Page 48 of Charmed, I’m Sure (Witches of Bellevue #1)

I stood in the middle of my shop, my entire body numb as the police car lights painted streaks of blue and red across the back wall and display cases.

I’d been here for hours—answering questions, filling out paperwork, watching my dream shatter at my feet.

I still needed to call my insurance company, but I was exhausted. Physically. Mentally.

My throat tightened as I took in the damage, so lost in my grief that I barely registered the crunch of another set of footsteps before a throat cleared behind me.

“Can you think of anything else I need to put in the report, Magnolia?” Sheriff Jackson asked, his deep amber eyes full of concern.

He looked so much like Jaelyn when he wore that expression, and I was beyond grateful to my best friend for calling in her dad instead of dialing the sheriff’s office.

“I—I don’t think so, Mr. Bill. Thank you, though.”

“Alrighty. Well, in that case, we’re all done here. But if you think of anything else…”

“I’ll be sure to give you a call. Thanks again.”

Bill Jackson nodded, then pulled me into a brief embrace before handing me his card. “You call this number, alright? It’s my direct line.”

“I will.”

“Alright.”

With one last nod, he turned and left, leaving me alone in the wreckage of my dream.

And now that I was alone, the numbness dissolved, giving way to blistering rage.

I was done.

Done with this town.

Done trying to be the bigger person.

It wasn’t getting me anywhere, so why the hell should I keep appeasing these pearl-clutching, Bible-toting masses?

I needed to go home. Needed to do something.

As if reading my mind, Sheriff Jackson called my name from his squad car. When I turned, he asked, “You need a ride home?”

The second the Sheriff’s car disappeared down my driveway, I bolted into the kitchen, flinging magic left and right, yanking herbs and ingredients from their resting places in the cabinets.

I had no idea what I actually needed—so I called for everything.

“Ostende te. Veni ad me,” I demanded, clearing space on the island.

A warmth washed over me as the family grimoire shot from the shelf, floating to rest in the open space before me. Its cover flew open, pages flipping of their own accord before settling on the index of incantations.

My magic churned in my veins, feeding the fire in my belly as I ran a finger down the list.

But there was nothing.

I needed something more.

I wanted to—no, needed to punish this godforsaken town for all the shit it had put me and my family through.

“Maledictio,” I growled, teeth clenched, watching as the pages fluttered toward the back of the book.

Nothing. Just a blank, time-stained page staring back at me.

“Fuck!” I slammed my hands onto the counter so hard my wrists ached. My eyes squeezed shut as frustration clawed at my ribs. But when I opened them again, an icy chill ran down my spine.

Words had begun to appear.

Cautela, maga.

Tenebrae ultra imminet.

Maledictiones omitti non possunt.

Latin. Of course, it was fucking Latin.

Taking a slow, measured breath, I forced myself to focus, calling on the long-buried lessons Aunt Evie had drilled into my head since childhood.

“Caution, witch. Darkness looms beyond. Curses cannot be undone? No shit!”.

Ignoring the blatant warning, I tried to flip the page—but it wouldn’t budge.

“Help me!” I screamed, trying to force the paper to move. Then one final line appeared at the bottom of the page.

Solus sanguis ligabit.

Only blood will bind.

The words burned into my vision. I read them once. Then again.

Frustrated beyond reason, I grabbed a knife. I’d no sooner pricked my finger, a whirlwind of magic whipped through the room.

“Magnolia Bellevue!”

Aunt Evie’s sharp voice sliced through the air just as the grimoire vanished—summoned to her hands as she and Maddie stood across the kitchen, their eyes wide in horror.

“What in the name of the Triple Goddess were you thinking?” she hissed. “We do not do dark magic.”

“We don’t do anything!” I screamed back. My heart was hammering in my chest as I fisted my hands in my hair and tugged, looking for something—anything—to ground me.

“Magpie—”

“No. Absolutely not.” My voice was calm—too calm.

Like the air before a storm. “You don’t get to stand there and coddle me like I’m still the little girl who came into this house twenty-two years ago.

For years we have sat around and done nothing.

Years of being sneered at and ridiculed.

Of being the fucking town pariahs. And I ignored it like you taught me, held my head high and let it roll off of me like water. But enough is enough.”

Maddie’s face paled. “Mags, come on—”

“No.” My tone was steel, cold and sharp as I met their gazes. “I’m done. Done with the jabs. Done with the dead flowers. Done with bricks through my fucking windows. And if you won’t help me, then—”

“Mags!”

Taylor’s voice thundered through the house, and every pair of eyes snapped to the closed pocket doors.

“Mags!”

I locked eyes with my sister, seething. “How fucking dare you. This doesn't concern him!”

“You’re about to curse half the damn town, and you don’t think that concerns him?” she fired back, and my eyes widened slightly.

Maddie rarely cursed, opting for phrases like ‘fudge’ and ‘cheese and crackers’. So when an expletive did fly from her lips, you knew she was pissed.

Well, baby sister, so am I.

The doors slammed open.

Taylor stood in the doorway, red-faced and wide-eyed.

“Tell me I didn’t just hear what I think I just heard.”

Taylor

“I can’t believe you called him!” Magnolia yelled, raking her hands angrily through her hair as she locked eyes with her sister.

“I didn’t! I texted Meredith—”

“She has his number! What the fuck did you think she was going to do?!”

“How was I supposed to know that?” Maddie shot back, voice rising to match her sister’s.

“Maybe if you would fucking talk to me, you would!”

My eyes volleyed back and forth between the two sisters.

It was like watching an angry tennis match—or two lionesses circling each other—and I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing.

Clearly, Magnolia didn’t want me here, but after seeing the numerous texts and missed calls from her sister, and getting the full rundown of what had happened, she was just going to have to get over it.

I was here—scrubs and all—and she was going to talk through this with me.

“Magnolia?”

For the first time since I’d stepped foot in that house, her eyes flicked to mine—just for a second—before shifting to her aunt, who clutched some old, fat book against her chest like a shield.

“We’re not finished here,” Magnolia damn near hissed.

“Yes, Magnolia. We are.” Her aunt’s voice was calm, but firm. “And if I have to bind the grimoire from your magic until you calm down, I will. I don’t want to, but I will.”

With a frustrated groan, Magnolia stormed toward us. Her family stepped aside, but she breezed past me like I wasn’t even there.

“Go after her,” Madison ground out, jerking her head toward where Magnolia had stomped off.

Turning on my heel, I followed, calling her name as she slammed the screen door behind her.

“Mags, talk to me,” I said gently, stepping out onto the porch. There was a bite to the air, and as much as I wanted to wrap my arms around her, I knew better than to push.

“Taylor, stop. You shouldn’t even be here—this doesn’t concern you.” Her tone was icier than a snowball, and though the last thing I wanted was to fight right now, it seemed she was itchin’ for one.

“Doesn’t concern me? You just said you wanted to curse the whole goddamn town.”

“No, Maddie said that.” She spun on her heel, fixing me with a hard glare.

“Was she wrong?”

Her nostrils flared, but she didn’t deny it.

“Fuck, Magnolia. What has gotten into you?”

“Gotten into me?!” She threw up her hands. “They threw bricks through my windows, Taylor! Sent me dead flowers with Mother only knows what crawling around in the dirt. Egged my house. Do I need to go on? What would you have me do?!”

“I don’t know! But sure as shit not that.”

I ran my hands through my hair, inhaling deeply in an attempt to quell my rising anger.

I wasn’t mad at her—I was mad for her. And yelling wouldn’t get us anywhere.

So, with a calmer tone, I asked, “Why didn’t you have spells or something on the windows?

You know, to keep something like that from happening? ”

Fire blazed in her eyes, and her mouth popped open in shock. “Why didn’t I? Gee, I don’t know, Taylor. Maybe because having unbreakable windows when a brick is thrown at them isn’t the best idea for a suspected town witch.”

She fell silent after that, breathing heavily through her nose as she held my gaze. And when I didn’t respond—because what the hell could I say to that?—she turned, walking toward the railing.

I gave her a few moments, letting the tension settle so neither of us said something we’d regret. But the silence was unbearable.

“I’m sorry,” I finally said. “I… I shouldn’t have said that. Shouldn’t have questioned you or how you use your magic.”

Her head bobbed slightly, but she didn’t say anything.

“Mags, baby, please talk to me.”

“I can’t do this,” she whispered into the night, her gaze never straying from the yard.

“Can’t do what, baby?” I asked, cautiously closing the distance until I could lean on the railing beside her.

Tears tracked down her cheeks, and the sight gutted me. I hadn’t even realized she was crying. When I reached for her, she jerked away, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Please don’t. I can’t—” She took a shuddering breath. “I can’t do this right now.”

The tremble in her voice. The tears on her face. The way she wouldn’t look at me or let me touch her…

My stomach bottomed out.

It wasn’t a this she couldn’t do—it was us.

And though I knew that deep in my bones, some masochistic part of me needed her to say it. I needed to hear the words.

“What can’t you do, Magnolia?”

Glassy eyes met mine, her bottom lip quivering. “You already know what I’m going to say, Taylor.”

“Then say it.” There was more bite to my tone than I intended, but I couldn’t help it. Fissures formed in my heart, spreading wide and deep, and it fucking hurt.

“Us.”

It came out as more of a croak than a word, like it hurt her just as much to say it as it did for me to hear it. And that was something—I guessed. It meant she still cared, still wanted this. She just didn’t believe she could have it.

But when I opened my mouth to say as much, she shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself like a shield.

“Don’t you get it? They want me away from you. I’m not good enough for the town’s golden boy, and I can’t do this anymore. I’m just. So. Tired.”

“Please, Magnolia, don’t do this.”

“Taylor, I don’t want to, but I can’t do this right now. I need time. Space to figure out what’s best for both of us.”

“You mean what’s best for you.”

She flinched like I’d struck her, and I immediately regretted my words. Taking a breath, I cupped her cheek in my hand, my voice softer now.

“The town has already decided what they think is best for us. Don’t give them that power. Please, sunshine, don’t do this to us.”

“I don’t want to,” she whispered again, leaning into my touch the barest amount. “But I need the dust to settle. They’ve targeted me, my home, and now my business. All because I fell for a guy out of my league.”

“One: I’m not out of your league—if anything, you’re out of mine. And two: I’ll give you what you’re asking for. But, baby?” I waited until she met my eyes. “This? Us? It isn’t over. So take the time you need, but know that I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

Not willing to give her the chance to argue, I pressed a kiss to her brow and turned away, heading down the porch steps.

Walking away—when all I wanted was to be her safe harbor in the storm—was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. But I did it.

For her.

For us.

Because I meant every word.

I was in this.

And if her admitting that she’d fallen for me told me anything, it was that she was, too.

She just needed time to realize it for herself.