Crystal Magic by Madeline Freeman

Author:Madeline Freeman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-03-10T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

I wake up early Saturday morning and for a moment, I’m able to convince myself that last night’s events were just a nightmare. But even without leaving my bed, I know Jodi is awake. Her grief is contagious, moving through the house like a fog and covering me like a blanket. Mrs. Cole died last night. It wasn’t a nightmare.

What happened after we saw Mrs. Cole lying on the floor is jumbled in my mind. Owen and I waited for the paramedics and led them to her body. The chaperones forced everyone out of the hallway, back into the commons. The DJ stopped playing music and slowly, everyone filtered out of the school. When I got home, Jodi was sitting in the living room, waiting for me to tell her all about my exciting and enchanting night. But I only told her one thing.

The air feels thin and I struggle to take a deep breath. I didn’t know her well, but Mrs. Cole was nice to me. She gave me a chance. It seems impossible that I’ll never see her again.

On my nightstand, my phone buzzes. I pick it up and see a text message from Owen. There’s a diner two blocks from Jodi’s store. Can you be there in 20 min?

My stomach flutters, remembering his fingers on my cheek last night, but a swoop of guilt blots the memory out. How can I think about that moment with Owen in light of the tragedy that followed? Still, my fingers tremble as I hit the reply button. Maybe. Why?

Mere seconds pass before my phone buzzes again. I’ll explain when you get here.

A knot of apprehension twists in my stomach. Does he want to talk about what almost happened between us last night? Or did I completely misread the entire situation? Maybe he wants to talk about something entirely different. I won’t know till I get there, so I dress quickly, pulling on a sweater and a pair of jeans, before heading to the second floor and approaching Jodi’s room. I hesitate at the door; she’s sobbing softly inside. I don’t want to intrude on her grief, and, more selfishly, I don’t want her to need me and insist I can’t go. Stomach clenching, I turn from her door and head downstairs as silently as I can.

The air outside is crisp and my breath forms white clouds as I exhale. I’ve never walked to Jodi’s shop before, but it only takes a few minutes when Jodi drives us there, so I figure it can’t be much more than a mile away. I check the time on my phone. Owen wants to meet fifteen minutes from now. I pick up my pace.

By the time I reach the diner, I’m rubbing my arms, wishing I’d worn my jacket. Owen sits in a booth near the back of the diner and I go to him. I scan the room for Lexie, Bria, West—someone—but I don’t recognize anyone else.

“Thanks for coming,” Owen says when I sit across from him.

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