Covet (Clann)

straight again, I answered, “I just wanted her to feel how I felt.”
    “A love spell?” She made a face as if I were too pathetic for words. Maybe I was.
    “No, not exactly. She already loves me. I just wanted her to feel confident about us again.”
    She stared at me then slowly shook her head. “Oh wow. You are really and truly a lost cause, aren’t you? How many times, in how many ways, by how many different people, do you need to hear that you two are over, and furthermore, were totally and impossibly doomed from the start? She’s the enemy , Tristan, plain and simple. Let her go already.”
    Okay, now Emily was starting to tick me off. “I thought you were supposed to be the smarter one here. I mean, okay, maybe I shouldn’t have tried to do a connection spell on her. I can see now that it wasn’t such a smart move.” At least not without better planning first. “But why is it so hard for you to see how we’ve been brainwashed? All of us have, on both sides! We shouldn’t even be enemies in the first place. We should all be working together—”
    The door to my room opened, and Dad and Mom came in. I had to endure several long, excruciating minutes of Mom’s teary hugs before she finally gave me air to breathe again and backed off. In the meantime, Emily got up out of their way. I thought she was leaving, but she stopped and leaned against the doorjamb.
    Dad stood at the foot of the bed watching me, his face scrunched up in an expression I’d never seen him make before. He patted my right foot under the sheets. “Glad to have you back with us, son. You sure worried us for a while there.”
    Emily threw me an I-told-you-so look.
    “Um, sorry about that. I swear it was an accident.” How many times would I have to repeat that before everyone got the message? “I tried slowing down in time for the curve, but the brakes never responded. By the time I tried to downshift it was too late and I was going too fast to be able to take the curve.”
    Mom grabbed a tissue from a box on the bedside table and dabbed at her eyes.
    “I don’t suppose my truck…” I began.
    “Totaled,” Emily answered without even a hint of sympathy. “It’s scrap metal now.”
    Aw man! I’d loved that truck. It was the one space I had that was truly mine.
    Not to mention, Sav had once ridden in it beside me on a date.
    “Tell you what,” Dad said. “Why don’t you worry about recovering over the next few months, and let your mom and I worry about getting you some new wheels.”
    “Thanks, Dad,” I said.
    Spoiled brat! Emily slowly mouthed.
    Mom glanced at her, and Emily put on a sweet smile.
    “I’m going to go call everyone with an update,” Mom murmured and headed out the door. Shaking her head, Emily followed her out, leaving me alone with our father.
    He dropped heavily into the room’s only chair.
    “You look tired,” I said, studying the lines radiating from the corners of Dad’s eyes and the heavy bags beneath.
    “You sure gave me a few extra gray hairs.”
    I grinned. “Impossible. It was all gray already.”
    Dad snorted, but at least he was smiling. After a few seconds, though, that smile faded again. He sat forward, his elbows braced on his knees.
    “Look, son, you can tell me the truth, and I swear it’ll stay just between us. Was it really—”
    “Dad, I’m not lying. The brakes weren’t working. Can’t you get a cop or a mechanic or somebody to take a look at it?”
    He stared at me. “You’re that certain about it?”
    “Yeah, I am.”
    “All right, I’ll get somebody to look it over.” His thick eyebrows drew together. “Is anything going on at school that I should know about? Anybody who might want to mess with your truck?”
    “You mean other than the Williams family?”
    We shared a look.
    “Other than them, no,” I said.
    He searched my face as if he thought he’d find a different answer hidden there. Finally he sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Well, at least one good thing came out of it all. Your mother agreed to let you play football again next year. If you’re physically recovered enough to.”
    My pulse sped up at that. “She did?”
    He nodded. “We thought… Well, maybe we’ve been pretty tough on you this year. Football used to keep you mostly out of trouble. And your punishment for using magic on Dylan in public has lasted plenty long enough to satisfy any descendants who matter.”
    “Think Coach Parker will let me back on the team after