Free Charmed Spirits by Carrie Ann Ryan Page B

she couldn’t believe she’d
reacted like that to Abby’s innocent question. She’d almost killed her friend,
and all because she’d been too insecure to talk it out without being a bitch.
    The
look on Tyler’s face…
    God.
She’d most likely lost Tyler and Abby for good. Frankly, if the two of them
gave up on her, she deserved it. She rocked from foot to foot, unease creeping
through her.
    Why
was she here? This wasn’t going to work. She closed her eyes, her magic pulsating
through her. That was the one thing she couldn’t let happen. She
couldn’t let her magic run away with her again. She had to learn to tame it.
Control it. Own it.
    Tyler
was right.
    She
was scared.
    She’d
have to learn to control her magic and be okay with it. If she didn’t, she
might hurt someone she cared about…or kill them.
    Right
now, she had to do something even more important. Apologize. She didn’t deserve
forgiveness, and Abby could very well slam the door in her face, but she needed
to say she was sorry.
    God,
sorry was such a small word, often meaningless in most situations, but she
still needed to say it. Abby deserved at least that.
    The
door opened and Abby looked at her with a frown on her face. “Are you going to
stand out here in the wind for thirty more minutes before you actually ring the
bell? Or do you just like to adorn front porches in your downtime?” Abby asked,
her hair in a cute ponytail on the top of her head. She wore tight yoga pants
and a tank top and looked like she had just been working out.
    “Hi,
Abby.” And now she needed to say something. Anything. And….nothing.
    “Oh
God, you brought cookies?”
    Jordan
nodded, nervous. She held out the box and flowers, her head down. She really
sucked at this.
    “You
might as well get out of the cold and come in.”
    Jordan
looked up, and Abby walked in, leaving her alone on the porch. She looked
around and shrugged. Maybe Abby wanted to kill her in private. She walked in,
closed the door behind her, and took off her coat.
    Abby
lived in a small, one-bedroom house that sat on a large amount of acreage so
she could add on if she ever wanted to. Inside, the house personified home and
warmth, filled with comfy couches and chairs—the kind you wanted to sink into
and take a nap. Knick-knacks seemed to be everywhere, but the house wasn’t
cluttered.
    It
looked like a home that desperately needed a family.
    Jordan
held back a sob, remembering what she’d said to Abby about her lack of a love
life. She deserved to be drawn and quartered in the center of town.
    “Okay,
it’s official. I’m ruining my diet with one of these cookies,” Abby said as she
walked back into the room, a nervous smile on her face. “They’re still warm and
everything.” She bit into one and moaned. “You’re bad for me, Jordan Cross.”
    Jordan
hiccupped a sob. “I know, Abby. I’m so, so sorry for what I said and did. I
didn’t mean it.”
    Abby
lowered her head and sank into her couch, cookie forgotten.
    “Abby?”
Jordan knelt in front of her, her hands shaking.
    “I
know I’m not pretty. I know that, Jor. I know that I don’t have a chance with
Tyler, or any man in Holiday for that matter. I just thought you understood
that I didn’t want to talk about it.”
    Tears
slid down both of their faces, and Jordan took Abby’s hands in a firm grip.
“You are beautiful, Abby.”
    The
other woman shook her head vehemently. “Stop it. Just stop trying to make me
feel better.”
    “I’m
not going to stop. You have curves to die for.”
    “I’m
fat.”
    “No,
you’re not. You’re just not anorexic or fake.”
    Abby
let out a snort.
    “You’re
beautiful. Men look at you, Abby, once you let them.”
    “What
is that supposed to mean?”
    “Most
men see you as their friend, Abby.”
    “If
they even see me at all.”
    Jordan
shook her head. “Then that’s their problem. You could have any man you wanted
if you tried. But I know you’re holding out for