I'm halfway across the parking lot when her voice calls out behind me. There's an immediate war inside me, my heart and body demanding I stop and my brain screaming at me to run.
My steps slow, and I hate myself a little when I stop. Gardenia's sneakers smack against the tarmac as she jogs up behind me.
It's dark outside, the stars glittering above. The parking lot is mostly empty, with only a few trucks and cars parked in the shadows, and the trees that tower along the edges of the lot cast spiky patches of darkness against the sky.
The breeze whispers through the branches. Gardenia's breathing hard behind me, and I turn to face her. "What are you doing out here, Gardenia?"
She's ghostly in the moonlight. Her creamy skin is so pale, and her red hair looks almost black. Only those gree
