The door to the bathroom opened, and Bryan walked in and halted after a few steps.
He called out her name.
Josie froze for a moment, then looked back at the mirror and sighed in relief. The hideous face she had seen in the mirror was just her imagination, she thought.
"Go away!" She yelled. "Are your eyes too tiny to see the inscription at the entrance that this is the ladies' restroom?"
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Go worry about Maggie. I'm walking on sunshine." She grabbed her bag from the floor and walked out with heavy steps.
Bryan hurried out after her, but she was nowhere in sight. Students swarmed the hallway, and he searched for her desperately with his eyes.
"Who are you looking for?" Maggie walked up to him. She came so quietly it almost gave him a fright.
"Damn it, Maggie!" He sighed. "You're always everywhere I go."
She frowned. "What do you mean? I thought we like being around each other?"
He breathed deeply, took her by the hand, and led her into a room devoid of students. It was time he told her what his actual feelings were and he could only hope that it goes well.
"Look, Maggie." He began.
Maggie braced herself. She knew most conversations starting with 'look, Maggie,' don't seem to end in her favor.
"I appreciate your interest in me. I really do," he continued. "But I'm afraid I don't like you like that. I know this might be hurtful or disappointing, but I want to be honest with you. I'm really sorry. The first time you asked me out, I only agreed because people were watching and your friends were there. I couldn't say no. I didn't want to humiliate you."
Maggie thought she had not braced herself enough, as she still felt a sting. "I'm I doing something wrong?" She held his strong arms. "Tell me what I can do to make this work, Bryan. I'd do anything."
He looked into her green eyes and shook his head.
"You're not doing anything wrong. It's just that I fancy someone else."
Maggie held her breath for a moment. Then she asked. "Who is it... Please?"
"It's better I don't say." He sighed.
"You wanted to be honest with me, right?" she raised a brow, "So…?"
Bryan paced the small space, fidgeting with his fingers. He didn't know what to say at this moment. The conversation stopped going as he had planned it in his head minutes ago.
"I can't say, I'm sorry." The words came out more awkwardly than he had expected.
Maggie cursed under her breath and stormed out of the room with teary eyes.
He called, but she ignored him.
After Bryan had gone to the school clinic and let the nurse attend to his bruise, he walked along the scanty hallway as he made his way towards the library. He thought he knew exactly where Josie was. He didn't know how, but it was like he had a compass in his head that pointed at her location.
When he found her, she was sitting alone in a section of the library, her eyes fixed on a book in front of her. Walking towards her, his heart raced and his palms turned clammy with sweat.
As he came beside her, she looked up from her book, her eyes meeting his. She felt a little flutter in her stomach and her cheek reddened.
"What do you want, Bryan?" She asked, taking her eyes back to the book she held. She was doing what girls usually do at first; act as though they're not interested, even if they're dying to fall asleep in your arms.
Why are girls like this?
She flipped a page of the book. "How did you even know I was here?"
"That's the problem. It's scary how I feel like I've known you my whole life." He breathed. "I've never felt this way about anyone, and it's weird that I have such strong feelings for a girl I just met."
"You and Maggie will make a very good couple, concentrate on building a relationship with her."
Josie stood from her chair, its legs squeaking on the linoleum floor. She moved to the shelf and replaced the book.
"I already told her to move on. I wasn't interested." He shrugged, his eyes following her.
"It's a shame. I don't have feelings for you, so you should move on, too."
"Nonsense," he said. "You feel the same way and you know it."
She took a few deliberate steps towards him.
"I have to get to class." She said and walked past him, leaving the library.
Bryan stood there, biting on his lips. He looked down at his wet palms.
Just then, the school bell rang, and he pulled up the sleeves of his uniform slightly and glanced at his wristwatch. It was time for history class.
Bryan entered the class almost the same time as Josie. The students who had seen him with Josie earlier looked from him to her with curiosity and bewilderment. A friendship between the dashingly handsome, mysterious new boy and the gorgeous daughter of the former general, who has never made new friends since she arrived at the school.
Maggie, who sat in the front row, had her eyes fixed on Bryan with a steely glare all the while the class lasted.
When the class was over, Bryan hurried after Maggie, calling out her name, but she didn't respond. He reached out and gently took hold of her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.
"Please, Maggie. Just listen to me. I know you're upset."
They were already standing in the hallway.
"Leave me alone, Bryan." Maggie whirled around and shrugged his hand off her shoulder.
Her eyes blazed.
"Please, I just want to talk to you," He pleaded. "I know you're angry, but please just hear me out."
Maggie hesitated, her lips pursed in a thin line.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"I'm sorry if I had hurt your feelings earlier. I just wanted you to know the truth. Perhaps there's a chance we could still be friends?"
"I can't be friends with you, Bryan. It hurts me so much that you don't feel the same way about me and it'll hurt even more to see you with someone else." Her eyes soften and nearly watered. "I won't stick around to get hurt again and again, so it's best if we're not friends." She sighed. "Bye, Bryan." Looking at him one last time, she turned and walked away.
Great! Now both girls want nothing to do with him.
He turned around and ran his fingers halfway through his hair. He had rugby practice in five minutes, so he just proceeded to the rugby team's locker room.
"Hey, purple hair kid!" Richie called. "I was just wondering why I smelt horse shit, but then I saw you."
Leo laughed. He sat on the metal bench, lacing his boots. Richie was putting on his jersey.
Bryan ignore them and opened his locker but his jersey was gone. He rummaged through his things and when he still didn't see it; he sighed and slammed his locker shot. "Richie, Leo, which of you took my jersey?" he asked.
"Wow, you've got some real nerves to ask us that." Leo stood up and arranged his coal dark hair.
"Alright guys," coach Cyrus walked in. "Let's move out! We've got a championship to win."
"Coach Cyrus, I can't find my jersey." Bryan said. "I believe Leo and his friend here took it."
"If you say that one more time, I can't guarantee you'll still have legs to play in the championship." Richie frowned.
"Guys…chill." Coach Cyrus looked from the boys to Bryan. "Whoever took Bryan's jersey should PLEASE give it back."
The locker room was silent. Most people kept doing their thing like nothing was happening, but some paused, watching the arguing boys.
Leo licked his teeth. He went toward his backpack and pulled out a red, number eleven jersey.
"You're lucky I'm feeling a little generous toady." He tossed the cloth towards Bryan. "And just so you know, I used it to wipe my arse after taking a shit, so…"
Richie snickered, but when Leo laughed, he burst out too with his shoulder moving up and down.
Out on the sun-heated field, Bryan squinted, walking under the scorching sun. The two bullies of the school ran past him, almost taking off his right arm with their shoulder. He staggered and cursed under his breath when he finally regained his stance.
"Those two have been like that all their lives; they can never change." Someone came behind him. Bryan knew the boy as he had seen him in his biology class. "Just don't let them push you around, all right?"
"No one gets it," Bryan sighed, kicking a soda can off his path.
"I do." The boy nodded. "Like everybody else, you're probably scared of getting expelled, but do you know why Richie and Leo are such a formidable duo?"
"Why?"
"Because they have each other's backs… I'm going to have your back like that too, so we can both stand up to them together whenever they mess with you, and you won't be scared of getting expelled anymore."
Bryan chuckled. "Who are you, the general's first son?"
"Well, I'm from one of the founding families of Westhill, so it's going to be hard for me to get expelled because of them, and now that you've got me, the same goes for you. You know the six founding families, right?"
"Yeah, they taught me in history class when I was like eight or something." He looked up into the sky that showed white in his eyes and tapped his chin. "Uh… An Andrews, a Greene, a Hawkins, a Gibson, a Percy, and a Marlowe, I'm I correct?"
"Yes!" The boy laughed.
"Which are you?" Bryan asked.
"A Greene. I'm Lucian Greene." He stretched out his hands for a handshake.
Bryan gripped his hand firmly. "I'm Bryan Nate. Unfortunately, not from any founding families."
They both chuckled, running off further into the field.
At the end of school, Maggie and Josie sat on the lawn, waiting for their parents to arrive. Maggie had kept ranting about how she now hates Bryan and how he hurt her and how she had promised herself to act like he didn't exist. But all those times, Josie was lost in her thoughts. Staring blankly at the passing students, wondering if her connection with Bryan meant something since he had seen and drew the same thing she had subconsciously said. She thought she had to draw close to him if she wanted to know anything about what was going on with her.
"Are you even listening to me?" Maggie asked.
"Yes. What Bryan did is just awful." Josie turned and noticed her mother's car. "I have to go. My mom's here." She stood up and hurried away.
When they arrived home, Josie went straight to her room. She laid on her bed and buried her face in her pillow, biting down on it.
There was a quick knock, and the person on the other side pushed the door almost immediately.
It was Kira.
"Josie, I'd like to borrow your charger." She said. "Mason is getting greedy with his," she walked over to Josie's nightstand. She pulled open the drawer and collected the charger. Josie could feel her eyes on her face.
"Are you okay?" Kira asked, setting the charger down and sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Yeah..." She faced Kira and forced a smile. "I'm fine."
"Come on, Josie, what's wrong?" Kira relaxed her back on the headboard. "Don't even try to feign being okay because I know that face."
Josie felt a lump in her throat. She looked into Kira's eyes. "I did something terrible, Kira." She said. "And I feel guilty."
"What happened?" Kira asked.
"I kissed Bryan." Josie's voice came quietly, her eyes avoiding Kira's.
"Okay…?" Kira frowned slightly and then chuckled. "I don't see anything wrong with that."
"Maggie's in love with him, but he burst her bubble today and I'm pretty sure it was because of me."
"Oh…" Kira's mouth hung open.
"He took me to this awesome tree house, and we felt a compelling force pulling us together."
"And that's when it happened?" Kira asked with raised brows, her eyes fixed on her sister, waiting for her to continue.
Josie nodded sheepishly. "I don't know what came over me. It was like I wasn't thinking at the moment."
Kira met Josie's eyes. The question she was about to ask was one she knew wasn't relevant at the time—at least not too much. But she was sure it could distract her briefly from the shame and guilt. "If you had a chance to kiss him again, would you?"
At first, Josie frowned at the question, but then she thought, if she was alone in that proximity where she could almost feel the heat oozing from Bryan's body, pouring out the geranium scent of his perfume. If he strolled his hands down her spine and her body shivered or he breathe down on her flushed cheek as their lips brushed. She thought about when he'd whisper loving words into her ears while their bare body pressed against each other and she concluded that if any of those fantasies came true; she was a hundred percent sure she wouldn't resist.
She stopped and looked at Kira.
Kira could see the passion burning in her eyes.
"I will not judge you, if that's what you're thinking." She added.
"I don't know," Josie said simply and turned away.
Kira sighed. "I'm here if you want to talk later. I'm your sister, and I don't think any less of you about what happened." She gave Josie a small, encouraging smile before heading for the door.
Josie curled up on her bed. Like a feather in the wind, she drifted slowly into the black nothingness—a sleep without dreams.
* * *
In the kitchen, while Gwen chopped vegetables for dinner, she hummed a tune of her favorite song. Malcolm entered and her humming faltered, a surprised smile spreading across her face.
"What's up, handsome?"
"Handsome, huh?" Malcolm replied, laughing. "I like the sound of that."
Gwen's eyes twinkled. "I wonder why you're here. You barely come into the kitchen while I'm cooking. Have you come to help?"
"I just came to have a taste of the food, but maybe I can give you a little hand," he said, moving to lean against the counter.
Gwen laughed. "Stop trying already. Last time you cooked, which was like seventeen years ago, you almost set the whole house on fire."
"Ah!" Malcolm held onto his chest as if he had taken a punch there. "Rude!"
They both laughed, and in a minute, the laughter died down. Malcolm's expression, all of a sudden, grew solemn, and Gwen looked at him. Something was on his mind. She knew it.
"What's wrong, Malcolm?" She asked.
"It's just... Uh... I'm worried about Josie," He said. "She's always been a bit of a rebel, and she doesn't listen to anyone anymore. I'm afraid she might get herself into some real trouble."
"You know she got that from you, right?"
"What if that's not the only thing she got from me?" He asked.
"Don't tell me this is about the curse again." Gwen paused on her chopping and looked at her husband.
He nodded, a pained expression on his face as his jaw tightened. "I can't help but worry," he admitted. "I found a mirror in her room yesterday."
Gwen bit her lip, and her stomach twisted in knots.
"You were the one who brought news that Leila, the last of the Lunates, had already died from an illness. Aren't all the curses they laid broken too?"
"Yes, except there's another Lunate we don't know of, because... Josie's behavior lately has been unsettling. It's like she's not herself anymore." He paused, a haunted look in his eyes. "I know it seems far-fetched, but what if the curse isn't broken and it's lying low, waiting for a perfect time?"
"It was you that crazy lady cursed for thinking you killed her children for no reason, not our little girl. You should be worried about you if you feel like the curse wasn't broken, not our daughter."
His sudden yelp made Gwen jump. The sharp sound of his voice startled her, and she dropped the knife and vegetables from her hands, trying to figure out what could have triggered such a visceral reaction. He clenched his chest, still screaming, and he leaned his elbow against the counter, pulling his shirt to the side. Gwen's breath caught in her throat as she saw the crimson stain of blood growing larger on his shirt by the second.
"Oh my God," her voice shuddered. "What's happening?"