Free 03 The Fate Of The Muse - Marina's Tales by Derrolyn Anderson

betrayed me, and I
tensed up, my heart pounding in my throat.
    “Hey,” Ethan replied. He looked nervous, and
his eyes darted back to meet mine. Why did I have to pick today to
forget my sunglasses?
    “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your
friend?” Her voice sounded sweet, but her eyes were hard and
appraising. They told me everything I needed to know. She still
wanted him, and she knew I stood in her way.
    “I’m Amber,” she said, holding out her hand
with a false smile.
    I got up and came over to shake it, trying to
swallow the lump in my throat. “I’m Marina,” I replied. My voice
sounded funny to me.
    She gestured to a girl standing alongside
her, “This is my friend Brittany.” The two of them exchanged a
glance before Brittany looked at me the same way she did, sizing me
up.
    “How’s business going?” Amber asked Ethan,
gesturing to one of my posters hanging from the awning. “Is what I
heard true? That’s for the land that you’re buying from that
Chinese guy?”
    The way she talked about Lue annoyed me, and
when she turned to face Ethan I got a better look at her. She was
really beautiful; a blonde, tanned golden girl– the perfect
counterpart to him. My heart sank, and my stomach tightened with
dread.
    “Yeah,” he said, coming over to slip his arm
around my waist, “It was Marina’s idea.”
    “Me and Abby,” I mumbled.
    Amber turned to her friend, “We should go to
it! I mean, we should support our local farmers.” She smiled
at Ethan, flashing perfect white teeth. I cringed a little, and
Ethan’s arm tightened on my waist.
    She focused on me, “I hear you’re best
friends with… Shayla.” Her voice had the faintest undertone of
contempt, and I remembered that there was no love lost between the
two of them. Then I realized there was only one way she could have
known that. I looked up at Ethan incredulously. They had been
talking… and they had been talking about me.
    This just kept getting better and better.
    I pulled away from him abruptly, feeling
betrayed. Then came the first flush of the anger I’d been trying so
hard to learn how to suppress, “Yes,” I said firmly, “I am.”
    She looked triumphant, clearly pleased that
she had pressed my buttons, “Maybe we’ll see you and Shayla there.”
She and her friend turned to leave, “Bye Ethan.”
    I was stunned. A few minutes ago I’d been
happy, feeling optimistic about the future. Now I stood there,
hollowed out, all the empty spots inside of me filling in with hot
boiling anger. An image of the two women crying at the
congressman’s office flashed into my mind. I had to stop this… I
had to stop this feeling before something bad happened… to her… or
to Ethan.
    “I’ve gotta go,” I said, rushing to grab my
tote.
    “Marina,” he grabbed my arm, “Listen–”
    “I’ve gotta go,” I repeated, breathing
hard.
    “She came by last week… just before you did.
I– I told her you were friends with Shayla…”
    “Why?”
    He looked chagrinned, “I dunno, she was
asking a lot of questions about you… like what you were like and
who you hung out with…”
    I imagined them talking about me and felt
sick to my stomach.
    “What is she doing here?” I fought to steady
my voice.
    He swallowed, “She moved back home… she’s
transferring to the University here next fall.”
    Great. She was back for him, they’d been
talking, and now I was going to be forced to see her cozy up to him
at college too. I hated her, and I was angry at him for putting me
through the humiliating exchange.
    A surge of jealous rage gripped me; ugly
ferocious anger I hadn’t felt since I nearly shot Peter in cold
blood. I’d truly wanted him dead, and thanks to my muse powers, the
universe found a way to get that done. I thought about the
congressman’s car going off the cliff ; I started shaking like a
leaf, trying to push it away. Now I knew for sure that my anger was
threatening me and everyone around me. I needed to try