Page 57 of She is the Darke

Flattered, she did a little curtsy and then she and Callum caught up to Alex, who was meandering down the row of Boo-zy Trick-Or-Treat tents.

She spent the next hour and a half getting a complete and personal tour from the man who created all this. He had to stop and answer questions, or delegate tasks to the people who worked for him from time to time, but for the most part, his planning was done and people were just having fun.

He introduced her to everyone. There wasn’t a shy bone in his body. Callum was very serious most of the time, but that was okay. It made her feel even better when he smiled or laughed at something she did or said. Outside the haunted house, a tall, handsome man caught up to them. “Hey Cal, the funnel cake truck just flooded. Something about a busted pipe.”

He was talking to Callum, but he was staring at Stacia. His eyes were stunningly bright, like Alex and Callum’s, but his face wasn’t near as friendly.

“Okay, I’ll handle it. Liam, this is Stacia.”

With a friendly smile, Stacia offered her hand for a shake. “Nice to meet you, Liam.”

“She doesn’t look anything like Iris,” he said.

“Liam,” Alex snarled in a gritty voice Stacia didn’t recognize.

The man’s face twisted with anger for a split second before it morphed into a mask of indifference.

Callum didn’t say anything, only watched Liam ignore her offered hand.

“Who is Iris?” she asked, confused as she let her hand drop to her side.

“Liam must’ve had a long day,” Callum rumbled.

Liam canted his head and lowered his bright gaze to the ground. His body posture changed in a second, and the anger left him.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “I’ll fix the water pipe.”

One last glance for Stacia, and then he slunk away. That was weird.

Callum watched him go with a frown and narrowed eyes.

“What was that?” Alex murmured.

“I’ll talk to him,” Callum said in a steely voice.

“Is he your best friend or something?” she asked, knowing he was important somehow.

“Yeah. We’ve been friends for a very long time. I was excited for you to meet him.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like me?” she asked. “Sometimes that happens. I had three teachers in middle school who thought I was the most annoying student ever, and they would always give me notes to bring home to my mom. They said I was always talking too much, and not paying attention, but I always made A’s on their tests so they couldn’t do anything but complain to my parents. Then I moved on to high school where I annoyed more teachers. And students. And the janitor. And Vice Principal Markle. And the crossing guards, and also this mean little Chihuahua in one of the yards I walked past on my way home from school every day. So you see, it’s okay if Liam doesn’t like me right away. It’s kind of common.”

Alex giggled, and Callum even cracked a smile. “Fuck that Chihuahua,” Callum murmured.

“Yeah!” Stacia said, relieved that he didn’t look upset anymore. “His name was Beans and he was the meanest.”

Alex was laughing harder now. “You made enemies with a dog with the name Beans?”

Stacia nodded magnanimously. “It’s a gift I don’t take for granted.”

Everything went back to being easy after that, but Stacia couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d somehow messed up, or that Liam had her confused with someone else—this Iris person.

She did her best to move on and just enjoy the day, and she did, for the most part, but that name kept replaying in her brain.

Iris.

Iris.

Why did that name feel so familiar?