'Til Death Do Us Part

Thirty Seven

That night I talked to Leo until it was way past midnight and I could hear him slurring his words, ready to nod off any second.

I had told him about going back to Ariana's and the things I found. Maggie was hoping to re-open her store within a few days, but there was still a lot of work to do. Leo had promised her he would spend the entire following day helping her with the final details. We made plans for Sunday and I felt a lump in my throat. Sunday was when Ariana was still most likely expecting me to join her. I only hoped that Maggie and Vivian would be able to stop her in time.

As soon as I heard Leo's steady breathing, I whispered Good night and hung up. I tossed and turned until finally drifting off for a few hours. I awoke late to the sound of my phone chiming from a text from Vivian.

Maggie and I will be over tonight at sunset.

After replying in agreement, I tried to occupy my time in any way possible. It would be hours before they came over. I would need to keep busy, but no matter how hard I'd tried, I couldn't help but be intrigued by what I had taken from Ariana's. Vivian had said not to mess with any of it until Maggie did first, but the temptation was too hard to ignore.

After I took a long, hot shower, I made myself something to eat. Then I forced myself to watch two movies on TV, but I wasn't paying much attention to it. By the time the final credits rolled, I had the long necklace with the black stone, both halves of our Best Friends necklaces, and the photo wrapped in sheer fabric sitting on my lap.

I slipped the long necklace over my head, the chain and shiny black stone cold against my collarbone. Then I put both halves of our necklace next to each other. I watched as the broken halves reunited to form a perfect heart. It made my heart sink. I pulled them apart.

The photo I found of Ariana and myself smiling together was delicately wrapped with a black sheer fabric that felt scratchy in my hand. The ends were frayed with loose threads that I tugged at, watching it unravel unevenly.

"What were you up to?" I whispered as I glared at Ariana's blurry face from beneath the sheer cover.

Anger filled me instantly, as I realized she had been doing something to me with that photo and piece of fabric. And knowing her, it wasn't anything good.

My eyes narrowed. "What did you do to me, Ari?!"

I let out a deafening scream and clenched my fists.

"ARIANA!" I shouted. "What did you do?! Tell me!"

I heard her laughter from behind me, but refused to turn around.

"Everly," Ariana drifted down in front of me. "You're always so dramatic."

She rolled her eyes and let out a shrieking cackle.

"Ariana," I spat. "Me, dramatic? You're hilarious."

Her eyes glowed as she glared down at me impatiently.

"I want to know what this is!" I ordered, holding up the wrapped photo.

Her eyes widened, darting back and forth between the photo and me.

"Yeah, I found it," I said smugly. "Now tell me what it was for!"

Her eyes narrowed at the black stone necklace hanging on my neck. I touched it gingerly with my hand and smirked.

"Explain the photo!"

"Don't touch it!" she ordered.

I picked it up and fanned it in front of her. "You mean I shouldn't touch this?"