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My lips part and the next question I plan to ask her is hanging on the tip of my tongue. It’s then that the loud creak of a door meets my ears, and I look up and over the girl’s head to find a large man about as tall as me, stepping out onto the porch. That must be her father.
His gaze is murderous as it lands on me, and I can tell in an instant that there is something else about him, but I can’t put my finger on it.
Butterfly turns and peers over her shoulder at him.
“Get your little ass back in the house right now!” The man glowers at her, and like an obedient doll, butterfly pushes off the ground and strides through the grass.
I clench my hands into tight fists, unsure why I feel a protective pull toward this girl. My eyes remain on her the entire time, and I catch the way her body stiffens just the slightest as she slips past the man and into the house.
Something is off about him and about her, and I don’t like it. Not one bit. His gaze narrows, and he stares at me for another second, before walking into the house. The door closes with a creak, and then he is gone, right along with butterfly. I shake off the bad feeling and head back into my house, leaving the nameless girl in the back of my mind.
Whoever this is, whatever they want, I can’t ignore it. I need to keep her safe, no matter the cost. I already failed her once. I won’t fail her again.
3
Claire
The weekend passes way too quickly. Hope and I spend the entire time locked in my bedroom binge-watching Riverdale and talking about winter formal. I’m not going, not because I don’t have a date or a guy interested in me. It’s because anything with loud music, the dark, or crowds gives me anxiety.
When I arrive at school, I climb the steps and find Hope is waiting for me at my locker. Her blonde hair is like a beacon of light. She smiles when she sees me, and I tighten my hold on my backpack.
“Good morning. I feel like I just saw you.” Hope cocks her head to the side. A second passes, and we both break out into laughter.
“It couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that you literally saw me yesterday?”
“Nah, definitely not that.” She shakes her head.
I slip my backpack off my shoulder and get my books out, putting everything in its perfect spot inside my locker. My first class is English and one that I enjoy a lot, minus the wicked witches in the class.
“I feel like I’m doing something wrong by not coming with you to English. We’ve been connected at the hip all weekend.” Hope pouts as I grab my books and close my locker.
“You’ll survive.” I smile.
Together we walk to class, Hope waves goodbye when we part ways, and I slip into Mr. Daniels’ classroom. As soon as I step inside, I know something is wrong. The usual seats of the three wicked witches are empty. Nervous anxiety twists in my gut.
With hesitant steps, I take my seat, but I’m unable to look away from their desks. It’s not likely that all three of them are sick. No, something else happened. More students trickle into the room, taking their time to reach their seats. Mr. Daniels sits in the room’s corner behind his desk, his face void of emotion as his eyes move over us. After a moment, Mr. Daniels stands and moves from behind his desk.
“Take your seats. Your time to socialize ended the moment you walked through my classroom door.”
A few students shake their heads, but after another minute, everyone’s in their seats and quiet. I open my book to the last chapter we read in class and prepare to take notes.
“As you can see, there are three empty seats in the class today. To save you the trouble of figuring out what happened. I’m going to tell you myself.” There is a long pause, probably added for dramatics, and it makes the ache in my gut more profound. I already know something bad happened. “The girls have transferred to another school.”
Transferred? Ha, no. This is something else. Anger replaces my previous emotions. Lucca had something to do with this. I know it. It isn’t the first time he’s meddled in my life, and I don’t like it. It makes me feel like I can’t fend for myself.
Like I need him to protect me when I don’t.
The rest of the students don’t even blink at what Mr. Daniels said, but I have to wonder if Lucca had them killed or taken somewhere. I’ve heard stories about him, about what he does and who he works for. The mob doesn’t just transfer people. They dispose of them, make them disappear.
