Circle of Death by Celia Loren, Colleen Masters Page A

beginning to descend as I slip into some of the new clothes Devlin has provided for my stay. It’ll be hours before tonight’s party begins, so I shuck on a casual yellow slip dress and some white flats. My hair hangs loose over my shoulders, and I apply a light coat of makeup to polish off my look. Maybe I can jot some notes down on my brand new computer before the night really kicks off—start thinking about my angle for this piece.
    I’m just about to sit down at my desk when I hear a knock at the door. I go to answer it, wondering if Devlin’s ordered me up some room service, or something. I am starting to feel a little hungry, after a long day of cucumber water and not much else. I swing open the door, praying for a piping hot meal to be waiting for me on the other side.
    The sight that actually confronts me is far less welcome.
    “Hey Sis,” Juliet says, keeping her arms crossed firmly across her chest. She stands in my doorway wearing a black halter-top, super low-rise jeans, and a Circle of Death cut of her very own. “Thought I’d come check on you. Make sure you’re still alive and everything.”
    “How thoughtful,” I say flatly, planting a hand on my hip. In my bright, sunny dress and white sneakers, I look like the good girl to Juliet’s evil twin.
    “Listen. Can we take a walk or something? I want to talk to you,” my sister presses. “I’m assuming your...um...keeper is asleep?”
    “Devlin’s sleeping next door, yeah,” I tell her, amazed at how casual we’ve taken to acting in the midst of this bonkers situation. “What is it you want to talk about?”
    “Everything, for starters,” she laughs. “Come on. Let’s enjoy some fresh air before it gets filled up with pot smoke and sex noises.”
    Before I can refuse, Juliet grabs my arm and tows me down the hall. My big sister never did learn how to take “no” for an answer, where her proposed adventures are concerned.
     
    Dusk gathers around us as we walk in silence through the dense forest. We step over branches and boulders, streams and brush, each of us trying and failing to break through the awkward lapse in conversation. We have about six years of unspoken words hanging heavily between us, and shaking off the weight isn’t going to be easy. Finally, as we reach a clearing along the rocky shoreline, Juliet turns to me with a sigh.
    “Look,” she says, leveling her rich brown eyes at me, “I’m sorry I acted like such a bitch this morning when I found out you were here. You have to understand how totally surprised I was to see you. It was super disorienting, and I got freaked out. I wasn’t prepared for a family reunion, you know?”
    “That’s fine,” I reply, averting my gaze to stare off across the water. “I just thought, after all this time, you would have been happy to see me, or something. I wasn’t expecting you to throw me a parade or anything, but—I mean, have you missed me at all, since you left?”
    “Of course I’ve missed you. You have to know that,” Juliet says, tossing her silky hair over her shoulder, “And I am happy to see you, Logan. Really, I am. It’s amazing, how much you’ve grown up. It’s just...seeing you here is like having my old life invade the new one I’ve built for myself. It’s like you dragged my entire history to this island with you. All my unresolved shit with Mom and Dad, and the way we were raised...You’re a living reminder of all the things I ran away from. All the things I left behind.”
    “Well, of course I am,” I say, my voice cold and even, “I’m one of the things you left behind, after all.”
    My sister is silent for a spell, just taking me in. Hot tears prick my eyes, but I do my best to blink them away. I don’t want to give her the satisfaction of seeing me cry. We’re nowhere near that close, anymore.
    “Logan...” she finally says, the harshness in her voice ebbing away. “You know that it wasn’t you I was running from. I never wanted to be