Entangled (Spellbound #1)

Chapter 16

Charlene Perez and Ryan Phillips walked out of first period together. Their bodies were touching, mouths moving. They slowed to a full stop in the hall, quickly finished their conversation, and then parted ways. Charlene walked past Raj without noticing him.

Raj knew Charlene's entire class schedule. Gray had given him a copy. He doubted he'd learn much during school hours. Charlene was bound to be discreet around her classmates. Raj didn't have a single class with the witch... which meant he no longer had any classes with Gray.

He stared at her empty desk beside Sadie Howard in English. The entire class had avoided that seat after Gray's death and every day during fifth period it remained empty.

Raj still remembered the day Gray appeared from thin air. She'd cast a spell over him instantly. Not consciously, of course, but the consequence had been just as powerful. That day felt like a lifetime ago, not two months.

Sure, learning that she'd been dead and was now sharing her sister's body came as a shock to Gray, but she hadn't suffered through the shock of her actual death. That was something Raj had known he'd never get past. Even in his later years—even when he left McKinley and Kent behind—there'd always be that girl. That one special girl who'd left the physical realm way too early.

Shay stopped by Raj's locker at the end of the day. She was wearing her standard heavy sweater over a pair of khaki pants. It was either that or a long plaid skirt and white blouse. You'd think she was attending Catholic school or something. Still, Shay managed to look beautiful at every moment.

"Can you come by this afternoon?" Shay asked.

"What's up?"

"I'll tell you later."

Raj knew there was a lot they couldn't discuss at school, but Shay didn't have to be so damn cryptic all the time. And why did he feel like the only time he saw her lately was in the secrecy of her home, as though Raj's company was an embarrassment?

Raj was just being moody. None of that was true. Shay was the last person who cared what others thought. She was simply on the fast track to college and that meant spending lunches in lab, student council, or the library. Still, she could've been there for him a little more. Like after his mom and sister moved away or after Gray died.

Get a grip, Raj, who was the girl in this scenario?

He straightened his spine and reached inside his pocketed for his Zippo. Fine, if Shay wanted to wait to mention what was on her mind, she'd wait.

* * *

Charlene had gone to Ryan's locker to talk to him. Raj didn't bother with any pretenses, like reading a book in the hallway. People like Charlene and Ryan were easy to observe openly; so engrossed in their own lives they barely noticed other people around them.

Raj flicked his Zippo open and closed. If either one of them were to look over he wouldn't bother looking away. He'd stare them down till they cowered. It'd work on Ryan—probably not Charlene.

She began whispering in Ryan's ear.

Okay, Raj, lip-read. You can do it. But lip reading wasn't one of his abilities. What Raj was good at reading were auras, and Ryan's went haywire when Charlene pressed her body into his shoulder to speak into his ear. It was the static equivalent of a hard-on.

Long after Charlene had left Ryan's side, the boy stared in the direction she'd walked. Raj had nearly followed her then decided on a different course of action.

Keep an eye on Ryan Phillips while you're at it, Gray had said.

Why?

The little bastard helped Charlene perform a blocking spell on me. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for her.