Entangled

by Nikki Jefford

  I can’t believe we won’t be sitting together in English anymore. Graylee Perez was one of the nicest girls I ever knew.

  Gone too soon.

  A beautiful girl and a tremendous loss for all of Kent and McKinley High.

  Gray flexed her fingers. She had to resist the urge to type, I’M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

  Enough of that. She opened a new window and began a search. “Graylee Perez found dead” should do the trick. Typing the words was uncanny. She stopped and stared at each letter on the screen then hit enter.

  There was a follow-up article dated Saturday, February 12.

  McKinley High student Gray Perez dies suddenly

  A TEENAGE STUDENT from McKinley High died mysteriously in her sleep Wednesday morning.

  The body of Graylee Perez, 17, was discovered by her family early Wednesday morning, February 9.

  Time and cause of death have not yet been determined.

  Gray opened more articles, all of which were regurgitated versions of the first stating “unexpectedly,” “unknown,” and “mysterious,” but these with a sprinkling of quotes from teachers and students praising Gray as a “wonderful person we were privileged to know.”

  The closest Gray could get to an explanation, which wasn’t an explanation at all, was a line from their local daily saying, "An inquest has not yet been opened into Perez’s death."

  What kind of reporting was that? People didn’t just die in their sleep. At least not healthy teenagers. Maybe if Gray had ODed or drank two gallons of tequila.

  Gray’s tummy rumbled.

  The last thing Gray should be thinking about right now was her stomach, so sue her, but she had to eat. It wasn’t like she was a corpse anymore.

  She snatched up the nearest phone and dialed the number of her favorite pizza parlor. Forty-three minutes later a large Bella Luna was delivered to the front door. Gray set it on the table and began eating directly out of the box.

  Half the pie had been gobbled up when Gray heard a car pull up in the driveway. She lowered the piece she’d picked up and walked into the living room. Her eyes focused on the front door. Her heart did a drumroll inside her chest.

  A key was shoved inside the lock and jiggled before the deadbolt began to turn, which meant it wasn’t her mom or sister. They used magic, not keys, to open doors.

  Gray looked around for the nearest heavy object. She lifted their family portrait off the wall. She could always smash it over the person’s head. The pane of glass over the front should do at least a little damage.

  Gray lifted it as the door opened.

  There was a question on Mom’s face when she stepped inside the house. Her eyes met Gray’s as though she’d expected to see her standing there all along.

  Gray set the picture against the wall with a clunk and gaped at her mom. She meant to demand answers—and while she was at it, why was her mother using a key to get inside the house? But without warning, Gray looked into her mother’s eyes and burst into tears.

  In her mind she’d seen her mom just yesterday, but she could sense their separation in her soul. Her life had been taken from her.

  Gray’s mom pulled her into a hug. Gray buried her face into her mother’s shoulder. Her mom’s body began to shake as she sobbed. Gray cried harder.

  When the tears finally subsided, Gray pulled her face away and took a step back. “Mom, did I die?”

  Tears were still streaming down her mother’s face as she nodded.

  “And you brought me back?”

  Mom nodded again slowly. She stroked her hair. “I’ve missed you so much, baby girl.”

  “How did you do it? How did you bring me back to life?” It was extraordinary, really. Only a handful of witches were capable of reanimation, and that was only in theory. Gray couldn’t recall a single story of a person being successfully brought back to life.

  “It wasn’t me exactly. I hired someone.”

  “Someone? Who?”

  “I swore I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

  “Yeah, I get that, but it’s me—reanimated girl—your daughter!”

  Mom swallowed. “I swore on your life. That was the deal.”

  “Oh.” Gray’s face dropped. “Can you tell me where you were?”

  “I went to the mountains.”

  “What? Like the Cascades?”

  “Yeah,” Mom said slowly. “What about you? I can’t believe I missed your reentry. Did you ‘poof’ appear?”

  “No, actually, I woke up in Charlene’s bed this morning.”

  That’s when Mom asked the million-dollar question. “Where is Charlene?”

  Gray and her mother stared at one another. “I don’t know,” Gray said.

  “You didn’t see her today?”

  “She wasn’t here when I woke up and I never saw her at school. Then again, I didn’t stick around McKinley very long once it became apparent that everyone thought I was CRAZY!”

  Mom bowed her head. “I should have been here for your reentry, sweetie. I came home as fast as I could.”

  They walked into the kitchen together. Gray glanced at the note her mom had written Charlene. “When did you leave?”

  “Early Monday after Charlene left for school.” Mom glanced around the kitchen. Her face lit up suddenly. “She must be with Blake.”

  Gray’s jaw dropped. “Charlene and Blake are back together?”

  Mom nodded.

  “When did that happen?”

  “I don’t know when exactly. Last month?”

  “Well, it’s good to know everyone moved on without me.” So she grumbled a little. Who wouldn’t? Gray felt guilty an instant later when she saw her mom’s face.

  “My life could never go on without you.” Mom’s lower lip quivered.

  Gray felt tears gathering in her eyes.

  Mom beat a fist to her chest. “A part of me died when you did.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom,” Gray said softly. She cleared her throat a moment later. “How about trying her phone?”

  Mom shook her head a moment later. “It just goes to voicemail. I’ll try Blake’s house,” she said as she dialed the number. “Hi, Mr. Foster. This is Charlene’s mom. Is Charlene there by any chance? All right, thanks. If you see her could you have her call? Thanks.” Her mom placed the phone very gently on the counter, then looked at Gray. “Oh, god, what have I done?”

  * * *

  “You don’t know that she’s gone,” Gray said for the tenth time in the past hour.

  They’d retreated to Charlene’s room, where Mom was inspecting what she called The Point of Reentry. Gray had already gone over every minute detail from the time she’d woken that morning. Sharing the detail about waking in the silk slip had only increased her mother’s distress.

  “I killed her. In exchange for one daughter’s life I obliterated the other. How could I be so foolish? Our coven has warned us time and again that to engage in the black arts is to invite grave consequences.”

  Gray flopped back onto Charlene’s bed. None of this felt real. “Now what? Do you have to take it back? Am I doomed to return to the hereafter once more? By the way, there’s no heaven. There’s nothing. Do I have to go back to the nothing?”

  “No!” her mother all but screamed. “I can’t lose you again!” Mom took a deep breath. “I was very specific about keeping both my daughters.” She straightened up. “Excuse me a moment.”

  Once Gray realized Mom was headed to her own room she called out, “Sorry about the mess.”

  No reason for her to stick around Charlene’s room any longer, either.

  Gray finished reading her Facebook wall page, polished off the rest of her pizza, and began watching Glee in the living room. During one of the musical numbers, Gray felt a presence behind her. She turned suddenly and caught her mom watching her.

  “Learn anything?” Gray asked.

  “I left my contact a message.”

  “What now?”

  “There’s not much we can do at this point. I t
hink it’d be best if you got a good night’s rest and were refreshed for tomorrow. At least it’s the weekend.”

  Gray turned off the TV. “Mom? How did I die?”

  Her mom pressed her lips together and took a seat in the chair across from Gray. She folded her hands in her lap, breathed in and out. Her lashes fluttered and for a moment Gray thought she might cry, but her mom’s voice was steady. “The doctors think it was sudden unexpected death syndrome.”

  “Which is what exactly? I mean besides sudden and unexpected.”

  “Not much is known about SUDS.”

  “SUDS, huh?” Gray forced a chuckle. “Sounds like a warm bubble bath—not unexpected DEATH!”

  “I had Mr. Holloway look into it personally. He ruled out any kind of magical foul play.”

  “I can’t imagine anyone wanting me dead.”

  “Neither could I,” Mom said. “But I had to be sure.”

  Gray pushed herself off the couch. “So that’s it? I died suddenly and unexpectedly in my sleep. That’s the grand finale for Graylee Perez?”

  Mom took a step forward. “No, it’s not.” She reached out and put a hand on each of Gray’s shoulders. She pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tightly. “You came back and I’m never letting you go.”

  Gray extended her arms around her mom. She breathed in her scent. She’d never considered that she might not see her mom again. Maybe she was back, but for how long? Who was to say she wouldn’t die all over again? If there was one thing Gray remembered from lectures it was this: you can’t cheat death.

  Chapter Eleven

  Gray woke up with a start. She lifted her head a couple inches off the pillow and saw the two bedposts on either side of her—Charlene’s bed. Gray threw back the covers. She was wearing a red and black silk, lace babydoll.

  Not again.

  Oh, god. What if her life was turning into the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day? At least in Bill Murray’s version he got to be himself every day.

  Gray snapped into her cotton pajama pants and a tank top. She peeked inside her mother’s room. It was empty. When noises below and the scent of raisin bread reached her, her heart surged with happiness. Gray flew down the stairs.

  Mom turned from where she stood in front of the stove and smiled. “Morning, hon. Would you like some oatmeal and raisin bread?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Did you sleep well?” Mom asked as she dished Gray up.

  “Um, yeah.” Gray buttered her toast while Mom sprinkled berries, walnuts, and brown sugar on top of her oatmeal. Gray glanced at her mom. “I woke up in Charlene’s bed again.”

  Mom didn’t meet her eyes when she handed her the bowl of oatmeal. “I can explain that.”

  “Thank goodness.” Gray took a seat on a barstool at the counter and scooped a bite of oatmeal with all the goodies onto her spoon.

  “The good news is I didn’t accidentally purge Charlene from existence.”

  “And the bad news?” ’Cause of course there was bad news—probably horrible news. This was a resurrection spell, for freak’s sake, and Charlene wasn’t present.

  Mom released the breath she’d been holding. “There’s just no easy way to say this. At the moment you and Charlene are sharing the same body.”

  Gray dropped her spoon. “What?!”

  Mom extended an arm toward Gray. “At the moment there’s only this one body—Charlene’s—and both of you are using it.”

  “Like multiple personality disorder?”

  “No, like fifty-fifty split. After you went to sleep Friday night, Charlene woke up Saturday morning in your bed.”

  Gray got off the stool. She couldn’t sit any longer. “What’s today?”

  “Sunday.”

  “So you’re saying tomorrow I’ll be Charlene?”

  Mom nodded.

  “And on Tuesday I’ll be me again?”

  A pot clanked inside the kitchen sink as Mom started putting in the dirty dishes.

  “How did this happen?”

  “Apparently I didn’t specify wanting you in separate bodies.”

  Oh, those pesky little details. Gray didn’t share this thought. She was beyond sarcasm. She wanted back inside her body pronto. Black magic had a way of coming back around and biting one in the ass. “Your contact needs to fix this!”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “In removing you from Charlene’s body you could be removed altogether.”

  “What am I supposed to do—live half a life in someone else’s body?”

  “We’re working on it.”

  “And in the meantime?”

  “In the meantime you need to pretend to be your sister. No one at school can know.”

  “And the coven?”

  “You know what would happen if they found out.”

  “Banishment?” Gray whispered.

  Mom nodded.

  Gray studied her mom. “You’ll fix this, right?”

  “I’ll do everything I can.”

  “And for now I’m supposed to pretend to be Charlene?”

  Mom brought a notebook over. “Yes, and your sister left some notes to help you out.”

  Gray stared at the notebook a moment before taking it. She flipped it open.

  NO MORE PIZZA, YOU PIG!!! I GAINED 2 POUNDS BECAUSE OF YOU!

  No wearing your clothes in public. I will choose an outfit for you to wear to school on the days you’re me.

  Hair must be worn down. No pigtails, ponytails, hair clips or goofy Princess Leia-style buns on the side of your head.

  No leaving the house without makeup. I have taped examples and tips in the following pages on how to create a smoky eye.

  Gray flipped back to several pages of magazine print and step-by-step illustrated guides for creating a smoldering look. She flipped back to the front page.

  No speaking to anyone at McKinley who isn’t on the approved list (see the following pages). Don’t even think about trying to visit with your old friends unless you want to get us committed to an insane asylum.

  Absolutely no—UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES—having sex with Blake.

  Gray’s nose wrinkled. Ewwww!

  She looked up, her face still contorted. “Did you read this?”

  Mom was putting away the brown sugar. “No, Charlene told me not to.”

  “And you listened to her?”

  Mom looked directly at Gray. “She said it was private.”

  More like psychotic.

  No more sleeping in your room. I want to wake up in my own bed in the morning.

  Yeah? Well, join the club.

  Gray closed the notebook. “You’d think I’d feel happy to have a second shot at life.”

  “Hang in there. I’ll get this sorted out.”

  Gray glanced at the wall clock. “If it’s Sunday shouldn’t we be going to Gathering?”

  “Charlene and I stopped attending after you died. How about you and I spend the day together instead? We can do whatever you want.”

  “Except eat pizza.”

  Mom raised a brow. Gray smiled suddenly. “Then again, Char didn’t say anything about a burger and fries.”

  “You know what?” Mom said. “I haven’t had French fries in a really long time.” She grabbed her purse off the counter. “Where do you want to go? Driftwood Café has those homemade zucchini-nut burgers.”

  “Just so long as I don’t run into anyone from McKinley High,” Gray said. “Good luck to Charlene explaining the scene I made in Mr. Burke’s class when she returns to school tomorrow.”

  Mom chewed on her lower lip a moment. “We should think of something.”

  Gray raised a brow. “Temporary insanity?”

  Her mom laughed. It was a beautiful sound. Gray followed her out of the house and passed her on the walkway. She stopped and turned slowly when she saw her mom with the key in the lock of the door. “What’s with the key?”

  Mom looked pleased with herself when she
got the bolt turned and clicked into place. “Call me paranoid, but I haven’t wanted to perform spells after partaking in something this big.” She glanced at Gray. “I was lucky. There was one kink, but I got you back. I’m afraid to chance anything else.”

  Gray watched Mom’s fingers close around the keys.

  It made sense that she didn’t want to tempt fate, but what could go wrong with a simple locking spell? And that was one big kink of a resurrection spell. Still, Gray was alive and she was with her mom. What more could she ask for . . . other than her own body back? They’d fix this. They had to. She wasn’t ready to think about the alternative.

  The impossible part was accomplished: Gray was back from the dead. A body transfer should be a piece of cake in comparison.

  Speaking of cake, for now Gray had every intention of doing the pigging out and letting Charlene work it off on her days. There was one advantage.

  Chapter Twelve

  Raj was waiting in the student parking lot early Monday morning. He flipped his Zippo open and closed. Friday night he’d driven by McKinley and spotted Charlene Perez’s lone car in the lot. By Saturday afternoon it was gone.

  There was one space left in the front row of the parking lot. Several cars passed it as though it were taken. Five minutes later Charlene pulled into the spot.

  Clever witch.

  Raj grinned, snapped the Zippo shut, and stuffed it inside his pocket. He stalked over to Charlene and pivoted to walk into the building beside her. “Hey,” Raj said casually.

  Charlene’s eyes screwed up. She had on her standard miniskirt and tight sweater. “What do you want?”

  “I never got a chance to express my condolences for your loss.”

  Charlene’s eyes narrowed. “What’s it to you?”

  “Losing your twin must feel two times worse,” Raj said without missing a beat. “Might tempt you to try a resurrection spell.”

  Charlene snorted. “Yeah, right, there are only like three witches in the world who might have even the remotest chance of pulling that off.” She batted her long, dark lashes. “Not that I’m without talent.”