Big Witch Energy - Kelly Jamieson Page 0,21

from the bottle.

Their jaws go loose as they stare at me.

“Holy shit,” Hannah says.

I take another guzzle. “I’m okay.”

Hannah purses her lips and looks to Kesha.

“Let’s use glasses!” Kesha says brightly, pulling three from my cupboard. She carries them to my coffee table and sets them down, sitting on the couch.

I dump wine into the glasses. It sloshes over the edges as I fill them to the brim, emptying the bottle. I ignore the spills on my table and pick up a glass.

Kesha blinks rapidly. Hannah is staring at the mess on my table, which I would normally never allow to happen.

“Okay.” I look back and forth between them. “The most bizarre thing happened to me last night.”

I fill them in on the evening’s events, starting with the nice, normal dinner, the welcoming family, the shocking appearance of Trace—which garners a lot of excitement—and then the big stunner. At this point I have to jump up and pace again, spilling more wine as I gesture and talk. I finish with Trace’s appearance at the Singing Horse and his cute magic trick. I point at the peony sitting in a vase on the end table.

The apartment falls silent. Unusual.

I sit again, gnawing on my bottom lip like a cow chewing its cud.

“Well.” Hannah tips her glass up and guzzles down her wine.

Kesha stands and marches to the kitchen, returning with the second bottle of Moscato. She opens it and refills all our glasses. “Do you have tequila? I feel like this might not be enough.”

“What do you guys think?” I eye them apprehensively. “I swear I wasn’t doing mushrooms last night. Unless they slipped something into my drinks.” My forehead tightens. “Hey, maybe that’s what happened. I thought I saw a wineglass that was empty suddenly full.”

“Um…”

“And don’t worry about the potato thing.” I wave a hand. “You just can’t tell anyone else about this.”

Now they look concerned.

“Do you believe that?” Hannah asks, blond eyebrows drawn together.

“I love you guys, so I don’t want to take a chance.”

Hannah pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, nodding. “This is all my fault.”

“What? How?”

“I’m the one who suggested the DNA test. I knew it’s a risk because you never know what you’re going to learn, but I honestly never imagined that this would happen.”

“Who would imagine it?” Kesha says. “It’s not your fault.”

“Of course it isn’t.” I swallow another mouthful of wine. “So… the big question is… what do I do?”

“What do you mean?” Kesha tilts her head.

“Do I learn how to witch? Or do I pretend this never happened and go about my business?”

Kesha’s eyelashes flutter wildly. Her superlong falsies look amazing on her, but right now I swear I can feel a breeze from them. “You mean… you’re actually considering… You actually think you might be… a witch?”

I laugh with just a tinge of hysteria. “Of course not!”

“But you said… you’re thinking of going along with your new family?”

“They’re my family.” That comes out sadder and more pathetic than I’d like.

Kesha covers her eyes with one hand, massaging her temples. “Jesus Christ.”

“Well.” Hannah speaks up. “I for one think this could be amazing!”

I lower my chin and give her a skeptical look.

“As long as you’re sure you weren’t roofied,” she adds hastily. “Maybe they’re a little eccentric, but they sound fun!”

It was fun. I sigh.

“They sound crazy,” Kesha says bluntly. “Literally. You can’t possibly be thinking of seeing them again.”

I bite my lip.

Hannah’s gaze shifts back and forth between us anxiously. “They’re her family, Kesha.”

Kesha snorts. “Maybe? Who knows! There are a lot of weirdos out there. You know, when you said they could be serial killers or sex traffickers… you had a point.”

I feel my bottom lip tremble. “You’re not wrong,” I mumble. The idea of giving up on family makes me sad and wistful.

“Oh no!” Hannah shakes her head. “I’m sure they’re not!”

“How do you know?” Kesha asks.

Hannah glares at her. “Could you be a little more supportive?”

“I’m worried about her!” Kesha glowers back.

“Stop!” I hold up a hand. “I don’t want you two arguing about it. I won’t see them.” Then I think about Trace again, asking me if I had the courage to open my mind. “I think.”

“You want to,” Hannah says firmly.

“I didn’t feel threatened,” I say slowly. “I made a joke about them putting something in my drink, but I know that didn’t happen.”

Kesha’s mouth turns down, but she says nothing.

“Sure, none of us expected something like this,” Hannah says. “But you know you haven’t