Amaranth

10

            "What did you say to her?" he demanded angrily. She wondered why he was treating this nice girl with hostility. She hadn't done anything wrong.

            "Nothing. Nothing."

            "Emily!"

            She smiled at Amaranth and ignored his scowl. "Nothing! See what I mean?" Emily patted her head once more before the crowd swallowed her whole.  

           "It was nice meeting you!" Amaranth called. She was excited that she made a new friend, but she was confused by what Emily told her.

            "What did she say to you?" David turned to her now after he made sure Emily was truly gone, then he turned back to her. "Never mind. Don’t let anything she said get inside your head."

            "I—"

            "You didn't talk to her right?"

            She didn't say anything.

            "I told you not to talk to anyone!"

            "But she knew you."

            "It doesn't matter. When I tell you something, you do it, okay?"

            She nodded.

            "Okay, let's just go. I've had enough of this place."

            She didn't want to leave because she was enjoying herself, but she could see that something was bothering David, so she kept her disappointments to herself.

            He took her by the elbow and led her away, using his elbows to dig out a path.

            When they were sitting in his car a few miles away from the party, she turned to him and spoke what had been puzzling her.

            "Emily was nice."

            "She's not.” His contradiction ran flat and meant to knock the whole business over. It didn’t. “She just wants you to think that. She's a lying, manipulative bitc—coward. What did she say to you?"

            "She said she knew you."

            "We had a past,” he stated succinctly before turning his eyes to the road.

            "She also said to stay away from you."

            "What?"