“How did this happen?” Veronica asks when we’re stuck in traffic near Albany. She’s sitting in the back of the car with me, and though it’s not strictly safe, she’s letting me lie across the seat with my head nestled on the sweater in her lap. She plays with my hair, brushing it back out of my face. The soothing gesture reminds me so much of her mother. Mrs. Matthews does the same thing whenever a coven kid is sick, and it makes me miss my own mom so much it physically hurts.
