Awry

11

Scarlet sat cross-legged on her bed with Heather jabbering away beside her as they flipped through magazines.

Most people, upon learning their best friend comes back from the dead, would probably ease their way into the whole I’m-going-to-believe-every-word-of-this-nonsense thing.

Not Heather.

“Were you alive in the 20s? Because I loved the style back then.” Heather looked up from her magazine.

“Uh…I’m not sure.” Scarlet bit her lip. Had she been alive in the 1920s?

Amnesia sucked.

“Oh, that’s right.” Heather waved a hand. “You don’t remember any of your former lives. Just the life you shared…share?...with me.” Her eyes got big. “Ooh! I wonder why your memories are gone? Do you think that’s, like, a curse thing? Or maybe your brain can only reincarnate so many times without suffering some memory loss.” She tapped a finger to her chin, thoughtfully.

Heather was taking this way too well.

“How many immortals are out there in the world?” Heather’s eyes widened. “Millions?”

Scarlet smiled. “Uh, no. As far as I know, it’s just Gabriel, Tristan and Nate.”

“Who’s Nate?” Heather cocked her head.

“Nate is their best friend. He was born in the 1500s, too, but I don’t think they met each other until after my first death.”

Scrunching her nose, Heather said, “Did Nate’s mom drink fountain water when she was pregnant with Nate, too? Is that how he’s immortal like Gabriel and Tristan?”

“Yep.”

“What about their moms? Are they immortal?”

Scarlet furrowed her brow. “No. I think…I think both of their moms died.”

“After drinking from the fountain of youth?” Heather made a face. “That’s a letdown.”

Scarlet bit her lip and nodded. Why hadn’t their mothers become immortal?

Heather continued, “But the boys all became immortal?”

“Yeah. But Gabriel and Tristan didn’t know they were immortal until the end of my first life, when the cursed arrow went through Tristan’s heart and he survived.”

“So when Tristan told me a magical arrow changed his eye color, he wasn’t kidding?”

Scarlet shook her head. “I’m sure Tristan had brown eyes just like Gabriel until the day he jumped in front of Raven’s arrow.”

“Ahh!” Heather threw her head back dramatically. “I can’t believe Tristan was willing to die for you—twice! Wow.” She looked at Scarlet and sighed. “It’s just so romantic.”

Scarlet scowled and pretended to be interested in the lipstick ad she was staring at. “There’s nothing romantic about death.”

“But there is something romantic about sacrificial love.” Heather smiled.

“Tristan doesn’t love me. He’s just…he’s just….”

“He’s just…willing to die for you? Yeah. Nothing about that screams I love Scarlet.” She flashed her palms.

“Whatever.” Scarlet’s heart started to race. She liked talking about Tristan. Which was a problem, because she had a boyfriend.

A very hot, very amazing boyfriend. Who was probably freaking out right now because she hadn’t returned the four text messages he’d sent her asking if she was okay.

Heather’s face lit up as she gazed down at her magazine. “Ooh, I want these shoes.” She pointed to a pair of pink heels. “I could wear them to the town fair.”

The Avalon Town Fair was a weeklong event that took place at the end of every February. It came fully equipped with clowns, carousels, and confetti, and schools shut down for the celebration. Avalon, Georgia was probably the only town in the world that closed school for a week just to have a fair. But the town fair was a big deal and everyone in Avalon was always ridiculously jolly about the event.

Everyone except Scarlet.

The fair wasn’t as bad as the dreaded summer Kissing Festival—Strangers kissing under paper stars in the streets? Gag me.—but was still annoying.

“Isn’t it a little early to pick out which shoes you’re going to wear to something that’s months away?” Scarlet raised a brow at her friend.

Heather looked dead serious. “It’s never too early to plan an outfit.” She emphatically added, “Never.”

“Whatever.” Scarlet squinted at the shoe ad. “But those pink heels aren’t really good carnival shoes. They look too uncomfortable. And high.”

“They’re pink. They’re pretty.” Heather shrugged. “They’re perfect.”

Scarlet shook her head with a smile. “Whatever.”

“Laura would agree with me.” Heather turned the page.

Laura Walker was Scarlet’s legal guardian. With her long, red hair and sexy taste in fashion, Laura was one of the most beautiful women in Avalon, Georgia. And also one of the wealthiest.

She worked for an international company doing procurement of some sort and had taken Scarlet in happily. The two of them were like sisters.

Heather ran a finger down the glossy page before her. “Does Laura know about you?”

Scarlet shut her magazine and looked up with wide eyes. “No. And you can’t tell her. You can’t tell anyone.”

Heather looked up and frowned. “Why don’t you want Laura to know?”

“Because she’s my foster parent and she doesn’t have to keep me. If I start talking about curses and eternal life, Laura could turn me over to the state, or have me committed or something.”

Heather scrunched her nose. “You think Laura would really do that?”

“I don’t know.” Scarlet briefly envisioned what her life would be like if Laura rejected her. “But I’m not willing to risk it.”

Heather nodded and turned another page. “My lips are sealed. Where is Laura, anyway?”

“She’s still in Europe for work. She gets back…” Scarlet looked at the calendar on the wall, “in eight days. Which means I have eight more days until I have to start acting normal again.” Scarlet looked back at her magazine. “Hopefully, we can find the fountain and this whole thing will be over.” She sighed. “The curse, the dying, the Ash guy—”

“Ash guy?” Heather’s hand froze mid-page-turn.

Scarlet made a face. “Did I not tell you about the bad guy?”

Heather’s eyes widened. “Uh….no. Ash guy? W-T-H?”

Scarlet’s palms started to sweat as she thought back to the night the Ash guy had come into her house. “Yeah, that’s what we called him because we didn’t know what he was. But he broke into my house while I was sleeping and tried to steal my memories with this Head Ghost brain thingy.”

Wow. Everything that comes out of my mouth sounds dumb.

Head Ghosts were black market devices designed to pull memories from the brain. But they were dangerous. And the Ash guy from a few weeks ago had obtained not one, but two of these illegal devices. Both of which were now safely stored away by Nate.

“Are you kidding me?” Heather’s mouth fell open. “Some creep broke into your house? That’s so scary!”

“I know.” Scarlet nodded. “But Tristan was here, so he stabbed the guy and saved me.”

Heather dropped her head to the side. “Of course, he did.”

Scarlet started to argue. “Tristan was only here because he was in pain—”

“Sure.” Heather nodded. “Yeah, Tristan just ‘happens’ to be around whenever you need saving. That’s normal.”

Scarlet ignored her.

“I can’t believe someone broke into your home while you were sleeping. Your house isn’t safe, Scarlet. We’re going to stay at my house until Laura gets back. My parents won’t care and no Ash guys will be sneaking into my bedroom.” Heather shook her head. “I can’t believe there’s something out there that can steal memories. Why was the Ash guy after your memories in the first place?”

Scarlet blinked. “Because apparently I know where the fountain of youth is. I just can’t remember.”

“You know how to get to the place you need to go in order to break the curse that keeps killing you but…you can’t remember?” Heather shook her head. “That sucks.”

“I know.”

Heather tucked her lips in. “I’m sure your memory will come back. Maybe you just need to hit your head really hard or eat a lot of green vegetables—”

Scarlet gasped.

“What?” Heather looked around in alarm, her blond hair flying over her shoulder. “Is there another Ash guy here?”

“No.” Scarlet’s face broke into a smile. “But I have a great idea.”