Free In the Arms of Stone Angels by Jordan Dane

little bird with the busted wing. She thrashed around, all wounded, not realizing what she was doing to herself. Guess he felt sorry for her, too.
    That image of her was perfect. Because we’d been friends, I felt sorry for the person she could have been if she had the guts to find her own way.
    â€œWell, I’ll leave you two alone to talk.” Mom grinned and gave an awkward hug to the Hobbit Princess. “It was good to see you again, Chloe.”
    â€œYes, ma’am. Thanks for letting me wait for Brenna.”
    Once it was just the two of us, the normal thing to do would have been to sit, but I didn’t do that. Being alone with Chloe didn’t feel natural to me anymore. And I could tell she felt the same. In another lifetime, we’d been friends, but after she’d fallen so easily under Heather’s spell, I’d lost my respect for her.
    And she hadn’t changed much. Chloe chewed her nails, even though she hid it with black nail polish. And she had a nervous edginess that had made me want to protect her, until Heather came into her life and sucked the personality out of her. Chloe became a devoted follower to her much more intimidating BFF. And since every diva had the blind obedience of her faithful inner circle, that made me wonder about the real purpose of Chloe’s visit.
    Either the Queen of Hearts had sent an emissary through the rabbit hole to entice me to Wonderland or someone elsewas pulling the strings of the pixie drone with Heather gone. Jade Deluca was a likely candidate since she had been number two in line for Heather’s throne. At least, that’s what her Facebook page had declared.
    â€œWhy are you here, Chloe? It’s just the two of us. Talk to me.” I crossed my arms and waited for what she’d say. “Who sent you?”
    Chloe slumped into the chair behind her and looked at me with her baby blues.
    â€œI heard you were in town.” She shrugged. “And I wanted to see for myself, that’s all.” Okay, that so wasn’t the truth. The girl had more on her mind and I wouldn’t let her off the hook. I decided to make her squirm, with silence being my weapon of choice. And apparently, honesty was now a real showstopper in Chloe’s world.
    She clammed up and wrung her hands like I’d asked her to scoop cat shit with her bare fingers. I was afraid she’d break one of the “little bird” bones in her hands. I knew it wasn’t nice to think so little of someone as fragile as Chloe, but the girl had inflicted the damage on herself. She didn’t have the strength to stand on her own two feet and “safety in numbers” determined her self-worth.
    Like I said, I felt sorry for all of them. And my cynicism showed.
    But the biggest difference between someone from Heather’s crowd and me was that I never shared my opinions. Heather and her peeps thrived on passing rumors as if hurting people somehow inflated their status. And if they didn’t have anything real, they made shit up. That was why I kept my damned opinions to myself. I carried on whole conversations in my head, like I was doing now, but my thoughts rarely saw thelight of day. They were strictly for my own amusement, like my “screw you” toes.
    And who the hell would I talk to anyway?
    â€œActually, I’m having a party at my house tonight, the first one this summer. I was hoping you’d come.” She looked at me, trying to appear casual. When I cocked my head and glared, she added, “You’ll know some of the kids. I swear. It’ll be…nice.”
    Nice? I’d rather have a pinecone shoved up my nose.
    â€œLook, Chloe—”
    She didn’t let me finish.
    â€œI think this whole town is wrong about you. And maybe if they see you now, things will blow over.”
    I hadn’t expected her to say that and she looked as if she meant it. I wanted Chloe to be right, but I didn’t need