When Taylor returned from school, he walked into the house only to see Kait lying on the couch with a despondent frown. His eyes widened in concern. “Hey, Kait, are you alright?”

She snapped out of her gloom quickly, easing his concern with a smile. “Hey. Why’d you think I wasn’t?”

Taylor let out a sigh of relief but glanced to the side. “It’s just…your expression reminded me of Hailey.”

Kait stood from the couch, then stretched her arms. “How so?”

He responded quietly, “You looked similar to her after…what happened to Abbie.”

Kait frowned in confusion. “Abbie?”

“Her friend.”

“What about them?”

“She’s d–”

Kait suddenly held out a hand in apology, another on her heart. “Oh no! I’m so sorry! I was being so stupid there.”

Taylor shook his head. “That’s fine. No skin off my back, but Hailey…she’s probably more sensitive about it…” Taylor cleared his throat. “I’m glad you’re doing fine, at least. I also wanted to tell you that Hailey’s friends are coming over. They’ve been asking to see her for a while.”

“What do you think is going to happen when they talk to Hailey?”

“Maybe she will hole up in her room, but she can’t keep them waiting forever.”

Kait sighed. “You don’t get it.” She put a hand on Taylor’s shoulder. “Hailey won’t do that. You’re cutting straight to a confrontation. She’s going to tell you and her friends off.”

“But she needs to talk and get out of her room!”

Kait debated between allowing Taylor to make his mistake or telling him off. She had a feeling that Taylor could at least make progress with his good intentions, but she still opened her mouth to protest. She caught herself before she gave him advice, though. I shouldn’t get invested like this. This isn’t my problem. “I understand, Taylor. If that’s what you think needs to be done, do what you must.”

His expression only grew more nervous as she walked up the stairs.

“Hi, Abigail, Linne.” Taylor greeted Hailey’s friends at the front door a few minutes later.

Abigail had a confident smile and wore a pair of trousers and a nice, heavy coat. She raised a plastic grocery bag in greeting. “Yo, Taylor.” She took a step into his house. “It feels like forever since I last talked to you.”

“The last time I saw you out of school was a year ago. I didn’t even know Hailey still talked to you.”

“Yeah, we aren’t all that close,” she admitted.

Linne followed her in silently, nervously raising a hand to greet Taylor. She wore a scarf and a heavier coat than Abigail, as well as an ample amount of jewelry which conflicted with her reserved posture. She was also much smaller than Abigail. “Where’s Hailey?” she asked nervously as she pulled down her hood.

“Hailey’s upstairs. I meant to tell her yesterday that you two would be coming over, but…”

“That’s fine,” Abigail quickly responded. “Why don’t we call her out then?”

“She probably won’t want to see you,” he warned them.

Abigail shook her head. “What else would we do, then?”

“I don’t really know, if I’m honest.”

“Then let’s say hi.” Abigail glanced back as she walked up the stairs, prompting Linne then Taylor to follow. As she reached the top, she frowned. “Which room is hers again?”

“The one right in front of you.”

“Oh. Um…Linne, you know her better, do you want to go first or should I?”

The smaller girl averted her eyes. “You can go first.”

“Alright.” Abigail gritted her teeth as she looked back to the door. She took in a deep breath before speaking. “Yo, it’s me, Abigail! Hailey, are you there?”

No response.

Taylor’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he stared at the door. “As I said, she probably doesn’t want to see any of you.”

Abigail shook her head. “Do you want to talk?” she asked the door.

No response.

She pulled a bag filled with candy bars from her grocery bag. “We brought you some Wishie-Washies…”

A creak.

“Hailey, I haven’t seen you in, like, two months. Are you alright?”

Linne, as quiet as she was, looked down, knowing that Abigail wouldn’t get through to Hailey. She could tell that the girl was only trying to be friendly for the sake of being friendly and knew that Hailey would be able to see through it.

And unsurprisingly, she didn’t even respond.

“I’m just gonna put them in your room then…I’ll come back tomorrow.” Abigail reached for the handle and twisted it a little, hitting a lock. “Darn.”

Linne shook her head. I-I need to get through to her! She suddenly moved Abigail aside, then shouted, “I’m sorry, Hailey! I didn’t come to the library that day, a-and because of that…I could have saved Abbie b-but I…” She paused. “It’s all my–”

She heard Hailey’s voice for the first time in two months. “Shut the thatch up.”

They froze.

“Don’t act like you could’ve done anything about it,” Hailey said.

After it seemed like Hailey wouldn’t say more, Linne reached for the door handle, but Abigail grabbed her hand, frowning sadly. “Let’s just leave her alone for today.” She looked at Taylor with a forced smile. “We can just come tomorrow, right?”

He nodded slowly. “Probably.”

Abigail shared a look with Linne, and the other girl hung her head in defeat.

As she reached the front door, she raised her hand in goodbye. “We’ll be back tomorrow. See you!”

They dropped off the bag of Wishie-Washies as they left.

From Hailey’s door after they were gone, Taylor heard her voice again. “Give them to me.”

“W-what?”

“The Wishie-Washies.”

“Oh, so you’re not even going to speak to them, then snatch their candy?!” Taylor didn’t know whether to be disgusted or filled with pity.

Hailey didn’t respond.

“Well, thatch you too,” he said with little passion. Still, he slowly walked down and returned with the Wishie-Washies.

Taylor heard a click, then saw Hailey hold her hand out of the door, hiding her face as she grasped at air, waiting for him to place the bag in her hands. When he did, she tried to drag the bag into her room. He didn’t let her take it so easily, though, and held on, pulling it back. Just as he gave up the tug of war, he caught a glimpse of her face through the gap.

“Just give it to me!” She finally wrenched the bag from his hand and shut the door with a click.

Taylor sighed, unsure what to feel after what he’d seen.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

She was crying.

Kait let out a deep breath as Taylor walked back down the stairs. She sat in her room, meditating on her feelings, but as she heard Hailey’s anger, anger of her own began to boil to the surface, a fire in her heart.

Why would you mistreat your friends like that?!

Kait’s expression remained outwardly calm, although it took a conscious effort for her not to scowl.

Can’t she see they’re just trying to help?

It occurred to Kait that Hailey could just be a jerk. She threw the thought away as preposterous. After all, Hailey had seemed reasonable when they had spoken just a few hours ago.

I need to calm down. This shouldn’t be affecting me like this…

She focused for the next minute on shifting her emotions. She tried to imagine what it would be like to be Hailey. She’d been left in her room to brood for months, and nobody had come to see her that whole time. Her brother was being pushy, and her friends felt…Kait wasn’t sure. She didn’t know them well enough, but those two girls seemed a bit off.

But they were still well-meaning! It was so irritating. If Kait had friends willing to go out of their way to help her back in her day, it would have been such a blessing! But instead, Hailey seemed to have no gratitude. If anything, she was angry at them for trying to help.

I need to stop that! It’s none of my business. I just…I just need to ignore it. This doesn’t have anything to do with me.

She needed to think about something nice, nostalgic. Like…her friend, Vassee. Ever since they had become friends, Vassee had always been there for her. She helped her become part of the Royal Coven by putting in a good word, helping her study, and supporting her emotionally. Heck, Kait hadn’t even known before then what it felt like to have someone she actually liked in her life.

Of course, all of that was before she learned that Vassee was actually the princess, and accidentally found herself being appointed as her bodyguard, and before…

It didn’t matter.

It didn’t matter!

Kait began to tear up.

Vassee was dead. She was only a memory. The feeling of trust, the feeling of meaning Kait had felt when she was near her…it was difficult to imagine that she could feel that again.

I need to stop caring! I need…Kait lost her composure, gritting her teeth as she held back sobs. I need to move on.

As Kait tried to reign in her emotions, a thought came to her mind.

You’re just like Hailey. Avoiding connections, holding yourself back.

She let out another deep breath, staring at her hands. I need to calm down.

Taylor paced around the house, his thoughts racing. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do. Hailey had been shut in at home for nearly two months, and if she couldn’t overcome whatever was holding her back before she inevitably had to return to school…he wasn’t sure what would happen, but he was worried for her.

And if she couldn’t even speak to her friends face to face…

He heard someone descending the stairs and turned to see Kait just as she called to him. “Hey.” She looked rather calm.

He stood still despite his preference to pace. “Hi, Kait.”

She walked into the kitchen and began preparing cereal. “Long day?”

“Well, it sure hasn’t been a short one. What have you been doing? You’re usually not in your room for so long.”

“I’ve been trying to practice emotional control, but…” She laughed. “…I can’t think straight.”

“Why’s that?”

“Ah. That’s difficult to say. I tried to practice my emotional control but it’s been so long that it’s difficult to process everything. Things aren’t the way they used to be.”

“What you you mean?” Taylor asked.

“Imagine that you have so much work to do that it’s difficult to even start. Does that make sense?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m a bit too familiar with that feeling.”

Kait finished readying her cereal and took a bite. “Right. Just apply that feeling to trying to process emotions, and you can imagine the sort of block I hit.”

“That’s got to suck, especially since it's so important to your witchcraft.”

“It sure does.” She swallowed another bite. “Back to the subject, though. You had a problem with your sister, I presume?” she asked, despite having heard the whole conversation.

Taylor nodded glumly.

“How do you feel about some more stargazing?”

“Again? I guess.”

“No doubt you want to talk about what happened, so you can vent all you want while we walk. We’ll leave once I’m finished eating, okay?”

Kait opened the gate to the garden.

“So, that’s how it went,” Taylor finished.

Kait continued down the path as she sniffed the air, soaking in the floral scent.

“Any comment?”

Kait placed her hands in her jean pockets. “What comment are you looking for?”

“Could you help me?”

“Maybe, maybe not. What help are you looking for?”

“Advice, mostly.”

She fell onto the bench and stared at the koi pond while Taylor stood, too stressed. “How about I say what I think about you, instead?”

Taylor nervously narrowed his eyes.

“You care a ton about the people around you, and you love helping those people. You’re more emotional than you let on, you’re determined, and you will do whatever it takes to provide something of value, even if nobody asked for your help.”

Taylor shivered at the description of himself and crossed his arms like he was cold.

Kait cleared her throat. “So you surely aren’t going to give up on helping your sister, either.” She smiled. “Alright, sit with me.”

Taylor didn’t relax but sat beside the witch.

“Look, things might seem difficult, but…honestly…” She shrugged. “I’m not good with family stuff. Probably because I never had one, at least not one like yours.” She raised her head to stare at the moon. “I don’t know what’ll happen if you push the issue, but I guarantee, as long as you show your sister that you really care about her, you can come to an…understanding. ”

“So what, I just tell her nice things till she walks out?” he asked with indignation.

“No.” She shook her head. “What I’m trying to say is that as long as you try to communicate your feelings genuinely, and also accept hers, you’ll both come to understand each other better.”

“I don’t know.”

Kait grabbed Taylor’s arm and tore it out of its reserved position.

Taylor blinked. “What are you doing?”

Kait shot a relaxed smile toward Taylor. “Just a little spell.” She gripped Taylor’s hand. “Now, repeat after me–”

He suddenly tensed. “W-what?!”

“I said, repeat after me. I need to hold your hand for this, so pretend you aren’t skittish and do what I say.”

Taylor pursed his lips, nervous. “Y-you got it.”

“First, take a deep breath.”

The two both took deep breaths.

“Now, fall just a little in your seat and breathe out.”

The two slacked a little as they sighed, Taylor squirming uncomfortably.

Kait placed her other hand on Taylor’s shoulder. “Relax. No need to be tense. Let’s take another deep breath.”

“Got it…”

The two each took a second deep breath.

“Now, repeat what I say. Right now, what I can’t do, I can’t do, and what I can do, I don’t feel like doing.”

“R-right now, I can’t do what I can’t do…and what I can do, I don’t feel like doing,” he repeated.

Kait turned her head away. “Now, stare straight at the moon.”

Taylor looked up.

“Now, just relax and stare at the moon.”

As Taylor squinted a little from the moonlight, his body relaxed, and his eyes started wishing they’d close.

Near his ear, he heard Kait whisper, “The stars are beautiful today, aren’t they?”

There wasn’t a spell, there wasn’t a certainty of “right advice,” there wasn’t even fear under the moonlight. All he felt was light, heat, snowflakes melting on his skin, and a longing for the new day to bring his dreams.

Yet again, Kait found herself feeling alone in the silence.

Tears fell from her eyes. She could still remember Vassee’s voice in her ear as the moonlight shined on them. She could still remember how enthralled she was by the sight and sound and how cathartic it felt.

Why…why did she need to be the one to stay alive? That spell and her necklace were made for Vassee, but she sacrificed it all to give Kait a second chance. She wanted to be able to forget it, to stop wishing it was her who lived instead, but…

Kait resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands and sob. She didn’t want to wake Taylor up. She glanced at him. He still had friends and family. Hailey still had friends and family.

Kait enjoyed being part of that family, if only as a spectator.

But I’m not…and I shouldn’t keep pretending I am.