“I really don’t want to deal with them again,” Penn said, and turned back to Lexi and Thea. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Gladly,” Lexi said, and dove into the water.
“Wait,” Gemma said, stopping Penn before she followed Lexi. “What do you want me to do?”
“Go home, play house with your little friends,” Penn said. “I’ll find somewhere to live, and when I want you, I’ll come get you.”
Before Harper and Daniel reached them on the dock, Penn and Thea dove into the water, disappearing in the waves. They swam out as far and as fast as they could, and Gemma knew they had to be careful to avoid being spotted by people who were in all the boats in the bay.
“So we’re just gonna stay here and let Gemma do what she wants?” Lexi asked Penn, once they’d gotten far enough away from the docks that they could speak. Thea was swimming on ahead of them, but Lexi had slowed to talk to Penn.
“No, of course not,” Penn said. “We find a replacement first, then we kill her. And we need to find out what the hell is going on with the boys in this town. There’s something strange about this place, and I want to find out what it is, so I can rub it in Demeter’s face.”
THIRTY-FOUR
Tomorrow
Gemma knew what she had to do. After everything that had happened tonight, she had no other option. While Gemma had told Harper what she planned to do, she couldn’t tell if Harper approved or not. In the end, it didn’t matter. Gemma had made up her mind.
Once the sirens had gone, Gemma had explained to Harper why the sirens had spared her and let her stay in Capri. That had actually been relatively easy compared to explaining to Brian what she’d been up to when they got back home. She lied and told her dad that she’d just snuck out to watch the fireworks with Alex, but that still left him pretty pissed off.
Brian stayed up really late that night, maybe because he was so angry, but the second Gemma was certain he was asleep, she snuck outside. She’d made sure to tell Harper what she was doing before she left, so Harper wouldn’t freak out when she saw Gemma’s bedroom empty.
As she crept across the yard and climbed up the trellis to Alex’s window, Gemma could almost feel Harper watching her from her bedroom window. That was the condition. Harper would let Gemma sneak out to talk to Alex without telling their dad as long as Harper could see her the entire time.
Crouching on the roof outside his darkened bedroom window, Gemma knocked sharply on the glass. After the night they’d had, he was probably sound asleep, and she wanted to be sure she woke him.
The light in the room flipped on, casting a glow through the curtains. She knocked on the glass again, and a few seconds later, Alex pushed back the curtains. As soon as he saw her, he hurried and opened the window.
“What are you doing here?” Alex asked. His hair was standing up all over from sleep, and he wore only his boxers, revealing his well-muscled chest. “Do you want to come in?”
“No, I can’t.” She shook her head and tried to fight back the tears that were already brimming in her eyes. “I just stopped by for a sec.”
“What’s wrong?” Alex leaned out the window and put his hand on her arm. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”
“No. I just … I needed to see you.”
“How come?”
“I love you,” she whispered, and before he could respond, she leaned forward and kissed him.
She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly to her. When she finished kissing him, he kept hugging her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, sniffing back tears.
“Gemma, what’s going on?” Alex asked.
“Alex,” Gemma sang softly into his ear. “Alex. You will do as I say.” She took a deep breath, letting her song take effect on him. “You’re breaking up with me. You don’t want to go out with me anymore. You don’t want to be around me. You don’t care about my safety. You don’t…” She paused. “You don’t love me anymore.”
“Gemma?” He sounded confused. His arms had felt strong and firm around her, but they loosened now, letting her go.
“Do you understand me? Alex?” She pulled away from him and looked him in the eyes. “Are you my boyfriend?”
His face scrunched up, and his dark eyes looked pained underneath the haze of the spell. Then finally he shook his head. “No. We broke up.”
“That’s right.” She nodded.
“What are you doing here?” Alex asked. “Why did you come over?”
“I didn’t.” She wiped her eyes. “This is all a dream, and when you wake up, you’ll only remember that you don’t want to be with me.”