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“You got suspended?” Thicket said, shocked.

“Don’t act all innocent. This is what you wanted all along. Well, good for you Thicket. You win after all.” Linda slammed her locker shut and stormed down the hall.

“What are you talking about?” Thicket called after her. “What did I win? A life without my best friends? Being whispered about and judged for the entirety of middle school and high school? Questioning whether I would even have a future to look forward to?” Thicket didn’t know where this assertive, furious side of her was coming from, but she couldn’t stop the words from pouring out. “You had everything and abandoned me when I needed you most. You made my life hell. All for what? For us both to suffer in the end?”

Linda spun, fury written across every line of her body. “You don’t know how close you came to ruining my life. You infected my thoughts with your delusions. People started thinking I was just as crazy as you were. I had to cut ties with you before I became you.”

“Became…” Thicket trailed off, realization dawning.

Linda clamped her mouth shut, as though she had said too much. With a huff, she spun back around and vanished down the hall. Thicket stared after her, arms going limp.

She had thought she understood Linda. It turned out, she had been completely wrong.

Thicket wasn’t the only one who had suffered because of other people’s preconceived notions. But unlike Thicket, who let the weight of it all crush her, Linda knew just how to capitalize on it.

Chapter Forty-Two

Thicket’s boots scuffled against the sidewalk, purposefully loud to chase away the silence ringing in her ears. She tried counting each crack she passed, but her thoughts were too unfocused and she wound up forgetting her place entirely. Her suspension had been lifted and Linda had taken her place. For the first time in Thicket’s life, something had worked in her favor.

Lavender curled in the breeze around Thicket. It was thicker than ever, strong enough to make the edges of her throat start to swell. Its very presence set her on edge in a way that was unfamiliar to her. The hair on the back of her neck rose, an ever present chill—or perhaps a warning. She remembered the surge of panic she had woken up to. The bone deep need to save something. Or someone.

More visions crept into the corners of her eyes. Blue flames. A sword. Rich brown eyes.

Thicket rubbed her temple, as through she could scrub the visions from her mind. It was just a dream. A figment of her imagination.

But was it? a voice deep inside her seemed to ask.

Thicket’s phone rang. She dug it from out of her pocket and tapped the answer button. “Hello?”

“Miss Vogeli, where are you?”

Thicket frowned at the screen. It displayed an unknown number. “Who is this?”

“Your boss, who else would be calling you, demanding to know where you are.”

Her boss? “Mr. Dunkum?”

“Ah, your memory finally appears to be working again. Do you now remember the shift you are fifteen minutes late for?”

“My shift?” Her heart hammered. “Sir, I thought I was fired?”

“Fired?” Thicket had to hold the phone away from her ear, wincing. “Why on earth would you think you are fired?”

“Because I-I made a mess at your shop.”

“Simon was the one responsible for training you. The blame lies with him for putting you in that position.”

Thicket was speechless.

“Hello?” Mr. Dunkum demanded. “Are you still there?”

“Yes sir,” she choked out.

“You had better be here in less than twenty minutes or we will be revisiting the topic of your employment.” With that, Mr. Dunkum hung up.

Fingers numb, Thicket hit the only other number in her phone’s history. “Mom? It’s me. I am sorry for calling at the last minute, but I need a ride.”

Thicket’s feet kicked up above her head as she let her body fall back, her unruly curls skimming the mulch coating the playground. She closed her eyes, savoring the swoop of her stomach and the fleeting feeling of letting go. The swings used to be her favorite as a child. They had been a gateway to all the fantastical things she saw in her dreams, a reality in which she could soar higher, be bolder and braver, and experience the world from a new angle.