Beyond the Veil

Chapter Two

            It was growing dark by the time Serena decided to head back home, though that wasn't why. It was also getting cold, something she hadn't considered when she'd taken her wild flight from the house.

            He probably thinks I'm an idiot.

            Why that mattered, Serena wasn't sure, but she didn't like the idea. She was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them.

            She'd spent the afternoon in a old playground a few blocks from her house. She didn't need her headphones here, the creaking of rusty swing chains was the only sound that kept her company.

            It wasn't her first time finding refuge in this particular place. No one ever came here, as far as Serena knew anyway. Kids certainly weren't lining up around the block to play. The equipment was old, made of metal and wood, too dangerous for kids these days, or so they claimed. The asphalt was cracked and uneven, and the paint for four square and hopscotch had faded from bright blue and pink to washed out, muted hues.

            Why'd you have to go and cry?

             Serena knew it hadn't been because of Sebastian, not directly. If she was honest with herself, a very small part of her had actually been pleased to see him. Take that, Lila Malone. She thought ruefully. She would have smiled had she not felt so awful.

            It was his persistence that was off putting, and Serena didn't know how to handle it. She'd spent her entire life pushing people away, for their sake as much as her own, and it always worked.

            Until now.

            That was what scared her.

            What if he kept pushing and pushing and somehow discovered the truth? At best he'd think she was mental and he'd leave her alone after that. A thought that did not make her feel any better. He might start spreading rumors which would make life complicated to say the least. She'd have to convince her mom to let her home school because she was pretty confident she'd never be able to show her face at school again.

            At worst, he'd believe her and he'd use the knowledge against her.

            "Why can't you just leave well enough alone?" she muttered as she kicked a loose stone with her toe. It skittered across the sidewalk and disappeared into a crack. By the time she reached her house it was dark and the street lamps were flaring to life overhead.

            As she turned up the walkway she could make out a lone figure sitting on the front steps of the porch.

            Finally

            The thought brushed her mind unexpectedly and she flinched.

            She hadn't put her earbuds in after leaving the park.

            "What are you doing out here, Casey?"

            "Waiting for you," she replied with a sigh.

            The soles of Serena's sneakers scraped against the pavement as she shuffled closer. She really wasn't in the mood to have a heart to heart with her kid sister.

            "Mom mad?" Serena asked as she sat down next to Casey.

            "Nah," Casey replied with a shrug. "She just worries about you."

            No friends.

            Serena looked down at the scuffed toes of her converse and began to tap them together. There's no place like home she thought.