Page 60

Corey

COREY STANDS ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF MEREDITH HOUSE, LOOKING out the picture window. Across the street, moving trucks are parked in front of the De Luca home for the second day in a row. The lawn is crowded with a century’s worth of antiques and paintings and family heirlooms. Every time Corey thinks their house must finally be empty, the movers file out with even more crap. Donna De Luca directs the movers as they load the ratty couches, stained wooden tables, crates of plants and candlestick holders and dusty books.

No matter how much Corey tries to ignore it, he always drifts back to this window.

Corey hasn’t seen Penny or Alonso since the gala. Not in person. Instead, he dreams about the curse-breaker every night.

When they cast the spell, there was a crescendo. It built and built, but when Corey should’ve felt something—a breaking, a beginning, some sign that the curse was gone—there was nothing. Just a gaping hole where his future should’ve been.

Was it his fault the spell didn’t work? Maybe he didn’t want it badly enough. Maybe he never truly believed breaking the curse was possible.

“Sulking again?” comes a voice behind him.

“We’re not talking,” Corey mutters.

“That’s my line,” Julian says, coming up beside him. They stand on opposite sides of the window. Julian watches him while Corey looks outside, trying to see through the fog of his anger.

“Look,” Julian says, his voice soft, “I don’t agree with the whole house-arrest thing they’re doing to you.”

Corey’s muscles tense at Julian’s words. His cousin keeps acting as if Alonso tricked Corey into getting involved. As if he’s the victim, when nothing could be further from the truth.

“So did Grandpa reinstate you as the future CEO?” Corey asks.

Julian pauses. “It’s not going to happen.”

Corey knew that already. He just wanted Julian to say it out loud. He’s overheard his father and Grandpa Charles fighting in the library, with Corey’s dad arguing the company will fail in Julian’s hands. Grandpa agreed, but he added, “Make sure your son knows his place.”

Corey closes his eyes, as if that could make the memory disappear. “For the record, I never wanted it.”

“Right.”

“I mean it, Julian. Not that I want you to have it either, after what you did.”

Julian laughs. “At least you’re being honest.”

“When have I lied to you?”

“You mean besides the time you colluded with a witch?” Julian looks away. “You used to hold so much of yourself back, Corey. But now you’re all anger. You almost sound like him. ”

Julian gestures out the window, where Alonso’s Shelby has pulled up. Alonso gets out of the car, and Donna De Luca shouts something at him about helping the movers. Instead of helping, Alonso flips them off. Then he marches inside, leaving Donna sputtering and yelling after him, her voice muffled by the glass of the windows.

Corey snorts.

“See what I mean?” Julian says.

But it doesn’t matter if Alonso has rubbed off on Corey. Being angry feels good right now. He nods at Julian’s almost-faded black eye. “She got you good.”

“And you think I deserved it?”

Corey doesn’t answer.

“Right.” Julian starts walking away before he pauses. “I heard the first football game is on Friday.”

Corey wishes he could forget about the game. Tomorrow is the first day of school—the beginning of his senior year. He thought he’d feel different. Better. But he only feels lost. “Don’t bother coming.”

There’s a smile in Julian’s voice as he says, “I’ll be in the front row.”