Family Magic, Chloe Price [christmas read aloud .txt] 📗

it. “I’m really sorry.”

I blinked, feeling like someone hit me hard. He was sorry? Brad Peters was blaming himself for my inexcusable clumsiness? Seriously? I allowed myself to soften and believe it. After a heartbeat, I toughened up.

Definitely a trap.

“Stop being nice,” I snapped, tired and upset and frustrated after my long day in a very long week, and it was only Tuesday. “I know Alison put you up to this, so you can stop. I get it, consider me punished.”

Brad shook his head, confused. Could it be true he had no idea? No one could be that out of touch. The hallway itself vibrated with tension from me and the other kids in the know.

But nope. He really was clueless. Imagine that.

“I don’t know what Alison told you, Syd,” Brad said, “but she didn’t put me up to anything. I wanted to apologize for yesterday.”

“You shouldn’t be talking to me,” I told him, despite wanting more than anything for him to keep talking to me. Brad Peters was - talking - to - me.

“Why not?” His beautiful eyes crinkled at the corners as he frowned.

“Alison won’t like it,” I said as softly as I could, worried like in magic, names had power. But nope, no wicked witch appeared. Amazing.

“Alison doesn’t tell me who to talk to,” Brad replied. “I’ve actually been wanting to say ‘hi’ for a while.”

I stared at him in open shock, not even aware of the world around me. In that glorious moment, it was just me and him. Any fantasy I imagined on my own couldn’t compare to this.

“Really?” I hated how my voice squeaked a little. “How come?”

Brad laughed. The whole world shone like heaven when Brad laughed.

“No reason. Is that okay?” His green eyes gave me the most delicious shivers. It was almost too much for me to comprehend.

“I guess,” I said. “I just find it a little strange.”

“Why?” His turn to be confused.

“No one else seems to want to get to know me.” As soon as I spoke, I worried I sounded like a whiner. “Small town, hard to meet people, you know?”

He ran one hand through his glossy blonde hair. My insides trembled as my knees went soft.

“Yeah, I get it,” he said. “It must be tough. I grew up here, guess it’s way easier for me.”

“I guess,” I breathed, clinging to the brief instant in time that I, Syd Hayle, was talking to the most popular boy in school because he wanted to say hello. I knew I’d be replaying it over and over when I made it home.

“So maybe we can go get a pizza or something sometime,” Brad said.

And the blessed angels sang Hallelujah. If it kept up much longer, I would need him to hold me up. Which meant he would have to—sigh—touch me and I didn’t know if I would survive it.

In the heartbeat I thought the idea could even possibly come true, reality struck.

Alison finally arrived. I thought I was toast before. The expression on her face could have killed a bird in flight. I spotted her over Brad’s shoulder. I guess my flinching at the thought of what she had planned next must have alerted him something was wrong. By the time he turned around, Alison morphed herself from a she-bitch from hell to perky cheerleader.

“Brad,” Alison slipped one possessive hand through his arm, linking the other over it, a clear and powerful sign of ownership from one girl to another. “I was waiting for you at my locker but you didn’t come.” She formed her perfect bow mouth into an expert pout and gazed up at him through her fluttering eyelashes. I knew she’d been practicing that one in front of the mirror since birth.

“Alison,” Brad looked away from her, actually looked away, and back to me. “I’m talking to Syd.”

Part of me wanted to die because Brad cemented my fate. The other part wanted to die because Brad wanted to have pizza with me. I couldn’t tell which was worse.

Alison seemed to think she knew. Her eyes cut through me like I wasn’t even there.

“Well, we have to go. Everyone’s crashing at Johnny’s for burgers and you promised you’d take me, remember?”

I noticed we were alone. The local kids knew an impending explosion when they saw one. No one wanted to be called as witnesses against Alison Morgan.

Brad reached out and removed Alison’s hands from his arm. He took one step away from her.

“I can’t today,” he said. “I promised Syd I’d walk her home.”

My heart leapt from my chest and to his feet. Okay, not really, but it felt like it. On the edge of hyperventilating, reality crashed down around me, only to be temporarily lifted when Brad turned his attention to me. Reality hit again and so on until I was sure I was going to pass out from the rush.

Alison’s face showed her rage for only a heartbeat, but I know Brad saw it. I saw it too. Heck, the entire world saw it. I breathed in and held it.

“Since when do you walk losers home after school?” She demanded. “Our friends are waiting for us.”

“Syd’s not a loser,” Brad was actually becoming angry. He was so cute when he was angry. Hang on, was he honestly defending me?

“Really,” Alison said, giving me the dirty eyeball. “Well I say she is.”

“Get over yourself, Alison,” he said. “No one likes a bitch.”

I had a flash of worry for him. Was he really that naive?

Obviously, yes. Alison laughed.

“Says who?” She said, arrogant smile condescending.

“Guess I’m a loser too, then,” Brad said, “because I don’t.” He turned away from her. “Ready to go, Syd?”

I couldn’t believe he just did that.

Neither could Alison.

“Brad!” She pulled at his arm. “You are not! No boyfriend of mine will ever be a loser. Ever!”

“Consider this a breakup,” he answered. Brad reached out to me and in my total shock, I went with him. He guided me into the echoingly empty hall beyond.

What had I gotten myself into? I glanced over at him and saw he still looked mad. In fact, he ignored the few kids he did know on the way out. Even the calls of his football buddies from across the parking lot went unanswered as we hit the sidewalk headed for my house.

Brad flashed me a boyish grin.

“Sorry you had to see that, Syd,” he said.

“Did you really break up with Alison?” I asked, clutching the remains of my belongings to me like a lifeline.

“Yeah,” he said. “I guess I did.”

“Wow,” I said.

“I didn’t mean to drag you into it,” he kicked at a piece of loose pavement as we walked. “I guess you being there... I used you, I’m sorry.”

“No worries,” I said.

“Seriously,” he turned to me, concern on his earnest face, “it wasn’t fair of me. It’s just... I’ve been looking for a reason to dump her for a while.”

“Really?” I gasped. “How come?”

He shrugged, hands deep in his pockets. “She’s just, I don’t know, not nice sometimes. Mean. Like to you. And other people. And she treats me like she owns me. I hate that.” He stared off, not with me at all and yet, I was happy to be there as his sounding board.

“So what are you going to do?” I asked. “You have all the same friends.”

“Big deal,” he said. “They won’t care.”

“You believe that?” I made a face, certain now he was clueless.

“Don’t you?” He asked.

“No. Are you telling me you don’t know what she will do to you after this? Never mind what she’s going to do to me.” I shuddered and tried not to think about it.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Brad answered.

“Brad,” I tried to get through to him. “Alison is the queen of retaliation. She will torture you, turn your friends against you. Probably make my life a living misery day after day if this one is any indication.”

“You had a bad day?” I briefly considered asking him if his mom dropped him a lot as a baby.

“I had the day from hell, thanks to your ex-girlfriend. She was pissed at me for yesterday. You really didn’t know?”

Brad shook his head. “I’ll talk to her, Syd. Get her to leave you alone.”

I didn’t even try to hide the bitterness in the bark I called a laugh.

“Do me a favor and don’t, okay? No offense, but you’ll make things worse. If it’s even possible at this point.”

Brad stopped walking and turned to face me.

“Crap, Syd,” he said. “I can’t seem to get anything right. I’m sorry about Alison. And if us being friends is going to make things worse, I’ll leave you alone.”

It took a second for that to register. Damn! Talk about backfire!

Before I had a chance to tell him different, a black SUV pulled up next to us, the tinted windows rolling down. I could hear giggling from inside the truck. A couple of football boys leaned out.

“Hey, man, get in! Johnny’s flipping burgers as we speak!”

Brad turned to me.

“See you around, Syd,” he said. I wanted so much to stop him but knew I lost the battle. I turned and started walking, refusing to watch him leave, kicking myself over and over for being so stupid as to turn away not only the first person who tried to be my friend but the very person I fantasized about having as a friend in the first place.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by the derogatory remarks flying from the SUV as it sped by. Listening to the fading laughter, I felt really hurt Brad didn’t put a stop to it. Chapter Eleven

I didn’t even bother trying to hide my dejection when I walked through the door at home. By that point, I didn’t care one way or the other who saw me or knew. Whatever. I told myself it didn’t matter, they couldn’t really hurt me. They were only words and stupid rotten idiots and we’d be moving soon anyway. I’d be able to start fresh with a new batch of horrible people to try to avoid at all costs.

I walked into the kitchen to my mother’s smiling face and a fresh batch of cookies.

Funny what can make you break down and sob your heart out.

As I fell totally and utterly apart, I felt Mom’s arms go around me. I clung to her like she was my only anchor to the real world. As I wept into her, pouring out my frustration and grief in huge heaves of choking tears, she held on to me and stroked my hair.

How come we couldn’t keep that connection?

I finally collapsed, finding one of the kitchen chairs in time to catch myself from slipping to the floor. Mom grabbed one of her own and pulled it up in front of me, our knees interlocking so she could still hug me if I needed it. She pushed my hair back from my face, fingers stroking the tears from my cheeks while her power embraced me. I felt so safe at that moment, so open to her I released the hold on my own power and let her support me completely.

If she was startled by it, she didn’t show it. In fact, if she was at all confused her daughter turned into a