Talisman, I know you don't normally work this quickly and under such extenuating circumstances, but if you could—
But as Harvey turned around, it was too late for me to finish my conversation with the talisman. Even though no one was in his line of sight, given the whole kidnapping situation, he had to be on high alert. Sneaking and hiding weren't going to help us anymore. We were screwed unless we got out of there.
"Run," I tried to whisper, but it came out as more of a shout. But what did it matter anyway? He was definitely going to notice that something was up.
No one asked questions as we took off for the door, and I didn't even listen to what Harvey shouted at us as we took off. The back door was locked, but Jack flipped the little latch to open the door. There was nothing in the way of our escape except a short run around the house.
A small smile snuck onto my face as the thought of my happily ever after with the talisman came to mind. There had to be some strategic wish I could make that would cut Harvey out of my life for good, and Dr. Reed would be a good person to discuss it with. She was pretty smart.
As we all climbed into my car, Harvey didn't even follow us all the way out and to the car. How stupid was that? I started the car and backed out onto the street without even checking for cars. It was a quiet road, and I had no time to waste.
"That had to be the world's laziest kidnapping. He literally just gave up once we headed out the door." I laughed. "I didn't think people could get any worse than me in that way. What an idiot."
Jack smiled and shook his head. "See? I've been telling you—"
I cut him off before it could turn into a self-improvement motivational talk. "Don't lecture me right now. I saved you, and you can thank me by not telling me all about the ways I can make myself a better person."
Jack didn't reply to that. I was sure he would mention it again later when everything had calmed down, though.
"How'd you know where we were anyway?" Sierra asked.
I hesitated for a moment. There was the text from Harvey, of course, but that only gave away the culprit. I just somehow knew all the rest.
I was right all along about Harvey. Even if I just thought he sucked as a frontman for a band, Jack always told me that I didn't know him well enough to judge him that way. Who was the bad judger now?
Instead of saying that, I just shrugged. "Maybe it's the talisman. Maybe it's Maybelline."
"We still haven't circled back to how that whole kidnapping thing happened, though. I really think we need to discuss it so it doesn't happen again," Dominic said.
I was sure it was an interesting story that Jack and Sierra didn't want to talk about (or one that they didn't even remember—Jack would have been difficult to kidnap while conscious). But both Sierra and Jack were a little more trusting than someone like Dominic or me.
"No circling unless it's back to Tiffany, the homewrecking whore," I said. "I'm about eighty percent sure that's one of the reasons you are the way you are, not to mention the impending doom of your he—"
Dominic crossed his arms as he interrupted me. "And what's your excuse for how you turned—never mind. It actually makes complete sense."
He was probably trying to be rude and defensive, but I didn't take it that way. He must have been the only person on the planet who didn't think I had every reason to be an all-star at everything I ever did, and somehow that made me want to be a little better every day.
Thanks, Mom. Great philosophy you had.
I forced a smile away as I reached into my pocket for the talisman as we waited at a light, but the only thing in there was my phone.
"Oh my god," I mumbled to myself as I checked the other pocket, which was empty. "This can't be happening."
No. Talisman, if you're around and I misplaced you, give me a sign. Please.
"Lindsay, please don't tell me that you lost the talisman," Sierra said.
The only reason it was missing was because of her and Jack getting into trouble. "Me? I lost it? This is a hundred percent your fault, not mine."
"Did you drop it, or did someone take it?" Dominic asked, but that question wasn't any better.
"I feel like I would notice someone sticking their hand down the pocket on my ass," I spat.
"Why didn't you keep it in the front pocket?"
"Why don't you see if you can find a front pocket on these jeans? Here's a hint: you won't be able to because they don't freaking exist on girls' jeans."
Dominic didn't reply to that, and I wasn't sure what he could have said. There were no words that were going to fix anything or even make me feel the slightest bit better.
But instead of sitting in silence, I spoke up again. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do here. Should I buy it off of him? I don't have any money, but my mom does, and maybe if I cry and beg and show her my actually decent grades, she'll give me some to shut me up." I hesitated. "This is such bullshit. I'm sorry I screwed everything up."
"Don't do that. We'll figure this out without doing anything degrading," Dominic said.
Me? Too proud to beg? Yeah right.
"If it fell out of my pocket when we were sitting and talking, then maybe he hasn't found it yet. And if he took it from me, then we're already screwed, so it doesn't matter if we head to Sherwood for a little while," I said.
He also let us get away a little too easily, so it was very possible that he knew he had already gotten what he wanted from me, but maybe that was just worst-case scenario thinking.
Probably not, though.
"And we're gonna stop and get something to eat, right? That's kind of the reason we're in this mess," Sierra said.
"Oh my god, shut up," Dominic snapped.
Maybe it was because it was only my decision to make, but Sherwood didn't feel nearly as scary as it did when Dr. Reed told us to go there or every time I had to work a shift to slowly pay my debt to Butterfly for destroying the shelves of her shop. Or maybe it was because I had never been so desperate in my life.
If the talisman was a disaster in my hands, what would it be like for someone who was a significantly worse person than me?
***
Sherwood, Oregon was far from my favorite place in the world. I had grown up there and gotten used to the weight of people's expectations, and when I left for Tillamook College, everything felt lighter (likely because I no longer bothered carrying books around just for show).
Unfortunately, it was also the one place I needed in the moment with its magic and money.
As we got out of the car into the parking lot next to Butterfly's shop, the sun was just beginning to set, and in late October, we didn't have much daylight left. I wasn't quite sure what to do without the talisman in my pocket and faith in Butterfly after our last meeting, but at least I knew she couldn't steal anything from me.
I mentally pushed aside the memory of me stealing a ring from her as I pulled open the door.
"Welcome to—Lindsay?" Butterfly said as she poked her head up from behind the counter. "What are you doing here?"
"I just need a little magic right now, and I figured this was the place to be," I said.
Butterfly nodded. "Well, you're in the right place."
Sierra immediately headed for the food section, where Butterfly sold all of her home-cooked jars of dried herbs and jams infused foreign foods with healing properties that only she knew about. I didn't say anything though. She would probably be even hungrier without me whether she remembered that fact or not.
As I browsed through the shelves to give me some idea to get my talisman back, Dominic followed in my footsteps.
"I don't have any idea what we're looking for right now," he said.
I shrugged. "Neither do I. I'm just hoping something speaks to me the same way the metal detector did. That turned out pretty great, didn't it?"
He smiled and shook his head. "Real great."
A silence fell between us as I scanned the items in front of me. There wasn't anything that called to me about tarot cards, though. They couldn't fix anything.
"I don't think I've ever seen you get that mad before," Dominic said. "In the car, I mean."
Why wouldn't I be mad about the situation? "Yep."
"We'll get it back, Lindsay. I'll stab him if I have to."
A small smile snuck on my face. "You only care about it because Dr. Reed thinks it belonged to your family once upon a time."
He lowered his voice to a whisper as the bell on the door rang out. "That's only forty percent of the reason."
Before Butterfly could even go into her greeting spiel, a voice with an all too familiar tone and entitlement asked, "Do you have my list in stock yet, Butterfly?"
My heart rate sped up in the magic shop.
I figured I would at least have to give up and go home to see her.
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Happy Halloween, and thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate your support. It's what keeps me going on track honestly.
So for today's question, what is your favorite color to wear?
Mine is black. It's a good color for literally everyone, and it's like a cute confidence boost every single time. It's incredible.