Maybe It's Magic

Chapter 10

Can't say no again.

There were several ways to take that and Jake had plenty of time to consider them all the next day in the woods with his nose to the ground like a worm, trying to find a crystal that could possibly also magically disappear.

"Come on," Jake muttered. "Where the hell are you?"

He started digging through the leaves, which just seemed to create more leaves to dig through. He'd never find it and, despite the fact that he was now fantasizing about her every fifteen minutes, at least, he couldn't help blaming Molly. If Molly had left well enough alone, not gotten rid of the most interesting thing that he'd ever touched, and twice now, this day could have ended without him wet and dirty and exhausted. That or it could have still ended up with him wet, dirty, and exhausted, but in a much better way.

This stupid rock, whatever the hell it was... He'd never been the kind of guy to believe in magic or the supernatural or anything close to it. But he couldn't deny the results. That rock had given him what were either the best or worst three days of his life. Whichever it was, he was not letting it go.

He stilled. Had it really started only three days ago? It felt longer. He'd replayed the moments in his mind so many times, he wasn't sure if he'd worn them out or kept them fresh.

Can't say no again.

That was a moment that seemed to be on an infinite loop, echoing through his mind until it seemed almost meaningless. Last night, he'd gone back and forth on whether that sentence meant good or bad things for him and it just continued today. He'd thought the change of scenery would help, but it was too damned quiet out here.

He sat up and stared at the lake – or the sad little pond that barely qualified as a lake in this town – and wondered if that rock ended up there. Was Molly's arm good enough to have got it in? Sometimes when she hit him, it did hurt more than expected. So maybe that was what she meant. She didn't want to say no again because she would have to get physical, and not in the good way.

Maybe it wasn't so much that she couldn't say no again, but that she didn't want to have to. But if he kept pushing it, she would have no choice but to rightfully kick his ass and he would be honor bound to allow it. But if that was what she meant, then why didn't she just say that? Why did she pretend she hadn't said what she said?

Can't say no again.

This was all too much to figure out without a magic crystal. He moved to the edge of the lake. It was hot enough to swim, but it's not like he could see underwater or feel along every inch. Even if it had landed in Lake Timothy, it was either buried beyond his ability to get it or a fish had gobbled it up. That poor little bastard would either be choked dead or spraying all the egg clusters in town. He hated to think of a fish getting more action than he was, sad and sexless as fish action was, or sad and sexless as his life was, if he was honest.

He could probably safely say this was his worst Father's Day, trying and failing to find a disappearing crystal. That was after he'd spent the first part of it holed up, trying and failing to do his sonly duty and get his dad on the phone, avoiding every window that faced Molly's house. On a day like this, it was even clearer to him why Molly drove herself nuts trying to find the perfect gift while he barely thought about it. His dad decided what his life would be: which was away from him. He didn't have to live somewhere else to build gated communities. He chose to. And, way back then, Molly said it first.

"Fuck him!"

Jake still hadn't said it out loud. His mom never said it to him, though it was implied, but Molly just up and said it – loudly, too. It was shocking at the time, as they were twelve and it was still pretty taboo. He tried to say it, himself, but he couldn't get it out. But Molly said that was fine because she could say it for him.