Dancing Days

by Val St. Crowe

  * * *

  Later, Nora sat in her tent with her friends, holding Catling in her lap and petting her. Catling had been very vocal ever since Owen had been in the tent, and the only way she’d be quiet was if Nora stroked her. Nora was exhausted from crying. She’d explained everything to them, and they told her she’d done the right thing. They told her that deep down, they’d always felt like something wasn’t right about Owen, but they didn’t want to make her angry by saying so.

  “He never let you see us,” said Maddie. “He was selfish. And it seemed like he was always mad at you.”

  “You’re going to be way better off without him,” said Sawyer.

  Nora nodded, sniffling. She knew they were right. “He was all I had for so long. I guess I didn’t know that things could be any better. I thought the way he treated me was normal.”

  “He was horrible to you,” said Maddie, giving her a hug.

  Nora pulled back. “He wasn’t always horrible.”

  “Come on, Nora,” said Sawyer, “you’ve got to stop defending him.”

  “I don’t mean to defend him exactly,” said Nora. “I’m only saying that he did take care of me, keep me safe when we were kids. And he brought me to Helicon. I am important to him. You said it once, Maddie. He’s obsessed with me.”

  The three were quiet for a moment.

  “That’s going to mean he’s going to get even worse now that you aren’t together, isn’t it?” said Sawyer.