"I went for a walk," I said. It was the same boring answer I'd been stuck here giving for the past 45 minutes.

"Yes, you said that already," Aretha snapped, the tension she was under showing in every muscle of her body and her stiff poster. "I'd like to know why you 'went for a walk' at exactly the moment I needed you."

"Because I needed it," I said, standing and wincing when I realized I had risen my voice slightly above the whispers we had been speaking in. I lowered my voice back down, murmuring, "I understand that I probably shouldn't have, and that it sucked for you, but believe me, it was better than a meltdown inside the house. I just... I thought I was better, that I was over it, and clearly, I was wrong. I needed space more than I needed logic and convenience right then. Do you get where I'm coming from?"

She sighed, suddenly looking really tired. "Yeah. Don't expect me to take any blows for you when they find everything out, though."

A weak smile spread across my face. "I was kinda hoping you already had and I didn't have to worry about it."

"Hell no," she snorted, looking at me like I was crazy, "No way am I taking that bullet for you. Your guilt trip didn't work that well."

My smile widened, and looking out the window at the solid, inky mass called twilight, a strange sort of comfort settled over me. It was nice to know that I had friends who'd protect me, and even better, ones who wouldn't--ones who would simply stand by me while I muddled through, fighting my own battles as best I could.

It was just nice to know there was someone who cared.

***

"Hi, Jax," I said, my voice quavering slightly. The early morning light was streaming into the kitchen, and it was hard to even breath between my fear and the way the light wood table still had the grape juice stain I'd tried to mop up with a pillow when I was little.

She barely spared me a glance, moving across the floor with purpose.

"Hi, Violet," she said, rummaging through a cabinet. "Is there any food in this place?"

"No," Aretha and I said in unison. She glanced at me, surprised.

"Didn't realize you had done inventory since you snuck back in like a coward."

"The Evos always clean everything out after a kill, and this house hasn't been touched in years. And would you have prefered it if I had stormed in, waking everyone up after a long and exhausting day?" I said frostily, a guilty relief sinking in. At least this game of barbed comments and subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) jabs was familiar--I knew how to play this without getting hurt.

"Who are you talking--oh," Alex said, walking in mid-yawn and catching sight of me. I looked away, hating myself for it, and realized I was anxiously tracing the faded, purple grape-juice stain on the corner.

"Good morning," Aretha said, entirely comfortable from her corner spot, leaning against the wall, surveying everything in sight and a little too comfortable with my unease.

"So... um... hi, Violet," he said awkwardly, trying to shove his hands in his pockets like he did when he was nervous, only to find nothing but air. I watched his hands come to a rest at his sides, fingers twitching slightly.

Suddenly, it felt terribly wrong not to have those hands encircling my own.

"Oh my god, Violet!" Sofia cried, rushing forward. Jax cleared her throat, and she stopped instantly, looking between the sides of the room before backing away with an apologetic look. I tried to swallow, surprised to realize there was a painful barricade. I wondered what it was, but the heat in my eyes quickly told me all I needed to know.

Oh, god, don't let me cry. Not now.

I closed my eyes for a moment, taking some deep breaths, and the tears faded away. I opened them, pushing away my fear, and spoke. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"Do what?" Alex asked.

"The thing where you guys all yell at me for introducing myself with, 'Hi, I'm Violet, and my parents were murdered by Evos because they were part of an illegal rebellion'."

"We aren't going to do that. Why should we care what you did or didn't tell us? We obviously weren't friends in your eyes. Doesn't really matter," Jax said, her eyes the only sign that the words hurt.

"Your parents were part of the rebellion thingy, too?" Sofia asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah. Aretha's, too--that's actually how we knew each other. Her parents would come over for family game night."

"You guys knew each other? Like, before?" Jax asked with a frown, thrown.

Aretha shot me a look. Why did you drag me into this?!?

I sent her my own. You think I'm doing this alone?

"Yes, we were childhood friends," Aretha said, coming to stand by me. "We both know this house inside and out."

I smiled briefly at her, remembering games of hide-and-seek that would last for hours while our parents disappeared into the shed.

"Great, then you can give us the tour," Jax said, her own smile cold.

"Tour?" I asked, startled.

"Well, if this is the secret base we're supposed to join your rebellion from, I think we ought to know our way around," she said. I bit my lip, knowing I couldn't refuse without showing she had found my weak spot.

"Yeah, okay," I said, standing up after a minute. It felt like an impossible feat. "Follow me."

***

Half an hour later, we were standing in the backyard, and my heart felt like it had done an emotional marathon.

"Well, there you go. That's the whole house," I said, crossing my arms. Please, please, please, just let me have a day to curl up in a ball and cry, I silently begged, knowing the world wouldn't give it to me.

"No," Alex said.

"Yes, it is," I countered, my stomach sinking. Please don't ask about it...

"The garden shed."

Dammit.

"You didn't show us the shed," he said. At least he had the dignity to look away while he asked me to revisit the site of my parents' murder.

"I..." I faltered, hesitating. "I'd really rather not."

"Well, I'm sorry, but if you want us to help, we deserve to know what we're getting into," he said. Sofia nodded behind him, looking sad but committed.

"Guys," I said, looking at them, begging them to understand. They didn't back down, and I sighed, walking over the the door. I hesitated before it, fighting the flashbacks as my fingers curled around the cold, dead metal.

When it opened, it sounded like the roar of a monster that had been long-asleep.

"After you," I said, gesturing into the blackness, dust dancing in the light for the first time in over 13 years.

They walked past, only Aretha stopping to stand by me as my 'friends' walked past.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"No," I said, an unbearable hollowness in my chest. "I haven't been okay in a very long time."

And then I started down the dark stairs, fighting the ghosts of the past, keep my hold on reality in the form of my fingertips brushing the cool, rough cement walls on the way down and mentally chanting, you can survive this.

My mantra and descent was interrupted, however, by Jax's cry of shock and the sound of a loud crash. Aretha and I both sprinted forward, bursting into the room mere moments later, only to see a part of the wall that had crashed to the ground, presumably when she had touched it. But we had far more interesting things on our minds--like the concealed compartment that had been hidden behind it, and the mysterious object and papers sitting undisturbed within. 

Bit of a cliffhanger, just for fun :) 

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but as my followers know, I've been working on another project for NaNoWriMo. Still, I think I should get credit for sitting down and writing this in an hour--maybe it's not my most fantastic chapter, but at least it's an update, right? 

Anyways, thanks for being patient, and for getting me to 1.6 reads! This is super exciting!

--Earthstone