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Everybody else in this town … they're too scared of ot God on her side I'm not sure that I believe in God, but I sure as shit believe in the devil I've seen him, him and his demons

And they all ride in Cat's motorcycle club: Death by Daybreak MC

They wear leather vests and sroupies and drown themselves in booze and the skunk-y sweet scent of pot They tame wild beasts randmother's house, and they don't lose a wink of sleep about any of it I used to think of thewith uard over a princess

I don't think that anymore

“I can't believe you talkedto this,” Reba whispers, her Southern accent as thick as the hu dark, and in the distance, I swear, I can see fireflies They don’t live in the Pacific Northwest, but a girl can dreaht?

I lead the way through the brush, alternating drags of oing down, but it's the only thing that keeps the memories at bay, locks them up and throay the key I'm only seventeen—I shouldn't have to deal with this kind of shit yet Hang-ups and nighters are for people who've lived and loved and experienced and traveled

I've been trapped in a cage my whole life

So why is this happening to me? Old memories flicker up from the darkest depths of my soul

Blood drips to the floor in thick, crimson drops It pools around the knife, stains her white shirt red It's too personal, the way she watches that blade, like she knows She knows she's going to die—and I know it, too

Ain’t nobody wants to relive that shit; I shake e of my dead sister

“It's our last big hurrah before senior year,” I say, looking up at the yellon leaves on the trees It's been a hot suhborhood has a dead lawn and shriveled bushes, dusty driveways and a newfound hatred for the sun—our little Oregon town is more than ready for fall “We have to make an appearance”