in his hands.
“Where did you get those?” I ask, sitting upright in bed and pulling the sheets up to my neck. It doesn’t feel right to have this conversation while I’m naked and vulnerable.
“What is this?” he repeats as he holds up one of the voodoo dolls, a strand of his hair wrapped around its throat. “And this?” In his other hand, he waves around one of my old spell books, the binding practically nonexistent as a few yellowing pages flutter to the ground.
“Were you going through my backpack?” I demand, aghast.
“I wasn’t going through your fucking backpack! I went downstairs to grab it for you,” he snaps, nodding towards something on the ground. I crawl forward on the bed, still using the blanket for covering, and see my bag lying on its side, a massive hole near the bottom. It must’ve been ripped during the fight yesterday, and when Elias grabbed it this morning, it broke open even further.
Numerous photos of the guys surround my bag. The other three voodoo dolls. A few loose spells. My journal.
Everything.
“What the fuck is this, Peony?” He almost vibrates in place, his eyes flicking wildly between me and the strange, unexplainable items. “Are you in a cult or something? Are you, like, a Satan worshipper?”
Normally, his conclusions would’ve brought a timid smile to my lips.
But there’s nothing remotely funny about today.
“No,” I confess. I scour his face to see how close he is to running, to leaving me. And I decide, right then and there, to tell him the truth, even if he thinks I’m insane. Lucas didn’t, but then again, I believe that boy has a few screws loose. My hands shake with adrenaline, my stomach a tumultuous mixture of dread and nerves. What will Elias think? Will he run? Will he even believe me? “I’m a witch.”
“A witch?” He releases a dry, humorless laugh, one laced with disbelief. “Peony, don’t joke with me right now.”
“I’m not joking!” I scramble to my feet, quickly tucking the sheet in at my breasts so it stays up. It cascades around my feet, nearly tripping me, but I hurry towards Elias regardless. “Elias, listen to me. There are things that you don’t know—”
“So you’re, what? Trying to fucking spell me?” He holds up the voodoo doll once more, betrayal and pain emanating from his eyes. “Kill me?”
“Elias, no!”
“Or maybe you’re just fucking crazy. Or maybe I’m crazy for believing you.” He scrubs a hand through his hair. “Fuck!”
“Elias—”
“What am I supposed to say, Peony? What the fuck am I supposed to say to all this? How am I supposed to believe any of this?”
Trembling from head to toe, I slowly lift my hand, allowing a blistering ball of flames to appear in the center of my palm. He jerks back as if I physically slapped him, throwing up his hands to protect himself, as if I’m going to chuck the fire ball into his face like some sort of video game heroine. He shakes his head from side to side in denial.
“No…”
“Elias, please—”
“What is this? Were you just using me? Was any of this real? Do you even have feelings for me?” He all but shoves the doll into my chest, his voice nearing a scream. His tone is acerbic, almost bitter. “If it was all true, then what the fuck is this? I said I loved you. I know…I know I deserve everything you planned to do to me, especially after what I did to you. But…I mean…I thought…” He stares intently at the doll once more, a broken expression marring his handsome face. “What is this?”
“It’s a mistake,” I whisper, and I see that now. My need for revenge…
It makes me no better than them.
I don’t know if I can be forgiven.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow. I feel like one of those delicate, hand-sewn sweaters that is being eaten at by a moth. The hole gradually becomes larger and larger before it unravels completely, leaving nothing but frayed yarn.
“I think…” Another dry spurt of laughter escapes him. “I think you should leave.”
“Elias!” I cry, reaching for him, but he stealthily sidesteps my hand and storms into the bathroom. The door rattles as he slams it shut, and I hear the distinct sound of a lock clicking. A moment later, the shower turns on.
No. No. No. No.
How could everything turn so wrong so fast? I came to this town with one goal in mind and one goal only—get my revenge on the Devils.