Cursed (The Spellbound Series, #2)

4 | Distractions and Delightful Drinks

A/N: Pause for a moment and vote for this chapter. Thanks! 

Chapter 4 – Distractions and Delightful Drinks

The drive to the shopping complex in town that Wednesday had been a strangely amusing one. This time around, Cameron had insisted, in an unusually serious manner, on Melissa sitting shotgun. That put Anson in the backseat with Landon. Except, they'd brought Sam along on the ride, which meant that Anson was actually left to glare out the window whilst the lovebirds whispered sweet nothings in each other's ears.

With the commute behind them, they stood in the middle of the fairly intense buzz of customers at the Edgewood Emporium. The building housed many different stores, traders and service providers, which undoubtedly made it one of the central hubs of the town. They were slowly making their way from the area around the front doors, where the main sights were ATM's and bathrooms, and traversing towards the make-up, perfume and jewelry stands that were along the way, when Anson shook his head. "This honestly begs the question: What the hell are we doing here?"

"Well, I'm here to get our groceries," Cameron drawled, rolling his eyes. "Maybe you seem to think that our food appears out of nowhere, but that's not the case."

He raised an eyebrow. "And all five of us had to be here for the grocery trip?"

"I'm just showing Sam around," Landon chipped in, giving a little shrug. "He's still new in town, so it's time he got a full tour of the place."

"Speaking of which," Sam said, looking towards Landon. "You were saying that there's a photo booth somewhere on the second floor? I was thinking we could pit stop there on the tour."

"As you wish, Khaleesi," he replied with a little bow. He grinned and took Sam's hand, and they began their walk across the ground floor in the direction of the escalators. Once they had passed by Anson, though, they both glanced back and gave a curt nod.

Cameron surreptitiously lifted his finger and rubbed his nose. He turned to Melissa, sighing a little. "Great, of course they'd go off on their own."

"Oh, leave them alone," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "We're not to judge, are we? Come on, let's get these groceries done."

He shook his head, casting a small, sardonic expression in Anson's direction. He turned back to Melissa. "As if I want this guy mouthing off behind me while I'm deciding what cheeses to buy. Would you mind keeping him company while I go in?"

Anson scoffed, narrowing his eyes at his brother. "Keep me company? What am I, a cocker spaniel?"

"We wouldn't want him wandering off on his own, no," Melissa muttered wistfully. She smiled, and kissed Cameron on the cheek. "We'll be at the café or something, so text me when you've got everything. And don't take too long."

"I don't plan on it," he replied with a smirk, and walked off after Sam and Landon, eventually getting to the escalator and boarding it. Melissa turned back to Anson, who wore his most incensed face yet. She just chuckled, yanking on his hoodie as she started off further into the building.

The plan had been simple. They were all going to be at the Emporium and, due to the process of circumstantial elimination, Melissa was to be Anson's distraction while everyone else was off buying presents for his birthday, the one from her being bought by Cameron. He had actually doubted any of it would work, considering it was Anson they were talking about, but apparently they were all a little more convincing than they thought.

Thankfully, Melissa had had the sense of coming up with ways of hiding the gifts, or else the entire plan would've fallen apart. However, Melissa realized now that her decision to be the one that distracted Anson, which had been fueled by her hope to form some kind of friendship with him like she already had with Landon, could've been a tad premature.