Page 16

Shit! Stop! No!

I scattered the aroused imaginings and raged at my stupid, sadistic magic. It hissed and dug claws into my limbs like it might be able to move me like a puppet. My knuckles blanched as I tightened my grip around the mug I was holding.

“Well, you can’t,” I forced out around the chokehold my magic had on my throat. The gold in his eyes swirled in a hurt, angry way. Good, that was progress. Being pissed was better than being dead.

“At least tell me why.”

I huffed an exhale. “I get that you probably don’t hear the word ‘no’ very often, but it really isn’t that difficult to understand.” The words made my stomach turn. If being cruel didn’t get the message across, then kidney shots were back at the top of the list. “I’m not into you.”

His brow furrowed deeper, a frustrated growl rumbling in his chest. “Don’t. We both know that’s a lie. Tell me the truth.”

My magic simmered, feeling like ants crawling under my skin. A heavy sigh left me feeling deflated. Fine. Just…fine. If he wanted to know the truth, then I’d give it to him. He’d think I’m crazy and walk out the door without a backward glance.

Like he should.

“Margo was right,” I muttered, hoping that would be explanation enough. It wasn’t, if the lost look on his face was any indication.

“About what?”

My eyes welled, and I beat back the tears, staring out the window again instead of at Bellamy. “About me.” The words were strangled. “I’m a Jinx, Bellamy. I’m cursed with dark magic that hurts people when they touch my skin.”

I heard him suck in a breath and braced for his laughter to follow. There wasn’t another soul alive who knew about my curse, and the impending ridicule would serve as a good reminder of why I kept it that way.

“Cursed.” He exhaled sharply. “What if that’s…” Instead of leaving me to my insanity and heading for the door, he swiveled closer to face me. “Who cursed you?”

I couldn’t stop the bark of surprised laughter that burst out of me. “What? You believe me?” I met his gaze with wide eyes and sobered immediately. “I put that guy in the hospital. He’s probably dying.”

Bellamy’s face was soft, his eyes like liquid gold. He pulled a hand back through his hair, strands glinting in the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the window. “That wasn’t your fault.”

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t do it.” I fixed him with a heavy look, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Any second, he was going to nope his way right out of here.

Wasn’t he?

I mean, I just told him that I have dark magic, but his reaction was not what I expected. Now he was almost looking at me like it all made perfect sense.

My thoughts snagged. What if it did make perfect sense to him? What if Bellamy was Other? Suddenly, I felt a little stupid that I hadn’t considered it before. It could explain why my magic reacted so intensely, so differently with him.

I opened my mouth with an inhale, but the words caught on my tongue. Or what if I was wrong? What if asking such a ridiculous question finally convinced him I was crazy?

A thin arm stretched between us to set a plate down. “There you go. Enjoy!” The server turned to Bellamy. “Did you want anything?”

He shook his head, but his eyes never left mine. “No, thank you.” He watched as I shoved whatever seconds I could between now and being institutionalized by taking a nervous bite of my gooey sandwich. I hummed in distracted pleasure, the sweet and savory combo soothing the sting of my anxiety.

Bellamy muttered a curse while he shifted in his seat. “I meant what I said, you know.”

“Which part?” I asked after swallowing, and offered him a raised eyebrow. There was a lot that had been said in the last ten minutes.

“All of it,” he answered, eyes flicking to my mouth when I licked a crumb off my lip. His own tongue mimicked the movement before he blinked and cleared his throat. “But I do at least really want us to be…friends.”

I propped my elbows on the counter and took another bite before peering over at him. Even entertaining the idea was a mistake. A disaster waiting to happen. Did I know this? Yes. Was he eroding me with his charm anyway? Also yes. If Bellamy was Other, then he might be able to help me find out more about my curse.

Namely, how to get rid of it.

“What does ‘friends with Bellamy’ entail?”

“Well, first of all,” he looked pointedly at my plate, “friends share.”

“Nope.” I shot him down hard and fast. “Dealbreaker.”