Nefretiri
I'll be honest. I hate magic. To ordinary people, it's about wizarding schools and waving wands, casting spells that make your life easier, but the reality isn't as fantastical. Magic doesn't make your life easier. Sometimes it makes it more difficult. Especially when you don't know where it comes from, like me.
Spells don't always work, but you must always pay the price. It's not always hunger, but sometimes other things, and more than one if you don't have one form of payment. Today, I'm paying with my senses. Everything's oversensitive. There are so many people doing their shopping, and it feels like they're touching me, but no one's near me, and all the smells assault my nose—perfumes, bodies, and, at one point, the scent of cheap weed.
The pain was back with a vengeance, and if I didn't get some food in my stomach, that stupid healing spell would've been for nothing. The piling side effects start making me anxious. The only thing I can do is head to the pharmacy to get away from everyone. Once I find an empty aisle, I steal the moment to catch my breath. It feels like someone's watching me, but I don't see anyone when I turn around. Gods, I'm paranoid. Knowing my luck, Ricky didn't leave and followed me here.
Unwilling to take too long, I force myself to ignore the pain in my leg, grabbing what I'll need to set it and my ribs before heading to the other side of the store. I need diapers and the cake before I can worry about getting myself something to eat. The whole way through the store, I feel eyes on me, but there's no one there when I check. I went down the aisles I didn't need on purpose to ensure no one was following me, but that was a mistake. I keep picking up all the delicious foods I wish I could afford. The hardest thing to walk away from is the strawberry cheesecake ice cream.
When I reach the front and grab the cake, I know I don't have enough money to buy anything else. My body aches, and I'm exhausted. I only want to sit down, but I'll never get back up if I do that. The only thing keeping me from collapsing is this strange warmth tugging on my back like a rope. It's a similar sensation to when I do magic. A tugging on the universe that connects you to raw energy, only this feels... more intense.
When it's closer, I feel better and can move around without so much pain, but as it moves away, the burning returns, making me want to scream. I wonder what it is. It's not like there are magical objects you can buy off the shelves that give you bursts of energy. Even if there was, I probably couldn't afford it. Fuck, I'm so hungry.
Singing along to my MP3 player, I get in line. That warm sensation is strongest now, and I even feel a little happy. I was smiling at Penelope, still wide awake, trying to get her whole hand in her mouth and failing miserably. I like this feeling. Where does that smell come from? It's so intoxicating, and it makes me want to find the name so I can save some money and buy it if it's a perfume. It's like heather flowers and... a lightning storm.
"Can we keep it under fifty?" I pull one of the headphones out, talking to the girl behind the checkout. She nods but then glances behind me and nods again. She rings everything up, but I can't see the total. It doesn't matter. I told her my limit, and she'll let me know when we arrive.
"Seventy-eight, ninety-nine." What? I did tell her fifty, didn't I?
"Um, I guess I can do without this." I start looking through my bags, picking out things to put back. I need it all, but I don't have the extra money. Fuck, I thought I'd done the math right.
The sound of the card reader forces me to spin around. The guy from outside was behind me, taking his credit card out of the chip reader. Why is he paying for my stuff? He's in a group of large and tall guys, and I'm assuming they're his pack, but they're all smaller than he is. Gods, compared to the other people around us, they look like giants.
"Why didn't you tell me you needed to get stuff?" He raises an eyebrow at me, coming closer. "I would've waited for you."
I'm not able to make words come out. The warm sensation I'd felt was coming from him—his energy enveloping me like a blanket and making everything disappear. Did he look so good outside? My god, he's smiling at me, and it's enough to make my knees go weak. Without the tears and stress, I can focus more on him, and suddenly, I'm under his spell. I've never been so tempted by anyone before. Unlike Ricky, I don't cheat, but this guy makes me want him so much.
"Do you want the receipt, sir, or should I hand it to your wife?" the girl asks, and the spell's broken for a second. What did she say? Wife?
"I'll take it." The guy grabs it from her and hands it to someone behind him, never taking his eyes off me. "Let me pay for our stuff, and we'll grab some food. They only have pizza here. Is that okay?"
"Uh-huh." That's all I'm able to say, and his smile broadens.
"I can't let my girl go hungry, can I?" His hand cups my face and makes those circles again, tracing my cheek. "Especially when you're looking after my princess."
My forbidden temptation wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close. I don't fight it, and I can see why the girl assumed he was my husband. I have a wedding ring on, and when he touches me, I allow it without protest, and for some reason, it feels natural to be this close. Add the fact I have Penelope. How hard is it to assume the rest?
His groceries run over a thousand dollars, but he doesn't flinch, swiping his card again. He never lets me go, and I'm grateful. I don't want to be away from him, and I take the guilty pleasure of leaning into him, inhaling the scent of heather and storms. It was him, and I couldn't escape it. Gods, what was happening to me?
"Okay, so I know you're going to kill me, but I couldn't help myself." The sound of the woman he'd been with brings me back to reality, and I turn to see her with a new stroller and car seat. "I saw this, and I had to have it."
"Couldn't find anything more colorful, Taylor?" The guy scoffs sarcastically at her.
"I would've gotten rainbows or butterflies, but they didn't have them." She smirks back at him, taking Penelope out of her stroller. "Come on, sweet pea, look what Auntie Taylor got for you!"
"Goddess, Taylor," He growls at her under his breath. "Thank the goddess, they had nothing like that, or she would've gotten it."
"And I picked you out a whole wardrobe to try on. And when we get down to California, we're going shopping, and I'll show you how to spend all Daddy's money. Yes, I will. Are you trying to smile at me?"
"Taylor!" The guy feels me tense up and gives me a gentle squeeze, trying to keep me calm. California? What was she saying? Were they going to kidnap my baby? NO! "It's okay, baby, relax."
"What?" the woman, Taylor, rolls her eyes as she buckles the car seat. "She needs to learn early. I don't believe it's my fault you're a tight ass with money. Goddess, how are you, my brother?"
"Taylor!"
"No." I try to pull away from him. I'm starting to realize what I'm doing.
"And I'm taking you shopping too. There is absolutely no reason you shouldn't have better shoes."
"Taylor!" He repeats for a third time, becoming more insistent. While this happened, the guys in his pack finished loading the cart, including my bags. Now, they were moving around us, effectively blocking my escape. "I haven't explained anything to her."
"Oops." Taylor covers her mouth, looking from me to him. "I thought you did. I'm sorry. I'll be quiet now."
"Never that." He shakes his head in disgust and turns to the blonde, trying not to laugh at her. "Take your girl and get us some tables."
"You got it." The blonde put his hand around Taylor's waist and led her to the food court, holding onto the old stroller while Taylor pushed Penelope with the new one.
"Come on, baby." The guy touches my back and guides me, so I follow them. My anxiety fights against the urge to melt back into him. And the internal conflict in me causes me to fall. "Baby! Here, I got you."
"My baby," I whisper when he picks me up, carrying me toward the food court. "Please, my baby."
"She's fine. Taylor has her." He kisses my temple, causing me to gasp at the sensation of his lips on my skin.
"Please, let us go. I won't say anything. Just please, let us go." I beg quietly, my heart not truly in my words.
"I can't do that, beautiful." His jaw clenches, and he tightens his grip on me. "Please don't say that to me again."
"Are you taking my baby away?"
"Yes." His tone is a matter of fact, and I look into his eyes, pitch black and full of power. "I'm taking you too."
Why does that sound so good?