It Follows

Part 3

 

“Mal…” Alina ran to him. She’d missed him and it felt so good to finally see a familiar face. She hugged him tightly, and he returned her embrace. “Why didn’t you write to me?” she demanded, leaning back to look at him. “I was worried something happened to you.”

 

“I didn’t know what to write,” he admitted. “Now that you’re someone important-”

 

She smacked his chest. “Don’t.”

 

He shrugged, walking past her. As he made his way to the same bench she’d sat on earlier, she followed behind. “You’re all everyone talks about now.”

 

“I don’t want that,” she reminded him, taking a seat beside him.

 

“How come you never told me you could summon light?”

 

Irritation surged through. Did he really not know she’d never hide something like that from him? He was her oldest friend, her only family, and now he was treating her like a strange freak. “I didn’t know I could.”

 

He pulled out a bottle of Kvas from his coat, and took a sip of the drink. “It doesn’t seem like you.”

 

“Apparently it is.” He offered her the bottle, and she took it from him. The drink was strong as the liquid poured down her throat. Using the back of her hand, she wiped her mouth.

 

“Alright, show me.”

 

She looked at Mal, confused. “Now?”

 

“You have somewhere else to be?”

 

“You’ve already seen me summon the light,” she pointed out.

 

“No, not really. That day on the skiff, I didn’t see what happened. It was too dark. I just saw a blazing light.” He pulled a strand of her hair playfully. “So sun summoner, let’s see you summon the sun.”

 

It was bad enough that she doubted her own abilities, but he was supposed to be her friend and believe in her. Instead, he was mocking her and she’d had enough. “Stop, Mal.”

 

“Why? You did it for the Darkling. Or is it only his commands you listen to now?”