Shadows Within

EIGHTEEN

EIGHTEEN

"I am fine." Ethan Fell told the two women for what felt like the umpteenth time since he had gotten in an accident that had nearly cost him his leg. "I really am fine. You two don't need to babysit me like I am a child. I am not going to fall myself over and —," And then he did fall over himself.

Maya had a smug look on her face as she arched her eyebrows at him, "You were saying, baby brother?"

Josie bit into her lip in a very awful attempt to hide her own smile. "Ethan, you've been in a rather awful accident that nearly cost your life. So, please, just play along with us right now. We are just very worried. What if something awful happens to you?"

Ethan felt a lump in his throat as he spoke his next words, "You are a very dear friend, Josie."

Josie smiled at him somewhat awkwardly, her shoulders tensing awfully. "Right." She said. "Of course. We are such good friends. Totally." She stared at him for a very long time before she told him, "You don't mind if I leave Ethan in your very capable hands, do you, Maya? I just remembered I have a very important job to do. We have a school dance this evening. I have to go and prepare myself."

Maya nodded her head. "Tell Jed to call me, would you, Jo?"

Josie looked suspiciously at Maya, but nodded her head anyway. "Will do." She stopped in her track, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "Are you guys a thing now or —?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "He's merely helping me out with this project. Nothing more, Jo. So, don't you start getting any ideas."

"Whatever you say, Maya." Josie laughed teasingly, hugged them both in a goodbye as she turned on her heel and went hopping away, stalking away from them.

After she was gone, Maya turned to him with a very sympathetic look in her eye, "You are such a loser." She said. "You just friendzoned yourself, dude. Who does that?"

Ethan glared. "Oh, shut up." He snapped.

"I am just saying, if you are looking to date her, this isn't the way to go about it. She would start to think you actually friendzoned her, dude. You've got to make a move soon, or else somebody would steal her from you."

Ethan wondered if there was any way to yet himself out of this conversation. There were number of things he didn't wish to talk about with his twin sister. His love life was one of them. "What about you and Jed? This special project you are talking about?"

Maya glared. "None of your fucking business."

Ethan arched his eyebrows suspiciously at her. "I am just saying, it does sound rather suspicious. Not to say Jed is exactly the sort of a guy you usually go for."

"But that's not me anymore. I had changed. For better. And I have no wish to go back to the person I used to be anymore. That girl who laughed at the others' pain, who tormented and bullied those unlike her. I am not going to be like her anymore. I am trying to be better."

"Look, I understand, Maya. But that girl's death, it wasn't your fault."

Maya shook her head. "Tell that to her parents." She snapped, sighing under her breath. "Look, I am sorry, Ethan. I didn't mean to snap at you. But I was the one who dragged Lily to the woods that night. I thought it would be fun, you know, to scare her off a little? Teach her a lesson. It's the sort of a thing I always did to make myself better since I was in an elementary school. But that's not the only thing that happened that night. She had died and it's entirely my fault. If I hadn't dragged her to the woods and scared her off, she wouldn't have fallen off the cliff, trying to escape from me. So, don't try to make me feel better. I don't deserve it."