'What am I doing?'
Wendy could barely gulp enough air into her mouth before she had to exhale, gasping for breath as her feet hit the concrete.
'Where can I run to?'
Her lungs were burning but she kept running. She had never disobeyed, never defied her mother before. What would happen if she was caught…Wendy shuddered at the thought and continued to run. Her eyes were glued to the sidewalk, too scared to look behind her in case she would see her mother's face inches away from her own, contorted in fury. She turned a corner into an alleyway.
"Hey!" someone shouted, and before she knew it, she was on the ground, oranges rolling around and eggs splattering onto the pavement.
"Ow, what the hell?" the same harsh voice cursed under his breath.
"Are you okay, Damien?" another voice asked, a girl's this time.
Wendy raised her head. A girl with black, wavy hair was standing a foot away in front of her. She was grabbing onto the arm of a taller boy who had an annoyed look on his face, stopping him from falling after Wendy ran into him.
'Damien?' She replayed the name in her head. 'That name sounds familiar.'
"Yeah, thanks. Ugh, but the eggs…" he shot her a glare, but it curiously softened when he seemed to recognize her.
"Hey, are you okay?" The girl's face was filled with genuine concern as she leaned down, extending a hand to Wendy. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"Aren't you Winston's sister?" Damien asked.
'Help me, please,' Wendy wanted to say, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out. Panic rose to the back of her throat as she struggled to form words.
But the girl's dark brown eyes widened, and she nodded as if she could hear her. She pulled Wendy to her feet with surprising strength. "You have to hide," she insisted in a hushed voice.
"Wisteria, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Damien demanded as the girl led Wendy deeper into the alley, opening the top of a dumpster.
"Get in," Wisteria ordered her in a whisper.
Wendy scrambled into the dumpster, cringing at the smell of garbage but not complaining. She squeezed herself between two trash bags, trying to make as little noise as possible as Wisteria shut the top, closing her off into the dark.
Mere seconds later, Wendy heard her mother's voice, out of breath, shouting, "You! Have you seen a girl run this way? Blonde hair, two braids, white dress, about this tall?"
Wendy clasped a hand over her mouth. She could swear her mother could hear her breathing, her heartbeat causing the metal walls to vibrate.
"Two braids? Yeah we saw her, she ran into us," Wisteria said, in a tone so cold that Wendy almost thought it was a different person speaking. "She went that way."
The thundering of footsteps passed the dumpster, and Wendy braced herself for the top to be thrown open and to be yanked out of the garbage by her braids. But her mother ran past the dumpster, the sound of shoes hitting concrete growing quieter and quieter until they could no longer be heard.
It felt like an eternity had passed after the patter of footsteps had faded away. Wendy was almost sure that Wisteria and Damien had already left when the top of the dumpster finally opened.
"It's safe to come out now," Wisteria said, the warmth returning in her voice. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yes," Wendy responded, stumbling as she struggled to climb out of the dumpster.
"Woah! Careful, slowly now." Wisteria caught her by the arm, supporting her as she got out of the dumpster.
"Thank you," Wendy said. "But why did you help me?"
"Why did we help you?" Wisteria exchanged looks with Damien, who merely shrugged. She smiled. "Because you needed help. There are only a few weeks until we all go to the Garden. I figured everyone's going through a rough time right now."
"You're Winston's sister, aren't you?" Damien asked.
"Yes." Wendy nodded.
"I thought so. You don't recognize me? I walked home with your brother almost every day."
Wendy squinted as she studied his face. Something about him was familiar, but she could not quite put her finger on where she had seen him before. "I suppose so," she said finally, deciding he was probably right.
"Do you have anywhere to go?" Wisteria asked.
Wendy shook her head.
"Well…" Wisteria's eyes trailed to the bag of groceries in Damien's hands. "We bought a lot of groceries, and it'd be a shame for them to go to waste. Why don't you come home with us?"
"What? Wisteria, what are you-" Damien began to protest.
"That's not a problem, right?" Wisteria stared him in the eye, unblinking. The two engaged in a furious staring contest—Wisteria, eyes wide, an almost unnerving smile on her face; Damien, his brows furrowed, frowning—until he finally sighed.
"Yeah. Whatever, it's fine."
"Yay!" Wisteria cheered, and to Wendy's surprise, linked arms with her. "Then it's settled! You're coming with us!"
"A-Ah, thank you…?" Wendy said, grateful but dazed, unsure of how to respond.
"It's my pleasure! Oh, we could have tea! And Damien baked some cookies yesterday, I'm sure you'll enjoy them…"
As the two girls—well, maybe just Wisteria—chattered away, Damien walked a small distance behind them. His stern expression changed to a worried one.
"Wisteria…" he said quietly to himself, "what did you see?"