Ashley’s head jerked up, as if just realizing she wasn’t the only person in the clearing.

“Ashley, hello? Are you even listening to us? Look, I am sorry you killed the bird and stuff, okay? I am not saying this to make you feel worse, but I feel like…one of us has to say something, Ash.”

“Madison.” Spencer eyes were daggers, her tone creeping under Ashley’s skin, snapping her out of her solitary world and into the situation at hand. Ashley tried to read Spencer’s tone, the utterance carrying much more meaning than just a three-syllable word.

The hovering cloud descended over the group, making it hard to breathe through the black smoke. Ashley felt as though she were stumbling across a battlefield, her bayonet musket unloaded, as she tripped over piles and piles of enemy bodies, the boom of a cannon in the near distance, followed by the eruption of topsoil and dust.

Something was up. It wasn’t just the bird and Ashley knew it. Weekly smacks in the mouth hadn’t numbed her senses, but had made them highly acute. Spencer was scared and Ashley knew it.

“Oh, come on, Spencer. This is old news. Stop protecting Ash all the time.”

Madison strutted past Spencer and stood in front of Ashley.

“Ash, look, I know we are friends, but seriously…I don’t know if we all should hang out so much.”

Ashley shifted nervously, but then tried to counter by clearing her throat. Spencer just stood there very erect, her hands at her side.

“Why?”

Madison sighed, seemingly producing the words in her head before they emerged from her mouth.

“Because…shit like this always happens when we all hang out. It’s fun, we laugh, but then inevitably, you do something stupid and Spence and I have to deal with it…right, Spencer?”

“Madison, this is not the place…” Madison let out an exasperated sigh and continued.

“Then when is, Spencer? Look, back me up here, okay? We’ve already talked about this before and now you are making me look like the evil stepsister.”

Spencer’s face began to pale and she began to ball up her shirt at the hem with her hands.

She looked Ashley dead in the eye, the sticky tar threatening to reach out and grab her, sucking her down to an inevitable death. And Spencer didn’t want to drown. In fact, she’d do almost anything to keep her head above water. Her eyes darted away quickly.