AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Have fun, sweetheart,” my mom said, pulling me close to her in a one-armed hug. Then she whispered to me, “If those bonfires are anything like they used to be, you’ll need to make some safe choices, okay? Just… be careful, okay?”
I smiled at her. “I could say the same thing to you about the mead.”
My mom grinned. “Touché. I’ll pace myself.”
I kissed the top of her head and headed for the garden gate, where I found Persi on her phone. As I passed her, I overheard part of her conversation.
“… didn’t end well for us. I don’t know why you’d want to see me again.”
I waved to her, and she flicked a hand absently in acknowledgment as she listened to whatever the person on the other end of the call was saying to her.
“Well, then come over. You know where to find me…” Persi said, turning from me to head back into the garden.
I watched her go, and then turned onto the path that would take me up to the cliffs.
* * *
“You came!” Eva called.
“I said I’d think about it,” I reminded her.
“Which is usually universal code for ‘not a chance in hell,’” Eva replied, waving my words away impatiently. “But whatever, I’m so glad you changed your mind. Can I get you a drink?”
She gestured over her shoulder where several coolers had been plonked down in the sand near an impressively roaring bonfire.
“Sure… just like a Coke or something, if you’ve got any.”
“Of course,” Eva said, and dug through the ice, tossing me the freezing cold can, which I only just managed not to drop.
I couldn’t help but notice the way the other kids were staring at me—mostly because none of them were even attempting to hide it. When I caught their eyes, they didn’t look away, but stared boldly back. Awesome. I’d been here for all of thirty seconds and I was already regretting my decision to come. Luckily, Eva chose that moment to take control of the situation.
“Everyone, this is Wren Vesper,” she announced, as though there was the slightest chance that was new information to anyone, given that almost every single one of them had spent the earlier part of the evening at my grandmother’s funeral. Then, she pointed to each teenager in turn and introduced them. I smiled and waved awkwardly at each of them, sure that I would forget every single one of their names the instant I heard them. I didn’t disappoint myself; a few moments later, when a tall willowy girl with black hair and purple lipstick sauntered up to me, I had absolutely no idea who she was.
“We weren’t sure if you’d come,” the girl said eagerly, for all the world like I was some kind of celebrity. “You know, because of your mom.”
Eva rolled her eyes. “Subtle, Kaia.”
“My mom?” I asked.
“Yeah,” the girl named Kaia said, her eyes widening. “You know, because of how she, like… ran away, and stuff.”
I just stared at her for a moment. “Can grown adults run away, or do they just… move?” I asked her.
She looked startled, as though she’d never considered the possibility of an adult having free will, and then just sort of shrugged. “People don’t usually move away from Sedgwick Cove,” she said.
“Okay, well, we did, but now we’re back, okay?” I said, barely staving off a flare of anger at this girl and the way she presumed to know anything at all about me… and an even stronger flare of anger that she probably knew more than I did.
But then she smiled, a totally guileless and friendly expression. “Well, anyway, welcome back,” she said.
I felt something akin to mental whiplash as I tried to adjust to her change of manner. “Uh… thanks.”
“Sure thing,” she replied, and though she didn’t say anything else, she continued to stare avidly at me, as though expecting me to start doing tricks.
“Sorry, but as you’ve probably noticed, it’s been kind of a big deal that you’re back,” Eva said, taking me by the arm and steering me away from Kaia’s goggling. She brought me over to a long driftwood log that they were using as a sort of bench and sat down on it, patting the place beside her. I sat, trying to ignore the continued stares and whispers.
“How are you holding up?” Eva asked, and I was relieved to see genuine empathy in her eyes, rather than morbid curiosity.
“I’m okay,” I said. “I didn’t know my grandmother that well. I haven’t seen her since my tenth birthday, so it’s not as though we were very close.”
