The Oath, Book 2 of The Coven Series

Chapter Nineteen

~CJ ~

I realized sleep wasn't something I'd be getting anytime soon when I walked down the hall toward my room. I could hear raised voices, and I sighed. Gran's walls were thin, and hearing CJ and whoever argue all night was not something I wanted to deal with. Guests or not, they were going to be quiet. I knocked forcefully on her door. Jeff opened it, surprised to see me. I could say the same. I'd expected her and Ethan, but Jeff? Nope. Threw me for a second.

"Hey," he smiled, his cerulean blue eyes lighting up. "You okay? I was worried. You didn't return any of my texts."

"Sorry, my phone was out of commission for a while." I peeked over his shoulder and saw Ethan lounging on the bed. So maybe my first thoughts were wrong. "Um, I just stopped by to see if you guys could keep it down. My room is right next door, and I'd like to sleep sometime tonight."

Cassie stopped pacing and turned to look at me, her face flaming up. I quirked an eyebrow. I didn't think she realized I could hear them. Ethan laughed and grabbed her as she passed the bed, pulling her down. She buried her face in his shirt. Jeff looked pained, but he didn't say anything.

"Why don't you come in, Melinda?" Ethan suggested. "Your grandmother said you are very adept with witchcraft, much more than either Jeff or I. You might be able to help."

"Help?" I asked, curious. What in the world would a Coven Mistress need my help with?

"We're trying to figure some stuff out," Jeff told me. "CJ's sister left her a warning about something coming, and we're trying to figure it out."

"Sure," I said. "Let me change, and I'll be back in a few minutes." I needed out of these clothes, which felt a little grimy after everything I'd done outside today. Jeff nodded, and I went to my room. I grabbed a pair of flannel pajamas and then went to the bathroom to clean up. Once I was done, I wandered on back down to CJ and Ethan's room.

CJ answered the door this time and stepped aside so I could come in. Both Ethan and Jeff had vacated the room. If my curiosity hadn't been eating away at me, I'd have just gone back to my room. I didn't do girlfriend/boyfriend drama.

"Do you like Jeff?" CJ burst out as soon as she closed the door.

Both my eyebrows met my hairline. "What do you care? You're dating Ethan."

CJ started to pace again. "I am, but..."

"But you enjoy stringing Jeff along?" I asked softly, the anger plain in my voice.

"What? No!" She stopped pacing and stared at me, horrified.

"Then what, CJ?" I asked. "If you want Ethan, then end things with Jeff. If you want Jeff, get rid of Ethan. It's that simple. Jeff doesn't deserve the misery you're putting him through."

"It's not that simple," she sighed and fell down on the bed. "I wish to the Fates it was that simple."

"Seems pretty cut and dry to me," I said, my tone as sarcastic as I could make it.

"You don't know a damn thing about it," CJ said, her own tone sharp.

"Jeff told me all about it," I refuted.

She groaned. "You don't understand. I love Jeff, but..."

"You love Ethan more," I finished for her. "But you can't bear to give Jeff up either?"

"I don't know!" she yelled. "I've known Jeff my entire life, and I've only known Ethan for a couple of months. How am I supposed to trust what I feel for him? It's too soon. Everything in me tells me it's too soon to feel like this, but when he died, I died a little inside too..."