Page 40 of Where Daisies Breathe (Star Meadows #2)

AVA

T he day that I went into the woods changed me forever.

I’ve never been the same again. But I’m not sure if that is better or worse since I was broken long before that.

The night Clover died, the night I found her, also changed me for the worse.

When I was with her, I existed. When she left, part of me died with her.

Like with the woods, my mind didn’t want to remember.

But unlike with the woods, I don’t think drugs were involved.

Every time I tried to think back to the night I found her on the bathroom floor, it’d hurt in ways I couldn’t even describe, a pain so deep that my bones wanted to crack underneath the crushing unbearableness of it.

So to protect me, it buried the memories under the pain. But the grass never regrew, and the memories, they were desperately attempting to claw their way out.

As I run through the woods, searching for Bailey, the fingertips of the images of Clover lying on that floor that day pierce through my mind.

She had dirt on her fingernails.

She told me to find her clutch.

Someone was in that fucking bathroom with me.

“Bailey!” I shout in a frantic panic.

Darkness encases me, threatening to consume me. Branches scrape at my flesh like sharp fingernails. An owl hoots in the distance.

I turn in a circle, twigs and dirt crunching underneath my shoes. The moonlight slips through the canopy of tree branches above me. Shadows creep around me, but I can’t tell what’s creating them.

“Bailey.” My voice is feeble now as I wrap my arms around myself. “Ellis?”

Snap .

“Aves,” the woman giggles. “Come and find me, bestie.”

My breath stutters in my throat at the sound of Clover’s voice.

“No,” I whisper. “You’re not her. You’re just pretending to be her.”

The voice sounds alarmingly similar, though. In fact, it sounds exactly like her.

“Come on, Aves, just play with me,” she teases, her voice an echo of flurries that torrent around me. “I promise it’ll be worth it. And if you find me, I’ll tell you a secret.”

It slams against me, square in the chest. I’ve heard Clover say that before, back when we were hanging out, back when she was alive. This voice… I think it might be a recording of Clover.

I recall the recordings that the unknown caller played for me. Is this the same person creeping around in the woods?—

Snap.

A twig snaps from right behind me. I whirl around, but the night is too thick to see anything other than the outline of trees.

I bite down on my trembling bottom lip as I scan the forest, trying to figure out which way is back to the house. While I want to find Bailey, I’m not alone out here, and if I end up dead, Bailey won’t be found either.

I need to go back and get help.

But what about Ellis?

Where did he end up?

As a giggle cackles from the shadows, I freeze.

My heart is a screaming array of desperation as I struggle to breathe as quietly as possible.

I want to call out to Ellis and Bailey again, but I worry if I do, whoever is out here, tormenting me, will be able to find me more easily.

What will they do to me if they do? What is the point of all of this?

What if they’re the killer?—

A hand comes down on my mouth. I move to elbow the person, when Ellis whispers in my ear, “It’s just me. Don’t move, okay?” He waits for me to bob my head up and down before lowering his hand.

A quiet exhale eases from his lips as he carefully steps up beside me. The faint trace of the moonlight casts across his face as he places a finger to his lips, indicating for me to remain still and silent.

I do as he instructs, then he moves forward, taking vigilant steps. It’s then that I notice the gun he’s holding. The sight of it causes every muscle in my body to tighten. I watch, motionless, as he makes a path toward a tree.

The shuffle of footsteps causes Ellis to stop. As a figure rushes out from behind the tree, he raises his gun.

“Freeze!” he shouts, but the person keeps running.

Ellis curses and chases after them.

Me?

I don’t budge.

I can barely even think clearly.

Because I'm relatively certain the person who darted out from behind that tree was my aunt Marissa.