Sunday classes.

Bailey

I walk in class and I'm glad that I find Eli alone so I make my way over to his desk "Eli, can I talk to you for a second?"

"It's Mr Matthews." He glances at me with a blank expression "And if it's not related to school work then I don't have anything to discuss with you."

I swallow "Is this how it's going to be from now on?"

"This is how it was supposed to be from the beginning."

I shake my head and step closer to him "I swear I'll fix this, Eli. I'll go to the afterlife again and talk to my mom and have her explain more clearly what exactly happened."

His jaw clenches and he stands up to his full height, towering over me "You will do no such thing. You got sick the last time you did that spell and you could get seriously hurt this time."

"I'll be fine. I just need to know what happened."

He scoffs "So you still don't believe me when I say they would never do such a thing?"

"I do believe you" I say softly "But that doesn't mean it's the truth. And the only way to find out the truth is if it came from the source itself."

He opens his mouth to say something but closes it again when the students start piling into the class, I give him one last pleading look before taking my usual seat in the front of the class. Eli waits until everyone is seated and settled down before he says "I know everyone is a bit confused as to why I called upon you on Sunday but I have a good reason to why that is."

He puts on his glasses on and my eyebrows shot up in surprise, and a few girls behind me giggle and I shoot them a glare without even meaning to and they immediately shut up. I turn back to Eli when he speaks "We are always taught that the full moon are meant for the werewolves but nobody ever talks about the advantages for the witches." I tilt my head as he continues speaking "A full moon means increased energies and heightened emotions. It's also the best time to perform a ritual or even a spell because there are intense manifestations on a full moon night."

I sit up straighter as my mind race a thousand miles per hour. Tonight is the full moon which means I could perform The Great Beyond tonight.

When the class is done, I make my way to the door but stop sort when he holds a hand up and gestures for me to stay back, so I wait until the last student leaves before going over to him and he takes a seat on desk so he's at my eye level instead of towering over me "You're not doing the spell."

"I am." I say in determination "I have so much questions that I need the answers to."

His jaw clenches "So you're willing to get hurt for something that happened years ago?"

"I guess so" I say softly, feeling a bit stupid when he says it like it "But I have a lot of questions for my parents."

He shakes his head "You are being reckless, Miss Harper."

I frown "I'm 'Miss Harper' now?"

He grits his teeth and looks away "That's what you've always been."

I swallow to stop myself from dropping to my knees and begging him to take me back "I'll find answers and make things right between us. I swear."

His eyes narrow and he stares at me for a moment before nodding and holding his arms open "Give me a hug."

My entire expression brightens and I don't question him as I step closer to him and wrap my arms around him as he does the same. I close my eyes as I take a deep breath of his familiar smell but my eyes open again when he pulls away and nods to the door "I'll see you around, Miss Harper."

I clear my throat and nod "I'll be seeing you, Mr Matthews."

I wake out of the class feeling slightly better than when I walked in and feeling so much more determined to do the spell tonight.

Eli

"Here's the piece of Bailey's hair." I hand Maya the packet that holds the piece of brunette hair.

Maya's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she all but snatches the packet out of my hand "It took you long enough, I was starting to think you actually changed your mind.

"No. I just needed to find the right moment and I did."

Lie. I did actually change my mind, the last thing I want to do right now is take Bailey's powers away but she's being reckless and won't take her health seriously. I'm just trying to keep her safe.

From herself.

Maya stands up from behind her office desk and steps closer to me "Thank you, Eli. You don't know how much this means to me that you're willing to get my powers back."

I clench my jaw so hard it actually starts to hurt, I want to tell her that I'm not doing this for her and that no matter what happens it'll always be Bailey's magic. But I don't.

I may not love Maya but I don't hate her and she's been a friend for years before being my lover. "You're welcome."

"Now I'll just mix the potion together and then we can perform the ritual when she's the most vulnerable."

I nod "Got it."

She puts a hand on my chest "I missed you." I clench my hands into fists as she moves her hand lower but I grab it before she can reach my pants and her eyes narrow "What's the matter? We haven't had sex in a while."

"I don't really feel like fucking now, Maya."

"Why not?" She demands "Is this because of Bailey? Did you sleep with her?"

I scoff "I most certainly did not sleep with her. Can you just respect the fact that I'm not in the mood right now?"

I can tell that she doesn't believe a single thing of what I just said judging by the way she's glaring at me, which is stupid because I'm telling the truth. The last thing I need right now is Maya having some kind of cat fight with Bailey because she's jealous when I'm not even hers. And that's why I grit my teeth before pressing my lips against hers and when she reaches for my pants zipper, I let her.