Abigail flaked on us. Nia gripped her phone, fingers taught around the deep red plastic as she pressed it to her ear. There was a tension around her eyes, one which I could only shield away from as we leaned against the school gates. Kids passed us by, but not a single one registered.

“What the fuck do you mean something came up. I bet Ava is paying you a lot of money to keep this up.” It was less anger and more hurt that tinted Nia’s voice. The harshness of it stung even me, and I could only imagine what Abigail was saying on the other line. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling cold despite the mild air. For a second, I thought her phone would break as her grip tightened even more somehow. “Save it. Have fun with your new rich friends.”

She snapped the phone shut and I stared at the dangling ‘N’ charm as it was jostled around. The fake diamonds glinted in the afternoon sun. It was easier to look at them than it was to face Nia. My own stomach was swirling in shades of sick.

“Nia—”

“Fuck her. She’s the one that was saying I hadn’t been hanging out with you guys lately and then she’s the one who flaked? Didn’t she pull the same shit to you?” She wasn’t even looking at me, pacing back and forth like she needed to do anything to dispel the energy.

I swallowed, “C-can the two of us still hang out…?”

Her angry broke instantly. Her eyebrows smoothed out and a faint smile tugged at her lips. A battle that looked like it nearly lost. She slipped her phone into her bag, “Yeah, of course. Let’s go.”

Even with her plastic smile, I knew she was going to think about this for the rest of the day, up until she saw Abigail next. The hurt in her voice stuck with me as I walked beside her. I didn’t know where she was leading me, and I didn’t care. Sometimes, it was nice to wander without care for the destination.

The day was quiet. A brisk wind slipped through the air, and Nia zipped up her trademark red jacket as it did. She was quiet, distracted. Yet, her eyes stared straight ahead like she already knew where it was she wanted to go. I realized where we were going when I saw the sign.

“…Nia?” I couldn’t get the question out as I saw the bookstore. It was the same one Abigail had taken me to weeks ago. There must have been a conversation the two had, that allowed Nia to know about it. I couldn’t picture it being a place the two would go together.

She turned towards me, “This isn’t the first time she’s flaked out on a promise to you.”

“That isn’t…what I’m asking.” I motioned towards the shop, a faint fluttering of my hand. “Why do you think she’s here…?”

I knew the answer in my chest. The motif of this tale was books in every way. If Abigail was ditching us, it was easy to assume it was for Ava. And if she was with Ava, well, I knew very few things about Ava but I knew this place. My feet were stone, unable to perceive going a step closer.

“She mentioned her and Ava meet up here sometimes.” Her nose wrinkled in disgust.

“You don’t like her?”

“Absolutely not.”

“H-have you talked to her?”

“I don’t have to talk to her to decide I don’t like her.”

She turned away from me, ready to walk towards the shop and through the door. My hand gripped her wrist before I even realized what I’d done. Her eyes stared down at me, but she didn’t utter a sound.

I swallowed, “I’m angry at her, too. But this feels…wrong.”

Not that it’d stopped me before. The difference was I was facing the consequences, not someone else. My hand slipped away and I couldn’t look at her. I stared out towards the street, counting each car that passed. I pretended like Nia had looked away, too.

“I’m shocked you even admitted you were angry.” She spoke softly, voice nearly lost in the ambiance. Her next words were louder. “Look, I normally wouldn’t care. Abigail has always done whatever she wants. But I get tired of her bullshit when she’s stringing others along.”

“What do you mean—”

“You know what I mean, Cinder.” I flinched, and when I dared a glance back at her I could see her grimace as well. “I know I’m the outsider when it comes to the two of you. But sometimes I get so sick of watching and seeing the same thing over and over.”

“She doesn’t mean anything bad by it.”

“If you ditched her like this, she would ignore you for a week. If you kept something to yourself, she’d act like you’re the biggest bitch in school. But when she does it, she doesn’t mean anything by it.”

Something in my chest was caving in. This wasn’t about her defending me, not really. I took a step back, like I had been struck. Like Nia had insulted me instead. My lips quivered, “I-if you feel like that then…then why do you still hang out with us?”

Her arms raised, as though reaching, only to fall back to her side. She took a breath, and her expression was still so even. I didn’t know how she did that. I wanted to have a mask that perfect. If I didn’t know her, I wouldn’t have been able to tell at all that he own heart was crumbling.

“Because when she’s great, she’s great. And I think if I stick around long enough then maybe she’ll always be that way. Maybe she’ll grow out of all things that make me feel like I don’t belong with the two of you.”

“Nia—” I reached out. I closed the distance. She yelped as I crashed against her, arms wrapping around her torso in the tightest hug I could manage. I couldn’t refute all of what she said. My mind had been occupied on Abigail and Abigail alone. It took an entire reset to even tell she hadn’t been ok as she’d been pretending. As her hands hovered above me, unsure if she wanted to return the hug, I got out. “I’m sorry I made you feel like a third wheel. I swear I’ll do better.”

“That’s not…” Finally, her arms wrapped around me. Neither of us cared about any of the onlookers. “I know you didn’t, Cinder. And you’re not the one I want this apologize from anyways.”

I pulled away, and when I looked at her again I saw the tiredness around her eyes, “We’ll make Abigail apologize, too.”

She laughed, and I attempted a smile in return. There was more I wanted to say—more that needed to be said—but a flare of red tore my attention away from her and towards the bookstore. At my sudden shift, Nia furrowed her eyebrows and turned around. As she did, the door opened and out walked a trio I didn’t think to expect.

Abigail and Ava walked side by side, just as Nia had predicted. Abigail’s grin was a touch subdued as she spoke with the other girl. But next to Ava, was Everett. I stared at him, but he seemed much the same as he had when I’d encountered him at the library. His focus was solely on Ava. Abigail might as well not have been there at all.

The two of us darted into the nearest store.

Ignoring the looks employees shot us, we ducked down, peering out the window. Despite my previous reservations, alarm was now in my bloodstream as I finally saw the source of the red. It circled around Ava and Everett, and while I couldn’t tell which one was bleeding it out, I had narrowed down my choices.

“…I take back what I said.” I ignored the tremble in my voice. “Let’s follow them.”

Nia grinned, eyes narrowed at the three of them, “Change of heart?”

“Well…” Maybe it was irresponsible to do this. Nia couldn’t see what I could. And it wasn’t like I could explain I may be leading her into a lion’s den.

She bumped her shoulder into me, “Don’t look at me like that, this was my idea in the first place.” I could have protested, but she jumped to her feet, pulling me along. “Now let’s go. We’re going to lose them.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The words died in my throat as we gave chase.

//

There could not have been greater concern in me as we followed their trail into the woods. In a general sense, I wasn’t afraid of the woods. They encircled the far end of our neighborhood. Me and Abigail had spent plenty of our childhood wandering around and making it feel like our ‘hideout.’ But those woods were familiar. There were certain trees I could pick out or specific formations that I used as landmarks. They were familiar to me in a way this place was not.

It didn’t even feel like it belonged to the same town. Even the dirt had a different consistency here.

“Where the hell are they going?” Nia and I were crouched low. We had let them stay a decent ways ahead of us, especially when they’d gone off to a park and cut through to the trees.

“Maybe we should stop.” Doing this in my uniform sounded like a terrible idea. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get all the dirt stains out of my white blouse. At least the vest was dark grey and the skirt navy blue and grey plaid.

Nia shook her head, eyebrows drawn together, “This is too weird.”

“I know but—”

“They’ve got to be a cult, right?” Nia was whispering to herself more than she was to me. “I know I joked about it before but this is…”

My heartbeat kept ticking up with each second. Their forms slipped through the trees and Nia continued the chase. I followed after, taking one last look behind me towards the town. If we got lost, I wondered if we’d ever be found. My imminent death would trigger a reset, at least.

We kept a steady pace. Somehow, they never sensed us following. The distance was short. Shorter than I’d been expecting. The trees broke apart into a clearing. Abigail, Ava, and Everett stepped out. There was no one else there, and I realized I’d expected the other club members.

At the center of the clearing was what looked like a foundation for a building. A small house maybe. There was nothing left of the building itself, but the concrete was still in the ground. A handful of steps led up to nothing, and that’s where they arranged themselves.

We crept closer, to a point where we could actually hear what they were saying.

“—can’t do it.” Ava. She had looked like she was guiding most of the conversation since the minute we started tailing them.

Abigail shook her head, “Come on. How hard can it be?”

“You shouldn’t even know about this—”

“I dated Justin. He wasn’t as tight lipped about things as you would have hoped.” I kept myself ducked down, back pressed hard against a tree. Bark pressed into my skin, and I kept my head down. But even so, I could picture everyone’s expressions perfectly, based on voice alone. The sardonic grin on Abigail’s face was clear as day. “I’ll figure it out. Bet on it.”

“Your confidence could ruin you.” Everret’s voice was quiet. I strained to hear him, unlike the other two.

Abigail only laughed, mirth dripping from every sound, “And maybe underestimating people will ruin you, too.”

“There’s only one reason you were invited—”

“Please, Ava. I’m well aware of the reason. You think I didn’t notice the little Miss Saint act you’ve been putting on? I think I’m the saint here for playing along. Don’t look at me like that. Bitches recognize bitches.”

“That was uncalled for.”

“It wasn’t wrong though, now was it?”

Footsteps echoes and I jerked hard in surprise. Nia looked at me, eyes wide, the crunch of leaves and dirt resounded from underneath me. We were in the woods. It wasn’t like there weren’t creatures skittering around at all times. That didn’t stop me from freezing. My brain whirled. I couldn’t tell which direction the steps were coming from.

Nia yanked at my arm and pulled me into the brush.

“God Maeve, you’re so noisy.” Me and Nia were pressed against each other, nails digging into each other’s arms as we prayed we were hidden. Abigail’s voice was so far now, drowned out by the raging in my skull. Twigs poked at my arms and yanked at my hair, but I didn’t care.

“That wasn’t me. Why are you all riled up?”

“Me? I think you should look at Ava.”

“I’m the same as always. Although I am concerned about the noise. Was that an animal?” There was rustling, like Ava stood. Sweat prickled the back of my neck, dampening my uniform collar.

My gaze seared into Nia, and she stared back at me. Her lips moved and I strained to hear the words, “We’re going to get caught.”

“Nia…”

“When I stand, you get out of here.” My limbs seized in protest, but she shook her head. “Do it.”

I could hear her grow closer. I shook my head, but Nia’s grip only grew stronger. A showcase of her years being an athlete. I tried not to flinch, feeling the bruise already forming under her hand.

At the protest still on my face, she said, “You don’t know how furious I’ll be if you don’t.”

She shoved me behind her and stood. I scrambled, trying to find purchase and cover as she did. I slid behind another tree, hardly noticing the twigs and leaves and dirt that clung to my hair and skin. I knew my uniform was going to be a wreck by the end of this, but I hadn’t realized just how bad. My parents were going to kill me if I couldn’t get the stains out.

I gave a quick glance behind the tree and saw Nia walk straight forward, posture perfect and loose, like she wasn’t covered in grime and nervous about being caught. Ava was just up ahead of her, and I ducked back again. Now it was guilt making me tremble.

“Good evening. You’re one of Abigail’s friends I presume?”

“What—Nia what the fuck?”

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to crash the party. I just wanted to know what was so important that you ditched.” The anger from before was on full display. Red seeped into the ground, and I knew it was one of them. My fingers dug into the dirt, feeling it line the underneath of my nails. If magic was used to hurt her, I’d never forgive myself.

I squeezed my eyes shut, frozen in place. Unable to run with the chance she was giving me and unable to reveal myself. The red was so strong again, I could barely stay coherent.

“So you followed me?”

“No, I just happened to stumble upon you while taking a stroll.” There was a pause, a panicked silence. Then, a loud bang. Nia swore. “The pretty boy has a temper, does he?”

“I’ll deal with her.” Abigail spoke through gritted teeth. “I’m sorry she even did this.”

“On the contrary, it’s sweet your friend cares about you so much. Dedication is hard to find in people. Everett, Maeve, come on. We’ll discuss this another time.” All at once, the red was gone. My head fell back and my body slumped. Exhaustion lined my body.

Three pairs of footsteps resounded. They were so close, but somehow, I wasn’t spotted. As the sound faded away, Nia and Abigail’s conversation picked up again. My brain was muddled, much like it had been after the club meeting. It had been easier to wade through Kade’s magic than whatever this was.

“Nia—”

“You’re such a shit friend.” She cut off Abigail immediately. “How many times is this?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t even give me that. You’re out here acting like I’m the one avoiding hanging out when every time I’ve brought it up for the past month you’ve made some kind of excuse and brushed me off. But oh, no, when Cinder’s around it’s like I’ve been ignoring you guys. It’s always ‘Nia, when aren’t you busy?’, ‘Nia, why don’t you want to hang out with us?’ Cut the fucking act.” I blinked. In my sluggish state what was being said wasn’t fully processing. Nia had been asking about hanging out…?

There was a beat of silence, a sort of admission. Abigail sighed, “I’m doing this for your own good.”

“How—”

“And you should be thankful you didn’t bring Cinder here. I would have killed you.”

“Like what I’m about to do to you?”

There was another sigh, this time with ten extra helpings of dramatic, “I was trying to keep them away from you two. Especially now that they have an interest in Cinder for some godforsaken reason, the last thing I need is for them to take an interest in you too. But after the stunt you pulled I can’t imagine you’re not on their radar now.”

“Why is that even a bad thing?”

“Because they’re insane, babe. You called them a cult and you aren’t far off.” Nia started to speak but Abigail loudly cleared her throat, “Then why am I in the middle of all this, right? Well I got put on their radar all because of my little fling with Justin last year. Truly the worst decision of my life, that one.”

“Then—” Abigail cut her off again, and I could imagine the rage glistening in Nia’s eyes at this point.

“Why am I going along with it? Two for two, aren’t I?” The smirk was apparent. “Easy. They’re rich, I’m not. They have power that I don’t. They know things about me I’d prefer to keep secret.”

“…They’re blackmailing you?” Nia’s shout startled even the birds. A few scattered along the branches, fluttering away from the source.

Abigail laughed, “A bit dramatic of a word I think.”

“What the hell? You were just going to go through this alone—Of course you were, why am I asking? You’re always like this. You never rely on us—”

“It’s not that.” There was a shift in Abigail’s voice. Her tone subdued. “I just… I have to protect you two. You’re both my whole world.”

“We’re supposed to protect each other.” It was not forgiveness or acceptance or even anger and pain. It was resignation. My chest grew tight, overflowing with knots. I could feel something break, although I wasn’t certain what.

Maybe Abigail felt it, too, “…Come on. If we leave now we can make it home before dark.”

“Whatever.” Nia snapped, and by the sound of it, she spun on her heels and left first. It was another minute or two until Abigail’s footsteps followed. I stayed where I was, curled up by the base of my tree.

This friendship meant the world to me. it shouldn’t have been able to fracture so easily. I knew Abigail was secretive and deflective, I knew Nia was lying and pretending, and I knew I was pretending not to see it because it was easier. I knew our faults. But I always thought we’d work through them at some point. I didn’t know how quickly things could break down. Everything had been fine in the first run through of this so why—

My brain was in overdrive and the twinges of magic still had left my system. It was severe enough so that I didn’t notice I wasn’t alone. That maybe I never had been. That maybe I’d missed something. It wasn’t until I caught the edges of scuffed shoes easing into my vision that I jerked back to reality and stumbled to my feet.

Unsteady, a hand reached out and caught my arm to steady me. I glanced up, heart beat racing once more. The face that greeted me was one I hadn’t been expecting, but wasn’t a surprise.

“Well, aren’t you in quite the state?” There was no smile on Justin’s face. I couldn’t read his expression.

“I…You…”

“Come on, let’s get something warm in you.” His touch was warm. It took too long to register that. The temperature was rapidly dropping as the late afternoon eased into evening. When I only stared at him, dumbfounded, he let his hand glide down to my wrist. I let him pull me along.