~ wow I'm bad at updating... But I promise to try and be better? The worst part is that I am SOOOO close to finishing this book. I'm just bad at updating. Sorry! ~ (also comment some of your suspiciouns about what you think is going on here!) 

Bridget Smith hated Millie.

Millie wasn't usually one to cower in fear, but something about the heat in Bridget's gaze had Millie fidgeting. Maybe it was because Bridget was a witch and, therefore, had more magic than Millie could comprehend or maybe it was because Bridget was obviously someone important to Sam, she wasn't sure.

Noticing Brandon's curious gaze on her, Millie straightened her spine and scooted away from Sam. He shot her a relieved look — which did nothing to alleviate her guilt — before returning his gaze to Bridget.

Fake it 'till you make it, Millie thought with a fierce determination and schooled her features into a mask of indifference. Even if Bridget scared the crap out of her, she was going to pretend she was untouched by the woman's burning gaze. She'd been wearing a cool façade of nonchalance her whole life. She was sure she could manage to maintain it during the conversation.

"I don't want to die, if that's what you mean," Sam said to Bridget, rolling his eyes slightly.  "So, yes, we would like to break this stupid curse."

"Hmm." Bridget tapped darkly painted nails against her lips. 

Unable to stave off her curiosity, Millie asked, "How do you know about Moira?"

"And who is Moira?" Sam put in, huffing.

Bridget looked back and forth between the two teens on her couch. "Well, first of all, Sam, Moira is Millie's ancestor. If you want to play the blame-game, she's one of the causing factors of this curse." Hearing that, Millie straightened, immediately defensive. Before she could offer a rebuttal, though, Bridget spoke again. "I know a lot about Millie's ancestry line. Actually, I know a lot about everyone's ancestry."

Millie frowned. "What does that mean?"

Brandon sat forward, suddenly joining the conversation. "She's a Seer."

"A Seer?" Sam repeated, looking even more confused than before. Millie felt the same way.

"Some Seers can see the future," Bridget explained, "or other present moments, but I can see the past."

"Whoa," Sam whispered.

Suddenly, Millie understood why Miss Tully had sent her to Bridget. "That's how you know so much about my curse, right? You've seen the past and you saw what happened."

Bridget smiled thinly, as if she was fighting the pride she felt that Millie had gotten to the truth so quickly. "Right. When I started developing my abilities,  I would get these weird dreams of a girl that looked just like you, Millie. At first, I didn't understand them, but after a while . . . Well, let's just say that I got the hang of time surfing. I saw almost everything that happened leading up to the curse put on your family, and I saw the actual curse happen."

"So, does that mean you know how to break the curse, then?" Sam asked.

"Not exactly." Bridget glanced at Brandon, who looked away. "We, in theory, know how to do it, but there's more to it than just what we know."

"But is it doable?" Millie pressed.

Bridget nodded. "With some time and effort, we could definitely break the curse."

"But at what cost?" Brandon hissed at his mother.

She returned his gaze and shook her head. "We talked about this."

"I know, and I didn't agree to do it before, so why do you think I'd do it now?"

"Because Sam is your best friend," Bridget said evenly, "and you want to help him."

"That's exactly why I don't want to do this!" Brandon snarled. He didn't wait around to hear his mother's argument, but instead jumped to his feet and stormed out of the room.

"You know," Millie said, shaking her head, "every time I'm in the same room as Brandon, he walks out in a huff. I'm starting to think he doesn't like me very much."

Next to Millie, Sam snorted. "Or maybe he likes you too much."

Millie turned her head and stared at Sam. "Seriously? It's pretty apparent that boy doesn't like me in the slightest, Sam. Come on."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Right. But something is up with the two of you, isn't it?"

"No," Millie started to say but was cut off by the sound of Bridget clearing her throat.

"That's not exactly true," Brandon's mom said, her gaze suddenly troubled. "There is something between you two, Millie, that Brandon hasn't told you about yet."

Sam looked triumphantly disappointed. 

Millie threw her hands up, exasperated. "Well, if I don't know about it, how am I supposed to fix it?"

"You can't, really," Bridget went on, glancing in the direction her son went. "Millie, I'm going to tell you something, and you're definitely not going to like it."

Bridget turned to Sam. "I think maybe you should go outside and see if Brandon's okay."

Sam groaned. "Come on. Aren't you guys done keeping secrets from me?"

Bridget's stare went from concerned to annoyed in a second. "Samuel White. I thought you were raised better than that." She pointed toward the door. "Go. Now. And don't sass me again, or I might have to light a fire under your ass."

Sam's eyes widened, and as if realizing she really could set his butt on fire, he hopped up and strode across the room. Seconds later, the door opened and shut quietly.

There was a good metaphor for Sam and Brandon. While doors always seemed to slam shut behind Brandon, you almost never heard them close when Sam left. 

Bridget turned back to Millie. "You're not the only one who knows how to clear a room, as you can see."

For the first time since waking up, Millie cracked a smile. "I guess we're in the same boat, then."

Bridget eyed her. "I can definitely see why my boys are so infatuated with you."

Millie shook her head. "I don't think either of them really like me all that much right now." 

The older woman shrugged. "If that's what you think."

Millie crossed her legs and sat back against the couch. "So," she said, eager to change the subject and get to the important part of this. "What did you want to tell me?"

"I have to explain a few things first," she said. "Brandon and I weren't exactly honest. We aren't witches. We're Seers. There's not much of a difference; all witches and Seers have magical abilities. The one true difference is that Seers have a little extra something. For example, I can See the past. Some Seers know exactly what you're feeling. Others can channel energy, like a conduit. And some . . . the rarest of all . . . can see ghosts."

Bridget paused, to make sure Millie was listening and then continued. "When your parents first came to Miss Tully to see if there was any way to break the curse, I told them the same thing I'm about to tell you, Millie. The witches that put the curse on your family added an . . . amendment. The only way to stop the curse, in the future, was to find a descendant of Moira Clearwater, John Drake, and the witch that put the curse on your family."

"Well, that doesn't seem to difficult," Millie said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sorry to say that isn't all," Bridget continued, almost hesitantly. "The descendant of the witch family had a stipulation. They had to be male, and they had to be a Seer. When I told this to your parents, they were . . . discouraged, to say the least. Male Seers are rare. So rare, in fact, that they're pretty much nonexistent."

"But . . ." Millie glanced behind her. "Brandon . . . ?"

Bridget nodded. "He's the first male Seer in almost two hundred years."

Suddenly, she understood why Bridget had said that Millie and Brandon were connected. She stared at Bridget, her eyes wide. "So, what you're telling me is that your family is the one that put a curse on mine?"

"Yes." Bridget's smile was sad and full of guilt.

"And you're also saying that Brandon is the only one in the world who can help break the curse?"

"Yes," a deep voice rumbled from behind Millie. She spun on the couch to see Brandon standing there, his brown gaze hard. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to help."