Page 96 of The Two of Us

“Yes, thank you, Maitland. I know it’s a fire. What I’m saying is—”

“No,” Maitland croaks, his voice growing frantic. “Fire!” He points behind us and when I turn, I can’t believe what I see.

In a matter of seconds, the fire sparked onto a nearby tree, engulfing its body in flames. The fire spreads quickly before our eyes and for a minute, everyone watches, frozen in horror. It’s not until someone yells, “Run!” That we all disperse like ants on a crushed anthill.

Maitland pulls Cat into a run as I swoop down to pick up our bags. The smoke is quickly closing in on us, mixing with the shadows of the night. The black plumes shroud the woods and I begin to choke. I don’t realize I’ve been separated from Cat and Maitland until all I see are unfamiliar faces whizzing past me.

“Cat!” I yell. “Maitland!” I run deeper into the woods, away from the worst of the smoke, suddenly grateful I’ve only had a few sips from Cat’s flask. I need a clear mind.

When I come upon the clearing people are congregating in, I hear Maitland’s scream. I run toward the sound, pushing through the bystanders who observe but make no move to help. Is everyone here drunk?

I trip on a tree root, falling to my knees in front of a panic-stricken Maitland. He holds a limp Cat, her arms slack and a steady flow of blood dripping from her hair.

“What happened?” I cry.

“We were running and she tripped. She hit her head!”

I bring my hand to Cat’s face. “Cat? Cat, can you hear me? It’s Mara. Open your eyes for me.”

Cat groans in pain and I almost cry with relief. Pain is bad, but if she’s still alert that means it’s probably not life-threatening.

“Let’s get her to the car,” I tell Maitland. We lift her into our arms and continue our trek toward the access point. When we finally arrive back to the parking lot, firefighters are already making their way in and questioning students on the sidelines. When I ask if we should stay to give a statement, Maitland points out that we’d been drinking and we decide it’ll be smarter to head straight home.

Cat comes to in the car and groans.

“What is it, Cat? Are you in pain?” I ask frantically.

The alcohol slurs her voice. “I forgot to throw my wish into the fire. I’m such a nincompoop.”

I laugh and so does Maitland from the front seat.

She’s okay.

“You’re not a nincompoop. We can save your wish for another time.”

“Okay. Because it’s a really good one, Sally. Really good.”

“I don’t doubt it, Gilly.”

“Mara?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you always taking such good care of me?”

“Because we’re sisters.”

She sighs a happy sigh. “That’s nice. I love Ambrose but I always wanted a sister.”

I smile. “Well, you got one.” She starts to speak but I stop her. “Shh,” I say, brushing the hair from her face. “Sleep.”

As we pull into her driveway, reality hits me like a bullet train. There’s no way I can bring her into the house and have her face Alima in her current state.

I pinch the bridge of my nose as I shoot a text to Ambrose. He doesn’t respond, but I see his black figure slip out the front door five minutes later. He ignores me as he scoops Cat up from the back seat and throws Maitland and Jensen death glares. I follow closely at his heels in silence.

Ambrose gets Cat into bed and I take the time to hide out in their shared bathroom. I’m brushing my teeth for what must be ten minutes when he walks in.

“How is she?”

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