The Girl I Was by Jeneva Rose

Author:Jeneva Rose [Rose, Jeneva]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Corner Star Press
Published: 2021-11-15T16:00:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

Claire returns to the tent a few minutes after I arrive. Her face is bright and free of the worry, shame, and sadness it had before. She smiles while passing out cans of Sparks, which we happily open and start chugging.

All feels right again—aside from the death stare I’m receiving from Lexi. Her face is bright red, her jaw clenched. I know she was eavesdropping on my conversation with Claire, but I didn’t say anything bad about her. If anything, I made her look good by telling Claire that Lexi had mentioned how driven and creative she is. Yes, I made that part up, but still.

Lexi puts her fingers back on the planchette. We follow her lead, although Katie hesitates at first, saying, “Ugh, we’re playing again?”

“Yes. We’re just getting started,” Lexi snaps at her and then addresses the board. “Who’s hotter, me or Alexis?”

Nikki giggles.

The planchette begins to move, spelling out L-E-X-I.

Lexi laughs. “These spirits really know what they’re talking about.”

I roll my eyes.

“That was rude,” Claire says, defending me.

Lexi twists her nose up. “I was just having fun.”

“At Alexis’s expense.”

“Oh, whatever,” Lexi says dismissively. “Next question. Will Alexis ever get her life together?”

The planchette shoots over to “No.” Lexi smirks at me.

“Is Alexis responsible for her own screwed-up life?” Lexi asks.

The planchette returns to the middle, but this time rather than shooting to an answer, there’s a struggle. It starts moving toward “Yes,” then toward “No,” then toward “Yes,” and then it goes flying off the board.

“Inconclusive.” I smirk back at Lexi.

“You are responsible for it!” Lexi yells, her eyes burning into mine. She swiftly crawls out of the tent and stomps off.

“Ohh-kay.” Nikki takes a sip of her Sparks, eyebrows raised. “Someone’s had a little bit too much to drink.”

“Yeah, what’s her problem?” Claire asks.

The girls give me a sympathetic glance. Ugh—as much as I don’t want to talk to Lexi, I know I have to be the bigger person and do it. I know how dramatic she can be, and I can see her marching so far out into the woods that she gets lost, and then we’d have to call for a search-and-rescue team to find her.

Yep, better to nip this in the bud now.

“I’m going to go talk to her,” I say, crawling out of the tent.

“Here, take this.” Claire holds out a flashlight, which I grab on my way out.

Outside, Lexi’s not by the dying fire. I throw a couple more logs on to revive it. Embers fly into the air, swirling over the flames. Staggering out into the darkness, I shine a light in front of me, walking to the tree where Claire had hid. But Lexi’s not there.

“Lexi,” I call out.

No response—of course she’s going to make this difficult. I trudge on. As I walk further and further into the woods, the hairs on the back of my neck rise. A thought crosses my mind instantly. What if she’s luring me out here to murder me? She did joke about becoming a serial killer the other day.

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