The Darkness Within (14 page)

E
THAN
insisted on sleeping on the couch. He said he felt a little more in control and able to believe in the necklace’s protective spell when he was awake, but at night, when he wasn’t fully aware of his surroundings, was a different story. I wanted to protest, but at least I’d gotten him to agree to come home. Baby steps. This was only temporary. Still, I stayed on the couch with him for hours. We called Gloria and Jackson, and for the first time ever, we called out sick from work. I felt guilty for lying, but the part about neither of us being in any shape to wait tables or cook food was true. We were both feeling off. Gloria understood and said she’d have Jackson make a big pot of chicken noodle soup for us. She told us to swing by in the morning before school and they’d have it ready for our lunches. I thanked her and hung up the phone.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, snuggling against Ethan’s side.

“Like I might explode at any moment.”

I lifted my head. “Why? Are you angry about something?”

“Yes. I’m angry that I’m in this situation. That I have dark magic inside me. That I’m a threat to you and the others.”

I sat up, using his shirt to pull myself closer to him. “We’ll fix this. You’ll be back to your old self in no time. Dylan texted me to say he’s going to try to track down Mirabella. And in the meantime, you have me to watch over you. I’ve got the power of two witches. I’ll keep you safe.”

“You know, when we first got our powers, I stupidly thought it was like a reward for all we’d been through. Everything with Nora was pure hell. The magic sort of made up for it. But now…I wish I wasn’t a witch—or warlock or whatever you call it. I’d give the magic back in a heartbeat.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. I got what he was saying. He wanted our lives to be normal again. This was supposed to be our second chance at happiness. But I loved being a witch. When I’d had cancer, I had no power over what was happening to me. Now, I had so much power. I could control things. I wasn’t defenseless.

I reached for his face, tracing my finger along his jaw and gently pulling his chin toward mine. My lips brushed his.

He pulled away. “Sam, don’t. I don’t want to lose control. It’s too risky. Every time we’re close, I can’t think straight.”

“I’ll stay in control for the both of us.” He shook his head, but I cradled his face and pressed my lips to his. He resisted for a second, so I gently bit his lower lip, tempting him.

“Sam.” I loved when he said my name like that. Like a sigh. His lips parted, and he gave in to me. I kissed him, deeply, passionately. I wanted him to feel loved. To know what we had was stronger than the dark magic inside him. We’d get through this together. I’d make sure of it. Somehow, I was in his lap. I tugged on his shirt, trying to get it over his head. He reached for mine, but stopped.

“What’s wrong?” I trailed kisses down his neck.

“I can’t do this.” He picked me up and placed me on the couch next to him.

“Ethan, you won’t lose control. We’ll both be fine.” I was breathing heavily.

“You have no idea what being that close to you does to me. I’m already losing it. I can feel the magic going crazy inside me.” He stood up, running his fingers through his hair. He paced the length of our tiny living room. I wouldn’t have doubted he could run a marathon with all the adrenaline he was holding in.

“Okay. I’m sorry. We can just sit here together.”

He stopped and looked at me. “I think I need to be alone for a little while. Clear my head.”

“I’ll make us some dinner. You can relax and watch TV.” I got up
and headed to the kitchen. I knew there was nothing dinner-like to make. Our cabinets had cereal, protein bars, and pretzels. We ate all our major meals at school or at the diner. We never had a reason to cook anything here.

“Why don’t you go see if Jackson made that soup yet?” Ethan leaned on the counter, watching me stare at the almost-empty cabinets. “You can even stay and work for a while if you want. I’ll be fine here on my own.”

He was testing me. Trying to see if I trusted him. “Tell you what. I’m not up to serving food right now, so I’ll go pick up the soup and bring it back home. That should give you some time to yourself, and then we can watch a movie until we’re ready to go to sleep.”

He nodded and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. “Thanks for understanding.”

I’d made him wait almost an eternity before I was ready to be with him that way. This was the one and only time he’d turned me down. I owed him a little understanding. “I’ll be back soon.” I grabbed the car keys off the counter, threw on my jacket, and headed outside.

I nearly dropped the keys when I saw Dylan leaning against the driver’s-side door of the car. “What are you doing here?”

“Checking up on you guys.” He stood up straight. “How’s he doing?”

“Okay.”

“You’re a bad liar.” He stepped aside so I could get in the car. “Sam.” He held the door so I couldn’t shut it. “You’re the best and worst thing for Ethan right now. You have to be careful.”

“Best
and
worst? What’s that supposed to mean?” I was seriously sick of people talking in riddles.

“He needs your support, and he may even need your magic to calm him down at times.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “But what he doesn’t need is you throwing yourself at him and making him lose control.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Were you spying on us?”

“Relax. I didn’t see anything. It was only a listening-in kind of spell. I stayed right here by your car the whole time.”

I reached for my necklace. “I wish this thing blocked eavesdroppers. Now would you let go of the door? I have to go get our dinner.”

“I’ll stay here and keep an eye on him until you get back.” Dylan stepped back. It was hard to be mad at him when his intentions were good.

I nodded. I couldn’t thank him for being nosy, even if I did sort of appreciate it. I closed the door and backed out of the driveway. Ethan’s Mazda 6 had some speed, and I tested that out on the way to the diner. I didn’t want to be gone too long. I parked in our usual spot and rushed inside. The place was slammed. Guilt washed over me. How was I going to run in and out with Gloria in over her head like this?

Her eyes lit up the second she saw me. “Oh, thank goodness, Samantha.” It came out as one long sigh of relief.

“Gloria, I’m sorry. I really can’t stay. Ethan’s at home, and he’s really sick. I was hoping Jackson had that soup ready so I could bring some to him.”

Her face fell. “Of course. Go right on back and help yourself. Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

I doubted it. There was only one way I was going to get out of there without a guilty conscience. Magic. “Hang on.” I grabbed my apron behind the counter and tied it on. The coffee pot was empty, six tables needed to be cleared, and through the kitchen window, I could see plates of food sitting under the heat lamps. I turned away from any watching eyes and mumbled a spell. A simple spell of speed. I couldn’t overdo it or people would notice something was different about me—something supernatural. I felt a tingling run through my limbs, like adrenaline fueling every part of my body. Quicker than humanly possible, I brewed a fresh pot of coffee, cleared the dirty tables, wiped them clean for new customers, and brought the plates of food to the tables. Jackson didn’t even have time to say hello before I was out of the kitchen.

“There,” I said, out of breath. “That should do. I gave tables six and eight their checks. Tables four, seven, and nine have their orders placed. And it looks like the crowd is dying down. I’m going to grab that soup and head home to Ethan.”

Gloria’s mouth hung open. “Samantha, how on earth did you move that quickly?”

I shrugged. “I guess I’m feeling better.” I squeezed her hand before disappearing in the kitchen. Jackson made me take enough soup and crackers to feed an army. Ethan and I would be able to eat for days. He even threw in a leftover piece of Ethan’s lasagna. “Thanks, Jackson. See you tomorrow.” I was out the door and in my car before Gloria could pour a cup of coffee.

I settled into the seat and said the words to end the spell. I felt the magic drift away, but my heart still fluttered. I started the car and backed out of the spot, but as I did, I saw Beth in the parking lot. She cocked her head to the side, staring at me like I had six arms or something. I waved, trying to act casually, and that prompted her to rush over and tap on my window. I plastered a fake smile on my face and lowered the window. “Hey, Beth. Can’t talk. Ethan’s sick, and I have to get this soup to him.”

“Oh, is that why all four of you left school early?”

Of course she’d noticed Shannon and Dylan were gone, too. That was Beth. “We all came down with something. It must be food poisoning. We had dinner together last night.”

“Really? That’s odd. Weren’t you here for dinner? I didn’t see Dylan and Shannon eating with you.”

Ugh! I was so tempted to use a blinding spell on her. “What I meant was we all ate the same thing. They came to pick up their food.”

“Oh, right. I saw you all in the back lot.”

“Yeah. So anyway, I have to go.” I started to pull away before she could protest.

“Tell Ethan I hope he feels better,” she yelled after me.

The Mazda got me home almost as fast as the speed spell would have. Such a great car! I grabbed the soup and ran to the front door. Dylan stepped around the side of the cottage, startling me. The soup flew out of my hands, but Dylan caught it.

“Sorry. Everything’s fine. He just watched TV.”

“Thanks. See you at school.”

“About that. I’m transferring myself into all of Ethan’s classes. I think it’s best that way.”

I sighed. “Don’t you think that’s going to rile him up?”

“He’ll understand it’s for the best. And it’s an easy enough spell.”

“And you said
I
was bad at lying.” The spell would require the strength of the coven because we’d have to alter the minds of just about everyone at school to make them think Dylan had always shared the same schedule as Ethan.

“We’ve done it before. No sweat.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away.

“Hey, where’s your car?”

“I felt like walking. It helps me clear my head.” He waved without looking back.

I had to accept that I might never fully understand Dylan. There was still so much I didn’t know about him, like where he lived. I pushed the thought away and went into the house. “Honey, I’m home.” I smiled at Ethan, camped out on the couch. “I’ve always wanted to say that.” I put the soup on the coffee table in front of him and headed to the kitchen for bowls and spoons. “Sorry it took me so long.”

“Diner was slammed, huh?” He opened the bag and took out the large container of soup.

“Yeah. I couldn’t leave Gloria hanging like that. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, it’s fine. I told you that you could’ve stayed and worked.”

“I’d rather be here with you. Besides, I did a speed spell and got Gloria and Jackson caught up and then some.” I sat down and started pouring soup into the bowls.

“You used a spell?”

“Yeah. I was careful, though. I didn’t up my speed too much. I didn’t want anyone to notice. It probably looked like I was on an adrenaline high, which I sort of was.”

He grabbed my arm. “You’re sure no one noticed.”

“Gloria made a comment about how fast I was, but believe me, no one was complaining. Everyone was fed and happy.”

He let go and dug into his soup.

“I did run into Beth on my way out, though.”

Ethan let his spoon drop into his bowl. “Beth? Was she inside while you were using the spell?”

“No. She showed up after. Well, not totally. I undid the spell in the car, and that’s when I saw her.” My mind brought up her image and the way she’d stared at me. Had she noticed something? Had she seen me muttering the spell in the car?

Even if she had, there was nothing I could do about it tonight. So I ate my soup and watched Ethan devour two bowls before moving on to the lasagna. The boy could eat, and yet he looked like a perfectly sculpted statue with his washboard abs. I’d have killed for his metabolism.

We watched some old movie on TV, and finally I crawled into bed. Alone. Ethan still wouldn’t come to bed with me. He slept on the couch. I cuddled his pillow, hoping the smell of him would comfort me. It didn’t.

The sun filtered through the window, waking me up before my alarm. I stretched and reached for Ethan’s pillow, which was somehow down at my feet. Apparently, I’d thrashed around a lot last night. All I could think about was seeing Ethan’s face, so I kicked the covers off, stepped into my slippers, and walked into the living room.

The couch cushions were a mess. Some were tossed on the floor. Others were standing on their sides. Where was Ethan? I turned toward the bathroom, the only place I couldn’t see from the living room of our tiny cottage. The door was closed, but the light wasn’t on. I pushed it open. My heart rate quickened as I ran out the front door.

The driveway was empty.

Ethan was gone.

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