How does one say “actually, I’m not feeling ready to talk to my ex-girlfriend who just re-broke up with me yesterday” to someone holding them at knifepoint? Amie couldn’t come up with ananswer fast enough as Raina turned them around, which is how she found herself face-to-face with Ziya and two of her friends.
“Hey,” Amie said weakly, hoping that any strain in her voice would just be chalked up to their recent re-estrangement. “Enjoying the festival?”
Ziya was looking at Raina’s arm wrapped around Amie’s waist, which for multiple reasons was something Amie didnotwant her attention on.
Seeming to realize Ziya wasn’t going to say anything, her friend Alison spoke up.
“Yeah!” she chirped. “We made sure to hit all the rides before getting food. Last year I got sooo sick on the Gravitron. No one wanted a repeat of that.”
“Totally,” Amie agreed, still watching Ziya.
“Hi, I’m Alison,” Alison said to Raina, glancing at her friends as if to say,Why am I the only one talking?
“Raina. Hi.”
Ziya’s other friend, Jamilah, elbowed her. “Did you want to tell Amie something?” she prompted.
Finally looking away from Raina’s arm, Ziya blinked at her. “Huh?”
“You called Amie’s name,” Jamilah said.And everyone is wondering why you’ve put us in this awkward situation, her expression added.
“Oh. Right. Um …” Ziya looked at Amie. “I just, uh, wanted to make sure you were okay.” She glanced at Raina, giving her a tight smile. “But looks like you are.”
“Yup,” Raina said before Amie could speak. “We were actually just about to ride the Ferris wheel. We should probably go before the line gets too long.”
“Right,” Amie said, her heart starting to pound at just the suggestion of riding the Ferris wheel. Of course, she wasn’t about to try to argue with Raina. Not while Ziya was within stabbing distance of that knife, at least. “It was good seeing you guys.”
Ziya had an odd expression on her face, but Amie was too concerned with getting Raina away from her to decipher it. She wanted to alert Ziya to what was happening, but she couldn’t think of a way of doing that without endangering her and her friends.
“Good seeing you, too!” Alison said, smiling.
“Yeah.” Ziya attempted the tight smile again. “Tell David I said hi.”
“I will.” Amie was being pulled away. As they turned, she had a thought.
“Tell Genevieve I said hi, too,” she added, trying to keep any urgency out of her voice.
“Who’s Genevieve?” Raina asked, suspicion staining her voice as Amie hurried them away.
Amie stiffened. Maybe she hadn’t sounded as casual as she’d hoped.
“Her … dog,” Amie stammered. “Genevieve’s her dog.”
“You told her to say hi to her dog?”
Now Amie couldn’t tell if the negativity in Raina’s tone was from doubting her story, or just a general disdain for dog people.
In an attempt to distract her captor from the attempt to signal Ziya, Amie asked, “Sodidyou know Savannah was selling the store? Is that why you killed her?”
She felt a pinch as Raina pressed the knife closer. “Keep your voice down. Jesus.”
Amie straightened her back to try to avoid further contact with the weapon. It turned out being threatened at knifepoint was incredible for one’s posture.
“I knew,” Raina continued, her voice so low Amie had to lean in to hear her over the ambient noise of the festival. “That she was planning on it, at least. I made her an offer—it was low, I knew. I’d been planning on saving for a few more years before she was ready to sell, but I’d hoped …”
She scoffed. “I was an idiot. That woman didn’t care about how many years of my life I gave to that store. She laughed when I toldher what I was willing to offer.Laughed.God, I could’ve fucking killed her right there. But I didn’t. I kept my cool.”
“Yeah, you seem really chill and levelheaded. Ow.” Amie winced as the knife pricked her back again. “Sorry.”
