"And don't forget to take your pill."

I rolled my eyes as my mom babbled into my ear over the phone.

"Oh my god Mom, I know." I groaned, quickly glancing at the other passengers on the train. I couldn't tell that anyone could hear her, regardless that she wasn't on speakerphone. No one seemed to notice but I still turned the volume down anyways.

"I'm just making sure! I don't need any grand babies just yet!" She chuckled. "Now, I looked up doctors and dentists in the area that accept our insurance. I'll send you the list when we hang up. And I'll send you the info on the local coven as soon as I get it." I grinned.

"Ok, thank you." I smiled, knowing she was just being her over-worrying self.

"And of course, you know the most important rule, don't use your magic around humans." I froze, my eyes glancing around again before I turned the volume down a few more clicks. I had to press the phone against my ear to be able to hear her now.

"Yes Mom, of course I know that." I muttered.

"I'm just being cautious, honey. It's not uncommon for young witches to get too excited and their powers to get out of hand. And with you being in a completely new setting, well...." I cleared my throat nervously and I'm sure she could tell right away that I didn't want to talk about this anymore. "Well... you know your father and I are so proud of you. I'm sure you're almost at your stop so I'll let you go. Text me when you get in. I love you!"

I felt a twinge of resentment when she mentioned my father, he hadn't even made it to the train station to say good bye before I left- claiming he got caught up at work.

"I love you too! I'll talk to you soon!" I hung up the phone and sighed, leaning my head back against the train seat.

I still had another fifteen minutes before my stop, so I plugged my earphones in and put on some music. Out of paranoia, I only put one earbud in so I didn't miss my destination announcement.

Heavy guitar riffs played in my ear as I looked out the window, my mind wandering as the Texas landscape flew by. I knew it was stupid, but I was surprised that besides the occasional cactus zipping by, everything looked so normal down here, I had almost expected a desert.

I chewed over my growing resentment towards my father.

When my parents had divorced nearly a month ago, it hadn't been very pretty. My dad moved out, bitter and angry, leaving my mom and I alone in the house I had grown up in. Neither of them would tell me why he left or what had happened. All I knew was that one day they were fighting. And the next, he packed his shit and left.

Without his additional income, my mom hadn't been able to afford the tuition of the college I had been attending at home. She had reached out to an old friend; Mara. She was a fellow witch whom she had grown up with, and superintendent of South Texas University.

Mara had been able to pull a few strings and gain me late admittance to her school, saving me from having to drop out, or repeat my senior year. She had also been able to secure my housing nearby, with a roommate who was also attending from out of state. I had yet to meet her, but I hoped she was cool.

The only problem; the school was in San Antonio, Texas. One thousand, seven hundred and forty one miles away from my home in Philadelphia.

I felt guilty, leaving my mom alone in that big empty house. But she had assured me time and time again that this would be good for her- for the both of us. We were both in need of a fresh start.

Not only had my mother and father just gotten divorced, but I had just recently been dumped by my boyfriend of two years, Cole.

I had been blindsided.

Out of the blue, he left all of my things in a trash bag on our front step during the night, and texted me to tell me he didn't love me anymore.

I grit my teeth as I thought of his stupid face. I was over the heartbreak now, having moved on to the resentment phase. But it still stung. I had been a great girlfriend, and I knew that. I was never able to get a straight answer out of him about why he broke it off, and it had killed me.

But I no longer gave a fuck about his reasons. I didn't need him.

Maybe I'd meet a sexy cowboy in Texas.

I gulped nervously as the loudspeaker announced we were approaching our last stop. Checking my bags again for the millionth time, I made sure that I had everything with me.

"Excuse me?" A low voice said from behind me. I turned to look at the guy occupying the seat behind mine. He was about my age, with a football players physique and messy, sandy blonde hair that fell into his eyes. He flashed me a friendly smile.

"Yes?"

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." My heart dropped into my stomach and I'm sure panic showed in my eyes. "You said you're going to STU too?" He asked.

I felt a rush of relief and smiled before nodding my head.

"Awesome, me too! I'm Brandan. I'm from New York." He held out his hand for me to shake.

"Aviana. But everyone just calls me Ava. I'm from Philly." I told him.

"It's nice to meet you." He sat back in his seat again. "I'm headed back from visiting my family all weekend. Are you just starting there now? Halfway through the year?"

"Yea." I shrugged nonchalantly, "I um... hated my old school, ya know?" He hummed in agreement. I didn't feel like spilling my whole sob story to a stranger on a train.

We pulled into the station and the train slowed before coming to a stop. I stood up, grimacing as I tried to carry all of my bags.

"Here, let me help you!" Brandan offered, reaching for one of them. He jumped back quickly when a hiss sounded from the one he grabbed. I couldn't help but laugh at his shocked face, and he leaned down to inspect the cat carrier. Zoey was glaring at him through the mesh, growling lowly.

"This is my cat, Zoey." I said with a laugh.

She was much more than that though. Zoey was my familiar, a companion animal that every witch bonds with in their early teens, just when their magic is beginning to emerge. But he didn't need to know that.

I felt bad for making her travel such a far distance in the cramped little bag, but Amtrak's policy forbid animals to ride unrestrained on their trains. Zoey and I had had quite the argument about her travel arrangements before we left home.

Brandon eyed the cat carrier warily and reached for a different bag. I thanked him and we made our way off of the train.

Once we were on the platform, Brandon turned to me with a smile. "So you said you're moving down here, where are you staying?" He asked as Zoey grumbled away in her carrier.

"My mom found me a house for rent with a roommate just off campus." I told him.

"Sweet! Where at?" He asked.

"Ummm..." I dug in my pocket for the paper I had folded up and stuck in there. Pulling it out and unfolding it, I squinted at my hastily written handwriting. "Alamo Heights?" His eyes lit up.

"I'm one neighborhood over from there!" He grinned excitedly.

Well, now I knew someone at school and in my area. "Let's just get an Uber together." He shrugged, pulling out his phone. "And while I'm at it, what's your number?"

I paused for a moment, hoping he didn't think I'd been leading him on or something. He noticed my hesitation and looked up from his phone.

"I'm not asking for it like.... that way..." he dropped his voice down a bit. "I'm gay." He said quietly, looking around to make sure no one was listening to us. "I'm kind of um, new... to being out. That's actually why I was at home all weekend, I came out to my family." His cheeks turned red as he mumbled the last bit.

"Oh, congratulations!" I grinned, hoping I hadn't offended him. I rattled off my phone number and he ordered us the Uber.

While waiting, Brandon asked me about myself. He had such a warm and inviting aura around him, it wasn't long before I ended up telling him about my parents divorce, my abrupt move, my best friend I left back at home, my recent break up. He listened intently, asking questions no one had bothered to ask me since everything had happened. By the end of my ranting, I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

I turned the conversation to him, but he wasn't nearly as in-depth and soul bearing as I had been, making me worry that maybe I might have over shared.

He told me about his mother and sister, Emily who was still attending high school back in New York. His eyes darkened and his tone turned bitter when he mentioned his father who had divorced his mom years ago, and started a new family in California.

"I'm sorry, that's really shitty." I said with a frown.

"Don't be, he was a shitty dad." He cleared his throat and changed the subject, leading me to believe he wasn't quite as over it as he said. "So, what do you like to do for fun?"

I launched into another tirade about all of the amazing hiking spots in Pennsylvania and playing on the volleyball team at my old school.

"I figured you were into something like that, you've got a great ass!" He winked.

I barked out a laugh as our Uber pulled up, and I took the moment to hide my face behind my curly hair as I felt my cheeks turning warm.

I'd always had the problem of blushing uncontrollably, whether it was taking compliments, or talking to cute guys, or just generally embarrassing myself. My best friend Leslie had told me it was endearing and cute, but honestly, I thought it was just annoying and bothersome.

Brandon helped me load my bags into the trunk of the car and we got into the backseat before giving the driver our addresses.

The driver paused as he looked into the backseat, his eyes locking onto mine almost immediately. I felt my face once again start turning red.

His eyes were drilling holes into my head and after an awkward moment, I shifted tensely in my seat, glaring determinedly out of the window as I refused to look back at him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Brandon look up from his phone when he noticed the uncomfortable silence in the car.

"You can drop me off last." He said sharply, finally pulling the drivers attention away from me. The man blinked a few times, as if just now remembering Brandon was in the car as well. He scowled at him before facing the front again. He shook his head and began driving away from the train station.

"Thank you." I mouthed to Brandon. He nodded silently and glared at the back of the drivers bald head.

Over the years I had gotten accustomed to those kinds of looks from men, but they never ceased to make me uncomfortable.

My grandmother had once told me that men fall for my looks so easily because my magic drew them to me. I grimaced as I thought about it again. She had explained to me that our magic gives off a pheromone that instantly attracts men to us. Some men were weaker than others and our magic called to them, making us the begrudging center of their attention.

"Like gnats to a fly trap." She had joked. I hadn't believed her until I was in my late teens, coming out of the better end of puberty.

Though it wasn't all men that got caught in our magical snare, when it did happen the attention was embarrassing. It made me uncomfortable when I was younger and I had never gotten used to that feeling.

But most of all, it made me nervous. Men with weak wills, so beguiled by us, were the same types of men that had started the Salem witch hunts. They claimed that no one could possess our beauty without using dark magic. I shuddered, thinking of the witches that burned at the stake thanks to those few impressionable men, some of those very witches being my ancestors.

After what felt like forever, my house came into view. I sighed a quiet, relieved breath, pulling my purse onto my shoulder and grabbing the handle of Zoey's carrier. If the driver looked at me one more time in the rear view mirror I was going to tuck and roll out of this bitch.

As soon as the car was in park I opened the door and stepped out into the hot Texan air.

"I'll be right back." I heard Brandon say to the driver before he also stepped out of the car. He joined me at the trunk and helped me lift my suitcase out.

"I'm sorry about that, dude." He muttered, glaring at the driver who had once again turned to stare at me. I shook my head and looked away, just wanting to get away from the creep.

"I've got your fair." Brandon said. I began to protest but he cut me off. "You really think giving that guy your card is the best idea?" He asked.

"I owe you one." I frowned, admitting that he was probably right.

We walked up to my front door with my bags and he gave me another grin.

"I'll see ya Monday, send me a pic of your schedule, I'll see if we have any classes together!"

I gave him a quick hug and thanked him again before he ran back to the waiting car. I pulled out my keys, awkwardly balancing Zoey's carrier on my knee as I struggled to unlock the door while holding all of my bags. Zoey grumbled away morosely in her carrier.

"Yea, yea, yea." I muttered.

"Just don't drop me." She told me, her voice a low growl inside of my head. I chuckled lightly and finally managed to get the key turned. I waved at Brandon who had been watching to make sure I got inside and the car drove away.

The moment I stepped through the door a familiar smell hit my nose and I paused, taking in the sight of the house I'd be staying in for the next six months.

Oh no.

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Xx mandabrandie