Silver Stilettos

EPILOGUE | I will always love you [7]

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MAYURI'S POV

June (4 Months Later)

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"I can't believe it's," Fenris swallowed, "over." As someone tried to squeeze between him and the wall of lockers, he moved closer to Dom and looped his arm around her shoulders.

"It was horrible." Matt's voice was grave. "And that thing at the end..." He shuddered.

Outside, the bang of cymbals and the pounding of feet could be heard. The marching band had their biggest audience all year—the parents waiting on the football field who hadn't already made a lucky escape.

"You mean your speech?" I nudged Matt's shoulder with my own. "Oh, stuff it. We should be celebrating. Today is a good day. We graduated. Four years of high school, over and done with."

"And now we have another four years of college to look forward to," said Dom with a wicked roll of her eyes that looked even more sinister with her emerald-green, ruler-straight eyeliner wings. "Lucky fucking us."

"I dunno, I think college might actually be less drama than high school," said Lenox casually, the way she stood so close to Matt, their fingers almost brushing, making me wonder what had happened between them while I'd been gone.

Gone.

It was a strange word. It was so small, so short, and yet it conveyed so much. It covered the breadth of abducted, missing, and a slew of other words that were too painful to think about.

A ripple of déjà vu ran over me. I'd thought this same thing before, although I didn't remember when or about what.

The five of us flattened ourselves against the lockers as a herd of chattering seniors went by with their parents, the commotion knocking Fenris' graduation cap off his head.

A rush of exhilaration shot down my spine as I saw the smiling faces, the carefully-applied makeup, the pride of having survived high school.

It seemed so trite the way other kids tossed the phrase around, surviving high school, as though they'd learned anything about survival from this cinderblock school.

Survival meant something different to me. It meant I was here at my own graduation, here with my classmates-turned-friends, living the life that just a few months ago had seemed so out of reach.

"I'm glad that they had a moment of silence for Emily," murmured Lenox, breaking the silence.

And when it broke, it didn't break easily. It shattered the moment into sharp shards of anger, regret, and what-could-have-beens.

Dominika's nostrils flared. "And for Baron," she said, not keeping her voice down. "The bastard."

One of the girls passing in front of us with her parents shot us a startled look, her brown eyes widening with recognition and growing even wider when she realized that the most infamous students at Hammerfeld were all in one place.

We all let out a collective sigh when the crowd dispersed. Baron's inclusion in the principal's speech had stunned us, but the rest of the school had seemed to expect it. Guys ducked their heads and fiddled with their fingers; girls sniffled and dabbed at their mascara.

"I can't believe that prick got a mention and an honorary diploma," said Matt, an edge to his voice that I was positive I'd never heard before. "After what he did."