Sophie's Secret Crush - [Whispers 05]

by Tara West

  For a moment, I kind of felt bad for my dog as he slunk outside. Then I remembered Alessia. For some reason, Buster’s hatred of cats didn’t exclude fluffy white witch’s familiars. Too bad. I was certain Alessia and Buster could have been great pals. Or at least, I was certain Alessia would enjoy tormenting Buster with no repercussions.

  “Mom?” I followed her into the kitchen. “Where’s Alessia?”

  “It’s not my job to look out for that cat.”

  I could tell she was angry by the way she enunciated each word with clipped precision. But whenever she referred to Alessia as “that cat”, I knew she was more than pissed. She was steaming.

  “I just worry with Buster in the house. Sorry,” I said, hating the need to be apologetic as I trailed my mom into the kitchen.

  What was the big deal, anyway? So what if I went to a boy’s house to study? I could have lied to her and told her I was practicing for the play. My mom never talked to my drama teacher, mostly because she disapproved of me doing a play about witches. She would have never found out where I was. And what had my honesty gotten me? I cringed at the thought, almost afraid to find out, though I suspected the answer.

  While other kids got normal, acceptable punishments for pissing off their parents, I was treated to the super-deluxe disciplinary package from hell—incessant nagging.

  That’s right. Rarely was I grounded whenever I did anything wrong. Instead, my mom would just nag me for a week, which I swear was far worse than losing my computer and phone privileges.

  It was downright cruel and unusual punishment.

  Mom rolled her eyes before stirring a bubbling pot on the stove. “Buster has been by my side the whole time.”

  The smell from the pot wafted up and tickled my senses. Oh, yeah, it was stew. If I hadn’t been so annoyed, I would have been shoveling home cooked beef, potatoes and carrots into my face.

  “Next time you decide to skip practice, Sophia Marie,” Oh, great, she’d used my real name and my middle name. “you should at least have the courtesy to get permission first.”

  I cocked both hands on my hips and rolled my eyes. “I had to study. My teacher just told us today we’re having a test tomorrow.”

  Mom looked up from her pot and pointed a big ladle at my chest. “You can study by yourself, not with some boy, especially not with the boy we caught sleeping on your bed.”

  “If it makes you feel any better,” I groaned, “we’re only friends.”

  Mom narrowed her eyes. “Then why was your lipstick smudged on his face when we found him in your room?”

  “It was?” I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. Oh, I was so busted. I wasn’t even smart enough to play it off and say something clever, like Frankie’s a cross dresser and he was trying on my makeup.

  My mom glared, her mouth twisting in a tight scowl.

  “Yes,” I said, “we kissed, but that’s all behind me. I thought I liked him, but I don’t. Not anymore.” I emphatically shook my head as I recalled how his stupidity had almost gotten us in trouble with the law. How I had to stoop so low as to mind control a cop. No, Frankie and I were through. Maybe I’d stay his friend, but no more flirting, and definitely no more kissing.

  Mom’s shoulders fell and for the first time I noticed how tired her eyes were. Dark circles were vaguely covered by thick makeup. Prominent worry lines framed the corners of her eyes. Mom looked worn out, and I wondered if it was all because of me.

  She shook her head. “How am I supposed to believe you?”

  Though this wasn’t the first time my mom had shown her distrust in me, it still cut hard. Other than the cop brainwashing thing, I still considered myself a good kid. I got decent grades, did all my chores, rarely talked back. What else did she want from me?

  I squared my shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Because you raised me to be honest.” I couldn’t hide the hurt in my voice.

  Mom stirred the broth, staring vacantly into the pot. “Just consider yourself lucky you still get to be in that play. You already know how I feel about plays with witches.”

  I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and silently counted to ten, a trick AJ had taught me in order to deal with stress. So far, it wasn’t working.

  Lately, mom’s nag-o-meter has been stuck on auto-pilot, and it’s almost always about “

  “that play.”

  You’ll never finish your homework if all you do is practice for that play. That play is keeping you up late at night. I never see you because of that play.

  My mom had made it perfectly clear she was opposed to anything having to do with witchcraft. Me starring in The Crucible, about the Salem Witch Trials, had put some kind of blemish on my sweet little angel image. If Mom only knew I was a real witch. Hopefully, she’d never find out. I could only imagine how that coming out would go over.

  You’re a WHAT?!?!?!

  “You know what?” I spoke through a low growl while clenching my fists by my sides. I wanted so badly to tell her that most witches were not evil and I was proof. I opened my mouth to speak, the words “I’m a witch” forming on my tongue, but I chickened out at the last second. My life had enough drama, and I certainly didn’t need the additional stress my coming out would cause. “Never mind.” I stormed toward the stairs.

  “Hold on a minute,” Mom called. “We’re not through.”

  I stopped and slowly turned on my heel, spine rigid with the movement.

  Though she gave me a pointed stare, the weariness in her gaze was even more pronounced than before. “You’re grounded this weekend.”

  My jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

  Mom heaved a sigh before setting the lid back on the stew and wiping her hands on her apron. “You knew better than to go over a boy’s house without permission. And I don’t want you driving anywhere with him anymore. Your dad said the registration sticker on his car was expired. Who knows if this kid has insurance or even a license for that matter!”

  I had no comeback to my mom’s accusations, none at all, mostly because they were true. I silently cursed Frankie as I stormed toward my room.

  *****

  I breathed a sigh of relief when I spotted Alessia lounging at the foot of my bed. At least she’d had the sense to stay in my room while Buster was in the house.

  She lifted her little white head and eyed me caustically. I knew, with her heightened feline senses, she’d heard my royal butt-chewing downstairs. I was sure she’d find a way to twist the knife in deeper. Before one of her “told you so” lectures could form in my mind, I stormed across the carpet and fell onto the center of the bed so hard, Alessia flew several feet into the air.

  She landed on all four paws and hissed.

  I smiled sweetly and pulled out my cell phone to check my messages, happy to find one from AJ. After my mom’s litany of angry buzzing texts, I’d turned off my ringer, so I’d missed AJ’s message a few minutes ago. AJ, ever the girl of few words, simply wrote “call me.” That was it. No hearts or winky faces. The girl had to be the most boring texter in the world.

  I quickly punched AJ’s number on speed dial. Usually, we preferred texting each other. I knew if she wanted me to call her it had to be for something important.

  “Hey!” she squealed into the phone, not even giving me a chance to answer back. “Tony asked me to be his girlfriend!”

  Okay, then, I think I’m deaf now.

  I had to pull the phone away to rub my sore eardrum. AJ wasn’t the squealing type. This Tony must have been pretty awesome to get AJ to use her girly voice.

  “Omigod!” I gasped. “What did you say?” After her breakup with her green-haired freaky boyfriend last year, AJ had told me she’d sworn off guys for good.

  “Yeah. Duh.” I could almost see her eyes rolling through the phone. There was the AJ I knew and loved.

  “So,” I cooed into the phone, “how far have you two gone?” I had to admit, I was totally curious, and maybe slightly jealous. AJ had hooked up with this totally hot wit
ch (yeah, I’ve seen plenty of Tony pictures, and trust me, he is HAWT) and I can’t even touch my hot witch without getting first-degree burns.

  “How far do you think we can go when I’ve got the nosiest mother in the world?” she growled.

  I quickly scanned the room. I have no idea why. That was just my typical reaction whenever we discussed AJ’s mom, Mrs. Dawson. Oh, by the way, the woman could totally see through walls, and just about anywhere else. That was her magical power, the ability to see people she cared about at anytime, anywhere. All she had to do was close her eyes and summon a vision. It totally sucked to be AJ.

  My mouth fell open. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  Her heavy sigh resonated through the phone. “I wish I was. You have no idea what it’s like to be terrified your mother will be watching your every move.”

  Actually, I was terrified my mom would learn I was a witch, but I figured I’d save that for another conversation.

  “Sophie,” AJ groaned, “she called me in the middle of our date last night and told me we were moving too fast. She watched us kissing. And I mean, we were seriously kissing. It was the most amazing kiss ever and she ruined it.” Her voice rose to a more fevered pitch with each syllable.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “That totally sucks.”

  I looked down at Alessia, who had crawled on top of my lap, swatting me with her tail and giving me her demanding “pet me” look.

  “She’s totally abusing her powers,” AJ growled.

  “What are you going to do?” I asked, absently stroking Alessia’s back. That cat of mine had become so demanding lately. Luckily, I’d adapted quite well to feline servitude.

  AJ’s voice dropped to a hushed whisper. “Tony has a plan, but I don’t want to talk about it, even though I think she already knows.”

  “Well, good luck.” I whispered, as if whispering would do any good. If AJ’s mom wanted to hear our conversation, there was no stopping her. I looked down at my cat, who was looking at me through slitted eyes. I swear she thought I was an idiot.

  “I’ve got some good news and some bad news.” AJ took on a somber tone.

  Oh, great. Just what I needed. More bad news. “Lay it on me. My day can’t get any worse.”

  “We’re not coming out for Thanksgiving.”

  It felt like my heart had stopped beating, and for a long moment, I sat motionless as I absorbed the shock of my disappointment. Obviously, I must have sat motionless for too long, because Alessia began swatting me with her tail. “What?” I breathed, absently stroking my cat behind the ears.

  “My family is driving up here,” she said. “I think my mom wants to meet Tony so she can put a hex on him.”

  “That sucks.” I flopped back on the bed, feeling as if the wind had been sucked out of me. “I wanted to see you.”

  Alessia didn’t balk at my new position. She simply stretched out on my stomach.

  “Now for the good news,” AJ said in a voice that was way too perky for her, which was kind of comical and awkward at the same time. Pretty soon, she’d be wearing makeup and trying out for cheerleading. “My mom wants you to drive up with her.”

  “To Salem?” I gasped.

  “Yeah. You’d love it up here.”

  For a moment, my heart soared, but that moment was short lived. I heaved a breath of frustration. “My mom isn’t going to let me go to Salem.”

  “Come on, Sophie,” AJ whined. “You’ve got almost two months to work on her. I want you to meet Tony.”

  “I’ll try,” I said, even though I knew chances of getting my mom to agree were not good, “but I’m not making any promises.”

  Of course, the idea of manipulating my mom using my powers popped into my head, but I had to push that thought aside. Alessia had told me this was how a certain evil witch had started, mind controlling her parents into getting her way. I didn’t want to end up on the wrong side of witchcraft. Besides, my dad knew of my powers, and I didn’t want him suspecting me. The guilt alone would drive me crazy.

  The front door slammed downstairs, followed by high pitched squealing and lots of laughter.

  Omigod! The babies were here!

  Restriction or not, I didn’t care. My sister liked to stop by for free food and family time on Monday nights. Honestly, I think she just enjoyed letting someone else take care of her babies for a change. She knew we were all suckers for my twin nephews, Aaron and Alex. Probably because they were the cutest babies on the planet.

  I sat up and practically shoved Alessia off my stomach. “Hey, my nephews are here. I’ve got to go. Tell Krysta I said hi, okay?” I barely registered her goodbye before I was flying down the stairs.

  My sister, Rose Marie, was standing in the hallway, a baby on each hip, looking as frazzled as ever. Hard to believe she was once our high school homecoming queen. Nowadays, she was raising babies without help from the babies’ daddy and studying to be a teacher at night school. She’d chopped most of her long, thick hair into a simple bob, and her makeup was often smeared or worn off. Today, she had a big green stain that looked like baby puke in the center of her pink frilly shirt, a shirt that didn’t look like something she’d wear at all. Lately, Mom bought most of Rose Marie’s clothes, since my sister no longer had the time or money to go herself. Yeah, I was so not getting pregnant any time within the next twenty years.

  “Sophie, take one.” My sister heaved a baby toward me. “My arm’s about to break.”

  I smiled at my nephew, Alex. “Hello, sweetie pie.”

  I knew it was him because his smile lit up his entire cherubic face. His brother, Aaron, was far more stoic and far less naughty. Just one look into Alex’s playful eyes, and you knew he was brewing up some sort of mischief. He laughed when I took him and instantly reached for my earring. I yelped and pulled the large hoops out of my ears and stuffed them in my pockets, heedless of the fact that my fingers were still sore.

  Naughty babies left no time to dwell on unimportant matters like burned fingers. I tossed Alex into the air while he squealed his delight. Then we followed my sister and baby Aaron into the kitchen. Mom was already setting up their highchairs with trays of baby food.

  “Mmmmm,” Rose Marie groaned. “Is that beef stew I smell? My favorite.”

  “I know.” Mom took Aaron from her. “That’s why I made it.”

  Mom smiled at Alex and tickled his chin, but somehow avoided eye contact with me. Oh, great, the Italian mother guilt trip. How fun. As if I couldn’t be brought any lower this day, now I was going to be the black sheep of the family dinner.

  Rose Marie shot me a questioning look, and I shrugged while rolling my eyes. Guess Mom’s subtlety wasn’t so subtle. I was in for a long night. How on earth did AJ expect me to try to reason with this woman?

  After I put Alex in his high chair and he proceeded to toss his food all over the floor, Rose Marie turned to me with an exasperated look.

  “So about Friday night.” She smiled sweetly and batted her lashes, which was so out of character for her.

  “Yeah?” I asked, my gaze darting between her and my mother.

  I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know they’d been planning something behind my back.

  “We’re taking Rose Marie out for her birthday, and we need you to babysit,” Mom said matter-of-factly. There was no “please” or “do you mind?” involved. I was expected to babysit.

  “Sure.” I shrugged. “It’s not like I can do anything else.”

  Rose Marie twisted her fingers while casting a nervous glance toward my mom. “I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to. I know it’s a lot of work.”

  “No, it’s not,” I said. “Feed them, play with them, and change their diapers. How hard can it be?”

  “Sophie.” My sister laid a hand on my shoulder, her face a mask of worry. “It’s not always that easy.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Mom interrupted. Then she fixed me with a stern look. “Just remember, no boy visitors allowed.”

/>   I shot her a look of my own before smiling down at my nephews, whose faces were now plastered with smashed carrots. “Did you hear that?” I cooed. “You’re not allowed to come over Friday.”

  They both answered with giggles. Alex smashed more carrot on his tray and then swatted it to the floor. Buster was going to have a fun time cleaning up after them.

  “Sophie.” Mom stomped up to me. “You understand what I mean.”

  “Yeah, mom, I understand you.” I rolled my eyes. “I just can’t believe you’d think I would sneak a boy over here.”

  Mom’s features hardened, making her look as still as a statue. “As long as we have an understanding, then.”

  I heaved a sigh while shaking my head. I was so tired of my mom not trusting me. “Yeah, Mom, I understand you perfectly.”

  Chapter Seven

  What happened?

  Today I was determined to eat lunch with my drama club friends. I’d cautiously snuck into the cafeteria behind a large group of giggling cheerleaders and then taken a sharp right, ducking behind pillars and the condiment bar so Frankie couldn’t see me. But when I got to the drama table they weren’t there. A handful of robotics club kids were sitting there instead, smashing ketchup packets all over the table.

  My heart sank as I scanned the crowded cafeteria for any sign of my friends. They’d vanished. And they hadn’t even the courtesy to tell me where they’d gone.

  “Hey, Sophie.”

  I spun on my heel, half expecting Frankie Salas. I was stunned to see AJ’s big brother, Mike Dawson, smiling down at me. He was holding three corndogs in one hand and a soda in the other. AJ’s tall, blond and drop-dead gorgeous brother had been the captain of the football team, until after the car accident that left him in a neck brace and nearly killed AJ.

  Despite the white plastic contraption wrapped around his neck, the guy was still hot in a Nordic god sort of way. Not that I was into tall, blond statuesque men with broad shoulders and barrel chests. And I was certainly not into AJ’s brother. Mike had a conquest list a mile long. Judging by the feral gleam in his crystal blue eyes, I feared he wanted to put my name on it.