Hey guys! I haven't posted in a while... Sorry about that. But recently a few people voted on previous chapters so I figured I'd update, since I had this written already. Truthfully I have most of the book written and I know what the ending will be, I just lost my steam a little. Sorry guys! :-) remember to vote and comment.

Sam

When Millie walked in the front door, I was sitting on the couch with Clea and Angel. Drew was on the recliner with his arms crossed over his chest while Daphne perched on the arm of the chair.

Millie stopped short when she saw me, her eyes growing wide as saucers. Behind her, Brandon stared at me blankly, barely looking surprised to see me in Millie's house, even though I was shocked to see him standing there.

"Hey, little sis," Clea said, crossing her legs and smiling. "It looks like we've got a full house."

Millie stared at me. "Why are you here?"

I grimaced. "Wow, what a warm welcome. I'm flattered."

"No, I didn't mean —" Millie closed her eyes briefly before forcing them open. "Actually, I did mean that. Why are you here? I thought I told you —"

"You didn't tell me anything," I interrupted and stood up. Clea shifted and rested her chin in her hand, amusement flickering across her face as I squared off against Millie. "You've kept me at a distance since the accident and I had to find out on my own that I'm going to —" I stopped, unable to say die and stepped forward. "You didn't tell me you were cursed."

Millie jerked back like I'd slapped her, her face instantly heating. I couldn't tell if she was more angry or guilty, but both emotions were present in her gaze. 

"I —" Millie's voice trembled and she shook her head quickly, tilting her jaw at me. "What good would it have done? You'd just get upset and you wouldn't have believed me, and it would be pointless."

"Pointless? You think warning me that I'm going to die would be pointless?" I didn't want to yell, but I couldn't help myself. The anger that had been festering since talking to Clea earlier seemed to be bubbling over.

"I'm sorry, okay? But you don't understand how hard this is. I just thought —"

"No," I interrupted her again, "you didn't think! If you had thought, even a little, you would've realized that this isn't just about you. You aren't the only one who stands to get hurt here. You purposefully kept me in the dark and didn't even think about what that would mean for me."

I was so confused. I thought I liked Millie, but I wasn't sure anymore. She'd left me high and dry in the end. How was I supposed to like someone who had been so willing to lie to me about something so serious?

I stared at her. It was one thing, I thought, to keep small secrets from me. To keep her distance. But it was another thing to not tell me I was going to die. To mess with my life like this. 

"Hey, dude, back off." Brandon held his hand out toward me. "Give her a break, okay?"

Brandon's comment just further pissed me off. "No. She doesn't deserve a break. She deserves to get called out, and I deserve the truth."

Millie opened her mouth and then snapped it shut, pressing her lips together. She let her gaze slide past me when it became apparent she was unable to formulate a reply to me. "Clea? Angel? Hello? Why would you guys tell him?"

Drew sighed, annoyed, and threw his hands in the air. "We didn't! He came here and already knew something was happening."

Brandon coughed. "Sorry, Millie. I didn't think he'd go to your family. I just thought he'd egg your house or something. That's what I'd do, I mean." He looked at me. "I can't believe you tattled."

"Excuse me?" Millie spun around. "That wasn't your business to tell him!"

"Well, you weren't going to tell him, were you?" Brandon snapped. "He deserved to know...and anyway, he overheard his mom and my mom talking about it. He was either going to figure it out himself, or he was going to die."

"Really? You think I didn't know that?" Millie laughed humorlessly. "He's probably still going to die, Brandon!" She looked at me, and her gaze was wild and savage. "Guess what? Now he's just going to be scared to death until it happens!"

The second the words came out of her mouth, everyone froze. I stood still, my hands clenched in fists at my side.

"I think we should all take a moment," Angel said, and I could hear her standing up behind me. She laid her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "Sam, maybe you should go home —?"

"I'm not going anywhere." I crossed my arms over my chest and continued to stare at Millie, who was avoiding my gaze. "Millie? We have to talk. Now."

"I have to — we have to..." Millie cleared her throat and pressed her hand to her chest, still not looking at me. "Brandon and I have to go talk to his mom about this. She might be able to help . . ."

Unable to control my emotions, jealousy flared up inside me. Why was Brandon even with Millie? They were standing so close together, and no one else seemed to be weirded out by their proximity.

I thought about all the times Brandon had refused to acknowledge anything good about Millie. Was he just trying to keep me away from her? Because maybe...he liked her?

I clenched my jaw. There were more important things to think about than whatever was going on between them. "Then I'm going with you. You're not leaving me out of this anymore, Millie. I know what's going on, and I'm here to stay." I raised one eyebrow at her before dragging my gaze to Brandon. "I want to know everything."

Millie finally looked up at me, her expression guarded. "Well, that makes one of us."

--

After Millie had pulled her sisters and uncle into the other room to talk to them, I'd sat down with Brandon. Both of us sat there, neither of us speaking. Brandon kept glancing at the clock on the wall and back toward the dining room door impatiently. I clenched my fist and rested it on my thigh.

"So, where were you guys?"

"Miss Tully's," Brandon replied blankly, still not looking at me. "She's my grandmother," he added, which was something I already knew, but didn't bother mentioning. His mom had told me a long time ago that she was Brandon's paternal grandmother. 

"You guys went there . . . together?"

"What? Yeah. We were there together." Brandon hesitated and then sighed. "Sam, I have to tell you something."

You've been fucking the girl of my dreams? I resisted the urge to snap at him. "What?"

"I'm a witch."

My head snapped around. "Excuse me?" That was not what I was expecting at all. "I'm sorry. Did I hear you right?"

"Yeah." He cleared his throat and reached up to rub the back of his neck. "I haven't — I could — I can prove it."

"Wait a second. You're a witch. How does that even make sense?" My mouth felt dry. "How much have you been hiding from me?"

Brandon's face paled as he looked over at me. "Dude, it wasn't like that at all. This is something I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. Telling you...that's..." Brandon shook his head quickly, his eyes dark. "I swear I wanted to tell you. I just couldn't. My mom made me promise not to."

My chest felt tight. "I need you to prove this."

Brandon barely hesitated. He held out his hand toward me and, after a moment, opened his fingers to reveal his empty palm. Brandon fisted his hand and, when he opened it again, his palm was no longer empty. Fire danced in the middle of his hand and as I stared at it, it morphed into something larger, bigger, a fire with smoke coming off it, the smoke forming my name above my head.

I jumped off the couch and stumbled backward. "What the fuck!"

Brandon slapped his hand against his thigh. The fire disappeared and the smoke dissipated in the air above his head. "So, I'm a witch."

I felt frozen. My best friend was a witch. My best friend might've been dating the girl I'd had a thing for since I was eight. I was cursed and going to die. Also, the lady that used to make me cookies whenever I came to visit Brandon was a witch, too.

"Why do we have to talk to your mom?" I asked. My hands were shaking hard enough that I shoved them into my pockets to keep Brandon from noticing.

My best friend sighed and shook his head. "She knows more about the curse than Miss Tully or me."

I nodded and abruptly stopped as I did. "Wait, how long have you known about the curse?"

Brandon's back tightened but he didn't turn and look at me. Staring straight ahead he said "Sam..." his voice trailing off.

I opened my mouth, betrayal stinging my chest, but just as I started to talk, the dining room door flung open and Millie marched into the living room, looking grave. Drew and Angel followed her out and motioned for Brandon to come into the dining room. Instead of following them back in, Millie sat on the arm of the recliner, crossing her arms.

"How mad are you?" She asked after a moment.

"Mad enough that I don't want to talk to you."

"Right now? Or ever?"

I stared hard at the side of her face. "I haven't decided yet."

Millie swallowed and nodded, her gaze on her feet. "Okay," she said thickly.

And that was that. For now.