Page 47

Penny

AS SOON AS SHE GETS HOME, PENNY COCOONS HERSELF IN BED UNTIL she stops shaking. As the adrenaline rush fades, anxiety returns, making her eyes water.

Mr. Barrion is on to them.

They haven’t been careful enough. Penny should’ve known people in Idlewood would talk. What would she have thought if Corey and Alonso suddenly started appearing in public together? Of course this news would get back to the Barrions.

Maybe if they explain the whole situation, Corey’s family won’t report Alonso to the Council of Witches. They all want to break the curse. But it feels like the wrong decision—because of Mr. Barrion. He’s the victim here, just like Corey. So why does he make Penny feel like she’s a small animal and he’s the much larger predator?

Maybe Penny can’t trust her gut.

She’s suddenly sweating. She sits up, pushing back her comforter and reaching over to turn on the small fan on her desk. She bumps a stack of books, and one falls to the floor.

It’s her yearbook.

Penny hasn’t touched it since before her mom’s accident. Actually, she hasn’t touched it since before Alonso told her about the message he’d written in its pages.

Penny grabs the yearbook and scans the end pages. As she searches for messy, jagged handwriting, she asks herself what she wants to find. Maybe she’s sick of questions. Sick of wondering if her instincts are wrong.

Part of her is still in that gas station parking lot, watching Alonso lean in and wondering if she’s imagining the whole thing.

And then she finds it. It’s in the back of the yearbook, scribbled near the gutter.

I think I made you up inside my head.—ADL

Penny knows that poem. It’s by Sylvia Plath; she read it in English last year. But it’s not a love poem. If anything, it’s a poem about heartbreak.

Penny closes the yearbook, suddenly unable to catch her breath. She grabs her medication, takes a pill to stave off the panic attack. She never should’ve looked for Alonso’s note. If anything, she has more questions than before. Wasn’t Alonso a mystery she never wanted to solve? Now, all she wants is to dive into his mind. Does the way he looks at her mean anything?

Or is Penny just a silly little girl, like Mr. Barrion said?

Penny grabs her phone, opens her text thread with Alonso. But her fingers hover over the keys. She could text him about her trip to the Barrions’ company, but the words won’t come. She starts to type I miss you and deletes it. She tries What are you doing? but the words don’t sound like Penny. He would probably think someone stole her phone.

A loud ringing pierces the silence, and Penny jumps, her phone falling to the bed. The doorbell.

Could it be Alonso?

Penny kicks the covers off and runs to the front door, holding the corner of the wall to keep herself from falling. She doesn’t even look through the peephole first, a habit her mom taught her when she was young. She unlocks the door and throws it open.

But it’s not Alonso on the other side.

“Corey?” Penny says. “Hey, what are you…?”

Her words trail off as she takes in the sight of him. Corey is dressed in basketball shorts and a YMCA shirt. He must be on his way home from work. But that doesn’t explain why his eyes are bloodshot, or why he’s shifting from one foot to the other. This isn’t the confident Corey that Penny has always recognized. Today, he’s uncertain. Even nervous.

Against her will, she remembers the last time she saw him. It was in the hospital, his eyes half-lidded with judgment.

Penny pulls her cardigan tighter around herself.

“Hey,” he says. “I texted you, but you didn’t answer, so I came over. Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. Come in.”

“I can’t,” Corey says. He was staring down, avoiding her eyes, but after another brief silence, he looks up.

There’s so much in his face—concern, regret, respect. It bowls her over, and Penny remembers with stark clarity why she had such a crush on him in middle school. It wasn’t just the cheekbones; it’s because Corey is like a book, but she’s only read a few pages. There’s so much more to him that she doesn’t know. Will never know.

“Are you okay?” Corey asks.

Penny squeezes her eyes shut, the embarrassment hitting her all over again. “You saw the video.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know. There are other things going on, and it didn’t feel important.”

Corey swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Then he holds out an envelope. “Here.”

Penny takes it. It’s surprisingly heavy for being so small, and it’s sealed shut. “What is it?”

“An invitation to the gala on Saturday,” Corey says.

“What? Why are you giving this to me?”

“This doesn’t make up for what happened. That’s not the point. But I gave you two guests, so you can bring Naomi and Ron if you want. I know we’re doing the curse-breaker that night, but I thought…” He runs a hand over his hair. “Aunt Helen used to say we have to take the good moments whenever we can, because life is so hard. I thought you could forget about all of this for a couple hours. Finally enjoy your summer.”

Penny tries to laugh. “So this is a pity invite?”

“No,” Corey says, his voice firm. “It’s me owing you more than an apology. What happened was because of me.”

Penny stares at him, and then at the envelope. “Did you tell Dylan that I had feelings for you?”

Corey averts his eyes. “Yeah. I did.”

“Why?”

He lets out a bitter laugh. “Because I’m a fucking child.”

The venom in his voice makes Penny clutch the envelope a little tighter. Whatever anger she had toward him—and there was anger, she recognizes that now—fades. But there’s another problem.

“I met your grandfather today.”

Corey’s jaw drops. “You… what? Where?”

“He’ll probably tell you the story. But he wants me to stay away from you.”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“He knows we’ve been spending time with Alonso. He’s suspicious. He thinks you’re in danger or something.” Penny holds the envelope out to him. “Me going to the gala is not a good idea right now.”

Corey stares at the envelope. Then he pushes it gently back toward Penny. “I’ll tell him I invited you.”

“But—”

“My grandfather has dictated enough in my life,” Corey says. “I want you there.”

Penny takes the envelope back. She probably shouldn’t ask the burning question, but she can’t help it. “And Alonso—?”

“Don’t tell him.”

“Right,” Penny says, her voice cracking.

Corey hesitates. “Penny, is there…”

She waits. He seems to mull over the words, but she can almost hear them: Is there something going on between you and Alonso?

A blast of warm summer air hits Penny. Her hair sticks to her neck. Her heart pounds.

How would she answer that?

“Never mind,” he says, turning to walk back to his car. “Text me if you can make it.”

Penny sits on the porch for a long time staring at the invitation. This is the Barrion gala. And she could bring Naomi. It wouldn’t make Penny a good friend after weeks of being MIA, but it would be a start.

Penny sends Corey a text: I’ll be at the gala. Thank you.

Even after she messages Naomi and gets an enthusiastic YES OFC I’LL COME OMG , Penny has a feeling she’s not making the right decision. Because she’s too far into the Barrions’ world already. She needs distance, and not just because Mr. Barrion told her to stay away from Corey.

Corey’s family has suffered from the curse for decades. They’re the victims here. So why is Penny’s gut telling her that getting any closer to the Barrions is a bad idea?