Page 51 of Love, Magic and Misfortune
He’d been sitting on the small steps, but abruptly stood. “Sheesh, I’m sorry—please?”
Unlocking the door, Violet paused as she pushed it open. She didn’t look back at him, but said, “Ten minutes.” She went inside. Freddie followed.
Violet dropped her bags on the hallway table and went straight to the sitting room. Once there, she plopped down into the soft armchair perpendicular to the couch, not bothering to remove her coat. She slouched as Freddie turned the corner. He looked all around, his head turning from side to side in wonder like a child at a dinosaur museum.
“It’s real cozy in here. Nice place. So, are you going to stay in town for good? It’s been two months now.” He paused and looked at Violet for a response.
“Nine minutes and twenty seconds.”
“Geez, woman.Alright.” He sat down hard on the couch and raked one hand through his blonde hair. “I—I started seeing a therapist a little over a month ago, right after you moved back here.”
“Are you blamingmefor some type of psychological distress in your life?”
“Well, yes… and no. Not blaming you, alright? You’re just like, a trigger? But it’s not your fault. That’s not what I’m trying to say.”
“Then what are you trying to say?”
He took a deep breath, his square chest rising and falling underneath his red plaid shirt and brown leather jacket. “I was jealous of you. Iamjealous of you. Growing up. And now. So I treated you badly because I couldn’t deal with that.”
“Jealous ofme?” Violet frowned. “Mr. Popularity? Mr. Class Clown with everyone in school fawning over his every action and word? Jealous of me, the misfit transplant with my one friend—”
“Yeah,exactly. The one friend that I really wanted. The one person who ignored me like I didn’t even exist—ignored everyone until the dayyoushowed up.”
“Oh my God.” Violet slouched even deeper into the armchair. For someone who tried so hard to hide himself, Jasper seemed to attract an unreasonable amount of attention.
Freddie grinned, rubbing his palms against his jeans. “I don’t know what it is about him. The Laurent family is famous in this town, historically… His great-great-great-grandfather was one of the original founders.”
“Um,no. The Ainsworth family was here first, foraging the land and—”
“Nah. That’s just a spooky old folktale about witches. I’m talkingrealtown history, like in our school textbooks.”
When Violet stared at him, unblinking, Freddie frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because I was trying to say something, but you cut me off and just bulldozed—”
“No, I didn’t. I—” Pausing, Freddie set his shoulders back as he nodded in Violet’s direction. “Sorry. Mama gets really mad when I do that to her.”
“Mmhm.”
“I… I was just trying to say that the Laurents were a huge success in this town—especially with running the orchard when we were kids. They seemed untouchable, and Jasper…” Freddie blinked, mesmerized as he spoke. “His clothes were always a little bit nicer than everyone else’s. He was so freaking smart in all our classes, and he used big words I had never heard before. Sitting alone by himself and content in his own world all the time. He seemed magical to me. Special. With that dark, curly hair and those eyes. Like… prince of the faeries.”
“Oh wow. Okay…”
“So Ihatedyou.” Freddie turned, his eyes fiercely meeting her surprised gaze. “I couldn’t figure out what made you so special. Why did the most remarkable kid in our class suddenly open up to you?”
“Freddie, everyone teased Jasper. Kids would say he was weird, too quiet and stuck up because of his family.”
“Inever said those things. I never once teased Jasper.”
“You dummy, you teasedme. I was his only friend and you constantly attacked me. Of course that wouldn’t help your case.”
“I know, Iknow.” He leaned forward, elbows against his knees as he ran his fingers deeper into his hair. “It was stupid—I know that now. I knew it then, too, but I couldn’t stop myself.”
A tense lull washed over them. Freddie massaged his head, tormented. Violet sat a little straighter in her chair, watching him carefully. “Maybe I’m overstepping here, but are these feelings toward Jasper coming from a romantic place?”
“I don’t know,” he said, head still lowered. “Hence the therapist.”
“A therapist will not ‘fix’ your potentially being queer, Freddie.”
