Honesty Falls

3️⃣two

            From the woods, she could see the Bloodstone mansion.

            That's what it was called, but it was no more than a medium size two-story home.

            It was rumored that the first Bloodstone to live in the house had no intentions of his children ever being trapped here, so he knew he'd need no extra rooms. So to this day, the top floor was still unfinished.

            Not even walls. Just the joists and the windows.

            The downstairs was supposedly extravagant. Or at least it had been in its day. A vast library. A large study, and a huge common area that could hold the most important of his pack.

            Only a selected few had ever been invited in, and out of all those selected few they'd all had been wolf shifters.

            As a little girl she could remember some of the older, cooler kids all having bets on who was going to be the first warlock to cross the entry way. Or would a bear shifter be the first?

            She could remember no one ever entering the place. Maybe if anyone was ever brave enough, they never mentioned it because it would have ruined the fun.

            She'd been staring at it for a while now. Waiting to see movement. Waiting for him to know that she was close by.

            When that didn't seem to be the case, she continued on her way to the fort hidden within a shelter of trees.

            "Rylee, it's Nevaeha. May I enter?"

            "You came!" The small girl wore a smile from ear to ear.

            "I told you I would, and I always try to keep my promises if I can."

            The fort was every child's fantasy. Hidden, cozy, and a secret.

            Inside, there was an actual floor and pillows piled high.

            "I brought you breakfast and some books to read."

            "Thank you, Miss Roe."

            "I told you, you could call me Nevaeha. Or even Ne."

            "I forgot."

            The girl hadn't been a part of her class for more than five minutes when she learned the truth about Rylee Bloodstone. She wasn't the least bit shy, nor was she behind in her schooling.

            By the time Nevaeha had walked her home, she'd known that Rylee's favorite color was pink. She loved to read more than anything, and she was scared.

            Scared of her mother. Her uncle. Her father more than anybody. Scared of most grownups, but by the time they made it to her home, the child announced she wasn't afraid of her.

            At a very young age, Rylee learned to blend in. She learned how to pretend to be shy and slow so people would leave her alone.

            "Mama said when I came home, I smelled of bear. She doesn't like the smell, but I think I do. Geraldine is about the best thing I've seen in my whole life. Karev, Cody, and Johnson are cool too."

            "I'm glad all of you became such fast friends."

            The girl nodded. "I can trust them. Sometimes I just know right away. It's like an interwishing."

            Nevaeha smiled. "I wish I had that. I have a problem of trusting everyone."

            Rylee sobered. "You should never do that, Ms. Roe. There are some very bad people in the world."