Crazy in Love - Lane Hart Page 0,1

liar.

“You lost it!” Josie exclaims, jumping to her feet. “How did you lose it?”

“I dunno. It may have accidentally got put in the glass recycle bin last week.”

“No, no, no! This can’t be happening! Not after everything we’ve been through this week. We’ve got to find it!” She is so far gone, it’s not even funny. Well, okay, it is a little funny. “Or find Madam Tess. She probably has more, right?” Josie asks, her face so hopeful that I wish I had a camera to take a picture so I can remind her how desperate she, little miss pessimist non-believer, was at this moment.

Jerking her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans, her fingers fly over the buttons frantically. “No results! Zero. How the fuck is that possible?” Josie exclaims at a pitch so high I’m surprised my glass candle holders don’t break.

“Already tried looking her up in the computer lab at school,” I reply coolly, which is the truth. I rarely use a computer, but I did search for the woman because I have a few questions for her about what she said regarding the potion:

“Once you or your friend drinks the potion, you’ll have seven days to find and unite with your soulmate.”

“Huh?” I asked in confusion. “Unite? Like, get married in a week?”

“No, not obtain a piece of paper. How does one physically unite two minds, bodies, and souls?”

“Sex?” I inquired hesitantly, to which Josie snorted when Madam Tess nodded in confirmation before continuing her warning.

“Furthermore, by drinking the potion, you’re causing a disturbance in the natural order of things, making events occur sooner rather than later. Therefore, sacrifices must be made to put you on the correct path and resume the balance…No one will die,” Madam Tess laughed at my stricken expression. “But there may be some suffering or…inconveniences that are required for the sudden shift in time order to take place…It’s different for each person. Which brings me to the third and final warning,” she said seriously. “The potion in this bottle will never run dry unless it goes unused.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Josie snorted.

“Once you drink your one sip, you cannot drink anymore. But every seven days from that time it must be ingested by someone else, and so on,” Madam Tess explained. “The potion will continue to replenish itself as long as it is consumed by a different person every seven days. If not, it will begin to diminish. And once the last drop is lost, so will be all the love it created.”

“Oh no,” I muttered sadly, unable to imagine how hard it would be to get so close to a happily ever after and having it fall apart. “But how do you know when you’ve found the one? Your soulmate?” I asked.

“Easy,” Madam Tess answered with a knowing smile. “Because after a perfect pair of souls are united, they’re unable to see anyone else.”

“What are we gonna do?” Josie asks, bringing me back to the present. The poor girl is chewing on her fingernails for goodness’ sake. “I can’t lose him, Reagan! I can’t!”

When Josie’s blue eyes start to water, I finally cave. I’m such an evil friend.

“Aw, Josie. Don’t worry,” I tell her, getting to my feet and practically skipping into my kitchen where I extract the glass bottle full of blue liquid. As soon as my fingertips touch it, it turns to purple, my favorite color.

When I walk back into the living room and show it to Josie, she nearly shits kittens.

“Oh, thank fuck,” she shouts, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I should slap you for lying to me!” she yells before pushing me away with a shove. Really, though, I should feel bad about deceiving her, but proving my point was so worth it.

“I just wanted you to admit that you believed in it,” I tell her.

“Oh my God, yes. I believe, okay? Now will you drink it for fuck’s sake?” she begs.

“Fine. But you’re gonna owe me lunch after I toss my cookies,” I say, pointing a finger at her in warning.

“Yes, sure, whatever you want!” she promises. Man, where’s my camera when I need it? Never did I think I would see the day that cynical Josie would be begging me to drink a love potion. Me, on the other hand, well, I’ve been waiting all freaking week to take a sip of this baby.

I pull the stopper out of the bottle with a satisfying pop and then tip it up