connected by a tangled series of strings. Over Psi Delt House was a picture of Harper. Scarlett’s breath caught in her chest at the sight of her wide smile. She looked so . . . alive. Next to that photo was Scarlett’s own face, circled in red Sharpie.
“Sorry, I obviously need to update that,” Jackson said, coming back into the room with a sweatshirt on.
“No problem,” she said, but guilt flooded in once more. The map, the near-empty apartment. This was the chaos she and Tiffany had left in their wake.
“Can I ask you something?” he said.
“I think you’ve more than earned the right,” she said, expecting more questions about being a witch. But Jackson’s question surprised her.
“When I ran into you at Homecoming . . . was that about Gwen? Had she done something then?”
Scarlett shook her head. “That was about my boyfriend dumping me.”
He let out a low whistle. “At Homecoming?”
“Obviously, that’s not important in the scheme of what’s happening now,” she said defensively, feeling hurt and embarrassed all at once.
“I think we really are in the Upside Down if someone dumped you.”
“A few days ago you would have thought I deserved it,” she countered.
“No one deserves to get dumped like that at a dance in front of her family and friends.”
“Not even a sorority witch?” she said lightly.
“Well, maybe some sorority witches do. But you’re different than I thought you were.”
“Don’t say that. It’s insulting. I’m not like the other girls, right? Not like the rest of my sorority?” she said, getting her back up again at the thought of him putting other girls down in order to lift her up.
He raised an eyebrow. “Given that we just saw Gwen making a Ratatouille sacrifice, I’d say that it’s a compliment. But that’s not what I meant. When I first met you in class I didn’t know you were a Kappa. I just knew that you were smart and untouchable. You kept people at a distance. It feels good to be on the inside.”
“Even though the inside is filled with witches and witch killers?”
“Nobody’s perfect,” he said with a smile.
“You’re different than I thought you were too,” she admitted.
“Handsomer up close, wittier, more intelligent . . .” he quipped.
“Not a complete and total asshole,” she said. But in her head she added, Funnier, kinder, more forgiving. “And sort of brave,” she added aloud. She didn’t know many other guys—any other guys—who would take finding out about the existence of witches in stride, let alone sign up to bring one down. “How come you aren’t totally freaking out about all of this?”
Jackson thought for a moment. “For the record, I am kind of freaking out. But I also think a part of me always knew. I just didn’t allow myself to realize it.”
“What do you mean?” Scarlett asked.
“Believe it or not, when Harper and I were kids and she first came to live with us, I wasn’t exactly the confident male specimen you see in front of you. I was a bit of a nerd.”
Scarlett gasped for effect and found herself smiling for the first time in days.
“There were a couple of kids who made it their business to turn my life into a living hell, and one day Harper cornered them after school. A few minutes later, they emerged with black eyes. Harper swore she didn’t touch them, but I remember how terrified they looked. When I asked how she’d managed to scare them so badly, she told me it was magic.” He let out a low laugh. “Now I realize it was. And it wasn’t just that. There were a lot of little things. Doors that opened and closed on their own. Sudden rainstorms. Other, smaller things, some that were more of a feeling than anything in particular. When I was younger, I half believed her. And now I know I should have believed her all along.”
Scarlett took a deep breath. She’d already betrayed her coven, her sorority, when she’d shared their secret. It was wrong to go further down that path. But looking at him, seeing how much he loved Harper, how much he wanted to understand, and knowing she was the only person who could do that for him . . .
“She was a Cups like me. Her powers stemmed from water. But she could do other things, too. We all can. We are just stronger together. Or at least I thought we were . . .” She trailed off, thinking of what Dahlia had