Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

I woke up on the window seat, my window still raised but the balcony empty. Wyn was gone. When I sat up, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor.

Didn't want to wake you. Meet me by our tree at two xo

Down in the square, commuters rushed by on their way to work, sweltering in their shirts and ties, and dog walkers strode down the footpaths with purpose, little green baggies dangling from their fanny packs while their four-legged friends galloped over the grass. Even though the breeze had vanished and the weather was as hot and muggy as ever, they all wore smiles as they slowed under the shelter of the shade of our oak tree or lingered by the fountain. It was a perfect morning. Who could be anything other than happy on a day like this?

Four agonizingly slow hours had passed since breakfast, when I'd devoured so much food, Ashley asked if I'd developed a tapeworm overnight, and it was still only midday. I'd spent my morning in the garden, meeting more herbs and flowers and learning how to blend them together to achieve different results. It wasn't just the combination, Catherine explained before disappearing on another mysterious errand, it was the intention behind it. Anyone could make a lavender tea but the way it was prepared, on what day of the lunar cycle, using which tools – all those things made a difference.

‘Emily?' I heard Ashley yell from inside the house. ‘You have a visitor.'

I leapt to my feet and ran back inside. Was it him? Was he feeling just as impatient? But this time, instead of expecting Lydia and finding Wyn, I expected Wyn and found Lydia, a scowl on her face, arms wrapped around her chest, one toe tapping the floor like a cornered animal. It looked as though the only thing she disliked more than the city of Charleston was Ashley Bell.

‘Hi!' I called happily, Ashley glowering menacingly at the pair of us. ‘Why don't we go up to my room?'

‘Gladly.' Lydia sidestepped my aunt and followed me up the curved staircase. She paused, her face pressed close to the wallpaper. ‘Huh. When you walk by, it kinda looks like the vines are growing.'

‘Optical illusion,' I replied, pulling her up the last couple of steps and into my bedroom.

‘This house is wild,' she declared, a statement, not a judgement. ‘It's like a living museum. Miss Catherine ought to let them film movies here or something.'

‘I wouldn't count on that happening any time soon,' I told her as I set two glasses of freshly made lemonade on my desk.

Strolling over to the window, floral tank dress clashing with literally everything in my room, Lydia climbed up on the window seat where I'd slept.

‘Oh my god, I think I'm in love,' she said with a swoon. ‘Check out that girl by the fountain. My window looks out on the dumb garden, the most exciting thing I see is the gardener's ass crack every Thursday morning. You must see the craziest things up here.'

‘You're welcome to come over and watch Lafayette Square TV any time,' I offered, joining her at the window. The girl by the fountain really was cute. ‘But please know this is the only TV I can watch because the only other television in this entire house is in Ashley's room and I am definitely not welcome in there.'

‘Then I couldn't have come at a better time.' Lydia delved deep into the well-worn tote bag she carried on her shoulder. ‘Wanna see if any of these work?'

She pulled out a ball of thick grey-white cables and I gasped as though she'd presented me with the crown jewels.

‘Chargers for Dad's laptop,' I exclaimed. ‘Lydia Powell, you are amazing.'

‘It's true,' she agreed with a toss of her hair. ‘But I try not to let it go to my head.'

I practically dove under my bed, retrieving the laptop from my backpack before joining her on the other end of the window seat, my hands shaking with excitement. I'd more or less resigned myself to never getting into the laptop again and the thought of actually getting it to work, of accessing all of dad's writing, it was too much.

‘One of these has to work,' she said, weaving a grubby rubber plug through the tangle of cords and wires. There were at least four different chargers all coiled around each other and as she yanked at different parts of the puzzle, loosening one end but tightening the other, I could feel myself getting impatient. Rather than sit by and watch, I hurled myself at the floor, crawling around on the hunt for the closest outlet. Old houses never had enough outlets.

‘Got it!' Lydia yelped triumphantly as she freed the first charger. ‘Try that while I deal with the rest.'

The first cable we tried was the right brand but the wrong model, the second plug fitted the socket but had a loose connection and the third was for a completely different kind of computer. With her fingers crossed, Lydia tossed me the fourth and final one. The three prongs of the grounded plug clunked into place and I heard a familiar start-up chime.

‘I don't believe it,' I breathed. ‘It works.'

‘Well, don't I feel like Cinderella.' She held up her hand for a high five and I gladly obliged. ‘You said this was your dad's laptop, right?'

‘Yup.'

‘Any idea what's on here?'

‘His work,' I said, watching the empty battery icon appear on the black screen. ‘He was pretty deep into the research for a new book and he'd been digitizing his archive for a few months, all his notes and journals, that should be on here too.'

‘What if it's full of porn?'

The look I gave her could have scorched the sun.

‘OK, fine,' she replied, holding up her hands in surrender. ‘I'm just saying. Single man, passed away unexpectedly, no one to wipe his search history? Don't be upset if you see something you're not prepared for.'

‘Thanks,' I muttered. ‘Now I don't even know if I want to open it. What if he was looking at something weird?'

‘Babygirl, he was definitely looking at something weird. There is not a doubt in my mind that you will definitely find something random, like when we found out all guys are obsessed with the Roman Empire. In my experience, the more normal the person, the freakier the search history. You just need to be prepared, is all.'

‘In your experience?' I replied with a quizzical eyebrow.

‘Limited as it may be,' she admitted. ‘But there have been times when I borrowed Jackson's laptop and let me tell you, I have seen some things I was not prepared for.'

I knew I'd regret it but the words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

‘Like what?'

Lydia shook her head. ‘I literally cannot talk about it or my brain will explode but know that it was not the Roman Empire. Besides, I don't think he'd want me talking to you about that stuff. My brother totally has a crush on you.'

‘He does not.'

‘Uh, yes, he does.'

She swung her legs back and forth on the window seat, each of her toenails painted a different colour, while I made an incredibly unattractive spluttering sound in the back of my throat.

‘He talks about you all the time, he hasn't mentioned a single other girl since we met, and one of the creepy things I saw in his search history was your name, so don't freak out or anything but you definitely have an admirer. Not a stalker though. He's still laid up thanks to his busted leg.'

‘Someone like Jackson would never go for someone like me,' I reasoned, curling my legs behind me to hide my unpedicured feet.

‘Someone like Jackson?'

‘You know what I mean,' I said, wishing she hadn't said anything. ‘He's so smooth and cool.'

‘Never let him hear you say that,' she scoffed. ‘If only you had known him in junior high.'

‘Exactly!' I replied. ‘I don't know him, just like he doesn't really know me. I'm just a novelty.'

Lydia gave me a big cheesy grin.

‘He knows enough. And it doesn't hurt that you're totally cute. Jackson has always been a sucker for a green-eyed gal and that's before you throw in the whole "our moms used to talk about us getting married when we were grown up" stuff. A cute-ass girl and a love that was destined to be? He's got a Libra moon in his eleventh house, he's destined to be a hopeless romantic.'

‘Does everyone know more astrology than me?'

I groaned as I lay down, stretched out on the wooden floor. This was not a problem I was used to dealing with. The astrology or the boys.

‘I said don't freak out.' Lydia hopped down from the window to lie beside me. ‘All you have to do is let him down gentle, lie, tell him you already met someone. He'll mope around for six months or so but he'll get over it eventually.'

‘Actually,' I started nervously, tapping my fingers against the floorboards, ‘I think I have met someone.'

‘Aww, that's cute but you're not my type,' she laughed. ‘Hold up, you're serious? For real, you met someone in Savannah?'

Nodding, I covered my face with my hands as she started snapping her fingers.

‘Emily! When were you going to tell me?' she shrieked. ‘I need every last little detail. Name, age, hair colour, rising sign, what they were wearing the first time you saw them, plus any distinguishing features in case I ever have to give a description to the cops.'

I turned my head to look at her. ‘Wow, you are full of positivity today.'

‘I'm only joking,' she replied, before turning deadly serious. ‘I would never go to the cops.'

Rolling over onto my side, I gave her the most stern look I could muster and she shook herself down before returning my solemn expression.

‘If I tell you, you have to promise not to say anything to anyone. Not Jackson, not your grandmother, and definitely not my grandmother.'

‘Because Miss Catherine Bell and I are always sitting down for tea and sharing secrets?'

‘His name is Wyn Evans,' I said, shooting her a warning glare when she squealed. ‘He's seventeen, he's taking photography classes at SCAD and the first time I saw him, he was wearing the perfect jeans and a T-shirt that was kind of too small—'

‘Officially the sluttiest thing a man can wear,' she interrupted before running an invisible zip across her mouth. ‘Sorry, I love it, go on.'

‘He's tall, maybe six two, his hair is like a dark, ashy colour and his eyes are incredible. Astrology TBD but he was born in May.'

‘The police would never be able to find him with that description,' she tutted. ‘I love a Taurus for you. A Gemini we could work with but a Taurus is better. How much DNA has been exchanged so far?'

‘We've held hands,' I replied. ‘Does that work for you?'

‘Not really.'

‘Apologies. He's amazing and I really like him but it's a bit complicated.'

Lydia propped up her chin in her hands. ‘Complicated how?'

‘Catherine doesn't want me to date until I'm seventeen.'

No need to fill her in on any other potential, magical roadblocks in our future.

‘Plus she's probably interviewing a shortlist of appropriate boys from good families to escort you to all the upcoming social events of the season,' she replied, chuckling as she blew a springy curl out of her face.

‘This is twenty-first century Savannah, not Bridgerton,' I reminded her, tapping my foot against her. ‘Speaking of which, I wonder if I still have the last season downloaded on Dad's laptop.'

‘Don't change the subject,' she said, kicking me back. ‘You don't get it. Your grandmother and my grandmother? They are beyond old school. Both our families are deep into their history and Jackson always laughs at me but I'm completely-totally-positively sure we're both descended from witches.'

As quick as I could, I wiped the horrified expression off my face.

‘What makes you say that?' I asked, my voice ultra-high pitched.

‘Stories my grandmother used to tell us,' she replied, far too casual for her own good. ‘And stuff Jackson found when he started researching our ancestry a few years ago. Between us, I think he was looking for our dad but he couldn't find anything on that side. The Powell side though? So much.'

I stared at her, trying to work out if she knew more than she was letting on. What if this was a test? What if she wanted to tell me but didn't know if I knew? Catherine wasn't the oracle, Lydia might have stumbled into her family's real history without getting my grandmother's approval first.

‘What kind of stories?'

‘They didn't burn anyone at the stake or anything but there was a lot of weird stuff going on with the Powell and Bell families,' she replied in an eager whisper. ‘People getting sick then being mysteriously healed, women surviving fires that killed hundreds of other people, that sort of thing.'

‘Doesn't sound that strange to me.' I was starting to sweat. Did she know? ‘There are weird stories about every family if you dig deep enough. And there's no such thing as witches, right?'

Her mouth twisted with disappointment.

‘Maybe I just want it to be true,' she said with a shrug. ‘I wouldn't mind having the power to turn people into toads.'

‘People like Jeremy?'

‘Exactly . '

I managed a weak smile as she rolled over. She didn't know. I was all alone in my secret again.

‘But less about Jeremy and more about Wyn,' Lydia said, grabbing hold of my hand. ‘Crazy question but as the queen of the unrequited crush, I have to ask. Does he feel the same way?'

‘I think so,' I replied, instinctively turning towards the window seat and picturing him there. ‘I've only known him for a few days and I don't know how to explain properly. It's intense.'

‘Intense how?'

It was impossible to describe my feelings with something as limited as words. There wasn't a single sentence that could do justice to the way I felt when I was with Wyn.

‘Well, there's a lot going on right now—'

‘Moving to a new country, meeting your family, finding a bunch of porn on this laptop probably.'

‘Thank you,' I said and Lydia bowed her head as though I had given her a compliment. ‘But when I'm with Wyn, it's like we're the only two people on the planet. He makes me feel completely seen and heard, like every word that comes out of my mouth is the most important thing anyone has ever said.'

She sniffed. ‘Not what I expected you to say but I can see how that might be nice.'

‘There's also the fact he's incredibly hot,' I added to her delight. ‘When he held my hand, all of Savannah could have set on fire and I wouldn't have noticed.'

‘Maybe that's how the city managed to burn to the ground twice in thirty years,' Lydia mused. ‘Everyone was too busy holding hands with their sweeties to notice.'

‘Savannah burned down?' I replied. ‘When?'

‘Oh, a million years ago.' She waved a hand as though the complete decimation of a city wasn't that important. ‘Seventeen something something. Ask Jackson, he'll know. Or don't ask Jackson because he's totally in love with you and you're totally in love with this Wyn dude and oof, this has the potential to get messy.'

‘I didn't say I was in love with him,' I replied too quickly.

‘No, you said when he touches you the world stops spinning, your heart pounds, your hands shake and everything else ceases to exist,' Lydia's eyes rolling so far back in her head I wondered if she could see her brain. ‘Em, I've seen all the movies and I've read all the books, and you're blushing hard enough to start the next great fire of Savannah all by yourself. Get your face away from the floorboards. You are in love.'

‘What am I going to do?' I muttered, pressing my cold hands against my hot cheeks. ‘He's just so amazing. I could listen to him talk forever.'

Lydia made a bemused clucking sound. ‘Bestie, if all you want to do is talk to this stud then I don't think Miss Catherine is going to have a problem with your relationship.'

‘It's not like I haven't thought about things that aren't talking,' I admitted. ‘But my experience is non-existent. What if he's done more than me?'

‘Then he'll be patient and respectful of your boundaries, or he'll get his ass kicked.'

She held up her hand for a high five and I hit it without missing a beat.

‘And what if I want something more than hand-holding?'

‘Then you'll be patient and respectful of his boundaries, and should you ever need someone to cover for you while you explore those boundaries, I'm your girl. Just remember this when I need an alibi, OK? I swear it won't be for anything illegal. If I can help it.'

I smiled at my new friend and she smiled back.

‘It's wild to think we knew each other when we were babies,' Lydia said, wiggling her multi-coloured toes. ‘I know the circumstances suck but Emily Bell, I for one am glad you came back to Savannah.'

‘Me too,' I agreed. ‘And more than anything else, I'm glad you didn't move to Charleston.'

Before she could let out the torrent of abuse I knew was on the tip of her tongue, the home screen of my dad's laptop flashed into life and Lydia nudged the trackpad to bring the cursor into view.

‘Touch ID or enter password,' she read from the screen. ‘What's the password?'

‘I don't know.'

I was crushed. All I had left of my dad was right in front of me and I couldn't even open it.

‘Hey, we don't give up before we've even started,' Lydia said, her Pollyanna optimism out in full force. ‘It's probably his birthday or your birthday or a family pet or something. Dads aren't known for their ultra-cryptic passwords. Or at least that's what I hear.'

She fished around in her tote bag, pulling out a notebook and pen and an even brighter smile. ‘You'll never find out if you don't try.'

‘You're right,' I said, sniffing back tears that hadn't fallen yet.

‘Almost always am. We'll figure it out together,' she replied as she opened her notebook and pushed the laptop towards me. ‘That's what friends are for.'

‘Thank you,' I told her, fingers hovering over the keyboard. ‘It's nice to have a friend.'

And it really was.