Taken by Lauren Barnholdt, Aaron Gorvine Page B

the guards? Who was he? Someone else you used for your own sick enjoyment, the way you used Cam?”
    Her eyes flash with anger, and I can tell I’ve hit a nerve. But before I can figure out why, Raine’s rushing at me. “You bitch!” she screams.
    I reach up and quickly fasten her necklace around my neck. Immediately, a searing pain burns through my head. Flashes of Raine’s memory pulse through my mind, places she’s been, conversations she’s had, people she’s seen. But this time, I’m prepared for it. I’m expecting to be in her memory, and it’s not a shock. I concentrate my energy on pushing through the fog, trying to get myself back to the present. It’s like being in a dream and having to force yourself to wake up.
    When I come to, Raine is on top of me. We’re on the ground, against the pavement, and she’s scratching at my face, pulling at my hair, trying to rip her necklace off of me. I can hear Cam screaming at her to stop, and then he’s behind her, reaching for her so he can try to pull her off me. But I focus my energy and then push her, and she goes flying backwards, dropping to the ground.
    “You fucking idiot!” she screams. She stands up and begins to rush back at me, but I reach my hand out and throw her back to the ground, like she’s a rag doll. I’m strong. I’m powerful. I have Raine’s strength and she has none.
    When she looks up again, her hair is wild, her eyes rimmed with red.
    “Natalia,” Cam says. He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Please, can we get out of here? This is crazy, this is ---”
    “Cam,” I say, “go wait in the car.”
    “Go wait in the car? ” he asks. “Are you insane? I’m not going to wait in the car!
    Why, so you can kick her ass?”
    I walk over to Raine and slap her hard across the face. My hand stings from the effort, but it doesn’t bother me. In fact, it feels kind of good. “That’s for what you did to Cam,” I say. I slap her again. “And that’s for what you did to Hadley.” She reaches out and grabs my wrist, but I flick it away like it’s nothing. Then I slap her a third time, the hardest. “And that’s for what you’ve been doing to me.”
    She rushes at me then, wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling me down to the ground. I’m surprised by how strong she is, even without her necklace, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.
    We’re rolling around on the ground, and suddenly Becca and Teri are there, too, rushing to help Raine. The three of them descend on me, pulling my hair and scratching my face. I reach up and grab one of them and then push her hard to the ground.
    Whoever it is (Becca?) slams against the street hard, catching herself with her hands.
    I push Teri down next, but Raine’s still on top of me, her hands clawing at my neck. I roll over so that I’m on top of her, and then I hit her hard in the face. She grabs at my hands, but she’s weak – it’s like a baby bird trying to mess with a lion.
    The image of her and Cam floats into my mind, and I raise my hand to hit her again. But then Cam’s behind me, his arms around my waist, pulling me away. I know I could fight him if I want to, but suddenly, I’m exhausted. Raine sits up on the street, looking stunned. Her sleeveless black shirt is torn, her lip is bloody, and there’s a purple bruise beginning to form on her cheek.
    “This isn’t over!” she screams as Cam ushers me back to his car.
    Becca and Teri are already getting up, running over to Raine, making sure she’s okay. She ignores them, brushing away their concern, her focus on me.
    “Yes, it is,” I whisper as I climb into Cam’s car. “It’s completely over.” How can it not be? I have her necklace. And as long as I have it, Raine is nothing.

    ***
    Cam starts the car and pulls it onto the street, and for a second, I feel like I’m going to start crying. But surprisingly, no tears come. Maybe it’s that I’m full of adrenaline, or maybe it’s just because I’m all cried