Chapter 5 - The Friend She Betrayed
Ava opened the door only after the swelling went down.
Nora stood there on one shoe.
“What happened?”
“Food poisoning.”
“You’ve used that excuse twice.”
Ava walked past her.
“Stop.”
“What do you want from me?”
“The truth.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
Ava looked at Nora’s injured ankle.
Guilt climbed into her throat.
Then envy crushed it.
“You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“Act like you’re saving me.”
“I’m asking if you’re sick.”
“You look at me like I’m something broken.”
Nora’s face changed.
“I have never thought that.”
“You don’t have to say it.”
“Ava—”
“You got everything without begging for it.”
Nora laughed in disbelief.
“You think I didn’t beg?”
“You never had to.”
“My mother sold her car to keep me here.”
Ava went quiet.
Nora continued.
“I danced through stress fractures. I worked mornings at the costume shop. You know that.”
She had simply edited it out whenever jealousy needed fuel.
Nora’s voice softened.
“I was proud of you yesterday.”
That hurt more.
Ava snapped:
“I don’t need your pity.”
Nora’s eyes filled.
“Then maybe you don’t need me.”
She turned away.
Ava almost called her back.
Then the demon’s voice whispered from the dark window:
“What?”
“You heard that?”
“Heard what?”
The entity inside her shifted.
Later that night, Ava found a white feather on her pillow.
Under it was a handwritten note.
ONE GIFT RETURNED ONLY BY CHOICE.
Ava ran to Studio C.
The mirror showed Nora asleep.
The demon appeared beside her image.
“What choice?”
“You must choose to give her back what makes you special.”
“How?”
“Refuse the applause.”
“That’s all?”
“No.”
The man smiled.
“You must refuse it when it matters most.”
The gala performance.
Ava understood.
If she stepped away then, Nora’s gift would return.
“And this thing inside me?”
“It will starve.”
Ava touched her stomach.
“What happens when it starves?”
May you like
The demon’s smile vanished.
“It looks for someone else.”
