Page 182 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

Guess gran was expecting a younger version of Mom. All radiant debutant and perfectly honed social skills. I used to love playing dress-up with her elegant cocktail dresses and expensive jewelry.

But ever since the home invasion?—

“Sorry,” I mutter, resuming my pea-chasing adventures in the land of white china and colorless silverware. “I left my ball gown behind in the blackened shell that used to be my house.”

When I look up—because Marigold’s gone all quiet—I regret the comment. Her face is as bone-white as the china. Even her red lips have paled.

“I’ll see myself out,” I mutter, shoving away my plate and storming from the dining room.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Grandma’s reedy voice calls out behind me.

“Out!”

“You can’t drive on these roads after dark. It’s too dangerous.”

“Then I’ll walk!”

“Don’t go far.”

Thankfully, the front door isn’t locked—guess Lavish is one of those awesomely safe small towns where everyone’s so rich, no one has to steal each other’s stuff—so I head straight out and stand in what’s left of twilight.

There’s a buzz in my ears, and I don’t like it one bit. It’s usually the precursor to a binge. Like the one I was on the night my mother was murdered.

I glance behind me at the slightly dilapidated house and picture the prim and proper woman probably still seated at the dining room table, taking one tiny bite of food before putting her knife and fork down again.

Zipping my hoody up to my throat and whipping the hood over my head, I fast-walk straight for the fringe of pine trees suffocating Marigold’s pathetic house.

How long until that bright new day, Mom? ‘Cos all I’m seeing on the horizon are goddamn thunder clouds.

Chapter Two

Indi

Half an hour later, I realize someone’s following me. Suddenly, an early-evening stroll through the woods to clear my head doesn’t seem like such a good idea anymore.

I know I should hurry back to Marigold’s house as if the Big Bad Wolf himself is after me, except…

I’m lost.

Yeah, I love the outdoors, but that doesn’t mean I know how to navigate using the stars and shit. And the woods in and around Lakeview don’t have shit on this place. I’d been following a path that became fainter and fainter, until I wasn’t following anything anymore except my desperate need for space.

I glance around, but see nothing. I tug my hood up a little higher, wishing it was black and not beige. At least that way I could slip away into the shadows.

I break into a trot.

A second later, so does the person following me.

My trot turns into a slow run.

My pursuer speeds up.

I begin sprinting.

I dart between the trees, and barely avoid falling flat on my face when a root snags my sneaker. Catching myself against a tree trunk, I pause for all of one breath before I hear foliage snapping and breaking behind me.

I shove away from the tree and break into a run.

My breath comes hot and fast, my lungs screaming for me to stop. But if I do, I’m dead. I mean, why the hell else would some random guy be chasing me if he doesn’t want to slit my throat? It’s not as if I dropped my wallet or something.

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