“I’m not sure if I’m the one to give advice,” I admitted honestly. My fingers fiddled with the edge of my blankets. “Do you want options or just to wallow?”
“Like I’d ever want your opinion.”
Well, okay then.
She sniffed. “Go on anyway.”
I resisted the urge to snort at her pitiful-sounding voice. I took a deep breath, thinking about all the conversations I’d had with Ana. “You could ignore him, for one. You could also call him up and tell him all the things you just told me, if you haven’t already.”
A sigh went up, as if those were the most boring options ever.
I went on. “You could also sleep with someone else, like he is, if you have your eye on anyone. Tell him about that or not.”
She snorted a short laugh, full of mucus. “For some reason, I always thought you were a prude.”
“Trust me, I’m around too many crudes to be prude.”
Natalie gave a little laugh, heavy with mucus as she sniffed once more.
“Or you could do something else.”
“What, do you have some sort of curse to spite him?” Natalie asked, sounding somewhat intrigued.
“No,” I said. This really was sounding like a conversation with Ana. Though, after a harsh breakup, it was usually Gertie or me trying to talk Ana out of doing something rash, like sending out that kind of negative energy into the world out of spite. It was basically guaranteeing that a rude awakening would eventually make its way back to you threefold. “It doesn’t work that way.”
“You sure?”
I forced out a tiny laugh in response. Already, the feeling in the room was growing lighter.
“I know you have those things by what I see over there on your side of the room. Do you really think you’re a witch?” asked Natalie.
“I don’t think,” I said, not bothering to hide my distaste at her words, however laced with genuine curiosity. “I am a witch. Even if I did help you with what you’re asking to get back at your boyfriend now, you wouldn’t be so happy with the result. Sending that kind of energy out into the world is asking for trouble.”
Natalie hummed in thought, not completely convinced. “This doesn’t mean we are friends.”
“Of course not,” I agreed simply, letting the conversation fade away and turning around to shut my eyes again.
12
“Why do you look like that?”
“Like what?” I glanced up to Vadika. I leaned back in the extremely uncomfortable plastic chair across from where she stood.
She stared at me like I was one of her specimens.
“Tired and moody,” she clarified. “I thought we were past this last year.”
“I’m just tired,” I said, which was true.
I hadn’t been getting much sleep, let alone more than a good hour here and there from tossing and turning. At one point last night, Natalie had tossed one of her frilly throw pillows at my head without a word. That had been oddly nice after we seemed to make an odd turning point in our unfriendly relationship.
“It was Mabon the night before last, remember?”
“Oh. Right. You haven’t taken me to that one before, have you?”
I shook my head, letting her turn back toward her project, writing fresh labels and sticking them one by one onto clear canisters. “No. And you have since been relinquished from all other coven holidays.”
“Except for if you do the Secret Santa thing again with everyone. I still want to be a part of that. Faith got me the coolest notebook last year, remember? Everyone loved it during my summer program. Plus, it never got lost. Whether that be from the protective spell or the fact that it looked unlike anything ever brought into a biochem intensive. It was perfection.”
