Magic Tricks 🔮 Book 2 || gxg

House Call

The ride was only a few minutes, but it would have taken Ada far too long to walk the distance. As she got out into the gathering twilight, Ada thanked her driver and felt her pocket for reassurance. She was second guessing her hasty agreement right about then.

Ada really needed to pick up some extra shifts; she was so close to getting a decent car. There was a 2004 Lexus ES in someone's driveway for sale just outside of town that was seriously under-priced. There wasn't much that could be wrong that she couldn't fix herself. Not much she hadn't seen at that point. She just hadn't been able to put away all the cash for it until then. She makes decent money, but nothing crazy. Whatever didn't go to essential went to furnishings, which she had gathered over the course of about eight months. They weren't fancy, but she managed to sell them pretty quickly to some recent graduates when she moved in with Sam. Good timing on that. That little influx of cash on top of what she was saving splitting rent had really sped up her savings. Every time she thought about that Lexus she got a little excited chill. It would feel so good to have a car of her own again.

Hers, unfortunately, was one of the cars searched during the warrant. She didn't have anything incriminating there, but she was in a hurry to get as far away from Scarborough as she possibly could just then. They impounded it after the case was dropped and she never went back to get it. She probably never would, not if she got this one. Her siblings knew that car as well as their own, and it was trash compared to the Lexus. Well, maybe if this shit with Charles and Jocelyn ever ended; she could clean it up and sell it for a couple thousand.

Noah got the door before she knocked, a shy, self-conscious smile on his face for a second. "I really appreciate this."

Ada tried to shrug casually. "No problem." She skirted past and kicked off her boots, which she hadn't bothered to lace. Something was cooking in a large skillet. "You okay?"

"I will be." He eased past, careful not to touch her on his way to the kitchen. "Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, thanks though. What are you making? It smells good."

He made a sound in his throat as he leaned over the cookbook. "Chicken Alfredo. I thought I would try a new recipe."

Ada sank into the armchair, as it had the best view of the room. Noah's shoulders were tense, bunched up his neck a bit. He stirred with methodical precision.

"He's bugging me," he said after a moment. "He wants to go for a run, doesn't give a shit how much it hurts."

"Does he normally talk to you directly?" Ada wasn't sure if he was going to answer her questions, but they were worth a try.

"Fairly often, yes."

"Is that common?"

He shrugged just before flipping the contents of the skillet with a precise flick. "Not really. I mean, they'll talk sometimes. I guess you can think of it like a movie theatre for one, except the people on screen can hear you. Some of them watch in silence, others don't pay attention in the slightest, others are more engaging. Some are bossy, others controlling."

"So yours is controlling?"

"And then some."

He shut off the stove, and Ada let him be for a minute, pondering that over. Sam described being in her other form as feeling like an out of body experience, or a vivid dream. She's aware of her body and the things going on, but in a detached sort of way, separated. Was the same true for her wolf in her primary form?

Noah took the sofa on the far side. "Want to watch something?"

While he navigated the menus, they debated on options. Ada liked horror, him not so much; he liked sitcoms, where Ada found them dull; action movies were hit and miss, and they couldn't agree on any one film. In the end, Ada talked him into giving Stranger Things a chance despite it having horror aspects. Ada swore up and down he would like it. She was right.