything. So what if I might come off as crazy? So what if we won’t remember this once I make my last wish? She deserves to know the truth.

Peering over at Andy, I see he’s sound asleep. There’s no one else in the room. No patient in the second bed. No nurses scuttling about. “I’ll tell you, but you’re going to think I’ve lost my mind,” I say.

“After seeing what happened with my guy, there’s nothing you can tell me that I won’t believe. I even believe in the frickin’ tooth fairy now.”

That gets a chuckle out of me. “The tooth fairy?”

She shrugs.

I laugh again. “Okay. Remember when I went to take out the trash a few weeks ago at Inferno and came back talking about something attached to my hand?”

Her eyes dip to my hand as though she’s recalling that day in her head. “Yeah…” Her eyebrows rise.

“There
was
something attached to my hand. Except, you couldn’t see it. No one could but me.”

Her eyebrows shoot even higher. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Peeking over at Andy, who’s snoring, I motion with my hands for her to keep her voice down. “I found something in the dumpster that day. A genie’s lamp, like the one from
Aladdin
except it’s bigger and has these swirly designs—”

“Wait, wait, wait. You’re saying you found a genie?” Her eyes bug out of their sockets.

I nod. “I brought the lamp to my house and accidentally rubbed it. Smoke filled the room and a genie appeared.”

Her mouth drops. No words leave her mouth, though it seems she’s trying to talk.

“His name is Sebastian. He ate my food and got sick and I helped him get better. That’s why I skipped work and was acting weird when you came over. I wanted to tell you about him, but I thought you’d think I was insane. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Her mouth clamps shut, then drops open once again. “A genie? Really?” That’s all she manages to say.

I tell her everything about my first wish, how Sebastian took me to California to see my mom. It feels like it happened years ago when it was only a few weeks. So much has happened since then, and even though I’m trying to move on and accept it, I can’t. I need my mom in my life. I don’t know what to do, if there’s anything to do. Calling and texting isn’t accomplishing anything. I also mention how sweet and caring he was when we returned home. I don’t tell her about the way he makes me feel. It doesn’t seem right, now that I’m with Max, and Sebastian and I are no longer talking. At least, that’s the impression he’s giving me, since he won’t respond when I call for him.

“Wow,” she says. “He must be some awesome genie if he comforted you that way.”

Yeah, I thought so, too. Until he started messing with Max. “He’s been a good friend to me,” I tell her.

She scans around. “Is he here now?”

I shake my head. I don’t want to tell her about our fight, because like I said, I’d have to tell her about his jealousy over Max and I don’t want to do that. Plus, I don’t want her to think he’s a bad person. He’s not. He just did something wrong. I’m willing to talk it out and work through it, but he won’t hear of it. Maybe he doesn’t want anything to do with me. Maybe he wants me to wish so he can get on with his genie life, but I can’t do that. It might be selfish of me, but I don’t want to him to go. Maybe deep down, he doesn’t want to, either. He told me earlier to take my time, but perhaps he’s changed his mind. I have no idea what he’s thinking or feeling.

“Lily? You okay?”

I snap back in. “What? Yeah, I’m okay.” I force a smile.

“So where is he?”

I tug on my ponytail. “He’s not here. And anyway, you wouldn’t be able to see him. Only his master can.”

She frowns. “Oh. Right. It’s cool, I guess.” Her face lights up and she whispers. “You used a wish to heal Andy, didn’t you?”

I nod.

She grabs my hands. “Oh my god. Really? You did that for him?”

“Why are you so shocked? You and I have been friends since forever and I care about him.”

She pulls me into a tight hug. “Thanks so much. I don’t know how I’m going to make this up to you.”

“You don’t have to make it up to me.”

She plays with the hem of her shirt. “But you need wishes, too.”

I puff out some air. “Sure. Everyone does, I guess. But my genie can’t help me with what I really want. He can’t get me into culinary school because I can’t afford it and he can’t make my mother want a relationship with me. And even if he could do those things for me, I’d hate myself for not helping Andy.”

Her gaze meets mine and her eyes soften. “I’m sorry.”

I swallow the brick in my throat. “It’s hard, but I need to learn to accept it. I may not have family anymore, but I have friends who love me.”

She slings her arm over my shoulder and yanks me close. “You bet your ass you do.”