Cursed

Chapter Sixteen

I woke up on the carpet, surrounded by books. Kate was up and you guessed it, reading. She wore a light blue turtleneck with a corduroy dark blue dress over the top. Her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail. It was the first time I had seen her hair do anything except for lay flat on her shoulders. I rub my eyes and head for the shower.

"Your Gran made breakfast: gluten-free." There is excitement behind her words. I look around. She hasn't moved and is still reading.

"Oh okay, I'll be down soon." She nods and continues to read. Sighing, I continue towards my bathroom. Kate is taking this "watching Cornelia" way too seriously. I'm surprised she's letting me shower without her coming in here.

"I think I'm about finished with the unblocking spell," Kate states as we walk to class. "I just need a few more ingredients. Would you Gran be suspicious if we borrowed some items from her?" I barely hear Kate when she asks me. I'm surveying the crowd, looking for Daniel. I have decided to try and talk to him.

"Um, I'll ask her. What did you need?" We stop at Kate's locker so she can unload her books.

"Deadly Nightshade, Burdock root, and pigs feet." This is going to be a complicated spell and we have to match the intensity that was used to block my spell. Ivelyn, Mir, and Addie found a lot of interesting ingredients the cult has been using. There was a lot of pigs feet and poisonous herbs there. I shiver at the idea.

"I know she has Nightshade and Burdock root, but I'm not sure about pigs feet. If she does have it she'd definitely be suspicious." She nods, making a note. The first bell rings and my heart races. Daniel and I still have history class together, at least for a couple more weeks. I just need to gather enough courage to talk to him.

Kate is mid-sentence when I walk away. I see Daniel down the hall and I take off in his direction. He's walking next to Giu. They're laughing about something. When I get closer, I notice how different Daniel looks. He cut his hair and his eyes seem lighter. They're almost the same golden color that Giu's are. I can't help but think that means something.

"Daniel," my voice comes out like a croak. I stop in front of them. He won't be able to ignore me. "Daniel, can we talk?" Each time I say his name, my heart squeezes. He's looking at the ground, trying not to look at me. Giu is staring back in forth between me and Daniel.

Instead of replying, he walks past me. I can't breathe. Giu gives me a sympathetic smile, then follows him. I can't move. The hallway empties as everyone else heads to class. Eventually, I snap out of it. I blink, then turn around to walk into class. The final bell rings as I open the door. Once again, everyone is staring at me. Gellar looks alarmed, but I stare at the ground and take my seat.

He can't even look at me. All I wanted was to talk to him. I needed closure. I needed him to forgive me. I had been an idiot by reacting the way I did. It had just startled me, hearing that Daniel was Cursed. It really wasn't that he was Cursed, but knowing my family had cursed her. That was the rub.

Finally, the bell rang. Slowly, I packed my things up, watching Daniel out of the corner of my eyes. He was talking with Giu and again they were laughing. He looked so happy. I had to admit, the short hair was working for him.

They moved towards the door. Now was my chance. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked up to them. I positioned my body in the way. This time, he couldn't walk past me without asking me to move.

I sucked in a deep breath. We made eye contact and I swear his eyes darkened when they met mine. In those eyes, I saw hatred, but there was something else. It stirred something inside me. It was the familiar sting when Daniel and I touched.

I looked down at the cause. Daniel's forearm had brushed up against mine. He frowned at the contact.

"Move." His tone sharp. He took back his arm, waiting for me to let him pass. It wasn't exactly what I had planned. Giu sighed and pushed a ringlet behind her ear.