Page 37 of Ever Dark

“And what about you? What or who do you love? What are you passionate about?” I rapidly fire at her, desperate to forge a stronger connection with my new friend. Desperate to confide in her all my darkest secrets. But afraid to confess until our bond runs deeper than superficial banter.

“I love my family and my friends. As far as passion? I’m still trying to figure that out.” She almost seems shy for a second. But the girl who showed up on my doorstep to welcome me to town is anything but.

When we reach her car, I cradle her hands in mine. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. I know we are new friends, but I promise you’re safe with me.”

Her eyes glass over, and her throat bobs. “You’re sweet, Mia.But there’s nothing to tell. My major at Tenebrose Academy is undecided, and my love life is nonexistent.” She forces a smile to try to hide her sadness, but I see right through it. I’m an orphan. We are kind of the experts at facades.

But if she’s not ready to open up, then I’ll wait. “Well, I’m here if you ever want to talk it out.”

This time she flashes me a genuine smile. “I knew I liked you from the second we met. You’re good people, Mia. My abuela has a saying, amigos nacen, no se hacen. Friends are born, not made. I think you and I were born to be friends.”

“I love that, Lettie. I’ve not had many friends…” Now it’s my turn to act shy. The bonds that the other girls had in the orphanage didn’t extend to me. I was the weirdo. The freak who would slip into a coma for days at a time.

My roommate was sweet, but she had one foot out the door. While I was afraid to leave and be on my own, Bailey Bishop had friends on the outside who she couldn’t wait to get back to.

“Well, you’ve got one now for life.” Lettie gives me a hug before sliding into the leather seat of her Benz. “Let’s grab dinner this week.”

I need to get more familiar with this town and the locals. “Sure. Take me to your favorite restaurant.”

“I know the perfect spot. Café Thai has the best yellow curry in Melancholia.” She rolls down the window before closing her door. She leans out, resting her delicate hand on its frame. “You okay to drive out of here? It’s a lot darker than when we first came in.”

I ignore the chill on my back, the tingles spreading across my flesh as I still feel like I’m being watched. Just the mere mention of the dark sends off alarms in my head. It’s super creepy out here. And that’s saying a lot coming from the girl who grew up in Wickford Hollow. That town is literally haunted by ghosts.

“I’ll be fine. I have a good sense of direction.”

She waits until I’m safely in my truck, the engine running, before she waves and drives off.

I lock the doors and wait for the heater to warm up. This old clunker is reliable but takes a while to get going. It blows cold air for about five minutes, but once the heat kicks in, it’s like an inferno.

When the vents finally blast out the hottest air imaginable, I latch onto the gear stick. In these old trucks, the shift stick is actually up top and behind the steering wheel. As I pull it in and down, something cracks.

My stomach knots. What the fuck? The stick jams in between park and drive. Oh no. Fuck. I try to push it back up into park, but it won’t budge.

Fuck.

I fish my phone out of my purse and click on Lettie’s icon. “Come on,” I mutter. The line is silent. I look and see that I have zero bars; the display at the top of the screen showsSOS.

No cell service.

“Fuck!”

My heart races as I try to unjam the gear stick, but it’s no use. I look out the window into the darkness that exists past my headlights. I spot a few cars still remaining. Maybe I can find someone to give me a lift into town…

A tiny voice in my head says,don’t get out of the car, Mia.

But I can’t stay out here all night. I can’t turn off the engine with the gear shift stuck. I only have a half a tank of gas, and there are at least six hours left until sunrise. And if I accidentally fall asleep… If Nox gets me… I’m so fucked.

I open my glove compartment and snatch the can of pepper spray I have stashed. With that in one hand and my phone in the other, I hop out of the truck and pray I can find help before my car dies.Or I do.

The wind whips through the makeshift holes in my jeans, sending goose pimples across my thighs. I take careful steps as I shine my cell phone light on the ground in front of me.Thank god I wore sneakers tonight.

As I approach the first car, the windows are fogged, and the whole car is bouncing. Yeah, I’m not interrupting that. Fuck.

I sigh and keep going, determined to find someone still partying out here. I pass another two vehicles—a black luxury SUV and a yellow Ferrari.A fucking Ferrari?I shake my head as I peer inside each of them, only to find them empty. I knew there was a lot of old money here in Ever Graves, but I wasn’t expecting to see a sports car in the woods.

There’s only one car left up ahead. My stomach drops when I see what it is. Or rather, who it belongs to. It’s that rebuilt Mustang from the garage.Bones’s Garage. I draw in a deep breath and curse under it on the exhale.

Three cars. Three psychos. Suddenly, disturbing the random couple fucking back there looks more appealing. And like a bad omen, as soon as I take a step back, the bouncing car with fogged-up windows peels out.

---