“And give him back,” Orion points his finger at his sister.
Persephone pouts, and Timothy totters toward her, unable to look away. Honestly, I can’t blame him. I can sense that Persephone is only using a hint of her full magic, and she’s still extraordinarily enchanting. My cheeks get uncomfortably red.
“He was clearly looking for someone,” Gwen explains. “I thought it might be you because I know you love townies and non-magical things. Is he your’s?”
“He is…I mean, yeah, that’s my boyfriend, Timothy,” I sigh.
Timothy hears his name and squints in my direction. “Ma-Maggie?”
“Persephone, you have to give him back, he’s Maggie’s boyfriend,” Gwen lectures.
Persephone tosses her long hair over her shoulder, gazing at Timothy through heavy-lidded eyes. “But he’s so pretty, and I haven’t drowned anybody in so long…”
“That’s not true,” Orion yawns, “you drowned those men on the yacht last week.”
Persephone giggles at the memory. “I love frat boys. Can I just drown him a little bit, Maggie,please?”
“No, you can’t drown himat all,” I walk over to Timothy. He’s wiggling his fingers as though they’ve fallen asleep. He seems to be coming out of it, luckily. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t intervened.
Persephone huffs. “Well, you owe me one, witch.”
She turns and dives, lake water splashing behind her as she disappears. Orion and Gwen follow her below the waves.
The water seems to bring Timothy out of his reverie.
“Maggie? What’s going on? I was…I mean…” he looks from the lake to me.
“You dozed off for a second,” I explain.
“Oh, um…”
“Timothy, what are you doing here? Did you…meet anyone else?”
“I don’t think so. Maggie, where have you been? You didn’t answer any of my texts or calls…”
“I told you, my phone wasn’t working. And I’ve been busy with…school.”
“Yeah, but I’ve been trying to get in touch with you. You said that you’d still be able to hang out, that this program wasn’t that big of a deal…” His eyes refocus and find the looming academy in the distance. “Maggie, whatisthis place?”
“It’s…it’s the school where I’m studying. It’s a little out-of-date, sort of like an immersive, um, studying experience. So I don’t have any wifi, and I don’t have a lot of Timothy…”
Timothy squints, the mid-morning sun obscuring a full view of the turrets. I bite my lip. I hope he’s still wonky enough to not realize what’s going on.
“How does your school not have wifi?” he mutters, raising a hand to cover his eyes. “What is this, the dark ages? You couldn’t send me an email?”
I sigh. He’s being sort of dramatic, but he’s also sort of right. I got distracted by…everything.
“Timothy, I’m-”
“You’re supposed to be my girlfriend,” he takes off his cap to smooth his ruffled hair. “Gap years are supposed to be fun, and you’re not around at all.”
“I can…”
But my words fail me. Can I actually be there for him in the way that he wants me to be?
I look back at the castle. Unlike Timothy, I don’t need to squint or shield my eyes from the blinding sunlight to see it completely. I can feel the cool, almost-autumn air on my skin. For the first Timothy in a long Timothy, I don’t automatically shiver.
“Tim…I don’t know if Icanbe around.”
