Page 345 of Bad for Me

SCAR STEALS

HELEVA RISQUE

1

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO

“Come on!It’s only a few more steps to the treehouse!”The lanky blonde teen ran headlong into the wind; her curly hair flowed behind her like a bundle of flaxen wool set free.“If we hurry, nobody will know we even snuck out!”

Her red-haired compatriot followed close behind, stumbling over her own feet as she tried valiantly to dodge the roots that rose from the ground. The distress in her eyes was blatant, but she wouldn’t be left behind. Refused the idea of failure to keep pace with her best friend.“I’m tired, though! Do we have to run all the way there?”

The blonde girl giggled wildly, turning at the edge of the path to disappear around a tree.“Can’t keep up, then just go home. Nobody likes a whiner.”

Not one to give up, she doubled down and pushed forward, but her feet weren’t as agile as those of her friend, and her feet managed to find an upturned root at the last second, sending the petite redhead sprawling in the dirt. She lifted her head, leaves clinging to the errant wisps of her hair like bristles, and glanced around to find herself abandoned.

Her friend hadn’t come back for her.

Of course not.

With a sigh, she shoved to her feet and dusted the stains from her skirt, only managing to rub the grime deeper into the light pink fabric.

Mom will have my hide! This is my brand new Sunday skirt.

She wasn’t supposed to be wearing it outside at all, let alone on a clandestine meeting with the neighborhood troublemaker–her best friend.

The freckled ginger was about to turn around and march straight home–surely, if she got there in time, she could sneak her skirt in with the wash and hope like hell the stain came out. But just as she’d determined her best course of action, the blonde popped back around the bend, her smile infectious and her laughter playful.

And like a sucker, like a sunflower seeking the sun, she was sucked back in by the other girl’s magnetism.

“Come on–we’re almost there!”

The two wandered down a smaller, less-worn path until they came to an old, rickety treehouse. Any adult would have seen it for what it was–a death trap, riddled with tetanus-carrying rusty nails jutting out at all angles, rotting boards waiting for the wrong person to misstep on the right place so they could crumble to bits, and who knew what kinds of dangerous insects or snakes. It was an accident waiting to happen. But for two girls whose parents had forbidden them from being friends, it was a sanctuary, a safe place, a port in a storm for them to shelter in—a place where their friendship might thrive, away from prying eyes and disapproving parents.

Tonight, it was theirs alone.

Climbing the mismatched boards nailed to the tree in a ladder-like fashion was easy for these two seasoned veterans of the woods, and they made quick work of prying aside the door they’d fashioned out of pine tree branches and sticks. Dried needles fell to the floor around their feet, but they paid them no mind, kicking aside dust and dirt as they slipped inside and slid the door back into place.

“Okay, chika. Did you bring snacks?”Her friend reached into a backpack she’d shrugged off her shoulder, pulling out two bottles of soda, a candle, and a lighter.“I brought the drinks this time.”

She frowned, reaching into her pockets.“You know my mom watches the cabinet. I managed to sneak some of her trail mix out and a couple of cookies she baked this morning.”

The cookies were broken into several pieces and mixed in with the trail mix at the bottom of the bag, but they were perfectly fine as far as she was concerned. Her little blonde friend, however, had other opinions, which she made apparent as she snatched the baggie from her friend and huffed in annoyance, bringing the food to her eye level for further inspection.

“They’re all broken, dammit! Why’d you have to go and squish 'em?”

Because you made me run and trip,she wanted to say, but there was no point. Arguing with her best friend was like talking to a wall. When she made her mind up, there was no changing it.“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,”she muttered instead, watching as her friend ripped into the bag and yanked out the biggest whole piece.

It sure must not have been too much of a hardship to have squashed the cookies, if she was stuffing them in her mouth like that so fast.

The two sat crisscrossed on the floor of that decrepit treehouse and munched away at the snacks, sipping on their sodas periodically as they chattered on about how horrible their time apart had been. Before too long, the sun had set, and the soft pitter-patter of rain was heard pinging off the metal roof someone had the forethought to install when this damn thing was first built.

The blonde glanced up at the ceiling as if she could see right through the tin above her and frowned, her nose crinkling prettily in frustration.“Aw, boo. I didn’t know it was gonna rain tonight. Now my hair’s gonna be all frizzy when we go home.”

As if that was the most concerning thing about the rain. A glance at her wristwatch told the redheaded teen she didn’t have much time to round out this rendezvous, because her mother would be off work in half an hour, and it only took her ten minutes to come home from the hospital. It took the two of them half that time to get out here, and she’d need at least five minutes to change her clothes once she was home or sneak into the bathroom and pretend to be taking a shower to explain her wet hair.

“I can’t stay much longer. Mom will notice I’m gone, and I must beat her home.”

Her little friend laughed, a less playful sound than her usual one.“Why are you so worried about what she thinks? You know, she’d never find us out here. You could stay here with me and go home when we felt like it. Worst she can do is ground you.”

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