Chapter 5

Lucas's anger gave way to guilt again. He looked at me nervously.

"Wendy, don't get the wrong idea. We're not going there alone just to hang out.

"Our professor assigned us a research project. We have to go there and document how unicorns live."

He rubbed his fingertips together awkwardly. "You're not in our project group. That's the only reason we didn't invite you. Next time..."

Emily gave Lucas a playful swat. "Don't be silly. Wendy would faint from fright in there. That forest is crawling with monsters."

Lucas added, "Well, we'll be passing through there on the way to Aldridge anyway. I'll take you to see them then."

I was about to tell him I wasn't going to Aldridge.

Suddenly, Emily patted her pocket and looked panicked.

"Wait, Lucas, the magic photo we took together is gone. We have to go find it now!"

Before I could tell her it was in my bag, she grabbed Lucas and hurried off.

Lucas looked back at me once.

There was finally a hint of apology in his eyes.

But it was too late.

If they'd been willing to wait just one more minute for me, they would've found out I had the photo.

But they were too fast, and I was always a beat behind.

I couldn't keep up. And I was tired.

I gave the photo to a classmate beside me and asked him to pass it on.

Then I bought a one-way ticket north.

I got home worn out and switched on my desk lamp.

The moment I saw the stuffed owl on my desk, all the hurt I'd been holding in all night came rushing to the surface.

Lucas had given me that stuffed owl when he was seven.

After the two-headed hound attacked me and I passed out, Lucas stayed by my bedside, his head resting on the covers, and cried for seven days.

Then he learned the truth about what the attack had done to me.

I had PTSD. I'd always be a beat behind everyone else. The news broke his heart, and he held me tightly.

"It's okay to be slow." He pressed the stuffed owl into my hands. "I'll wait for you. Always."

And he did wait for me.

From the time I was seven until I turned 17. Ten whole years.

Until Emily transferred to our school.

Her blond hair and pale blue eyes were dazzling.

When she first arrived, she said I was down-to-earth and that we really clicked, so she included me in everything.

Later, she said I was too slow to help her and told me to bring Lucas along instead. I didn't want to hold up her elemental magic training, so I agreed every time.

They quickly learned each other's practice schedules, but little by little, they forgot to invite me. Once, I packed up my books and hurried after them, just in time to hear her tell Lucas, "Wendy's gonna take forever. Let's just start without her. No point in holding you up."

After that, Lucas never waited for me again.

Meanwhile, I spent a whole year trying to catch up with them.

But all I could ever do was watch them walk away.

After tonight, there'd be no more chasing.

I wiped away my tears and locked the stuffed owl in the back of a drawer.

The next evening, I boarded the northbound train alone and didn't look back.

Just before the doors slid shut, I saw a post Lucas and Emily had just made.

They'd already made it to the Southmist Forest.

Under the moonlight, thousands of fireflies danced among the trees, spreading like a flowing sea of stars.

Emily nestled against Lucas's side, looking perfectly content, a firefly resting on her palm.

The caption was just one line.

[The most beautiful night, with the person who matters most.]

Whatever warmth I still had left for him flickered out for good.

The train slowly pulled out of the station.

From then on, Lucas went south, and I went north.