She hesitated, her gaze flicking between me and the figure, now just feet away from her. Then she ran toward me, reaching out.
“Take my hand!”
I looked into her eyes as they pleaded with me. I let go, trusting her. She caught me and hauled me up.
“Thanks.”
We turned to look for the witch, but they were gone.
“Shit.”
Frustration burned through me. Defeated, we decided to head back.
By the time we got back to Vail’s house, the sun was starting to rise. The silence between us was thick and sour. Her disappointment clung in the air like bitter smoke.
“Just admit you’re mad at me,” I muttered as I shut the door behind us. “You’ve been giving me the silent treatment the whole drive back. I don’t want it for the rest of the night.”
Vail exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair.
“Before you walked back in, my life was going pretty well. George was alive and I didn’t have two dead bodies that I had to bury in the course of a week.” She looked up at me. “Our only lead is dead, and we just found out there is another witch in town, possibly involved in this all, and they ran away because you tripped over your damn feet.”
“You didn’t have to save me. You could’ve run after them. I would’ve managed,” I told her.
“I just … I feel like I failed George.”
“Welcome to the club,” I scoffed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped.
I took a step closer, my eyes burning. “You really want to do this? You want the truth?”
She didn’t flinch, so I gave it to her.
“Don’t you think there’s a reason I haven’t found you or reached out to you in seventeen years, Vail? I spent my wholelife trying to be someone you’d be proud of, and I never once felt like I was enough. You made me feel small. Like I’d never measure up. And when I needed you the most, you broke me.”
“I broke you? I gave up everything for you, Rose. I abandoned my family and my life for you! And then you disappeared. Youleftme!”
“Because youliedto me!” I yelled, my voice cracking. “For over a hundred years, Vail. You kept secrets from me and called it love. How was I ever supposed to trust you after that? How do you trustanyoneafter something like that?”
“You’re so selfish,” she spat, her voice trembling with fury. “You always have been. Not everything is aboutyou.”
“Fuck you,” I snapped. “I’m going to the bookshop.”
I turned, ready to storm out, but I stepped into an invisible barrier in front of me. Her magic. Then I felt Vail’s hands reach out to touch my back.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I took a deep breath and broke.
I threw my arms around her, burying my face in her shoulder, and for the first time in seventeen years, I let myself hold her. Really hold her. Like I used to. Like I still needed to.
I wanted to tell her everything. About the years I’d wandered. The faces I’d forgotten, the names I couldn’t. The nights I whispered her name to the stars, wondering if she still thought of me. If she stillhatedme.
But all I did was hold on.
“I’m sorry about the way we ended things,” she said into my hair. “And you’re not useless, Rosie. Or a failure. I need you. I always did.”
I realized on my walk that my feelings for Connor were undoubtedly formed from my reconnecting with Vail more than anything else. Perhaps, the road-weary traveller in me had simply craved some excitement.
