In The Dark

CHAPTER 1

|REUNITED|

She climbed out of the taxi, rearranging the pristine knee length dress to its original, more modest position. The crisp air pushed lazily past her, carrying a shy, briny aroma tinged with blue; a stark contrast to the poignant attack her nose endured in the taxi ride.

"Thank you," she called out to the driver, barely registering his lack of acknowledgement as she hurried to get her items out of the cab. She held on to the gift bag she had brought with her, as well as her small duffle bag, before turning to face the house she would be staying in for the weekend.

She had been here before, of course; the beautiful, two story house didn't faze her in the slightest, as it probably would the average stranger. Having a beach house such as this one in California only meant you had money. But she, by no means, was a part of the elite group that called these houses their vacation properties.

On the contrary, she was part of the group of people that had major debts hanging over their heads with no hope of ever paying it back; and in her case, the college debt she owed was so great that, even though she hadn't even graduated as yet, she dreaded having to repay every penny for the next 100 or so years of her life.

She wiped her clammy hands along the length of her dress and began walking up the short flight of stairs to the front door. Was it a mistake coming here after everything that had occurred? She wasn't sure, but she was about to find out.

Not bothering to knock, she opened the door and walked in to a familiar scene. Kate and David Williams, a wine glass and a scotch glass placed in their hands respectively, stood in the kitchen of their house. Kate, her slender hand gracefully resting over her heart, was laughing heartily at something her husband of 27 years was saying; no doubt his joke was the typical dad joke that she would go ballistic over for some reason.

Being the parents of her best friends of almost ten years, Emma couldn't remember a time when these two weren't laughing at each other. Usually, alcohol wasn't involved, seeing as work never ceased for them, but this was a weekend of relaxation, and she knew alcohol would be attending the festivities in abundance.

They were perfect in every sense of the word to Emma. College sweethearts, both from affluent families, who went on to open their own law firm together, had two wonderful, intelligent kids and are still married and happily in love to this day. Emma couldn't think of a better fairytale life if Disney were to write it themselves.

"Am I interrupting another of David's unamusing jokes?" she chimed in, closing the door behind her. Kate spun around so suddenly that the wine spilled a little on the exquisite marble countertops.

Emma, having not seen her for some time, was mildly taken aback by Kate's beauty, which she had seemed to have forgotten. Her radiance was astounding, blinding her like the first rays of sunshine after a deep, dark slumber. It chased away the remnants of nightmares and filled you with its halcyon glow. It calmed her down, and had done so for so long that Emma could do naught but stare at the angel with the golden tresses framing her head like a halo. Her soft features hadn't aged much since Emma first met her, only gathering a few tender lines, but still somehow maintaining its youthfulness.

"Mimi!" she shouted, her heightened tone of voice a major indication of her intoxication level. Emma grimaced at the family's nickname for her. It was a clever joke courtesy their son, but somehow the name just stuck. "Sophie said you weren't coming!" she continued shouting, throwing the wine glass in her husband's direction before running to embrace her.

For a woman in her early fifties, Kate was lean but surprisingly strong. She knocked the air out of Emma's lungs momentarily before David, thankfully, interjected.