Page 31

Alonso

“I REALLY DON’T WANT TO BELIEVE IT,” ALONSO SAYS, SHOVING HALF A pancake into his mouth.

IHOP is empty. They’re sitting in a corner booth, listening to thunder gathering in the evening sky. Alonso is the only one eating. Across from him, Penny stares into her water glass. Corey is basically unresponsive. Alonso keeps staring at him to make sure he’s blinking.

“You two should have toast or something. Can’t fight evil on an empty stomach.” Alonso drowns the remainder of his chocolate chip pancakes in cherry syrup.

Corey presses his fist to his mouth. “I’m going to be sick if I have to watch you eat that.”

“Is that a promise?”

Penny grabs her water glass with both hands, but she doesn’t take a drink. “Maybe Milton got it wrong.”

“He sent me the marriage license,” Corey says, pulling up a text and sliding his phone over to Penny.

Penny zooms in and reads it aloud: “‘This confirms that John Edward Mayberry and Saskia Barnhardt were united in matrimony.’ Why didn’t your family know about this, Alonso?”

Alonso’s stomach is suddenly queasy, and he pushes his plate away. “Anyone marrying into a coven has to take the coven’s name. That’s why my dad’s last name was De Luca while he and my mom were married.”

“Then why would Saskia Barnhardt change her name?”

“Probably because she didn’t want to be known or remembered as a witch. Why else would she have dropped all her spell books off with my ancestors?” Alonso shakes his head. “Maybe my ancestors knew, but the story got lost over generations. This did happen a long time ago.”

Penny chews her lip. “You said a lot of covens disappear. This woman, Saskia… maybe she wanted a fresh start.” She glances at Corey. “Do you think Dylan knows?”

“There’s no way,” Corey says. “This isn’t the kind of thing Dylan would keep to herself.”

“Yeah, she would’ve cursed a few people on her own by now,” Alonso says.

“That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t trying to be funny. Why leak someone’s nudes when you could make their skin fall off?” Alonso can’t help it; he lets out a low laugh. “How do you do it, man?”

“Alonso,” Penny warns.

“Come on, you know you’re curious.”

“I picture my dead mother,” Corey says.

Alonso’s laugh dies in his throat. He turns back to his pancakes, avoiding Penny’s eyes.

They fall silent, watching storm clouds darken the sky. A few drops of rain hit the window.

“I guess we should see what we can find out,” Penny says.

“About what?” Corey says.

“Well, would the Mayberrys have any reason to curse your family?”

The question is blunt, and Corey’s eyes suddenly look vacant. It’s hard to feel bad for the guy, though. This is a fake relationship after all.

Then again, if Alonso were in Corey’s shoes, Penny would be the one in the curse’s sights. That thought is enough to steal his sleep. Alonso doesn’t respect Corey for being with Dylan, but he almost understands it.

“There’s one thing that might be related, I guess,” Corey says.

Alonso stops with more pancake halfway to his mouth.

“The land our manufacturing plant is on… it used to belong to Dylan’s great-grandparents. It was their farm. My family paid them a ton of money for it, so it’s not like we stole it, but it’s the only connection I can think of.”

“Except there’s more to it than that,” Alonso says. “Your family’s company changed this whole town. You bought up over half of the land. There are barely any privately owned farms left. You don’t think some people might hold a grudge about that?”

“That’s not enough to justify the curse, is it?” Penny says.

Alonso raises an eyebrow. “People have done worse for way less.”

The rain has started in earnest and fog forms on the window.

“Why would Dylan date me?” Corey says. “If she knew about the curse, it wouldn’t make sense. She’d know she could get hurt.”

“Fair point,” Alonso admits, “but we should make sure.”

“How?” Penny says cautiously.

Alonso tries to dial down his excitement. His plan is brilliant, but unfortunately he’s talking to two upstanding citizens. This is going to take some convincing. He leans forward, trying to project confidence. “Remember that book we found when we searched my basement? The Light ?”

Penny looks thoughtful. “It was another spell book. It had something to do with revealing things, right?” Her mouth falls open. “Wait. No.”

“Yes,” Alonso says.

“What?” Corey asks.

Penny doesn’t break eye contact with Alonso, which he doesn’t appreciate. Looking at her makes him lose his train of thought.

“There was a spell for truth serum in that book,” Penny says.

Corey gapes at Alonso. “You’re not using magic on my girlfriend.”

Alonso crosses his arms. “Don’t use your scary voice on me, Barrion. And anyway, she’s your fake girlfriend.”

“She’s still a human being,” Corey says, turning to Penny. “You see why this is wrong. I know you do.”

“I do,” Penny says, but there’s a hint of uncertainty in the way she says it. Alonso grasps for that like a lifeline.

“Truth serums aren’t harmful. We get the information we need, and then it’s over. She won’t remember a thing.”

Penny tucks her hair behind her ear. She’s wearing a tank top, and there are freckles across her chest. Alonso averts his eyes, staring at the soggy remainder of his pancakes.

“Corey,” Penny says, “what if there’s something we don’t know? What if it was her family?”

“No.”

Alonso drums his fingers on the table.

“I said no .”

Penny clears her throat. “There’s something else you both should know. Something I found.”

“What?” Alonso says, but he cuts off as he catches sight of someone walking into IHOP. A person with blond hair, wearing a neon-pink dress. A person glaring at their table.

“Uh-oh,” Alonso says.

Penny looks behind her, but when she sees Dylan, she quickly turns back around and sinks into her seat. Meanwhile, Corey stands up, plastering a believable smile on his face. His years of practice are showing.

“Dylan,” Corey calls. “Over here.”

Dylan walks toward them, the angles of her face severe as she regards each of them. Her eyes linger on Penny longest of all, and Penny tries to smile, but she does a bad job of hiding her panic.

“What are you doing here?” Corey says.

“You aren’t picking up your phone,” Dylan says. “I called you twice. And texted.”

Corey glances at his phone, which is face up on the table. Alonso should be giddy to get a front-row seat to The Dylan and Corey Show, but he almost feels bad for Corey. Which doesn’t mean he wants to stick around. From the look on Penny’s face, she has the same idea.

“We have to go, uh—” Penny begins.

“Compost,” Alonso says, quickly shoving a final bite of pancake into his mouth before he stands up.

“Community service for your latest felony?” Dylan asks.

“Something like that,” Alonso mutters.

Dylan doesn’t move as Penny tries to get past her, forcing Penny to squeeze herself against the edge of the booth. Then Alonso grabs her arm, practically dragging her out of the IHOP.

“I feel like we abandoned him,” Penny whispers to Alonso as they head to the door.

“She’s his problem,” Alonso says. But he glances back, hoping he’ll catch Corey’s eye.

Corey won’t look at him. He’s already talking with Dylan. How is he going to explain why he was hanging out with Alonso and Penny? They’re not the most likely trio.

“Hopefully he’s good at damage control,” Alonso mutters.