Ezra walked back in first. Maybe I was being a coward, but I needed a couple minutes to get my nerves up for whatever was going to happen next. I was still mad at Gretel too, even though maybe I didn’t deserve to be. This was such a huge secret to keep and I honestly felt rattled to my core by it. But if Gretel saw me as this terrifying monster that she couldn’t tell her secrets to, then maybe it said more about me than her.

I walked back into the house slowly, feeling as though I was walking to the gallows. The kitchen was empty, but I could hear voices in the living room.

“-won’t notice if I do.”

“No, that’s a terrible idea,” Gretel was saying softly. “Do it somewhere neutral and public.”

I walked into the living room and paused in the doorway as the conversation stopped. Gretel was sitting in our antique, yet cozy, chair while Joel was still stretched out on the sofa. If it weren’t for the bloodstains on his shirt, I wouldn’t have ever known that he was hurt. Meanwhile, Ezra was in the old recliner by Joel’s feet. All three turned to look at me.

I should have had something prepared. Even an “I’m sorry,” whether or not I felt it. But I had nothing as I stood foolishly in front of all of them. My body felt prickly, like there was a hot spotlight on me and I was getting too big for my skin. I wanted to go back into the garden and hide. Or bolt past them and run down the street, no matter what might be out there.

“Dar…” Gretel started, floundering for words as well.

I tried to smile and make eye contact, but both my eyes and mouth dropped before I could make more than a second. Gretel’s eyes were red.

“So he’s better?” I said, voice rough.

“Yeah.”

“Good,” I said. “Glad you were here.”

“Dar,” Joel said from the couch. “Please don’t be mad at Gretel.”

Something bright red flashed in front of my vision. “Don’t be mad at Gretel?” I said, whirling around to face him. “Joel, I think you’re the absolute last person who should be telling me what to do right now. You fucked off with a little pat on the head for your non-magical pet.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

“How?” I demanded. “How is it not fair? I offered to go with you and you told me I wouldn’t fit in.”

“You wouldn’t!” Joel insisted, sitting up with a groan.

If I stabbed him, Gretel could heal him again. So really, no one would be all that hurt by it. But before I could go to the kitchen and get another knife from the block, Gretel held out a hand.

“I should have told you,” she said. “Dar, I’m so sorry.”

“Was that why you didn’t?” I asked, fresh tears threatening. “Did you think I wouldn’t fit in? Like I wouldn’t be good enough for you either?”

Gretel stole a glance at Joel, whose face had gone white. But it clearly wasn’t from blood loss, because then he went bright red and looked at the ground.

“I didn’t want you to think I’d do that to you too,” Gretel said. “I knew how much it hurt. You told me on our third date what had happened and God, Dar, I should have told you then. But I knew you wouldn’t want to go out again, and I liked you so much.”

“That was two years ago,” I said.

“I know,” Gretel said. “And I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I messed up.”

“I’m sorry I made you think I’d hate you,” I said, too aware of our audience.

“Are we okay?” Dar asked.

I wanted to say yes, we’re fine. Let’s pretend this never happened and go back to this evening when we were eating Chinese takeout and flirting in the living room. Let me take that shower, then come out and try to seduce you, even if we were both exhausted. But I couldn’t even force the words out.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I think I need to go take a walk and sort out my thoughts.”

“Don’t go,” Joel said. “Those guys are still out there. I didn’t see their faces, I have no idea who they are or what they look like.”

“And this is my hometown,” I argued. “I’ll be fine.”

“Look, how about I go?” Gretel said.

“Did neither of you hear a word I just said?” Joel demanded.

“I’ve heard far too many words you’ve said,” I replied. “I just need to go. Not forever, but I need to go. I’m sorry.”

I was still in a whirlwind of insecurity and anger, so maybe I wasn’t thinking straight. But Gretel hurried over and closed the door, flipping the deadbolt before I could get there. Not that I couldn’t just undo the lock myself, but the shock of it jolted me.

“What the hell?” I demanded.

“Joel’s right,” she said. “It’s not safe.”

“Then why did you just volunteer to go?”

Then it dawned on me. “Oh.”

She looked a little ashamed, but stood firm in front of the door. Even without magic, there was no doubt Gretel could take me down if she wanted to. But now that I knew she had magic, it felt like the entire balance of our relationship had just gone haywire. And judging from how she was avoiding my eye, I wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

“Why don’t you just make me stay, then?” I snapped, glaring from her to Joel, who was sitting upright on the couch now. “I’m sure between the two of you, you could control me enough to make me stay.”

“Dar, please just stay,” Joel said. “I mean it, you could get hurt out there.”

“I don’t need you to protect me,” I snarled. “Either of you.”

“If you go out there, you could get hurt,” Gretel insisted.

“Then fucking stop me,” I muttered, moving past her to the deadbolt.

The crackle in the air behind me was what alerted me that something was happening. A split second later, the room was gone, the door was gone. There was blackness, a looming nothing that lasted just long enough to cause panic. And then I opened my eyes on a familiar soft surface.

I was lying on top of my bed. I was queasy, my stomach twisting as I scrambled off the blankets and onto the floor. How had I gotten up here? The room looked completely normal, even our dirty laundry basket was sitting in the corner. It was still nighttime outside, so I probably hadn’t lost much time, if any.

I hurried toward the door, trying to ignore the way my stomach was churning. But then it flipped one more time as my head went swimmy and I knew I was going to throw up. I made it to the bathroom just in time to vomit into the toilet, my whole body chilled and burning at the same time as I heaved.

By the time I was finished throwing up, I was exhausted down to my bones. The disorientation of finding myself up here had faded, and I remembered exactly what had happened downstairs. I’d tried to leave, and they’d…

They’d apparently fucking stopped me, just like I told them to.

I had two options here, I reasoned as I curled into a small ball on the bathroom floor and tried to stop shaking. I could go downstairs, tell them all to fuck off again, and attempt to leave. Likely with the same result of being magically transported against my will or worse. Or I could stay up here, not speak to anybody, and avoid any bad situations ever again.

Or I could hop out the window, but it was high up and I knew there wasn’t a safe way down. Something I should definitely rectify in case of a house fire.

My legs were wobbly and I knew I couldn’t stand just yet. Sitting up, my head swam again, and I tried to focus my vision on the fish that were sketched on our blue shower curtain. I was in the cute little bathroom that Gretel and I had carefully styled together. Because we loved each other and wanted to spend our lives together.

And now I wasn’t sure if either of us could even look at the other again.

Plus, I couldn’t stay here forever. I had work tomorrow and Angie needed me to be there to transform the conference room into a suitable wedding venue. Who knew if it would actually work, but at least it was worth a try. I couldn’t do that if I stayed locked in here. And besides, I was out of personal days.

There was a knock at the bedroom door, then I heard it slowly open. “Dar?” Gretel called in. “Are you in here?”

Another wave of nausea hit me, and I turned quickly to vomit again. I heard Gretel hurry into the room and didn’t have the energy or time to argue.

“Dar, I’m so sorry,” she said, leaning down to put a warm hand on my back. “Joel was just trying to keep you safe. I saw you disappear and got worried, but he just sent you up here.”

“Like a baby,” I muttered in between heaves.

“You were going to get hurt if you went out there,” Gretel said.

I wiped my mouth on a towel that was draped over the side of the bathtub. “I’m an adult, Gretel,” I snapped. “If I want to make a stupid decision, that’s my prerogative. Everyone else here gets to make them.”

Gretel was silent. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the cool tile of the bathtub.

“This is what I didn’t want,” I said. “Magic fucked with the…” My thoughts trailed a little as the disgusting taste in my mouth distracted me. “…the power dynamic of me and Joel.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen,” Gretel said, handing me a glass of water.

“But it just did,” I replied, taking the water gratefully.

I took a long sip of water, knowing full well it would probably come back up again shortly. But my parched throat felt much better as I did so.

“You and Joel just decided for me,” I said. “You didn’t stop him from sending me up here.”

“It was to keep you safe.”

“You don’t get to choose that for me!” I exclaimed. “Do I get to choose that for you? Can I keep you from going somewhere? From doing something you want to do? That’s what magic did to me and Joel. And then he left me behind. And Gretel, shit, I’m sorry if I made you think I was some kind of monster that would dump you for having magic. But I don’t want that kind of relationship again.”

I was crying now, and so was she as I tilted my head to look up from where it was still resting on the side of the tub. “What do we do?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But I want to leave. I need to be alone. Just for a little while.”

Gretel nodded miserably. “Will you at least let me heal you?” she asked.

I was about to refuse when the water I’d just drank shot back up my throat. I turned quickly and vomited again, water going into my sinuses in a burning stream. Finally, I managed to nod, even as I struggled to breathe right.

Gretel’s familiar touch traced over my back. Then it moved just far enough off of my body that I couldn’t physically feel it, but I could still sense it there. There was a tingling warmth high up in my back that spread through my body. In seconds, the nausea and shivering were gone. Even the burning taste of bile was out of my mouth as she healed me.

I sighed, closing my eyes for a second even as I still hunched over the toilet bowl. Gretel put her hand back on my shoulder and I wanted to fall against her. I wanted to lose myself in her, fall asleep and never wake up. But that wasn’t possible, at least right now.

“You do this at work, don’t you?” I murmured, my eyes still tightly closed.

Gretel was silent, giving me the answer anyway. God, what else did I not know?

I stood up, waving off her attempt to help me. “Thank you,” I said quietly, trying to look her in the eye, but not quite succeeding. “I’m just going to stay at the hotel tonight. I have work tomorrow anyway.”

Gretel looked like she wanted to argue with me, but she nodded. I gave in and gave her a quick hug, letting go fast enough that I didn’t lose all of my will to leave. Then I went into the bedroom and packed a quick bag, just my work clothes and my toiletries. I wasn’t leaving forever. I was just going long enough to clear my head so we could work this out.

Gretel stayed in the bathroom as I slung my bag over my shoulder and opened the bedroom door. It was unlocked, and I realized the possibility that they locked it hadn’t occurred to me. Of course, if Joel was powerful enough to physically transport me across the house, there was no need for a door to keep me trapped.

I walked down the stairs where Joel and Ezra were still in the living room. Joel went to stand, and I shook my head. “Don’t come near me,” I snapped, my voice shaking with fear and rage. “Ever again.”

Before he could respond, I slid the deadbolt out of place, opened the door, and stormed out of the house.

---

Continue to Chapter 11