Page 10 of Speak No Claim

“You look perfect,” they complimented over and over. “You’re going to fit right in.”

Their words hit harder than they should have, but I couldn’t help it. The little voice in the back of my mind wasn’t just screaming. It was drowning out everything else around me.

“Just remember,” the makeup artist said out of nowhere. “Don’t speak unless spoken to.”

“Amber, enough,” the stylist ordered.

Unable to avoid it, I blurted, “And what happens if I do?”

They exchanged glances, a silent conversation passing through them. One lowered her gaze to the floor, and the other gripped her makeup brush so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Amber’s lips parted like she wanted to tell me something.

She didn’t.

Instead, she whispered, “Just… don’t.”

“Why?”

Her throat bobbed. “Because…” She looked toward the door again before forcing a smile that never reached her eyes. “It’s just better if you don’t.”

“Better for who?”

“For…” She stopped herself.

I insisted. “Better for who, Amber?”

She shrugged. “For everyone.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Well,” the stylist interjected. “It’s the only one you’re going to get. She’s already said too much.” She snatched her wrist. “Let’s go.”

I watched them leave, but at the last second, Amber turned her head ever so slightly, mouthing, “Better for you.”

I sucked in a ragged breath. I couldn’t stay, not for another moment. Without looking at their creation in the mirror, fully aware I wouldn’t recognize the woman staring back at me, I fled. I ran so fast in heels that shot fire through the soles of my feet until I was finally outside, bursting through the tree line into the woods.

I couldn’t tell you what my dress looked like. I couldn’t even tell you what color it was. It didn’t matter to me. It wasn’t me, and I’d be damned if I was going to act like it was.

Once I reached taller grass, I hiked up my gown, threw off my heels, and hauled ass until my feet were on fire for a whole other reason. Sharp rocks sliced into my skin as twigs snapped beneath my feet. Branches clawed at my arms as if they were trying to pull me back in. I ran until I couldn’t feel the house breathing down my neck, the demons desperately yanking me back into their sanctuary.

“Don’t speak unless spoken to…”

It repeated in my head while I ran with the certainty of trying to get as far as I could from that party. Just as I was about to run farther into the darkness, I found a tree that called to me and climbed it. My dress snagged on every branch, lace tearing at the seams. The higher I climbed, the more the estate disappeared beneath me.

Minutes, hours, days could’ve flown by at the speed I was scaling those branches. I wouldn’t stop until I was sure no one could find me. Branches whipped against my face every time the wind shifted, and the higher I climbed, the thinner they became, but I didn’t stop until the trunk was barely wide enough to wrap my arms around it.

Finally, I thought I was alone.

My dress hung in shredded ribbons from every splinter I dragged it across while blood slid down my legs. Below me, the forest stretched into an endless sea of black, swallowing every path that might lead back to that cursed estate.

Back to them.

I rested my forehead against the rough bark, whispering to the tree, “Don’t let them find me.”

The leaves answered with a soft rustle, reassuring me with a yes I chose to believe. For a while, time no longer existed as I witnessed the moon climbing over the horizon. The insects and birds grew louder, claiming their territory.

I apologized to them. “I’m so sorry for invading. It was either them or me.”