“Mina, it’s okay!”
I think it’s getting stronger.
What if it finds a way to possess everyone in the car at once?
I renew my struggles, but to what end? Aida is driving at her usual horrifying ninety miles an hour. Throwing myself out of the car would break more than my neck.
Lucia tries to cross my arms over my chest. “Mina, relax! We’re justgoing to the drive-in theater. They’re showingEnchantedtonight. You loveEnchanted.“
“I think she’s having a panic attack,” Rainie says, a hint of concern finally leaking into her voice. “Lucia, back off.”
“Please, I have to go,” I whimper.
Aida pulls to a stop in front of the ticket booth before Lucia can follow her sharp glance toward Rainie with an equally sharp retort.
Normal drive-in movie theaters don’t open until six or seven in the evening, but thanks to Ward’s suffocatingly dark winters, ours stays open around the clock. Aida drives past lawn chairs facing the giant plastic screen and honks at a couple trying to throw popcorn into each other’s mouths.
As soon as she parks, everyone piles out of the car. Indecision holds me still. Spending time around my friends, even in public, flirts too close to danger for my taste. Jesse would surely disapprove. Even when he’s reckless, he’s smart about it.
There’s nothing smart about testing the bounds of a curse while far away from the only person who can help me if it goes wrong.
“This wasn’t my idea,” Rainie says, startling me. The fading sunlight turns liquid in her eyes, a reddish tint reflecting off pools of hazel. “I suggested we just go for Talbot’s car with a crowbar.”
I groan, momentarily distracted. “Why do you hate him so much?” I ask. “You guys haven’t even had an actual conversation.”
Rainie blinks. “Who said I hate him? I think the guy’s a hoot.”
The sunlight in her eyes wavers, glimmering the faintest shade of orange.
I scramble backward, yanking open the door on the opposite side of the car. Rainie stares after me for a second, then shakes her head, as though waving away an errant thought. She emerges from the other side.
“C’mon, Mina. Sit.” Lucia points at my usual seat, a lavender lawnchair with paisleys and pink-rimmed cupholders. “The movie’s starting soon, and we need to talk.”
The logical choice is clear. Break into a run and get the hell out of here. Call Jesse to pick me up and go wait for him somewhere crowded. Jesse, who’s probably convinced I drowned in the toilet at Grease & Grind by now.
But logical isn’t how I feel when Alex cups my face, thumbs sweeping over my cheekbones. “For me, Mina? Please?”
I swallow. Just a few minutes. A few minutes, and then I’ll leave.
I let Alex guide me into the seat. My friends form a loose U in front of me, convening in a council of grim faces and crossed arms.
Of all people, it’s Aida who breaks the silence. She folds herself into the chair to my right and asks, “So what’s Jesse like?”
Anger steals across Alex’s features. “He’s a thug. You shouldn’t be anywhere near a guy like him.”
“Way to guarantee he’s gonna be hotter than ever to her.” Rainie shoulder checks Alex. “Jockstrap here has a point, Mina.”
I can’t blame them for coming down on Jesse. His reputation in Ward is well-earned, and he’s done nothing to repair his image. “He’s not a bad guy. Really,” I add. “He’s helping me figure some stuff out.”
“The same stuff that’s kept you away from us?” Lucia crouches next to my chair, her cardigan buttoned over a bumblebee sweater dress and knee-high winter boots. Earnest brown eyes peer up at me.
I rub the soft fabric of Lucia’s sleeve and nod. “Exactly. Once I figure it out, I can come back. Things will go back to normal.”
“What is thisstuff,Mina?” Rainie drags her chair in front of mine and perches on the edge, elbows on her knees and fingers laced together like a detective across an interrogation table. “The sequence of events here doesn’t make sense. You disappear for spring break without telling anyone where you’re going, then you come home and basically tell us to go screw ourselves. What is going on with you?”
“And why do you think nobody but Jesse Talbot can help?” Alex adds.
They won’t let this go. I need to give them something, or they’ll just try again. This is the exact reason I was so harsh about pushing them away when I realized the curse had followed me from the Haikal villa—once they get the impression that I need their help, absolutely nothing in the world will dissuade them from trying to rescue me.
