Sweet Like Revenge

08 - Into the Woods

History repeats itself. The past never dies. Elle was no different from Ana. No stronger. No braver. Both were scared little girls. Both were wearing a mask.

Astor was still Astor. He always would be. He would always tower over me, he would always turn my blood to ice. He would always get what he wanted. He would always win.

As he stared down at me at Matt's party, his charcoal eyes gleaming with wicked intentions, I was reminded of what it was to feel small. Powerless. Unimportant. Afraid.

For the first time since returning, I wondered if my efforts to destroy him were futile. Maybe he'd simply destroy me all over again. Or maybe he'd drive me to destroy myself.

"Is he bothering you?"

The sweetest of voices pierced through the night. Astor and I were on the outskirts of the clearing, only rocks and trees framing our forest surrounds.

Or so we thought.

We jumped at the melodic, airy sound. It was clear that the football captain was as taken aback as I was—why else would he have been so quick to retrieve his hand from my arm?

Our eyes traced the darkened woods behind us, searching for the source of the voice that had jolted us from our stand-off. It didn't take us long to find our audience of one.

She sat on a mossy rock, her legs crossed oh-so-elegantly in front of her. Shielded by darkness, watching us with cautious intrigue, Sienna Hawthorne shot Astor a glower so cold it could have melted ice.

"I think I saw your girlfriend over by the cabin," she said pointedly, her crystal blue gaze warring with his.

I heard a chuckle falter in his throat, as though he'd thought better about letting it ripple through the night.

Then, without another word, he turned. He left.

Like smoke off a candle, Astor was gone.

A tension I didn't even know I was holding melted from my shoulders. I released the air trapped in my lungs, free to breathe. Free to blink away the haunting images behind my eyelids, to remind myself that that was then. This was now. That it wasn't happening again. That I was safe. That I was different.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

Just as quickly as it faded, fear bundled in my stomach. Shivers raced over my skin, making me feel cold even though the air was so warm.

I turned again to find Sienna peering at me, the shadows of the woods falling over half of her face. The other half was illuminated only by the dim fairy lights in the willow tree above, making her appear like an angel dancing in the dark. "I'm Sienna."

I wondered if Satan had ever introduced himself.

"Elle," I offered, commanding myself to breathe.

"I know. You've certainly sparked everyone's interest. Astor's, in particular." She tilted her head back towards the cabin, her eyes glistening like they were keeping a secret. "No wonder Poppy's so worried about you."

I fought off the urge to frown, to give in to the anxiety snaking up my throat. I licked moisture onto my lips, recalling the assured veneer I'd worked on all summer long.

"It's probably just because I'm new," I said, my heart still thumping.

Sienna considered that for a moment. She tilted her head, her black curls brushing against her bare shoulder.

"Yes," she finally purred. "Probably."

I fidgeted in place as my nerves bubbled to the surface, urging me to run while I could. But another part of me, a far more gutsy, far more rebellious part, was intrigued. Why was Irvine's golden girl, the one usually at the center of everything, lingering in the shadows?