The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic(92)

“Thank you,” Sadie croaked out. “For everything.”

He returned to the chair by the fireplace and promptly fell back asleep.

Sadie felt something zinging along her veins. It felt like purpose. Or hope. Or maybe a little of both. The Jerusalem cherry tea had worked its way completely out of her system and she was wired.

She was tired of life happening to her. There was a hollow space in her soul that ached with Gigi’s absence, but she couldn’t use that as an excuse. What would it be like to trust herself? To trust the woman Gigi had raised her to be? She thought of Jake, how it would hurt him to follow his heart. If he could do the right thing, so could she. Because one thing she knew, now that her life was staring her in the face again and some of the feeling had returned to her, was that she wanted him in her life, even if only as a friend. She decided right then to invite Bethany over and get to know her.

The sharp fear of throwing away her life, losing her brother, her magic, made everything clearer. Her fingers itched by her sides. She tossed and turned on the couch until the sun filtered in through the curtains. A new day. A new promise. A new hope.





Athena’s Tea

Wisdom of the head is useless without wisdom of the heart. Drink this tea to bring both in balance. This is a caffeine free tea meant to be sipped before bed to sweeten your dreams.

Ingredients

2 spoons of Rooibos tea

1–2 tsp dried apple

1 inch of cinnamon stick

? inch vanilla pod

squeeze of honey (optional)

Directions

Steep in hot water 7 minutes, strain, and drink while it’s still piping hot for full effects.





??15??


AS THE SUN HAD risen, Sadie had finally fallen back asleep, and was woken by a bone-crushing hug and voices filtering in from the kitchen.

“I could cheerfully murder you!” Raquel whispered fearfully in her ear.

“I’m okay,” Sadie promised.

“What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t, obviously,” Sadie answered. “Or I don’t know. Maybe I was. I thought I could be the solution. Gigi’s letter said that if I sacrificed myself, Seth would be safe. It just—it made some kind of sense. At the time, anyway.”

“Gigi would never say that.” Raquel frowned.

Sadie pulled the letter out of her back pocket. She’d been carrying it around with her for days. The paper was worn soft and the creases smoothed.

Sadie watched as Raquel’s eyes scanned the letter and then started at the top again, narrowing as they neared the end.

“This is like a riddle.”

“Seems pretty clear to me.”

“No, it’s not. Because if you actually used the brain in that pretty little head of yours, you’d know Gigi would never, ever, and I mean ever, tell you to off yourself.”

Sadie was silent, her brows pulled down. She had known that, surely. Realized it but not wanted to stare that truth in the face because it was easier to take it at face value. Her head still felt foggy and ached if she moved too fast.

“Gigi must have been pissed,” Sadie said quietly.

“No shit,” Raquel said, and Sadie laughed because it sounded so like something Seth would say.

“Starting to talk like each other now?”

“Shut up,” Raquel smiled. “Are you really okay with us, by the way?”

“Hey, it’s your funeral. And anyway, I feel like if you can forgive me for … you know, being stupid, then I can forgive you for loving my brother, aka also being stupid.”

“So, now all we have to do is figure out what Gigi meant.”

Sadie settled on that word: we. One syllable packed with so much promise.

“Also”—Raquel took both hands in hers—“I think you need grief counseling.”

“I was only trying to save Seth,” Raquel answered, her heart hammering.

“I know, I know. This has nothing to do with Seth, though. I’ve already been talking to him about seeing a therapist.”

“I told him the same thing.”

“Sometimes it needs to come from someone who knows what it feels like, though, you know? I didn’t tell him he should or has to. I just told him how it’s helped me.”

“And you think it would help me too?” Sadie asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“I think therapy could help the entire planet,” Raquel said seriously. “But yeah, this isn’t something you want to walk through alone. Even though we’re here with you, a professional can give insight we can’t.”

“Okay.” Sadie nodded resolutely, vowing to find help after Seth was safe.

“Now, how’s it going with Florence?”

“Weird,” Sadie responded automatically. “Or maybe it’s weird because it’s starting to feel normal. I just wish Gigi could have been here. To see us all together. For everything.”

“She’s here.” Raquel reached out and squeezed her hand.

Sadie’s nerves felt calmer than they had in ages as she sipped honey chamomile tea. And when Sage padded in with sleepy eyes in her oversized T-shirt, clutching Cocoa to her chest, she poured her sister a bowl of cereal. Maybe her mother and sister would leave. But they were here now. And Sadie wanted to know this girl with secrets in her hazel eyes. She didn’t know what to do about the life debt, but sitting paralyzed in fear wasn’t getting her anywhere. It was time to switch gears. Nothing like a brush with death to set things in perspective, she mused. There were only nine days until the full moon, and with a jolt Sadie realized it was the same day as the fall festival.