Our walk to the stables is relatively quiet as orange light is cast over the fields where several horses are grazing. There are few people out since it's a Saturday and most everyone is either still in town or have already gone to the dining hall for dinner.

I whistle for Hera as we approach the stables, the dark, nearly black mare lifting her head from where she's standing in a nearby paddock. She whickers eagerly when she spots me and trots for the fence-line, her ears pricking up at the possibility of a treat.

"Head for the barn," I tell her as her tail swishes and she stomps one of her back hooves impatiently.

Indigo smiles and nods at the mare as we walk into the breezeway of the barn, "She looks better."

Hera had been a rescue and was adopted into Greenwood last year since most any other person wouldn't be able to help her the way a witch could. A couple dozen spells from a stable-hand to help her heal what had once been scars from a previous owner, along with a balanced diet has resulted in an overall spoiled mare who enjoys stealing food from any unsuspecting, neighboring horses.

I unlatch the door for the stall and lock it behind me as I open the door to the outside, the large mare already waiting for me in the threshold. She squeezes past me and heads straight for her feed-bucket, which she shoves her nose into before she pulls it back out and looks at me expectantly when she finds it empty.

"I know," I mutter as I shut the door to the outside and step out of the stall.

I walk for the tack room where the feed is kept and scoop a healthy amount of grain into a bucket before I return to her stall. I dump the grain into her trough and she immediately starts to eat as she noisily chews her food and snorts in a way that could almost be taken as her saying 'it's about time'. Indigo clears her throat suddenly and I glance up to see that she has her phone in her hand.

"Mom and Dad want to meet for dinner, do you want to take a taxi or Uber?" she asks as she lifts an expectant eyebrow.

"I think I'll pass, Hera could use a good brushing," I insist as I reach over to stroke the mare's cheek.

"Kara," Indigo crosses her arms as she tilts her head, "come on, do you ever take a break?"

I open my mouth to protest, but she cuts me off.

"I'm back in town, they want to take us out to eat, it's free food and good food," Indigo continues.

I sigh, "Where do they want to meet?"

"Firenze," she says with a knowing smile, since the restaurant is one of my favorites.

"Fine, it's a deal," I relent as Hera blows out a heavy breath behind me.

****

After texting Connor and having him say that he's in town playing basketball with a few friends, Indigo and I take a taxi over to the relatively upscale restaurant on the far side of Salem. She and I had changed of course and I readjust the neckline on my blouse for the hundredth time as we step out onto the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.

"Are you okay with this?" Indigo inquires as she gives me a sideways look.

"I'm fine," I assure her as I briefly rub my palms together and start walking for the door to open it.

The scent of Italian food washes over me as I step into the restaurant, which is already buzzing with evening traffic as my nerves are set on edge. I glance around before I spot my mother waving at us from where she's sitting in a corner booth against the far wall. My father is sitting next to her and across from them is Tessa, who grins as we approach.

"I thought that you were in Florida," I say to her as I walk over to the booth, recalling that she's attending a witch college down toward the coast.

She stands and opens her arms as she shakes her head, "I'm on break too, a lot of witches' colleges tend to sync their breaks around the same time."

"Sounds nice, have you spoken to Astrid?" I inquire.

Astrid had chosen to strike out across the country and picked a college that is somewhere in the Midwest rather than head back to the United Kingdom. With all that had happened involving her uncle, much of her family is also being investigated and I can't blame her for wanting to get away from it all until things settle down.

"She should actually be here soon too," Tessa says as she pulls away from the hug and rests her hands on my shoulders, "how have you been?"

There's a gleam in her eye that matches many of the looks people have given me. It's concern and all I want to do in that moment is turn around and walk back out of the restaurant and go back to the academy. But I don't, I smile and instead tell myself that it's only because she's my friend and cares about me and that I would do the same for her.

"I've been good, I've been going to therapy," I tell her as the words slip off my tongue with ease.

It's something that I've told most anyone anymore and it always seems to make that gleam go away. Tessa's does as she gives me a relieved look and squeezes my shoulders.

"Well, that's good, I'm happy for you," she murmurs as she looks past me suddenly and smiles.

I look behind us to see that Astrid has entered the restaurant and is now standing by the door. She looks the same as she always has as she's wearing an eighties rock band t-shirt and has a new piercing in the cartilage of her ears. She waves shyly when she sees us and a grin splits across her face as she heads over to our booth. Tessa and I get seated as she approaches, Indigo having already sat against the wall as I sit next to her and Tessa takes the chair across from me.

"Hey," Astrid says as she takes a seat next to me, her voice like music to my ears as I haven't heard her British accent in a while.

"Hi, it's good to see you," I say as I remember the last time that we had seen each other, which was last summer.

"Yeah, it's been a little while now hasn't it?" she muses as she reaches over and readjusts a sugar packet from where it sits in a plastic container on the table.

"It has," I agree as she smiles crookedly.

"We can go shopping tomorrow, if you'd like," Tessa suggests and Astrid nods.

"We could do that, I'd like to hit up the old mall in Salem again," she says, though I can't help but feel anxious.

In reality, I haven't gone to the mall much at all and the thought of going somewhere that will likely have a lot of mortal people makes me nervous. It's a place that I can't really use my magic if I need to defend myself but I smile and nod along with them as I focus on the clinking of dining ware around us.

"That would be great, I still have a couple of things that I'll have to do in the morning but maybe we can meet there around noon?" I murmur and Astrid props her arm on the table.

"Promise?" she says as she offers me her pinky. "You ditched several times last summer when it came to going to the beach."

I can't help but shake my head at the childish gesture of a pinky promise but I give in as I wrap my pinky around hers.

"Promise," I assure her as she grimaces.

"Why are your hands so clammy?" she says as she makes a mock facial expression.

I plaster a smile into place even though my heart is beating in my throat. I swallow nervously against the anxiety that I already have for tomorrow's outing, along with the panic that had built when it came to going out for dinner on the drive over here as I shake my head.

"It's a little cold outside," I fib as a waiter suddenly approaches our table and I have to fight against the immediate urge to slouch with relief.

"Can I take your order?" the waiter asks and I quickly grab for a menu and flip it open.

I can just see Tessa's eyes from overtop of the menu as I hurriedly pick out a drink and relay it to the waiter.

But I know deep down that I'm not fooling her.

Then again, maybe I don't want to trick her into thinking that I'm okay.