Shrouded in secrecy, witches are born with only one ability they learn to master over a lifetime, and they have one primary rule: never fall in love with a Warlock.
When 18-year-old Phoebe Larson unexpectedly finds herself in danger at her ex-boyfr...
"You were screaming," Xavier stated from behind the locked door. "Do you want me to come in?"
"No!" Phoebe shouted. She looked down at herself. She had on a t-shirt she found in one of the drawers. The fabric was thin and left little to the imagination. Quickly, she fumbled around the room to collect her clothes and put them on. "I'm not dressed!"
"Is that supposed to make me not want to come in?" Xavier's voice dripped with amusement.
"Funny," she said flatly. It wasn't funny. "The door is locked anyway, so even if you wanted to come in, you can't."
"Even if it weren't locked, I'd only enter if you asked me to. I'm a gentleman like that." Xavier had the kind of tone that made it hard to tell if he was joking, flirting, or being serious. Maybe it was all three at once.
Phoebe managed to finish dressing and unlocked the door. She preferred talking to his face instead of the paint-chipped master bedroom door.
Xavier wore just a towel around his waist and held out a tacky yellow mug of coffee towards her. His bare chest was fit, well defined, and marked with several strange tattoos that complimented his physique.
Her cheeks flushed. She tried to not let it show how much seeing him shirtless affected her. "Why are you naked?"
"I'm not naked, I have a towel," he said, smiling faintly.
She fought back a small smile. Phoebe remembered being annoyed by Xavier's habit of turning everything into a joke when they were in high school, but she found his attitude to make her feel more at ease.
"You know what I mean." Phoebe tried to pretend to be irritated with him, in spite of accepting the coffee he offered.
He tilted his head in thought. "You screamed, so I rushed out of the shower."
"And as you ran to my aid you decided to grab me a cup of coffee?" Phoebe kept up the act, but she was a terrible actress. She broke out a full-on grin.
"There's little that can't be solved with a good cup of coffee," he explained, his eyes staying completely fixed on hers.
She took a small sip of coffee and hid her smile behind the rim of the mug. "Well, since you got the water working, I guess I better take a shower too."
Xavier braced his hands against the doorframe and leaned forward. "Want company?" He was as devious as ever.
Phoebe's stomach did a backflip. Xavier may have been hot, but she couldn't forget what happened the night before. There was so much she didn't know about him. She needed to keep her head straight until she had more information.
"No. Move and take this mug," she commanded.
"Yes, m'lady," Xavier turned, bowed his head, reclaimed the coffee, and motioned with one arm towards the bathroom.
Phoebe made sure to lock herself in the bathroom, just in case. She twisted her hair up into a bun atop her head and raised her voice loud enough for Xavier to hear her. "What about food? Did you find any in the cabinets?"
"Nothing that wasn't long expired. Even the coffee might be questionable. But we can find food outside," he answered.
"What do you mean?"
"Witches and Warlocks are connected to the earth where normal humans are disconnected from it. We understand how to forage plant life and capture wildlife," he explained.
She had almost forgotten that witches and warlocks were real. Phoebe was still digesting that information. She turned on the faucet and switched the water flow to the showerhead. "We're not going to capture and kill anything for breakfast, Xavier!"
"So foraging it is." He sounded amused. "You finish your shower, leave breakfast to me."
It felt weirdly intimate for her to shower while Xavier made breakfast. She never lived with Juan, and whenever they slept over at one another's place he never made breakfast for her. It made her question why she stayed with him for so long.
The water stayed warm and never turned hot. After fifteen minutes of washing her body, she decided that she was clean enough. She dried and dressed, then cracked open the bathroom door to stare out into the main room of the cabin. Most of the furniture was covered with sheets, and the wood floor was dull and dusty. To the left of that room were the kitchen and a freshly wiped table to eat at. Xavier had left her coffee mug there with a sheet of paper over the top of it.
Phoebe sat at the table and wrapped her fingers against the mug. It was cold, but she drank it anyway. Staring at the state of the cabin made her uncomfortable. A tall sheet-covered coat stand looked frighteningly humanoid in shape. She felt surrounded by ghosts. The ghosts that bothered her the most were her own memories.
Everywhere she looked she could remember an action her mother performed in the spot. By the counter, Phoebe could remember her mother dancing to Frank Sinatra music on the record player. By the front door, she could remember her mother carrying in heavy cans of paint and smiling at her.
She missed her mother more than anything else in the world.
The front door swung open.
"I return with a bountiful harvest!" Xavier exclaimed from the doorway. He had a kitchen towel in his arms filled with wild blackberries. He closed the door behind him with his foot and dumped the towel on the center of the kitchen table.
Phoebe popped one of the blackberries into her mouth. It was deliciously sweet. "I didn't know there were so many blackberry bushes around the house."
"That's not the only thing I found outside," he said. He dug out from his pocket various leaves and petals. "There are plants that are out of season bearing fruit and flowers around the house, this is evidence of a witch's cabin. Whoever your relative was, must have been a witch, that's why she gave the house to your mom. And every witch's home has a secret room. That room will be the key to awakening your power. . ."
Author's Note: Thank you for reading this chapter! If you're enjoying the story, please consider leaving a comment.
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