2|| Whispers in the Wind

13|| the forest of doom and despair

Kalyani

The days zoomed by, Kalyani getting increasingly desperate. Roxanne hadn't visited her in ages, and there was radio silence from her friends. 

She'd opened the biography five times today. There were no visions, no nothing. What if she was gone?

But no. Even if she was gone, Kalyani was sure she would be back. Her phone buzzed. It was Evelyn.

"What's up?" Kalyani asked.

"Do you want to come to the forest with us? I figured it'd be useful, and we could also stop by Roxanne's grave on our way. You've been worried recently, yeah?" there was an odd edge to her voice Kalyani couldn't read.

"Yes, I'll come. How did you know I was worried?"

"Aria called me and we had a chat. She thought maybe we should help you with the project you're working on. Care to explain why she thinks this is a school assignment?"

She tried to push her guilt away. It was for the greater good. "I don't want her to worry about me, Ev. You didn't tell her, did you?"

"Seriously?!" The disdain practically oozed from her friend. "You know literally everyone knows what's happening except Aria, right? I thought she was the first person you told."

Kalyani resisted the urge to tear her hair out. "You didn't tell her, did you?"

"No, but can't keep covering for you. You promise me you'll tell her tomorrow and I'll tell everyone to be on the down low about it."

"But-"

"Promise."

"Okay, okay, I promise!" Kalyani sighed. "What time are we meeting? And who's going?"

"We can meet at around 3 at my place. It's gonna be me, you, Jacob, Leo, and Aria."

That sounded alright, but Arlo being there would probably keep Aria distracted from what was going on. "Can I invite Arlo?"

The radio silence on the other end was her answer.

"Please? We need all the help we can get, and I swear she's not a bad person. She's my friend, and you need to respect that."

There was a pause on the other end, then: "Fine. I'll make sure she knows about Aria. See you."

The line cut off. Kalyani wanted to throw something. Evelyn needed to get over her weird rivalry with Arlo. And ugh, why did she make Kalyani promise to tell Aria? Well, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. 

An hour later, Kalyani left for Arlo's house.

A few blocks away, Arlo already stood waiting. "Hi Aria... wait. Kalyani? What are you doing here?"

"What? I'm here to ask you if you wanna come with us to learn more about Roxanne."

"Oh. Aria already invited me." Arlo suddenly looked very interested in her scuffed sneakers.

"Really?" Kalyani raised her eyebrows. "You made up, then."

"There was nothing to make up for," Arlo said simply. "Hey, why did I get a text from Wilder saying not to tell Aria about your visions? Are you really hiding them from her?"

"Hiding from who?" Aria asked, suddenly three feet away from them.

Kalyani made pleading eyes at Arlo, who seemed to struggle with herself for a moment before saying, "Evelyn. Kalyani found some book she likes but she won't let her have it."

As her twin tsked  disapprovingly, Arlo scowled at Kalyani. The look screamed you owe me. If this was what it took to hide something from Aria, maybe Kalyani would be better off telling her.