Page 59 of Jinxes and Drumsticks

“Yes, listen to Oren. Or I’ll break your pretty, fuckboy face,” I bark.

“Well, I mean—it’s true isn’t it? She’s selling a fucking placebo effect,” Satoshi says.

Oren sighs. “You do know that most modern medicines we take use naturally occurring chemicals and plant extracts, right? You know that witches used to basically be midwives and medicine women?”

“Yeah, asshole,” I agree.

“Fuck you,” Satoshi says.

“Fuck you,” I say.

“Don’t make me turn this car around,” Roxie says.

I grumble as I lean against the passenger seat window, staring out ahead as the palm trees pass more and more frequently and a thin slice of sea peeks over the horizon. I want to tell Roxie to do just that, to follow through on the threat: to turn around and take me home.

I don’t know exactly when Lillith became home. But that’s what she is to me. She’s home. The only person I feel completely at ease with. And that’s why I don’t want to be this sullen around the guys. Because for some reason, this time it’s different. And I don’t want them talking shit about her or acting like she’s just a blip in my life, because if that’s the case, I really will be devastated. I’ll be crushed.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I fish it out, smiling when I see Lillith’s name. When I open it, it’s a picture of Gloam covered in dried green herbs, looking blissed out as hell.

Guess who forgot the sachet she’s working on has a bunch of catnip in it?

The text message has three facepalm emojis right after it. I laugh, immediately feeling my mood lift. I tap out a quick message back.

What are you working on? What’s the sachet for?

It’s for you, actually. A protection charm.

No shit? I think I need it immediately. You should hand-deliver it to San Diego.

I wish. I miss you.

I miss you too, little bird.

The dots indicating that she’s typing pop up just as Satoshi leans over the shoulder of my seat.

“I miss you too, little chicken,” he says in a mocking voice. “God, you’re so embarrassing.”

“Don’t read my shit over my shoulder, dickhead,” I snap.

“Seriously, Toshi, you’re being super unfun right now,” Roxie says. “Don’t be a douchebag. Lillith’s cool.”

“How would you fucking know? You barely spoke to her,” Satoshi says.

“It’s a vibe. You probably don’t pick up on it because you’re like... constantly vibrating at a low frequency, dude. And even if I didn’t know, your friend is clearly into her. It’s free to be kind.”

“It’s also free to be honest,” he counters.

“You mean it’s free to be a little bitch?” I say.

Fletcher lets out a resigned sigh and lies down in the back row of the van, draping a flannel shirt over his eyes. “I’m taking a nap,” he lilts. “I’m not interested in being privy to this argument. Again.”

The van gets awkward and tense after that, everyone quieting down. Maybe Satoshi heard it in my tone that I’m not fucking around anymore. Not about Lillith. This isn’t just some stupid crush or a hyperfixation. It’s deeper than that.

When I met Oren as a kid, I felt a similar way. Like there was a shift in the way the fabric of the universe spooled out from the bolt. This is like that, but it’s even more intense. I can’t stop thinking about her when I’m away from her. And when I’m with her, I don’t want to think about anything else.

I wonder if this is what it feels like to be bewitched. Maybe she’s cast a spell on me.

If she has, I don’t want out. Hell, she could lay me down as a blood sacrifice on her altar and I would thank her for carving my heart out and eating it.