Magic Tricks 🔮 Book 2 || gxg

Blue Moon

It had been a long week of silence from Aidan. Even when the two came over for D&D night, he didn't so much as look Ada's way. He was friendly and engaged with the others, but not with her. She wasn't surprised. In fact, she would have been floored if he had acknowledged her at all. She hadn't expected either of them to show up for the game.

Noah was outwardly normal, though he tried to limit their interactions when Aidan was present. She didn't blame him. Aidan had given him hell when they got home, as he told her that night. As much as she hated it, she understood.

The drama with Aidan was almost enough to distract her from her other problems. Almost. She had been mulling over what Hillebrandt had told her for days, but got nothing new from it. She still couldn't figure out what made them return the file. The only plausible answer was that it was a power move, as Hillebrandt had suggested. She wouldn't put it past them, but she felt like she was missing something horribly obvious.

On Thursday morning, Ada woke with the usual amount of annoyance and lethargy and dragged herself into the kitchen for coffee. Thoughts of Hillebrandt and her siblings had plagued her dreams for most of the night. Even in sleep, she couldn't find that last puzzle piece. Still, it was something to focus on beyond what was happening that afternoon.

The whisper of fabric was all the heads-up Ada was given to Sam's arrival in the kitchen. Her hair was bundled in a towel high on her head and she was swimming in her plush turquoise bath robe. Her cheeks were splotchy—she liked to run her baths hot enough to cook vegetables. Ada smiled reflexively, anxiety stilling somewhat.

"Coffee?" Ada started to reach for a second mug.

"Yes, please." Sam padded over to her and hugged her waist. "What time is he getting here?"

"Around noon, I think." Ada put a hand over hers for a moment, then went back to her task. She released Ada to take her mug. "I'm hoping to be done it all by the time you're home from work. When do you want to go tonight?"

She hummed. "Dinner time, maybe? Only if you're up for it, though. Don't force yourself."

Ada gave her a warm smile. "Dinner it is. I'm not going to miss this."

"Have you thought of a costume yet?"

Ada shrugged. "Not really."

"You'll think of something. I still have plastic fangs; you could always be a vampire."

Halloween had sneaked up on her. Since she missed it the year prior—thanks to a bad case of the flu—there was no way she would this year. Costume or not, she wanted to be part of the annual tradition of getting wasted at the pub. Yeah, that's about all there was to do for anyone too old to trick-or-treat.

They could only stay for a short time, though. Well, Ada could stay as late as she wanted, but it was a blue moon that night. According to Aidan, they would feel it a lot more than normal. Sam would have to leave to go run whether she wanted to or not. The timing was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done.

Noah and Aidan were going to come, too, but after the incident, Aidan had shut that down. Ada couldn't help feeling responsible. Noah insisted he was fine with it, but she wasn't so sure. The few times she had seen him that week, brief as they were, he had worn a solemn acceptance not unlike when they first moved to town.

"How late are you staying out tonight?" Ada asked, sipping coffee.

Sam emerged from the fridge with a carton of eggs and a pack of bacon. "Ten, probably. Aidan said he would text when the left."

"What are you going to tell the others?" Ada reached for the foodstuffs. "I'll get it started."

"Thanks." She beamed, then started to let down her hair. "I told them I have to go to work early to let in a repairman. They were bummed. Charlotte will probably try to get me to stay late."