House of Ivy & Sorrow

EIGHTEEN





When Gwen first talked to me in elementary school, I was sure I was a charity case. She was such a pretty, outgoing little girl. Everyone loved her. Everyone wanted to be her friend. Boys and girls alike would flock around her at recess, hoping she’d choose them to play with. She hopped from crowd to crowd, as if she were trying on friends and none were good enough. Then in third grade, after my mom died, she sat down next to me and Kat at lunch.

“Can I eat with you?”

“Sure,” I said. She was Gwendolyn Lee, after all. No one rejected Gwendolyn Lee.

Kat swallowed her sandwich bite, eyeing Gwen. “Is this some kind of joke?”

Gwen shook her head. “Why would I do that?”

“Because everyone else would,” I said. It was true. A girl like her shouldn’t be with outcasts like us. It had to be a dare. Or some punishment for losing a bet.

Gwen frowned. “I just wanted to sit with you.”

“We don’t need you,” Kat said. “We don’t care about being cool or popular.”

“I know.” Gwen sighed, like even at eight years old she understood how the world worked. She understood that everyone else was trying to get somewhere by being her friend, and all she wanted was people who really cared about her.

So we let her stay, and she’s never left. In fact, she might value our friendship the most. That’s why, as she stares at us with hurt eyes, I want to bury myself in a grave.

“Funny thing, Jo,” Gwen says as I hide my burned hand behind my back. “I was coming here to grab Kat so we could storm your house with get-well treats and good gossip, whether your grandma liked it or not. But here you are.”

“Gwen . . .” Kat glances at me like she knows what’s coming.

Gwen points at her. “You, shut up.” Then she turns on me. “So you’re too sick to see me, but you can come all the way to Kat’s house to hang out with her?”

I stare at the ground, wishing I could say something. But no, all I can do is let her think what she thinks, which is closer to the truth than I want it to be.

“I made her,” Kat says. “She had some of my notes . . .”

Gwen holds up her hands. “Whatever. You think I can’t see what’s going on here? I always knew you two were closer, but I thought you’d at least wait until graduation to cut me out.”

“What?” Kat takes a few steps forward. “Gwen, that is so not what’s going—”

“Then explain those necklaces!” She points to Kat’s charms, the ones to help her fingernail heal. “We’ve begged Jo for those, and she’s always said her Nana only makes them for family!”

Kat grabs them, her desperate eyes on me, as if I’ll have a good explanation. It does look bad. Even if I had a voice, I still wouldn’t have a reply.

“You guys are totally shutting me out, and after all we’ve been through I think that’s a pretty shitty thing to do.” She stomps back to her truck while both of us watch helplessly. As she drives off, my throat tickles.

“Perfect,” I say. “Now I get my voice back.”

“We could go after her,” Kat says.

I shake my head. “We don’t have time. Nana needs to know about this, and then we have to find Winn.” I hold out the picture. “He had to have seen who took this, which means he could describe the person.”

“Good point.”

I sigh. “Too bad it doesn’t help me know which person they’ll attack next. You’d think they would have gone for Winn first, since he saw. But it’s like they knew somehow that you were bound to me, and therefore most important.”

Her eyes go wide. “You think?”

“Yeah.” We speed-walk in the direction of my house. “We’ll have to figure out how to protect everyone after I get more info from Winn.”


“Nana!” I yell once we get back. “Nana!”

“She’s gone.” My dad emerges from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. By the way he stares, I know he can see again. I feel like a dork for blushing, but he hasn’t seen me since he found out the truth. Somehow, it’s like the first time he’s truly looking at me. “You got your voice back.”

“Yup. And you can see.”

He smiles. “The house looks a lot nicer than I imagined. It sounded on the brink of collapsing.”

“She likes to talk back. I imagine her as my cranky old aunt.” I point toward the apothecary. “Did you say Nana left? She hardly ever leaves.”

“She took Maggie to fortify the barriers around town again. They had a whole bag of bones and some bottles of snakeskins.”

“Good.” I’m glad Nana already knows what happened and is doing what she can to protect my friends. As long as Gwen doesn’t leave Willow’s End or get a horrible letter in the mail, hopefully she’s safe for now. “A dog skeleton, to sound warnings. And snakeskins to poison magical trespassers.”

“Did something happen?” he asks. I hold out the picture for him, and he inspects it with this funny half frown. “So that’s your boyfriend? The one from the pizza place?”

“Uhhh, kind of?” Cue awkward silence. It keeps smacking me across the face like this—the whole “I have a father” thing. “He’s not my boyfriend. At least not yet. I don’t know. We’re just dating.”

“Okay.” He hands the picture back, not seeming convinced. “Whatever it is, it’s fine. I guess. As long as you aren’t, uh, never mind. None of my business.”

“Yeah . . .” I can’t look at him, positive he’s implying what I think he’s implying. “That’s not really the point right now.”

“But he has his arm—”

I point to the big X on Kat’s head. “Whoever put that curse on you? They tried to kill Kat, and—”

“Your hand!” He takes my wrist, inspecting the red skin. “Is this how you saved her?”

I wince at his touch. “Part of it.”

“That’s what Dorothea must have meant. Come to the kitchen.” He disappears, and I start to wonder if either of us will ever finish a thought without interrupting the other. But once I see what’s on the table, I smile. Nana set out a balm for my hand and extra charms for my bracelet. He pulls out the chair for me. “Seems like your grandmother knows everything.”

“Almost.” I sit, putting my hand in the bowl. The creamy mixture is cool and soothing. It smells like roses, though that’s only to cover up what’s really in it. My guess is some kind of blend of animal innards and healing herbs. “Look at the back of that picture.”

He flips it over, and as he reads his mouth gapes. “Jo . . .”

“I know.” I stare at my hand, my whole soul feeling sick and tired. “It’s like whoever is doing this is . . . having fun. I have to protect everyone in this picture before it’s too late. Nana has the rest of town covered, but my friends need even more.”

“What do we do?” Kat puts her chin in her hands and glowers. “I wish I could help. What’s the point of being here if I can’t help?”

“Kat . . .” I wish I could give her an answer. “Do you know Billy’s address, by chance? Winn mentioned they were studying there tonight, but he’s way outside town.”

She shakes her head. “Ugh, I’m so useless.”

“Don’t say that. I’d hate to be doing this on my own right now.” I pull out my phone with my good hand and call Winn. As it rings, my heart pounds faster and faster. Please, please pick up. It can’t be too late.

“Hey,” he says, and I can hear the gorgeous smile that goes with it. “Are you feeling better? Say you’re feeling better.”

Despite all my concerns, I grin like a fool. So relieved. “I’m feeling better.”

“Good, I’ll come get you, then.”

“Are you sure? You’re at Billy’s, right?”

“Very sure. And I was just about to leave for his house, so perfect timing.”

I laugh. “Awesome. I kind of need to beg Billy to read my paper—he did such a good job with Kat’s, and I’m way behind on my stuff now.”

“See you in twenty?”

“Perfect. Thanks, Winn.” I shut the phone, a plan already clicking into place. “Kat, you’re about to be very useful, more useful than you probably want to be.”

Her brow furrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I give her my best cackle.