His face is half-smiling, half-disbelieving, as if waiting for me to deliver a punch line. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you should forget about me.”
A look of pain washes over his face, and then quickly disappears, leaving me with no clue as to what he’s thinking. Straightening his throat, he focuses on a wad of neon-green gum on the pavement. I push the knife in further, so there is no going back. “I mean—it’s been fun.”
“Wow,” he says, clearly not meaning the gum.
My heart feels like it’s about to collapse into a black hole, pulling the rest of me along with it. Who knew heartbreak was a literal thing? Court’s eyelashes dip toward my hands, which are wringing themselves dry.
A familiar laugh sounds from above, followed by voices growing louder with each footfall on the metal grating of the bleachers. We both look up. Vicky and Melanie pause just a few feet above Court’s head. I freeze, though it’s too dark for them to see us below them.
“Whit totally lost it. At least now everyone will know she puts spells on guys. Love witch,” Vicky spits. “She’s an attention-whore.”
“I know,” says Melanie.
“And you know what? I practically threw myself at Court yesterday and he completely ignored me. Like I was wallpaper. You sure you gave him the elixir?”
My heart screeches to a stop. Court quirks an eyebrow at me, and I want to seep into the earth.
“Of course I did,” says Melanie, halting. “You were there. You saw me drop it in his drink.”
I cringe. Court stares into the shadows, not looking at me.
“Why is it taking so damn long for him to fall back in love with me? The situation is making me crazy. I nearly asked Drew Reaver to the dance this morning. I mean, Drew Reaver?”
Reaver Fever. She definitely caught it.
Melanie doesn’t answer. The sole of her shoes twists back and forth on the grate. Finally, she says in a voice so quiet it’s nearly drowned out by the drone of the stadium stragglers, “Have you ever thought, maybe you and Court aren’t meant to, you know . . .”
“No, I don’t know. Please enlighten me.” Vicky’s voice turns icy.
“I’m sorry, Vicky. I just think when you have to try so hard, maybe it’s not meant to be.”
“I thought you believed in us. Why would you help me if you didn’t believe in us?”
Melanie falls silent.
Court stands rigid and apart from me, his lips pressed into a hard line. I shake my head at him, trying to pass him the truth even though he’s not looking at me. It’s not what you think. The elixir was just water. I was trying to help you.
“You never believed it would work,” comes Vicky’s accusing tone.
“I thought you needed to see for yourself that he wasn’t meant for you.”
Vicky makes an indignant gasping noise. “Well, I guess you’re not as bad an actress as my father thinks you are. But you can forget about a part in his movie. When you have to try so hard, maybe it’s just not meant to be.” At that last line, she makes her voice go high and overarticulated, like Melanie’s.
Vicky gets to her feet. The bleachers rattle like thunder as she stomps off.
Court’s breath escapes in a hiss. He looks up at Melanie, now by herself. Her stiletto pokes through the grated flooring of the bleachers and gets stuck. She twists her foot to free it, then runs in the opposite direction.
Court swears. “You fixed me with Vicky?”
“No, it’s not like that. It was w-water. The elixir.” My stammering makes my explanation sound even lamer.
He snorts. “So you charged her for water? That’s a good one.”
“Elixirs are free.”
“Free?” His eyes flick to the side and he shakes his head. “So are private jets.”
