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Penny

PENNY DOESN’T LEAVE HER MOM’S HOSPITAL ROOM FOR TWO DAYS.

She convinces Ron to let her sleep there. He argues at first, saying he doesn’t want her there by herself, but he doesn’t have the energy to put up a real fight. Naomi brings Penny food, and they walk laps around the fifth floor, sipping coffee from Styrofoam cups and saying very little. When Penny is alone, she mostly sits in a chair and stares at the wall, or out the window. Occasionally her eyes wander over to her mom, and inevitably to the necklace.

The ward . That’s what Corey called it.

Their conversation in the parking lot doesn’t seem real. Not just because of what Corey said about his family history, but because of how afraid he was. Afraid of the curse. Afraid of the De Lucas. Maybe even afraid that Penny wouldn’t believe him. If Penny hadn’t stumbled upon Alonso in the woods ten years ago and seen him do the impossible with her own eyes, she probably wouldn’t have.

But what Corey is describing—a curse that has been killing people for decades—is very different from what Penny saw when she was a kid. What if there is another explanation? Corey said the deaths in his family always look like accidents when the curse is involved, but there must be at least one exception.

Penny grabs her phone and finds the website for the Idlewood Central Library. She clicks on their digital newspaper archives, first typing in Barrions Idlewood . When that turns up nothing but articles about Barrion Heating his siblings, Gigi and Paulo; his wife, Latin Grammy–winner Sofía Barrion Hirsch.

There’s no mention of Sofía’s daughter, Camila. Penny’s eyes go back to the date, and that’s when it hits her: Sofía must’ve been pregnant when her husband died.

Penny’s hands have gone slick with sweat. She clicks on another obituary, then another, until she’s gotten through eleven of them. Every single one of these people was in love with a member of the Barrion family—and they all died within the last fifty years. None of the deaths were natural.

Penny’s vision doubles, and she closes all the tabs until she’s staring at the search results again. There’s one more obituary she hasn’t clicked on.

A pdf loads, revealing a scan of an old newspaper article with spotty text. It’s brief, barely a paragraph:

ELENA “ELLIE” THOMPSON BARRION, 1951–1979

Idlewood native Ellie Barrion died in a fire that destroyed part of Meredith House, the home of Barrion Heating two children, Helen and James; and her parents, Dorothy and Dennis Thompson.

Giovanni De Luca died the same day as Ellie Barrion. His body was found right after the fire at Meredith House. Everyone assumed Alonso’s grandfather killed himself because he started the fire, but what if there was more to it? What if Alonso’s grandfather did something even worse—something that would make his ex-fiancée’s family suffer for generations?

Penny puts down her phone.

Her mom used to say there was a boundary between coincidence and design. Coincidence and meant-to-be. Coincidence and fate.

“But how do you know if it’s not a coincidence?” Penny once asked. “Can’t our minds trick us into seeing patterns that aren’t there?”

It was a slow day at the café, so they were doing a deep clean of the place. Her mom’s sleeves were rolled up, hands shoved into oversized yellow gloves. As she wrung out her cleaning rag, she gave Penny a mischievous smile.

“Your brain will always try to bury the truth,” she said, “but if you let the world come to you, it becomes easy to see. Sort of like being in love. Even if you deny how you feel, your body will give it away. There are truths your brain can’t tell you.”

Gray light begins to filter through the blinds. It’s morning. Anita’s accident was three days ago, and she’s shown no signs of waking up.

Penny closes her eyes, and she thinks about all the tragedies in the Barrion family. She tries to clear her mind and see the truth of it, but she can’t. All she sees is the smirking face of Alonso De Luca.

Penny sits up suddenly, the cot creaking underneath her.

Alonso. He could verify Corey’s story, right?

No. Penny should keep her distance. Because if all of it is true, how will Alonso—violent, volatile Alonso—react if he finds out Penny knows the truth about him?

But what other option does she have?

Penny sits there until the morning light goes from blue to gold, her heart pounding. Then she grabs her pink bomber jacket, takes her anxiety meds, and kisses her mother’s forehead.

“If I don’t come back,” she whispers, hoping her mom can hear her, “give Naomi my stuffed narwhal.” Then she marches off to confront a witch.