Isaac like that. Nor could I steal Josh’s car for a second time.
“That wouldn’t be fair to you or the guys.” I took the keys from her and dropped them back into her purse, determined to perk up for her sake. “For the rest of the night, I’m going to focus on positive things like Reed being gone, me surviving Caden’s task—which will hopefully mean he’ll leave me alone for a while—and us having dates waiting to sweep us off our feet.”
Kaylee narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure? Under the circumstances, Josh and Isaac will understand.”
Since I wasn’t ready to tell them everything I’d just told Kaylee, I was positive they wouldn’t take being ditched at a dance all that well—particularly since they’d come only because Kaylee and I had wanted to go.
“Kaylee, let’s keep this between us.” I bit my bottom lip and hoped she wouldn’t ask why.
“Sure.”
I heaved out a breath as if expelling all my negative emotions. I’d already put my friends through a lot. Now the least I could do was not ruin their Saturday night too.
“From this moment forward, I’m going to forget about Caden and everything bad that has happened in the past few weeks and focus on the future.” At least until tomorrow. I forced the corners of my mouth to turn upward.
“Yeah, we’re going to have to work on that smile.” Kaylee paused thoughtfully. “Can you say Chicken Dance?” A devilish smirk etched across her face as she stood. “I bet the deejay has the song.”
“You wouldn’t!” I jumped up to follow her.
“Isaac’s not the only person I’d like to see flap their arms.” She stopped long enough to demonstrate.
I hurried to keep up with her quick stride. “You heard us earlier?”
“Oh yeah, and I was sorry he stopped you from requesting it.”
Figured she’d remember my aversion to making a fool of myself.
We found the guys right where we’d left them, and I grabbed Isaac’s hand. “Hurry because Kaylee’s threatening to request the Chicken Dance if we don’t start to enjoy ourselves.”
My talk with Kaylee did help lift some of the burden of what I’d done from my shoulders. One of my favorite songs came on too. I raised my arms over my head and let the music fill me, relaxing my tense nerves. Isaac shuffled his feet, sighing in what sounded like relief when the deejay announced the next song would be a slow one and the last song of the night.
When my smile faltered, Kaylee tucked her hands in her armpits, flapped her elbows, and said, “I bet with a bewilderment spell I could get the deejay to play one more song.”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter when she moved her head back and forth in a pecking motion. Thankfully, I escaped the gym without having to imitate poultry.
After the dance, Isaac drove me home and walked with me to the front porch. I peeked in the side window before opening the door. No glow of light coming from the family room meant Dad was upstairs asleep.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked.
“Won’t your dad mind?” He peered over my shoulder.
“He’s already in bed.”
“Then I’d love to.” He swept me off my feet and used his powers to close the front door. I stifled a giggle as he carried me into the family room.
“He’s still right upstairs,” I whispered when Isaac playfully dropped me on the couch.
He lay half next to me and half over me, his arms keeping his weight from crushing me. “Shall I put him in an enchanted sleep? Buy us time?”
“Isaac!”
“I’m kidding.” He ran a line of kisses over my collarbone.
As much as I loved being able to be close to Isaac, I wasn’t in the mood to make out. Not after the night I’d had. I shifted so that I was cradled in his arms instead. He didn’t ask why, although I think he knew there was more to the events with Caden than I’d let on, and I was thankful he didn’t push for answers. I’d tell him the truth, maybe tomorrow. Maybe in a week. Or sometime after that.
Until then, as promised to Kaylee, I wanted to remain focused on the here and now and not the past. Held tight in Isaac’s embrace, I felt safe, like the rest of the world couldn’t reach me. I clung to that feeling, needing it to help me accept the things I couldn’t change.
And tomorrow, when Isaac was gone and I was alone with my thoughts, I’d remember the things I did change and the people I did save. And never again would I cast without fully understanding the consequences.
No, that’s not a promise. After all, I am human.
Chapter 30
A week had passed since the dance. I still hated myself for removing the ward from that woman’s house, even though I knew I couldn’t have saved her. She had helped her daughter cheat death and gave her a second chance at life. I knew she wouldn’t regret her decision, and I’d be lying if I said I regretted making the deal I had to save Chase.
Natalie hadn’t contacted Lauren again. I wondered if Natalie even remembered the people she’d left behind anymore. When Lauren’s texts to her went unanswered, she surmised it was because Natalie had ditched her cell phone. Kaylee and I wondered how long it would take for her disappointment to turn to anger.
We could only imagine what Natalie’s parents were going through, so to ease some of their pain, we cast a bewilderment spell on them. We didn’t take away their memories or convince them they were fine—no one is fine after a loss like that—but we did give them a boost of mental strength to help them move through each day, using our powers to convince them that Natalie would want them to live their lives.
“Maddie! Help me!”
Chase stood on the bright red platform at the park with his arms stretched above his head.
I leaped off the swinging bridge, landing next to him. “But the lava will get me!” I replied with mock horror.
“You’ll be protected!”
It was too cold to be outside without gloves and mittens, but Chase had begged me to take him to the park. “One last game of Hot Lava. Please!” he’d said, his little hands pressed together as if in prayer and his big hazel eyes staring up at me.
No way could he hold on to the monkey bars while wearing mittens, so I held his legs tighter than I normally would and helped him swing to the other side.
“He’s got a lot of energy,” someone said from behind me.
I turned to find Caden, his one hand holding a lit cigarette and the other in the pocket of his pea coat.
“This is a park.” I gave a pointed look at the cigarette. “There are children playing.”
“Always the do-gooder.” He bent down and snuffed it out, then flicked it into a nearby trash can.
I hopped onto the platform before Chase could tell me I was being burned alive. Caden followed.
I looked at my brother. “Chase, why don’t you go steer the boat. I’ll be right there.” Once Chase was through the yellow tube-bridge, I looked at Caden. “What do you want?”
He leaned against one of the posts. “To see how you’re doing.”
“You know, you’re killing the whole heartless-demon image I’ve had all my life by pretending you care.”
“Who said I’m pretending?”
I pulled the sleeves of my ski jacket as far over my hands as they would go. I really didn’t need a demon looking out for me, yet I didn’t want to say something to upset him and make him my enemy.
When I didn’t say anything, Caden added, “I know what I asked of you was difficult.”
“It was.” I tucked my hair behind my ear. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of upsetting me. “But
