direction and said, “You should probably stay away until this is done. I’m sure I can speak for Jilly when I say I don’t want to risk the life that you carry within you.”
Emily started to protest, but Jilly silenced her with a look and turned to her. “Em, he’s right; it’s too dangerous for you and the baby. Adam would never forgive me if I let something happen to you. I think you should go as soon as we finish lunch. William will follow you home to make sure you’re safe,” she said, looking at William for confirmation. He nodded in agreement, and the girls finished their lunch in heavy silence.
Jilly could feel the concern coming off Emily like it was salt being thrown on her wounds. She felt so guilty that she was putting her and the baby in danger. She knew that Emily would worry, but it was better for her to worry at home safely than to be here and possibly die.
When they finished clearing away the plates, Emily grabbed Jilly’s hand and drew her in for a hug, squeezing her tightly.
“Be careful, stay smart, listen to William, and take care of Caroline. Actually, she can stay with Adam and me if you want; we have tons of space.”
“I’ll ask her when she wakes up. That may work out great for all of us.”
Jilly walked them both to the door and said good-bye as she watched them get into their respective cars and pull out of the driveway. She let out a long sigh as she leaned against the door frame, watching the cars until they disappeared around the bend.
She felt so helpless being stuck in the house doing nothing. Then she got an idea, ran into the kitchen, and grabbed her grimoire. Seated in the big chair by the fireplace, she tucked her legs underneath her and began flipping through the pages. She was looking for something, but she didn’t know what it was yet. She kept thinking that something was just going to jump out at her or light up or something. She wished her mother were here to give her the guidance she needed so desperately right now. She felt so alone, cut off from everyone she loved by either death or circumstance.
After thirty minutes of fruitless searching, she gave up and closed the book with a sigh of frustration. She got up and wandered out into the living room. She walked around the room slowly, looking at all of the photographs and trinkets that made this house her home. She stopped in front of an old photo of her and Caroline and took it down off the shelf. The photo showed them at age ten, sitting on the back steps, beaming at the camera with chocolate ice cream smeared all over their faces. If only we could go back to that time , she thought to herself as she set the photo back on the shelf. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
William returned with a small overnight bag in his hand and a laptop. “Planning a trip?” Jilly asked him as she let him in.
“I’m staying here until we see this through. I don’t like being so far away if you should need me. I know you have a few guest rooms upstairs; I’ll stay in the one closest to your room if that’s amenable to you.”
“That should be fine. I would normally argue with you about this, but I just don’t have the energy for it.” She led him upstairs to the room next to hers. “Here, you can stay in here if you want. There are clean towels in the linen closet in the hall. You have a private bathroom in here, so you won’t have to worry about running into us in the night. I’m going to go and lie down for a while; I’m spent after all the spell work I did,” she said, stifling a yawn.
“You go ahead and sleep. I’ll keep watch for you,” William said as she closed the door to her room.
Jilly quickly peeled off her sweaty running clothes and contemplated a shower, but thought better of it and threw on an old t-shirt of her dad’s and some sweats and jumped into bed. She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.
She dreamt of her mom. They were sitting on the porch talking,
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