Tell Me a Fairytale

Later that night, Vanessa and I lay awake while the other two girls slept. Sometimes, when we stayed up late, we sat up in the same bed and talked softly or read her Book of Shadows with a flashlight. But tonight, we were separate and silent.

"Ness," I whispered, just to make sure she was still awake.

"Hmm," she responded, a bit disappointedly.

I climbed down my ladder and into bed with Vanessa. I lied down next to her, but she still faced the wall. Concerned, I asked. "What's up?"

She was silent for a moment, then she turned and asked, "Why did you kiss him?"

I could hardly see her in this light, but while her face was cold, hard, and emotionless, her beautiful blue eyes were undoubtedly wet.

"I didn't kiss him, Vanessa," I told her honestly.

"You would have if the cart hadn't shaken," she whispered.

"You saw that?"

She looked me straight in the eyes. "I did that."

"Why?" I asked, disgusted. She knew about my experience with my mother, and how afraid I was of heights.

"I didn't really mean to," she confessed. "I just got so angry, and the cart started shaking. Then I remembered your mother... So I stopped it."

"That's good," I said, cheerfully, and a little too loudly. "You can use your powers."

"I guess..." Vanessa sighed. She wasn't as enthused as I figured she would be. "Lucinda?"

"Yes?" I looked at her, and saw the most vulnerable look in her eyes.

"Do you still love me?" she asked. A single tear rolled out from the corner of her eye and stopped just in time to soil her pillow.

"Of course I do, Vanessa," I said. "Always."

She wrapped her arms around me. "Don't leave," she whispered, "ever."

"I won't," I swore, pulling her closer. "I won't, ever."

And we fell asleep in each others' arms.