I nodded but didn't offer her an explanation. "How about your dad?" "They divorced by then. She moved around a lot, and she took me with her everywhere. It was an adventure for her." "Did you like it?" "Hell, no." She squeezed my hand. "My parents are loaded, and after the divorce, my mom fleeced my dad every drop she could. She didn't need the money, but she needed to punish him. They hated each other." "It must have been hard for you," she said. I shrugged. "It was my normal." I couldn't say I missed anything because I didn't know what to miss. I grew up with parents who hated each other's guts. I thought everyone's parents were the same. "We stayed here the longest, but she hated it here too." Talking about Raven twisted something in my gut. "The only reason we stayed here was because she met a man. But I was..." I searched for the word. "Content here." "Did you have a lot of friends here?" I chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "I don't do friends." "You hang out with Caleb." A small laughter came out, and this time it was real. "He didn't give me a choice." "Best friends forever, huh?" I gave her a smile. I pushed her back gently behind me when I saw tree branches on the way. I shoved them back and gestured for her to go on, holding them back so they didn't scratch her skin. "The boys in my class talked about this place a lot. They said it was haunted and anyone who entered the maze is cursed. The people in this town believed it so no one came here." "But you did." "Yeah," I said. "I did. It felt like mine even when it wasn't. I felt... safe here. And the only time I felt happy." But I felt my body go numb when I said, "A boy in my school came here too." She sensed what I was feeling because she pulled me closer to her, as if she was trying to protect me. "I first saw him behind the school grounds. He was getting beat up by these bullies. Three to one. I hated seeing that shit. F ucking cowards. So I beat them up." "You beat up three bullies? How? Bet you were big back then too, huh?" she teased. I knew she was trying to lighten the situation, and I appreciated it, but nothing could make this better. "I wished I was bigger when I was a kid," she went on. "It would have been easier to defend myself if I was." She gave me an approving look. "That's pretty awesome of you though." She wouldn't think so after she heard everything. I felt sick in the pit of my stomach. "How old were you then?" "Eight," I replied. "And your friend?" "Same age as me." "And how old were those bullies?" "Some of them were in my grade, some were older by a couple years." "It's easier to assume the bigger and older bullies were the worst. But that's not always the case." I looked at her, waiting for her to tell me more, but she shook her head. I studied her face. It sounded like she had dealt with bullies when she was younger. The thought of her getting bullied gave me a sick feeling to my stomach and anger that I wasn't there to defend her. But I bet she fought hard and defended herself pretty damn well. "I'll tell you about my childhood woes next time. Keep going, Cam." I wondered if she was aware she called me Cam. She did before too, when we were kissing. I would have smiled if we were elsewhere. "So you defended this boy against these shitheads. What happened next?" I could see the bend now. A few more turns and we'd be there. "He wanted to be friends. I kept avoiding him. I didn't want a friend and told him I'd beat the crap out of him if he kept at it, but he wasn't intimidated." "You did save him from those assholes. You're his saviour so that automatically makes you his friend." She smiled, encouraging me to keep going. "Probably. In any case, he kept following me. Until one day we just started hanging out." "Sweet." I clenched my jaw. There was nothing damn sweet about it, and she'd know it soon. I wondered if she'd still smile at me after hearing the whole story. "He found out about the maze from me. I showed it to him. He was scared at first, like most kids, but I told him I'd been hanging out here almost everyday for the past few months. I didn't want to show him at first. I was selfish with it but he wanted to hang out with me. I wasn't going any place else. I was addicted to this place. I wanted to find out every secret door, every nook and cranny. I was going to memorize everything about this maze. I had a map." She didn't say anything, just listened. "But he was better at it though." I smiled a little, remembering, but it felt stiff. "He found more hidden spots than I did. He was smaller than me, thinner, almost malnourished, really. It was easier for him to squeeze through the bushes. I found out later on he was a foster kid and his foster parents didn't feed him. Sometimes they'd kick him out and let him sleep outside." I heard her gasp of outrage. She was quiet for a while and then she asked, "You let him stay with you, didn't you? You gave him food. You took care of him." "I shouldn't have. I should've made him stay away from me. I shouldn't have let him be my friend." "Why?" Her eyes were direct and non-judgmental as they looked at my face. They wouldn't be for long. I could see the exit now. A few more steps. "We're here," I told her. I pushed the secret door hidden behind thick vines and debris. And stepped out into an open wide field. There was nothing there but fields of grass. "Cameron," she said softly. "Tell me why. Tell me why you don't think he should've been your friend." I could feel my body harden, then go numb. And when I faced her, I knew she wouldn't see any hint of emotion on my face. "He's dead," I told her coldly. "He's dead because of me."