That afternoon, as I reluctantly joined Luc in the parking lot, he revealed that I'd be going dress shopping with the girls tomorrow after school. He'd said it dryly. I sized him up. For a while, I debated whether it was worth needling him with my questions, then elected to ask away because I couldn't hold it in.

"And how on Earth did you manage to be so compliant?"

He drove up the subtle hill. Leaves had begun morphing to orange and red and yellow, turning the woods into a smorgasbord of colors. I stuck my hand out the window, the cool breeze gliding through my fingers.

"Emma was pretty insistent. Besides, I wouldn't have agreed if the task fell on me to tag along. I'd sooner neck myself than be there."

"Then who is?"

He didn't answer at first, instead he kept steering the wheel, a sly grin stretching his lips. "You'll see."

I was about to press him further when the radio cut us off.

"Missing teen's body recovered from Huntington's adjacent forests after her parents reported her disappearance two nights ago," the host counted, and I could feel my stomach go topsy-turvy. "The last time they saw her was after school as she prepared to leave for a friend's house, and she was never heard of again until now."

Luc's hand rose to shut the radio off.

"Leave it," I requested. "I have to hear the rest."

He looked over at me quickly, then his hand moved back to the wheel.

"The girl's body had been identified this morning as being Georgia Phelps, a sophomore attending Oakwood High. According to her friend's family, she never made it to their house that night. The police is speculating as to what could have happened. Her body is in poor shape, barely recognizable if it wasn't for her DNA, teeth and scraps of clothing to identify her. The authorities think the most plausible scenario may be yet another animal attack. The question is, which one? It exhibits behaviors that elude animal experts on the matter, but they say it's still a rare occurrence in the region."

The man played an audio clip of a family member on TV, and from there I stopped listening, unable to hear her sobs. I turned off the radio, a huge ball sitting on my chest.

"How do you do it?" I asked Luc, gazing at the road.

"Do what, exactly?"

"Act like it doesn't faze you at all?"

Luc looked down at the wheel briefly. How did this job of his not drain the soul out of him?

"You know, the world won't stop spinning just because it affects you. I can't do what I'm supposed to if I tear myself to pieces over the times we couldn't change anything."

▲▲▲

The next day, as Emma decreed, we went shopping. Me, Emma, Sam and Jen. And Devin, it turned out. I should have known Luc would never let me loose so easily without any supervision.

Her presence weirded Sam and Jen out, rendering the trip beyond awkward.

We rode to an uptown shop in the city and got to business. As Jen and Emma dragged Sam enthusiastically and Devin plopped on a couch with her phone, I approached the rack of dresses hesitantly.

There had to be hundreds of gowns, how could I possibly choose the right one? I picked a dark blue and green dress to try, but they looked comical in the stall mirror. I looked like a twelve-year-old kid that got rolled in glitter.

"Riley?" Jen called. "Do you mind showing us what you got?"

"Uh, no. I'm just going to change and pick something else..."

"You sure you don't want us to see anyway? It can help us choose better."

Emma's booties click closer. "Come on out, let us have a look."

I took a deep breath, wondering what was the worst that could happen. They just wanted to help me. I opened the door and stood clumsily in the poofed-up gown.

"I know, it's horrible," I uttered, and hid my scarred arm behind my back. I hadn't found a single long-sleeved dress in this place.

The girls looked like goddesses in their gowns. Even Sam, who adored her loose jeans and big sweaters, had found a perfect fit in a baby blue frock that showed off her long legs. I could just feel my self-esteem plummet by the second.

Devin watched over her phone, and I could almost hear the mockery in her head. Emma's lips parted, examining the look with an expression of doubt.

"It's not the best dress for you," Jen finally admitted, bobbing her head to the side.

Suggestions were being thrown when Devin got up and walked over to a different section, rummaging through the plastic cover-ups. Sighing like this was an excruciating chore, she returned with another dress that she presented to Emma.

"That dress was way too much. Let's speed this up, please."

Emma took it from her, tapping her chin with her index. She made an audible mmmh.

Aside from the impatience, Devin seemed to know what she was doing. After all, she had a rocking body that half the school envied, and she knew how to dress it. Emma had equally good taste and knowledge. Who was I to object? She sent me back into the cabin, urging me to try it on.

The two-part dress was too long. The long skirt, a rich shade of red wine, reached all the way to my toes. A part of my midsection was exposed, but not enough to feel uncomfortable. The cream-colored, sweetheart neckline top still had no sleeves.

I gauged my reflection, suddenly agreeing to the idea of ending this faster. I was never big on shopping for clothes. The girls made me come out again. This time, everyone was invested like I was auditioning for Miss Universe.

"Not bad, but it needs some altering, especially at the hem. I can work my magic on that," Emma chimed joyfully.

"Which is?" I said.

She smiled innocently. "Do you trust me?"

I searched for support in Jen and Sam's faces, and they nodded in response. If anything, they knew her altering skills better than I, the newcomer. My eyes darted to my reflection one last time, and I decided to purchase that dress without shoes. Emma wouldn't let me.

She said she owned the perfect pair in my size and that it would be a waste of money, so I didn't complain. I sat down on the couch next to Devin as the girls resumed their mission. When they were all in the stalls, I turned my head over to her.

"Why do you hate me so much? I never did anything to you or asked for any of this."

She lifted her gaze from her screen, and I felt like her eyes could singe right through me.

"You genuinely have no clue, do you?"

"Should I?"

She crossed one leg over the other, mumbling something. "Because you're like a toddler we can't leave alone without risking you making a total mess. I didn't agree to all this nonsense either, and nor did I want to go shopping with you and your little friends. This is worse than spending nights playing security."

"Nothing is forcing you to play," I told her, my irritation spiking.

"All this fuss is excessive, but it's not my call."

The contrast between her and Luc stuck out clear as day, just now. It pained me to admit that I misjudged him in the beginning.

He could have chosen to let me die and save himself from exposure. It wouldn't have made a difference for tracking.

She forced a wide grin that lasted a split-second. "Luc is among the strongest of us. What he says tends to go, and he gets more passes than others."

I wasn't sure I heard the last part right. "You must be joking."

"Right now, he's convinced it's the only way to figure out what's going on with those lurkers. Honestly, you're more trouble than you're worth, but he's bull-headed. No one can tell him otherwise," she said.

I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with disgust.

"How awfully kind of you. Lucky for me that you're not equals, then."

"In general, we are," she replied in a detached manner. "But he saved us a couple times like you saw with Ben. Many of us owe him a favor."

I didn't know what to think. It seemed twisted, and it disturbed me to think that she would turn her back without blinking if it weren't for good old coercion.

"So, you put up with this just because you owe him?"

Devin shrugged. "Sometimes, I have to stick up for the schmuck even though I think it's an outstandingly bad move."

Her dedication was admirable. That was about the only nice thing I could note.

I didn't have time to snap at her. Jen came out of her stall, then Sam and Emma. Soon after, they finally decided which dress to buy and we made our way to the cash register. I looked forward to distancing myself from Devin. 

✩