Cursed (The Spellbound Series, #2)

3 | An Untimely Encounter, Again

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Chapter 3 – An Untimely Encounter, Again

"So you guys still haven't done the spellbinding?"

"No," Landon sighed in reply, looking down at his hands. He was fiddling with a twig that he'd picked up off the road. "No, we have not."

Melissa and the Blake brothers were on the drive to school, and they were almost at their destination. Cameron was behind the wheel, humming to a song that played softly through the car's speakers. Anson was in the seat next to him, a novel resting on his lap as he stared out the window with a disinterested frown. Melissa was with Landon in the backseat, worried thoughts circling her mind.

It wasn't originally the intended setup, considering Melissa knew that Cameron had wanted her to be by his side. While they were walking to the car, he'd actually asked Landon with a frown whether he could have his girlfriend back. She had wanted to shotgun as well, for obvious reasons, and also because she'd learned a week ago that Cameron had a decent voice, and liked to listen to him sing along to the radio while he drove. But Landon wanted her to sit with him, since he apparently needed advice on his love life.

"Is it because..." Melissa said hesitantly, leaning forward in her seat. "You know... Because you guys haven't..."

"Oh, we've consummated," he responded with a shrug. "We've consummated a lot. Just last night, actually, we-"

"Okay, okay," she chuckled nervously, holding her hand up to stop him from carrying on. "There's no need for a blow-by-blow explanation."

Anson scoffed from the front seat, folding his arms. "You'd be getting off lucky. Some of us have to sleep with earplugs every night just so we don't hear it."

"Don't be jealous, bro," Landon teased, reaching forward to slap him on the shoulder. He rested back on his seat and looked down again, fidgeting with his twig again. "No, that's not where the problem is. It's the actual ritual that Sam doesn't wanna do."

Melissa pursed her lips, unsure of what to do. She wasn't usually one to give advice, but she wanted to help Landon out regardless. She shrugged a little. "I guess you can't really blame him for being worried. I mean, even you had your doubts before."

"Yeah I know, and I don't blame him for anything," he muttered. He dropped the twig and turned to face Melissa, a small frown on his forehead. "I just want him to know that there's nothing to doubt anymore."

"Are you sure, though?" Cameron questioned, glancing at them in the rear view mirror. "Are you certain that he's your bound?"

"It's just like how you and Melissa told me it'd be," he said, smiling wanly. "Except for us it's not a windstorm when we touch; the ground starts to rumble. But sometimes I can feel what he's feeling. It's probably not as strong a connection as you guys, but I figured it was going to be different in our case."

"That pretty much sounds like the summary of a bound connection to me," Melissa said, smiling at him. She reached for his hand which, being much larger than her own, was hard to wrap her fingers around. "Don't worry about it. Sam will come around. And if he doesn't, I'll just have to bring him around."

Landon chuckled softly, putting his arm through Melissa's and resting his head on her shoulder. "Thanks, Lissa."

She smiled and rested her head against his. "You're very welcome, Don."

She was wrinkling her nose at the feel of his fluffy hair against her temple, when a feeble but familiar burning sensation built up in her chest. She glanced up at the rear view mirror, seeing the tiniest of scowls on Cameron's face. She tossed him a disbelieving look, wondering why on earth he was upset.