Page 98 of The Narrow

“I know this sucks, but you don’t have to be such a bitch to us about it,” Ruth says. “We’re just trying to help you.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Maeve. I’ve never wanted to hurt you.”

“It was an accident.”

“It’s over, Maeve. I love you, but we’re over.”

I rock back on my heels, the past a merciless echo in my ears. A snarl twists my lips.

“But you’re not helping me, are you? You don’t want to. You just want me to get over it and move on and stop being aproblem. Because you don’t want a sad, angry friend. You want the Eden that listens and gives you presents and does all the dishes and cuts your hair and does whatever makes you happy. The one that never complains about her own life. You really thought you were friends? None of you had any idea what she was going through. You only liked her because she was whateveryouneeded.”

The words come in a torrent, the world tilting around me, and only when the shocked silence solidifies do I realize what I’ve said.

In the quiet, a drop of water slides down to the tip of my finger and falls glittering to the floor. Veronica steps back, eyes wide in horror. “You’re...”

“Maeve,” Zoya breathes, unfolding herself.

The river roars around me. I run my hands through my hair. They come away wet, the water tinted red with blood. I grind my back teeth together. I sink deeper into Eden, stealing pieces of her to keep myself afloat. My eyes snap to Veronica, her weight canted toward the door.

“Don’t,” I say, my voice a croak of sound. “No one is going anywhere.”

“Like hell. I’m getting Oster,” Veronica says. She turns and strides toward the door.

I’m on her in a flash. I shove her hard between the shoulder blades, making her stumble forward, then grab her arm to spin her around, pushing her up against the wall with my arm at her throat.

“Get off her!” Ruth yells. She takes hold of my arm and tries to pull me off her friend, but she doesn’t want to hurt Eden. And pain doesn’t bother me. Not after decades of the river’s relentless violence.

“Let Eden go,” Veronica says, her voice strained as my forearm presses against her throat.

“I have no desire to hurt Eden,” I tell her. I let Ruth pull me away at last, falling back as Veronica coughs and rubs her throat. I keep myself between them and the door. Zoya rushes to Veronica’s side, checking on her. Ruth stares at me, her hands balled into ineffectual fists. “What are you going to do, Ruth? Attack me? Pummel those fists into Eden’s ribs and feel them splinter?”

Ruth’s jaw tenses. “What do you want with her?”

One could almost be fooled into thinking they really care about her.

“A place to be a while, that’s all,” I say. “I don’t want to hurt any of you. All I want is to get Grace back. And you’re going to help me.”

“Why would we do that?” Zoya asks. She has her arm around Veronica, both protective and restraining. Veronica’s eyes are a storm of anger and distress. She really doesn’t like not being in control. She’ll have to get used to it.

“I told you I don’t want to hurt Eden. But I can,” I say. I lift a hand. Water spills across my palm, brackish and muddy, dripping to the floor. I hear the roar of the river. And this time, I let it come. Let it rise. Feel the current nip and tug at me as my mouth fills with the taste of it. I cough, choke.

“Stop,” Veronica says, wrenching free of Zoya. “Stop, you’re killing her!”

I gasp, dragging myself back to the surface. I spit out a glob of silt and roll my neck, feeling my bones pop and resettle. “Do what I tell you, and Eden gets out of this unharmed. Maybe a little damp,” I say steadily. I didn’t plan on this, but maybe it’s for the best. There’s no way I’m going to make it through a full day of playing nice with these vapid children.

“You b—” Ruth starts, but Veronica cuts her off.

“Do you swear it?” she demands.

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” I tell her mirthlessly. “Help me, and by the morning you’ll have Eden back safe and sound.”

“Then what do you want?” she asks, her anger incandescent and irrelevant.

“I told you. I want Grace back. And you’re going to bring her to me,” I say. I spread my hands. “I’m not an evil person. I’m not a monster. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I just want things back the way they’re supposed to be.”

“You want us to bring Delphine to you?” Zoya asks. “Then what? You’re not going to... to drown her or something?”

I shake my head. “That won’t be necessary.” The world has enough dead girls in it already. I’ll spare Eden and Delphine if I can.

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