Worlds Apart

Twenty One

I woke to find myself in an endless void of black. For miles, I could see nothing as I stood up. I hugged my body, calling out for any sign of life. I was answered by the shrill scream of a woman. I whirled around, but there was nothing.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I shouted into the darkness.
Beach waves clogged my ears, and a breeze filled with a sour smell infiltrated my nose. I coughed away the smell, but something brewed at the bottom of my lungs. I coughed more, feeling them fill with liquid. I fell to the floor, spitting up pools of salty ocean water. I choked and heaved, watching my tears drop to the ground. I held my throat, suffocating from my own body as if I were drowning. A soft voice echoed through the endless black. I reached up from the puddle that was my soul in liquid form. I watched it drain out of me and empty my very essence below me.
"Anastasia!"
My eyes flashed open, and I jumped from my position in the backseat, coughing and holding my throat. Rylie placed her firm hands on my shoulders, "Hey, hey! It's just a dream."
I blinked reality into focus, taking in the soft curvature of Rylie's jaw and her sienna-brown eyes watching me closely. I slowed my fast-rising chest, letting her touch ground me.
"I'm okay. I'm okay." I say more for Rylie's sake than for my own.
She lifted her grip, "We're about 20 minutes away from the beach house. There's a skating rink on the way there; I wanted to know if you would like to go."
I'd never been to a skating rink before, nor did I even know what it was. I looked to where Victoria was sitting but saw no sight of her. I turned back to Rylie, but she was still watching me closely, as if I'd explode any second.
"Yes," I managed to say. "What is it?"
She let go of me, letting my body relax into the seat. "You put on shoes with tiny wheels and skate around a big circle."
It sounded more boring than I expected, and I had no interest in even trying it. I opened my mouth to reject her offer, but her eyes were practically begging me. I sighed, "Very well. Where is Victoria?"
Rylie almost hit her head from jumping back in excitement. "She's already inside; I asked her to get us tickets. I haven't skated in forever!"
I nodded and hopped out of the car. My legs ached from being crammed in the vehicle for so long, and my back was stiff as a board. I bent over to touch my toes and reached back up to relieve my back's cry for exercise. I turned to Rylie, who was staring at me. She quickly turned around and acted as if she were searching for something that wasn't there.
"What's taking you two so long?" Victoria's voice drew our attention: "I got the tickets. We have an hour; let's go."
Rylie rubbed the back of her neck. "Right, sorry."
The three of us walked together as if we were a trio. But Victoria picked up her pace, and Rylie matched her stride. Unlike them, my legs weren't as long, and I had to double my steps to keep up with theirs. As we neared the entrance, I took in the rugged appearance from the outside. The building had moss crawling up the side, white tiles that were more like a tan, and very overgrown grass around the premises. I made a disgusted face as we stepped over a mud-ridden welcome mat and looked up at Rylie. She opened the door for the two of us and shut it once we were inside. The last thing I expected was how vibrant the interior of this rotten building would be. The walls had black carpets with colorful shapes and designs. The floor was similar in design, and there were children in every corner. Music echoed through my skull, and the large circle in the middle of the building had more people zipping past us. It was overwhelming, and I covered my ears. Rylie turned back to me to grab my arm and lead us away from the front door. She placed me in a seat and sat so we were at eye level.
"It's okay." She said. Her words were calm and slow, letting me hang on to every word that left her mouth.
Rylie reached for my hands, and she hesitated. I met her keen brown eyes with mine, and I let her pull my hands away from my ears. I expected her to ask about my fading red eyes, but I assumed she didn't want to remember last night at all. The slow transition of muffled music to loud was less frightening when I looked into Rylie's eyes. The distant shouting of children was pushed from my mind when she was in front of me, when she was so close. I yearned for her touch the second she let go of my scarred skin. I looked around me, once again not finding Victoria anywhere. I preferred her absence more than her venom-tainted kindness. Before I could ask, she floated into view. The boots on her feet had the tiny wheels Rylie talked about, but they looked less shiny than I imagined.
"We're wasting time," Victoria sighed. "Let's skate."
Rylie nodded and took my hand. She pulled me across the long stretch of carpet, dodging small children that waddled by us. We stood in front of a stand that had a bearded man typing on his cell phone. Rylie cleared her throat loudly, letting her presence be known. He jumped from his seat and quickly shoved his phone into his back pocket.
"Yes, sorry. What's your shoe size?" He asked, looking more at Rylie than at me.
"Eight for me." She turned her gaze down to where I stood, asking me with her eyes.
I tried to replicate her naturally easy-going demeanor, putting my elbows on the ledge of the table. "Size five for me."
Rylie raised her brow at me as the man nodded and walked into the back.
"Do you think he's cute?" She asked.
I turned to her in shock and disbelief, "What? No!"
She giggled, "You never talked to me like that. Am I not cute?"
I fumbled with my words. I'm trying to make words form in my clumsy mouth in an attempt to say the right thing.
"Of course I have; I mean, you are. Wait, I mean like, "
She placed her hand on the top of my head, letting it glide down my hair and to my back. Giving me shivers down my spine.
"I'm messing with you, Blondie."
I looked down at my feet, letting my hair shield my embarrassment from Rylie. The man came back after what felt like hours and handed us our pair of wheeled shoes. We sat at the bench nearest to the stand in case we needed a different size, Rylie told me. She was already done tying her shoes when I was struggling to pull the first one over my heel. If my feeble attempts at tying a shoe didn't attract onlooker's attention, my strange appearance did. I'd never been around so many people in a small space, it felt like everyone was staring. As if they knew what I was.
"I think I need a bigger size."
She shook her head. "Nah, let me do it."
She knelt at my feet and gently picked my foot up, guiding it into the worn-out shoe. Before I could thank her, she shoved my foot into the shoe harder than I was expecting. I jumped back, watching her tie the laces tighter than I ever could. She glanced up at me and said, "Sorry, did that hurt?"
I shook my head and said, "No. They fit well though."
She huffed in triumph. "They're always a pain in the ass to put on; that's how you know they'll fit."
It kind of made sense, seeing how fast people were flying along the inside of the rink. I let Rylie tie my other shoe and help me up from the bench. The carpet absorbed most of the friction, making it easier for me to walk.
"Finally." Victoria stepped toward us from inside the rink, meeting us halfway.
"It's her first time." Rylie let me use her arm to hold my balance as we stepped onto the polished wooden floors. "I'm teaching her."
Victoria crossed her arms, "I learned by falling on my ass until the pain was motivation to be better."
Rylie smiled. "Some people prefer guidance."
"Some people didn't receive princess treatment their whole lives." She scoffed.
I cringed at her words. She had no idea. I grasped Rylie's hand as my legs slowly drifted apart on the sleek floor. She spun around, so she faced me. I watched her feet move smoothly in curved motions; she made it look so easy. I tried to mimic her movements, but made little progress.
"Kick away like I'm doing." Rylie held my underarms with her own.
I pushed off the sides of my wheeled boot, feeling the wind pick up. She quickly glanced behind her before making a turn to the other side. I felt my heart pound as we did, feeling as if at any moment I'd skid and trample over both of us. I watched Victoria sweep by us with ease, going faster than most of the other people. The only thing I could make out was her long black ponytail trailing her like a ribbon.
"Keep your eyes on me," Rylie said softly.
But I could only focus on the curves of her face, the blue tint in her hair, and the glimmer on her lips. I felt my hair whip behind me as we gained speed around the rink. I didn't want to be here at all. I wanted to be with only Rylie. Victoria came around to us again, letting the wheels on her shoes slow her as she neared us.
"How about I teach her and you go skate?" She offered.
I couldn't say no in front of her; I was still keeping up a friendly facade. Rylie nodded, and we veered off to the edge of the rink. There were long benches along the walls for people to rest, and I took my spot to rest the pounding heart in my chest. Victoria sat next to me, waving away at Rylie, who sped off down the building. There were a few seconds of silence before Victoria finally looked at me, and I pretended I couldn't see her.
"Do you love her?"
I snapped into her view, locking eyes with her. Victoria's brown eyes looked abnormal against her face, as if they weren't hers. But they watched me with the same resentment that was all Victoria. I scoffed and looked back to where Rylie had been. "No, I don't."
And I thought I didn't, but saying it out loud felt wrong. Like a lie. Even if I was, Victoria would be the last person I'd confide in. Accepting my answer, she stood up and held out her hand. I watched her intently, waiting for her to rip it away as soon as I reached for it.
"Come on, I don't bite." She smiled with all her teeth.
Before I had sworn, I'd seen her sharp canines at the club, ones that mimicked my own. But there was nothing, just regular human teeth. I sighed and grabbed her claw-like hand. She pulled me into her body, and a whiff of cherry blossom infiltrated my nose. Her smell was so sweet that it turned sour within seconds. I held onto her waist as she swept me off my feet and placed me in front of her, just as Rylie had done. She laughed at my feeble attempts to steady myself with her sheer speed.
"Slow down." I grabbed her arm, pulling on it to get her attention.
Victoria picked up her speed, letting my hair tangle around my face, so I was hindered. If I took my hands off her to pull my hair from my eyes, I would spiral. There were too many people around us. If I spun into someone, I wouldn't just be hurting myself, but someone who didn't deserve it. I could hear Rylie's faint voice call for us, but it was too far. Through the strands of my white hair, I could only see evil in Victoria's eyes.
"I should let you go." Victoria's grip on my forearm tightened.
I spit hair from my mouth. The nausea in the back of my throat was building up to my mouth; I couldn't spin like this for long.
"You ruined everything."
A firm hand placed itself on my lower back. I was shot out of the spiral and felt my whole world turn sideways. I stopped spinning; I was alive. Fingers raked through my hair, clearing my face so I could see clearly. Rylie stood in front of me with her pupils minuscule, as if she were staring at a corpse.
"Are you okay?" She asked, continuing to run her hands over my tangled hair.
I turned around to see no one. We weren't even in the rink anymore.
"I don't know. Where's Victoria?"
Rylie sighed and furrowed her brows. "She's still skating. I told her not to be rough with you; she never listens."
Right. She was. I watched her spin and turn as she gained the attention of onlookers. I refocused on Rylie, and the bile in my stomach reached my mouth. I swung past her and pushed the door out of my path as I darted for the nearest patch of grass. I tripped and stumbled over the skates as they tried rolling over the rocks surrounding the building. I heard the door slam behind me and reopen, but I didn't care who saw it. I bent over and let the contents of my stomach spill onto the overgrown grass. Rylie was already at my side, holding my hair up and rubbing my back as she had before. This time was different because I wasn't puking food. There was only blood soaking the ground below me and dripping from my mouth.