Life's A Witch

Chapter Twenty-One

The whole gang of us trudged into the cabin in silence. It wasn't necessarily that we were trying to be quiet; it was that nobody had much to say. I'd been wondering during the trip home—when I wasn't busy beaming over how understanding Asher had been about everything—whether it would be weird now that I was coming back. I mean, the last time I was there, I'd pretty much ditched them. Of course, in my mind I'd had reason: I was just trying to keep them safe. Still, I could see how they might've interpreted my exit as abandonment.

On the other hand, they had come looking for me in the end and that had to mean something. Since we'd all been in separate cars, I hadn't had the chance to talk to any of them and gauge how they were feeling.

All I really knew was that it felt oddly good to be home—odd because the cabin had begun to feel more like home than anywhere else.

It was about 11 p.m. as we walked in the front door of the cabin, and I was expecting the house to be quiet with all its inhabitants asleep. But as I walked into the living room, I saw that almost everyone was still up. It was possible they'd been waiting in the same spots since the others had left to find me; people were leafing through magazines or had books open, and a few were just sitting there staring off into space. But when we shuffled in, all heads and eyes turned to us.

Here we go.

I was trying to figure out what to say—whether I should apologize for leaving or thank them for coming to my rescue—but it turned out I didn't need to say anything. Almost immediately, I was tackled from the side in a hug. I looked down at my attacker and saw Penelope, a thirteen-year-old who I'd come to associate with horses, because she always wore the same pony necklace every day. We'd barely said more than hi to each other; she sort of stayed in the background of our coven and was rarely seen or heard. And now Penelope had attached herself to my lower half, hooking her arms around my waist with a surprisingly strong grip for someone her size.

"Please don't leave us again," she whispered. Her voice was inaudible to anyone but me. There was so much emotion behind her words that it nearly broke my heart.

I looked up at rest of my coven. Judging by their faces, I thought they were happy that I was back too. They weren't annoyed or looking to fight with me. Their smiles ranged from relief to joy to excitement and that's when I knew.

The cold war was over.

There would be no hard feelings, between them or me, and we would move past this. Hell, we were already past it in a way. They were glad for my return and so was I.

"I promise I won't take off again," I said, glancing down at Penelope, who was full-on crying now. "You guys are stuck with me whether you like it or not."

I felt a tap on my shoulder and spun around to see someone else I hadn't expected.

"Jazzy!" I screeched, reaching out to grab her. But she was too quick for me, throwing her hands up to ward me off before I could get to her. I'd forgotten she wasn't the mushy-gushy type, so I settled for giving her a grin instead. She smiled back and I knew she was just as happy to see me.

"What are you doing here? When did they let you out?" I asked after taking a moment to pull myself together.

Jasmine waved off my question. "I'm fine. You really thought a little rumble like that was going to keep me down? Nah, I'm tough. Have you seen these muscles?" She pulled up one of her sleeves, showing off her scrawny arms.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Very impressive," I said. "But really, are you sure you're okay?"

"Thanks, Mom, but I think I'll be fine," she said semisarcastically. "I just couldn't take lying there like that any longer. It was like prison, only cleaner."