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Calista snatches the money. “Fine. Hurry up and eat so we can go.”
I stab little bites of food in a rush, chewing faster under the weight of her stare.
Evelyn refills my glass with orange juice. “It’s a small town,” she says. “Everyone is very nice here. You’ll feel right at home.” Her hand settles briefly on my shoulder. “Just don’t wander off alone.”
I glance up at her in question, but she only smiles. The softness of her tone doesn’t match the meaning beneath it.
The pain of losing Asher has dulled into numbness. It’s easier that way. The only thing that steadies me is his voice in my memory, his final instruction.
Find the Serpents.
Maybe something out there will point me in the right direction.
Calista sighs and rests her head on her fist, watching me eat. She says nothing, but it’s clear she doesn’t want me around.
The sun is merciless today, pouring over the town in a heat that clings to my skin until even breathing feels slow. Calista and I walk side by side down a wide street lined with cracked sidewalks. The air carries the sweet scent of petunias from the hanging baskets overflowing with pink and purple flowers on every lamp post.
It’s cute. This is the sort of town a book’s heroine arrives in, receiving kind, helpful support with starting her life over. But I’m a specimen under a microscope, and everyone wants to poke at my sides to see how I’ll wince.
A woman passes by holding the leash of a golden retriever. “Hi, Calista.”
She greets Calista warmly, but her curious attention lingers on me. I try to return the friendliness, but my mouth only twitches.
“Hey.” Calista doesn’t pay her much attention. “Wayne’s meeting us there,” she says to me, smearing pink gloss on her lips.
I figured as much. She gives me a pointed look, eyebrows raised. I take the hint.
“I can keep a secret.”
She accepts my answer with a roll of her eyes. “My mom’s a prude. No sex before marriage, stay pure, all that shit. I don’t get why it’s such a big deal.”
“I know the feeling.” Even walking around in another pair of Calista’s shorts is strange. They show too much of my bare legs. At least the T-shirt hangs loose enough to hide my shape.
She gives me a once-over. “Yeah, you scream virgin.”
Before I can respond, she maneuvers her shirt over her head and stuffs it into her bag. The sundress clings to her tanned shoulders, cut low to invite attention. She moves through the world so comfortably in her own body. I can’t imagine that kind of ease.
Downtown stretches ahead in a row of old brick storefronts with fading painted signs. Cars sit angled along the curb while people drift lazily down the sidewalks, like time passes differently here.
One corner has a pickup truck with the bed full of corn. A woman stuffs a few ears into a plastic sack and hands it to a man passing by. I’m amazed at how civil and simple life is in this town.
Wayne waits under a sign that says ‘Second Self Resale’, and his face brightens the moment he sees Calista. She goes straight to him, pressing her shiny lips against his while her hand rests on his chest. I pretend to study the storefront while they kiss. Their affection is so natural and unafraid. When they pull apart, he notices me waiting awkwardly.
“Are you feeling better?” he asks.
Better than certain death and losing the only person who ever cared about me?
“Yeah,” I say. “Thank you for helping me last night. Er—this morning.”
He shrugs. “No problem. I’ve lived in Shadow Bluff my whole life. You see shit like that sometimes. Not a lot of newbies stick around.”
I go quiet at that.
“That’s why you noticed me,” Calista says, looping her arm through his as she tugs him towards the shop entrance.
The bell above the door jingles when we step inside. An elderly man behind the counter lifts his head from his book.
“Well, look who wandered in.” A big smile creases his eyes framed by thick glasses. “Mr. Yates, Miss Bolton, what a nice surprise.”
