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“Mom doesn’t think she’s a witch,” I reminded my aunt. But the moment the words were out of my mouth, I somehow knew they weren’t true.
She smiled. “Your mother tells you that, my dear. She’s never wanted you to feel like you were out of sorts since you hadn’t fully come to believe in your powers. It was hard enough on you in school with the kids teasing you.”
I turned to Sarah and gave her a questioning look. She nodded. “You’ve never wondered why Mom is fascinated with all her herbs and her garden? Or how she has so many crystals she collects? Come on, Hollie, you cannot be that naïve. You chose to ignore it because you wanted to be normal.”
I felt dizzy and stumbled back. Suddenly, a stool was there to catch my fall. I couldn’t help but notice the look between my aunt and sister. Almost as if they were proud.
“Thank you, Aunt Lucy.”
“For?” she asked.
“The stool.”
Lucy moved across the small room swiftly, her long, black skirt trailing behind her. She stood next to Sarah. Both of them were dressed in black. Lucy wore a skirt and a black dress shirt. Sarah wore a really cute black knee-length dress, paired with a touch of red on the neckline of her long cardigan sweater.
“Do you always wear black to the store?” I asked randomly. They both ignored me.
“I didn’t move the stool for you,” Lucy stated.
I looked at my sister, who shook her head.
A bubble of laughter came out. “What, next you’re going to tell me I moved it?”
“If the broomstick fits,” Sarah said with a smirk.
“You guys, I didn’t move the stool.” I stood and turned to face the stool. “If I moved it, then let it move back to where it was.”
When the stool slid across the floor to the table, I covered my mouth with both hands and cried out, “Holy fuck!”
“This is why you shouldn’t be practicing the craft, Hollie. And you should never put a hex on someone. Our craft is about manifestation, protection, harmony, clearing…balance.”
I waved my hand in front of me. “Yes, yes, I know all of that. But you mean to tell me you’ve never put a spell on someone to…to…?”
They both leaned forward.
“To what, dear?”
“Make him notice you!” I cried out.
The bell on the front door chimed, and Sarah made her way out of the small room to greet the shoppers.
My aunt’s store was adorable. It wasn’t like some of the other “witch” stores in Salem. She sold a lot of products for self-care that she, Sarah, and my mother all made themselves. She also sold paper goods, art, and Salem-touristy things. But then there was the area of the store for people who practiced witchcraft. Things like potions, tarot and oracle decks, candles, and other wares a witch might need.
I’ll admit, I once bought her heart-mender potion when Lucas asked another girl to prom. Someone should have told me it would only mend my heart for, like, two days.
“If you needed help getting someone to notice you, you could have come to me. I would have helped you. Instead, you got drunk, used a spell you had no business using, and made a joke of it all. And look at what happened.”
“So, you think it was me? I’m the reason Lucas was hit by that car?”
“The important question here, Hollie, is do you believe it was you?”
I instantly started to chew on my thumbnail.
The door chimed again, and I heard Sarah greeting someone.
“Hi, Wendy! It’s so nice to see you.”
I rolled my eyes, and my hand took my other hand and gave it a squeeze. As much as I tried to forget all the mean things Wendy Hoffman had said to me when I was younger, it was hard to do. Especially when she had gotten her claws into Lucas.
