To leave Jayden and how beautiful he made her feel behind her.
“So what do you want from me?” Adrienne asked.
“I want you to help me fix him. I mean, he’s totally not helping me with our sisters. He blew off their soccer game yesterday to hang out with Kimmie and didn’t even help me get them to bed. He’s talking about going out with Kimmie every day this week and of course to Homecoming. I mean, I kinda have a life, too. I can’t –”
“Homecoming?” Adrienne echoed. “He’s standing up Emma?”
“That was real?”
Adrienne let out an exasperated sigh and began walking.
“Wow. Then yes, he’s going to stand up Emma,” Tara said, joining her.
Adrienne glanced at the gorgeous girl, wishing she’d take the hint and leave her alone with her misery.
“Since you have uh, superstitious roots, I thought you could help me with Jay,” Tara said.
“Why should I? Y’all have made my life a living hell!”
“Because you like him.”
“Not anymore.”
“Whatever. I know he’s head over heels for you. You know our daddy forbade either of us from dating someone of a lower … socioeconomic status?” Tara asked. “I learned that word this week. Did I use it right?”
“He wasn’t supposed to date me because I’m poor?”
“Good. I did use it right.”
Adrienne rolled her eyes at Tara’s pleased tone.
“So you’ll help me.”
She hesitated, wanting to believe Jayden did care for her but terrified after this morning. What other surprises were in store for her? More dead women in the dumpster? More curses from Kimmie?
She said nothing for a long moment, not expecting Tara to walk with her into downtown New Orleans. Her thoughts calmed, and she was able to sort through some of her feelings.
Tara was right. Jayden wouldn’t give his family heirloom to someone he didn’t remotely care about, let alone didn’t remember two days later. The email she thought had been teasing – if odd – that he sent yesterday made more sense in the light Tara shed on it.
Maybe Kimmie wanted the dog tags for a different reason. If she knew there was a protective spell on them, did she want to make sure Jayden didn’t get them back?
Or was she simply jealous?
Adrienne still felt pain at what she’d seen in the hallway, but it lessened a little at the possible explanation for why Jayden was kissing Kimmie, and she even felt a trickle of triumph at the idea of making Kimmie jealous.
I’m still not staying here, she vowed to herself.
“Where are we going?” Tara asked.
Adrienne debated. “To see a friend,” she said reluctantly. “The voodoo priestess who’s trying to help me with Kimmie’s curse. Maybe she can help Jayden, too.”
“Sweet.”
Adrienne wanted to despise Tara for wanting to help Jayden so she didn’t have to babysit, but she wasn’t able to condemn the girl who ditched school to find a cure for her brother’s hex. Tara was selfish but there was a part of her that was good, or she wouldn’t be talking to her.
“Will Rene be there?” Tara asked.
“Maybe. I dunno,” Adrienne replied. “He kind of does his own thing.”
Tara was quiet.
Adrienne led them through the streets to her neighborhood. At mid-morning, she doubted even Rene could find a reason to yell at her for walking. The streets were filled with people going to and from work, not serial killers and gang members.
Her thoughts went again to the body found in her alley. While Tara’s presence wasn’t exactly welcome, they were at least headed to the place where Adrienne most needed to go.
An hour and a half after leaving the school grounds, they reached Candace’s shop.
“Coffee!” Tara brightened. “Thank god!” She walked to the counter behind which a barista stood.
Adrienne went to Candace, who sat behind the cash register.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Candace asked, studying her.
“I’m never going back,” Adrienne said firmly. “I sent you a link.”
“I saw it.” Candace glanced at Tara. “Who’s this?”
“Tara. Someone who needs help because her brother is hexed.” Adrienne didn’t mention Jayden being the boy she was interested in. “Same girl who cursed me cursed him. I thought maybe you can help.”
“Of course. Come on back,” Candace said and motioned her around the counter.
“Tara, c’mon,” Adrienne called.
Tara grabbed a small handful of sugar packets and a stir stick then followed with her coffee.
Adrienne took her normal seat while Tara gazed around the sacred room curiously.
“This is Tara. Tara, Candace,” Adrienne said. She slumped, tired from her morning and feeling as empty as the bottle of soda on Candace’s table.
The two began talking, and Adrienne tuned them out. She pulled her notebook and iPad free, but ignored the growing number of email alerts awaiting her. Instead, she focused again on her sister’s journal. When Tara was done, Adrienne would talk to Candace privately about the woman in the alley.
Chapter Twenty
“Adrienne.” Candace interrupted her concentration sometime later.
She looked up.
“Tara just told me something really interesting. Were you listening?” Candace asked.
“Nope.”
“Go ahead, Tara.”
Adrienne waited for the pretty girl with dark eyes to speak. Tara smiled at Candace before turning to Adrienne.
“The twins dragged out a box from Jay’s closet and were playing with this key. I guess they were trying to find a treasure chest it fit into or whatever kids do,” Tara began. “Jay freaked. I mean, totally. He’s normally never like that, but he actually yelled at them. They both started crying and I confronted him about it. It was awful. Anyways, I asked him what the hell he was thinking, scaring the girls like that.”
Adrienne listened critically, not seeing what the story had to do with her. She glanced at Candace, whose patient smile was a silent sign of encouragement.
“He told me this strange story about the key. I guess Daddy gave it to him. It belonged to one of their ancestors, who used to sell slaves to the New World and who ended up cursed because of how he betrayed everyone he knew just so he could make like, millions of dollars. The key is a reminder to Daddy’s family of the curse, which I guess was supposed to kill the firstborns in Daddy’s family up until Jayden, who was immune because he was born outside the curse. Something about ninety-nine.”
“Ninety nine firstborns. Like my family,” Adrienne said, surprised. “My sister was supposed to be ninety-nine.” Her mind raced. “Candace, is it true? Is Jayden from the family of the man who bought the curse from mine?”
“It sounds too familiar not to be possible,” Candace said. “I can’t say for certain, but I can ask the spirits to enlighten me. Even if we can’t determine for sure, we can ask Jayden to help us. If he’s not the descendent of the same curse, no loss.”
Adrienne shook her head. “Not until we can do something about Kimmie brainwashing him. Tara said he didn’t remember me, and I saw him making out with Kimmie today.” She cleared her throat, embarrassed by the tears that sprang up at the memory. “But even if he was back to normal, he doesn’t believe in voodoo.”
Candace was quiet. Adrienne forced herself to focus on Tara’s story and not her pain.
“What are you thinking, Candace? That he can help us break the curse?” she asked, touching the dog tags at her neck.
Before Candace could answer, the vision she’d seen in the car – that of the two girls playing with the key – hit her. Tara’s words clicked. The two girls were Jayden’s sisters.