Peachy

This is the big one!

The most action-packed chapter of the book thus far has arrived.

I had so much fun writing it.

Let me know your thoughts on it!

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"You got everything?" Emilia called from the doorway.

The morning sun behind her painting her body as a dark silhouette.

Sweeping her eyes across the motel room, Enid checked to make sure they weren't leaving anything behind.

Leaving behind a few bills for the cleaners, she nodded.

She grabbed her backpack from beside the bed and followed Emilia out into the day.

There were a few people in the office, checking out from their stays.

Enid joined the que, staring down at her shoes as she waited.

A television hung in the corner was playing the news.

The man on the screen reporting on a robbery somewhere in the city.

She tuned it out, finally stepping up for her turn.

As she exited the small office, she missed his change of topic.

"In other news, be on the lookout for this missing college student..."

The door slamming shut behind her drowned out the words.

Jake was already in the car, looking at something on his phone.

Her stomach twisted as she watched him.

Breakfast.

All she had to do was get through breakfast and then she'd leave.

Finish this journey on her own.

She had borrowed Emilia's phone that morning when they were still awake, googling the nearest bus station.

After memorizing the route to it, she was careful to delete the history of her search.

Splitting apart from them scared her, but she knew it was necessary.

The guilt in Jake's eyes had haunted her all night.

"I found a diner that's like a three-minute drive. That okay with everyone?" Jake's eyes stayed on his phone as he asked.

"I could literally eat anything right now. I'm starving after all that throwing up yesterday." Emilia laughed.

Enid smiled at her, happy to see the color had returned to her face.

Jake pulled out of the parking lot, following the robotic voice of his GPS down the road.

The diner was surprisingly rather empty, the sign outside flickering.

Landmark Diner was sprawled in luminescent cursive.

It seemed they had caught it in between breakfast rushes.

"Oh look, they do stand-up comedy here some nights!" Emilia pointed out as they entered.

A waiter gestured to a booth near the window and they slid onto the bench seats.

Small flags hung from posts on the wall and Enid couldn't help but look for a Welsh one.

Coming up empty, she turned her attention back to the table.

The menus were laminated and slightly sticky.

Large photos depicted towering stacks of pancakes, and heavily garnished waffles.

Jake gestured to one of the pictures, saying something that made Emilia laugh.

Enid kept her backpack pressed against her thigh, nerves rolling in her shoulder blades.

"Hiya, loveys. I'm Nia and I'll be your waitress. What can I get y'all to drink?" A middle-aged woman with peachy lipstick asked in a soothing drawl.

It stood out starkly against her dark complexion, matching the collared shirt she wore.

She twirled a pen in her right hand, the left clutching a pad of paper.

"Orange juice, please." Enid answered, her focus on the menu before her.

There seemed to be a million options.

As she jotted down their orders, she kept glancing at Enid.

"Have we met before, doll?" Nia's head tilted, studying her closely.

Enid's attention turned up to her and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Um, I don't think so, ma'am." She smiled sheepishly.

The woman pressed the tip of her pen to her lip, staring at her for a moment more.

Enid flushed under the attention, her hands curling around the strap of her bag.

Letting out a tut, Nia shook her head.

"Must just be losing my mind." She turned and walked back to the kitchen.

Emilia remarked that it was probably because Enid had some doppelgänger in Atlanta.

They each came up with ideas of what this doppelgänger's life was like.

She was everything from a student to a circus acrobat to a surgeon.

Enid giggled as she pictured some alternate version of herself tiptoeing across a tightrope.

Hopefully this other version had better balance than she did.

And better luck in all other regards.

For a few moments, she wonders if she would trade her life with this supposed doppelgänger if she could.

Just be a simple girl with a southern accent, free of the weight of the world.

No.

Enid wouldn't trade.

Not if it meant she hadn't grown up where she had, with her father and Fiona.

Not if it meant never having known the immortals.

Her heart squeezed at the thought, tears burning in the back of her eyes.

God, she missed them.

Her thoughts were filled with them constantly.

She had already thought of what each of them would have ordered.

Had imagined how Dante would have searched for the Italian flag, probably requesting that it be moved to the spot above their booth.

Her mind conjured the image of Theodore sipping a mug of black coffee, a small smile on his face as he watched her from across the table.

Alexander pulling her into his side, ordering a milkshake for them to share.

Theodore would scold him; tell him it was too early for so much sugar.

Dante would shove him with a smirk and call him an old fart.

Enid nearly choked on her grief as the scene faded away and she returned to reality.

This new reality without them.

Maybe she could change her mind.

Maybe, when she went to the bus station, she could book a ticket to Boston.

Maybe-

She shoves the thoughts away.

She'll make the decision once she's standing at the ticket counter.

Whichever bus leaves first.

Emilia draws her into a conversation about the last time she visited Disney with her family.

How her mom had accidentally beheaded Donald Duck with a rather powerful hug.

A few minutes later, they each had mountains of pancakes before them.

"So, do you think we'll have any time to visit Disney before you meet up with your dad's friend?" Emilia asked with a grin.

Enid chewed on a piece of bacon slowly, the crumbs turning to ash in her mouth.

Her eyes caught on the way Jake's grip had tightened on his silverware.

"I think I'll probably have to find him right away, but you two can say hello to Mickey Mouse for me." She tried to laugh, her throat burning.

His eyes rose from his pancakes and met her own.

That same anxiety-inducing look rimming his irises.

He exhaled slowly, taking a long sip of his water.

"Listen, Enid, I need to tell you something-" Jake started, his voice shaky.

Enid leaned in, her heart ricocheting around her ribs.

A pale hand slamming down on their table killed the words on his tongue.

A wave of fear crashed over her as she studied the limb, the oxygen ripping from her lungs.

"My, what a wonderful coincidence!" Oscar Flynt's voice was sugary sweet with fake excitement.

He dropped into the empty spot beside her, a razor-sharp smile stretched across his face.

"This seat isn't taken, is it? Ooh, pancakes! My favorite. You don't mind if I have some do you?" His icy eyes burned through her.

He dragged her plate toward him, using her cutlery to cut the pancakes into pieces.

She could barely hear him over the deafening drum of her heartbeat.

"Excuse me, who are you?" She hears Emilia ask distantly.

Run.

She needed to run.

Trapped in the booth, she tries to take count of her options.

Few as there seemed to be.

Maybe she could jump over the back of the booth?

Enid swallowed, turning her head slowly to look at the door.

Her eyes met Armad Almalfi, leaning against the door with a small frown on his face.

His wide frame completely blocking the sole exit.

Her eyes run across the rest of the diner, realizing the only other full table must have left just a few minutes prior.

They're alone.

A frigid hand on her jaw drew her attention back to the man beside her.

"You're so quiet, little mouse. Cat got your tongue?" His smirk is vicious.

Victory shining in his eyes.

"Go to hell." She whispers, her voice trembling.

He laughs, his head tipping back in amusement.

"There she is. The little firecracker. I was worried your men had put out your spark." His hand grips her chin tighter.

She grimaces at the pain, glaring at him with all the hate she contains.

He watches her, that aggravating amused look still alight on his sharp features.

"Although, I suppose they aren't yours anymore, hm? A little girl on the run. I must say, I'm incredibly impressed that you escaped them." His hold on her disappears as he relaxes back into the booth.

His posture as though they were simply old friends catching up.

"Listen, you creepy ass Snow Miser. You need to leave my friend alone right now." Emilia's usual tan skin is an angry red as she glowers at the fair-haired man.

Glancing around, he seems to notice Jake and Emilia for the first time.

He rolls his eyes at Emilia's command, pulling a silver gun from an inner pocket and setting on the table beside the pancakes.

Enid tenses as she stares down at it, her fingers itching to grab it.

"Ah, young Jake. I appreciate your help ever so much. You'll be happy to know that I'm calling off the hit on your precious little brother as we speak." He pulls a cellphone from his suit pocket and types out a short message.

Oh.

Oh god.

His brother.

The one who makes going home okay.

Enid feels herself grow faint.

Emilia makes a choking noise, whirling to stare at her boyfriend.

"You what-" Her voice cracks, her eyes wild with fury and worry.

Just then, the door to the kitchen swings open and Nia comes out.

She is humming a happy tune, seemingly unaware of the new additions as she begins to clear the plates from the empty booth.

There is silence as suddenly she tenses up.

"Wait, I know why I recognize you! You've been all over the news! You're the missing girl, your short hair threw me off-" The waitress turns toward them, her braids swinging with her.

A gunshot cuts her off.

For a moment she stands still, her peach colored lips formed in a surprised circle.

A red stain begins to bloom on her matching peach blouse.

It spreads quickly, spreading up to her collar and down to her stomach.

Enid is shell-shocked, watching as the woman seemed to fall in slow motion.

Someone is screaming.

The noise high and bloodcurdling.

As things seem to return to regular pace, Enid realizes it is her who is screaming.

Her throat raw as tears begin to pour from her eyes.

"Now, now. You're a smart girl, you know there can't be witnesses for these kinds of things." Flynt gestures to the body of the woman with his gun casually.

Panic cannot describe how she feels.

Everything is fuzzy, the ringing in her ears causing a migraine to form.

The sound of Emilia's sobs rush in as she finally drags her eyes away from the woman's body.

Emilia.

No witnesses.

No.

Enid lunges for his gun, trying to grab it from his hands.

A cruel sneer warps his features as he watches her frantic movements.

Realizing she is fighting a losing battle, she pulls back.

Her chest heaving with panting breaths.

"L-look, I will go with you. I'll go with you without a fight. Just don't- don't kill them, okay?" She begs, tears soaking her shirt as the rivers flow from her eyes.

Desperation evident in the way she leans toward him.

Begging, pleading.

"I'll do anything. Just, please. Don't hurt them." She tries to say more firmly.

Her hands tremoring like earthquakes as she presses them together.

Flynt watches her for a moment, unbridled satisfaction shining in his expression.

Standing from the booth, he stretches his long, thin limbs.

Turning to the pair on the other side of the booth, he rubs his chin with the barrel of the gun.

Jake has tears tracking down his face as he pushes Emilia behind him.

Trying to cover her as much as he can.

Flynt sighs, turning back to Enid.

"You won't give me any trouble?" His tone untrusting.

Enid scrambles out of the booth to stand before him, twisting so that she was hiding her friends from view.

"None. You have my word. Do I have yours that you won't hurt them?" She stares up at him, her tears finally slowing.

He raises the gun, dragging the cold metal across her cheek.

As though wiping her tears.

"Yes. Let's go." His command is like music to her ears.

Can she trust him?

There is no other option.

Almalfi is closer now, typing something on his phone.

"I called in clean up. Get out of here, kids." He barks at her friends.

They scramble up from the booth, Jake steadying Emilia as they fly to the doors.

Just as they cross through the threshold, Emilia turns back to look at her.

Horror paling her skin as they walk away.

"Call them." Enid mouths when Flynt turns around.

Emilia's nod is the last she sees of her.

And Enid is left alone in a nightmare.

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I'm sorry, Nia. :(

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All my love, Sappho â™