Selena was a junior in high school the first time she experienced what it was like to be high.
She and Harry had gotten into a fight.
It was about something small, now that she looked back into it. But to her 17-year-old self, it warranted going to a party to drown her anger with alcohol.
She went with some friends at some house. She had told her parents where she was going but she did not bother informing Harry. Not while she was giving him the cold shoulder.
It didn't go as she hoped. The thought of fighting with Harry was enough to kill any buzz the alcohol could give her.
That was when she saw someone discreetly passing along these red straws.
The stranger caught her staring at him so he sauntered over to the couch where she was sulking. He plopped down next to her and handed her one.
"No, thanks." She eyed the long red stick on the stranger's hand. The red crystals shone brightly even in the dim light.
"You don't even know what it is," the blue-eyed stranger sniffed the straw and smiled. "This, My Sweets, is my latest concoction. S'called watermelon sugar."
"And you're just giving it away?"
"Gotta give free samples first. Gets the business going, My Sweets." He placed an arm on the couch and leaned closer to her. "So how about it? You look like you need it."
What the hell.
"Okay."
He grinned widely at me, his yellowing teeth showing. "If you want more, I'll be around. Have fun, My Sweets."
She stared at the red straw in her hand. Then to the people around her. It wasn't like anyone was minding her then.
So she ripped it open and emptied the contents down her throat.
And one hour later, Harry found her tripping out of her mind.
It was how she felt right that moment.
This could not have been real.
That girl did not just stab herself to death before her eyes. Her skin did not just shimmer gold like it was absorbing in some sort of chemical that made her hallucinate.
This was not real.
Was it?
Because she was sure her eyes were not supposed to shimmer gold like that.
Maybe that girl injected her with some drug - some new concoction for the teenagers in town.
She had ran away after the girl fell dead on the corner alley. She ran without stopping until she was back home.
She locked the door behind her, even double bolted it.
Her parents weren't back yet so she headed straight to her bedroom and locked that door too.
She went straight to the shower, after throwing her blood-splattered coat to the ground. She scrubbed her skin so hard that she nearly rubbed it raw.
But even after she was done, her eyes still glowed gold.
She was on the verge of panicking when a knock came on her door.
She didn't hear her parents come back. But then she was so caught up with her thoughts to notice anything else.
"Honey? Are you still up?"
She took a deep breath so her voice won't shake. "Yeah, I'm in the shower."
"You have a visitor downstairs."
She glanced at the watch on her wrist. It was a little over 10 o'clock. She had no idea who would visit her at this time.
She had no friends here anymore. Maybe a few former schoolmates still lived here but she had not kept in touch with anyone.
She quickly changed into some yoga pants and a light gray sweatshirt.
Her parents had already retired to their bedroom. She popped in for a quick good night before she went downstairs, making sure her eyes were glued on the floor the whole time and her parents didn't notice that her eyes weren't the same brown ones she shared with her mama.
She was thinking of what to say if whoever this was asked why her eyes glowed gold. But all of these were thrown out the window when she saw who was waiting for her.
There, in the middle of the living room, stood the man she ran away from.
She stopped on her tracks the moment she laid eyes on his green ones.
They stared at each other for a couple of seconds.
She did not know how to react. She did not know what to say.
"Selly," Harry finally spoke, calling her by the nickname only he and her grandparents called her.
She pursed her lips. His voice was deeper than what she remembered.
"Harry."
His face remained expressionless. She swallowed down the nickname she used to call him.
"You dropped this."
Her eyes wandered to his hand. He was holding out her phone. She could distinctly see the rose gold glittery case she bought just a week ago.
It was the phone she dropped on that corner alley.
"Find Harry," she remembered the girl saying before her eyes shut close forever.
This Harry??
She took a step back, wondering if she was still hallucinating.
Selena mustered all the courage she had left and squinted her eyes at him. "Were you following me?"
"It's not like your family moved houses since you left." There was a bitter tinge on his voice.
She stormed over and grabbed her phone from his hand. There were still blood splatters on it, confirming that what happened earlier was real.
A girl really died in front of her.
Her hand shook and her phone slipped from her hand again. It bounced on the carpeted floor once, smearing the white carpet with red dots. Just like her hand.
"You need to come with me."
Her eyes snapped at Harry's. He looked at her like she was a fragile vase on top of a high table and there was an earthquake happening that moment.
He knew something. She was sure he knew something.
What has Harry been up to these past few years?
"We need to go now. Before they find you, too."
"They found me," the dead girl's words echoed in her head again.
"They?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. She remembered the trepidation she felt before she tripped on the dying girl.
"Get your things and tell your parents you're staying over a friend's house."
"No." She violently shook her head as if that would make everything go away. She was convincing herself this was not happening. And if it really was even after she'd awoken the next day, she was ready to leave Triton again and leave it all behind.
And this time, she was never coming back.
"Any other time I'd let you go, Selly. But not when your life is on the line."
"Stop calling me that! I'm not- we're not-"
"I know."
There was a pause between them as she desperately tried to collect her thoughts. She always thought she was a rational person but nothing made sense to her right now.
"I need you to trust me," he insisted.
"What is happening, Harry?" Fear was evident in her voice.
"I'll explain it to you later. But we really have to go." Urgency and desperation were at the edge of his tone.
Selena finally nodded and ran back to her room. She grabbed the small bag she brought with her along with her purse. She was not planning on staying long in Triton in the first place. She was only staying for three days.
She decided that she'd just text her parents about her leaving the night. It was easier that way and there'd be less questions asked.
Harry was already by the door when she went back down. He had picked up her phone for her and once again gave it back.
He opened the door and she locked it behind her. They were briskly walking towards his Range Rover when she heard him curse under his breath.
"What?"
"Just get in the car."
There was a rustle a few feet away from them but Selena did not dare look. Instead, she walked faster.
Harry unlocked his car and they both got in. Selena threw her things at the back before clipping her seatbelt.
They were driving away when she glanced at her rear view mirror and saw a tall figure standing still on the driveway.
There wasn't much light so she could not see his or her face. But she felt her blood run cold when the figure raised his or her hand and waved like he or she knew that Selena was watching.
The gesture seemed more like a wave hello than a goodbye. She felt a chill run down her spine.
"I have her," Harry said. She peeled her eyes away from the figure and looked at Harry. He was on the phone with someone.
"Yes, yes. She is." There was a pause as he listened. Selena could hear the muffled voice of a woman. "I'm sure."
Harry glanced sideways at her. "She's the new Golden."