Chapter 1
Two weeks later
Mal's eyelids fluttered violently over her deep green eyes. A small whimper escaped from her lips every so often. She didn't know why she kept reliving this. It was too painful.
Mal, wake up! Wake up! she heard a voice say.
When Mal finally opened her eyes, she heard Evie at her sewing machine just as the sun was starting to appear in the sky. It looked like Evie was working on yet another new outfit, though it was dark enough- not to mention early enough- that Mal couldn't tell what it was.
"Evie!" Mal yelled, causing Evie to jump in her seat and let out a slight yelp. Mal looked at her with a feigned grin and playful look in her eyes.
"Mal! What the heck was that for? You made me mess up my stitches!" Evie whined, obviously not happy about what had happened.
Mal smirked mischievously. "Come on, you know you love me!" she teased as she got out of bed and walked to her closet. She flung open the closet doors and tried to decide what to wear for the day, all the while hearing Evie struggling to find her seam ripper. A pang of regret pierced her heart, and she began to feel incredibly guilty about what had happened. She thought about walking over to where Evie was sitting to apologize, but she quickly shook the thought out of her mind. After all, Evie knew that she was just teasing. Or at least Mal thought she did. Did she?
Evie noticed that something was up and walked over to her dear friend. "Mal, are you okay?" she asked timidly, placing a hand on Mal's shoulder.
Tears began to well up in Mal's eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," she whispered back, almost inaudibly.
No, I'm not okay, Mal thought to herself. I was attacked by my fiancé.
Evie knew that Mal wasn't telling her the truth, but she didn't want to push the issue. Mal was a very private person who didn't like to be pushed into saying or doing something she didn't want to say or do, so she decided not to press further. "Hey, it's almost time for breakfast. After you get dressed, will you come eat with me?" Evie asked, hoping that she could help distract her friend from whatever was happening with the idea of food.
Mal debated with herself for a moment, but then decided that some food would do her some good. She turned around to face her friend and nodded, a little half-smile spreading across her face.