Glimmers of Glass (A Glimmers Novel #1: Cinderella)

Chapter 30

I was halfway across the room before Elle caught up to me. She grabbed my arm and spun me around. "Please," she said.

I yanked my arm away. But she looked so upset that I stopped marching. Her eyes were round and pleading. "I did not mean for that to happen," she said. I put my hands on my hips and glared, waiting for her to start rambling on about what she did mean and how it wasn't her fault, but she fell silent, watching to see if I believed her.

"Go on," I said. People were giving us weird looks. Anyone who was dancing had to maneuver around us, and I didn't want the attention, so I walked to the edge of the floor. Elle followed me. I leaned against the wall and waited, knowing she had no defense.

She bit her lip and twisted her hands together, then said, "I completely forgot I'd set those charms," she said. Her voice was tiny. "I've been forgetting a lot of stuff lately. I've been having a hard time thinking clearly."

"Badly managed magic will do that to you," I snapped. It was hard to feel any sympathy at this point. I'd warned her more than enough. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together would have gotten the memo.

"I know," she said.

For the first time, she said it like she actually did know, like somewhere in the past few months she'd actually bothered to listen. I pursed my lips and waited.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I got excited. I get kind of crazy when I get interested in stuff. Kyle always says my mind is a serial monogamist—obsessed with one idea at a time before it switches gears. Those charms were amazing. I got carried away."

"Enough to humiliate your sisters like that?" I said. "Seriously, what is your problem with them? They're nice. Your stepmom's nice, too."

I saw her stop herself from rolling her eyes, just in time. She pressed her lips together and then said, with the hesitance of someone trying to be both honest and generous, "Our family didn't blend so well back when my dad got remarried. Intellectually, I know they're decent people. We've never connected."

"Hard when you're screwing them over with enchanted jewelry you're not competent enough to handle," I said.

She took the blow more graciously than I expected. She blew out a long sigh. "I know. That was stupid. Look, Mallory and Cortney and I are never going to be friends." Her eyes darted up to meet mine. "If that's what you're holding on for it's just not going to happen. I just can't go there, you know? They're not my family. Deborah is never going to be my mom."

I held up my hands. If she thought that was an apology, she was doing them wrong. "I'm sorry your response to that is to humiliate them in front of everyone they know," I said. I pushed off from the wall, ready to get some air and get out of here. But she stepped in my way.

"Me too," she said, the urgency of her voice trying to convince me to stay. "Like, a lot. I can't believe I did that."

I folded my arms and let myself fall against the wall again. I felt oddly grateful for its solid weight; I needed some kind of ally right now, and if a wall was the best I was going to get, well, I'd be thankful. "Why did you?" I said.

To her credit, she actually took a few seconds to think about it. After a moment of tense silence, she said, "I don't know. I was stressed. It seemed like an easy way to relieve some of the pressure."

"What pressure?" I said. "You seemed like you had destroying your dad's business pretty much in hand."

"What pressure?" she repeated, incredulous. "Are you kidding? You."

My eyebrows shot up. She was really going to try to pin her bad behavior on me? "Seriously?" I said.

"Yeah, seriously. I was doing fine and then you marched in and started trying to hook me up with Tyler, which was bad enough, and then you told me there's a whole world of magic going on right under my nose. Yeah, that was a lot to deal with."