Page 15 of A Future in Blossom

Rose pulled her back before she could head down that long road of remorse. “Claire, let’s get back to that August night. What happened next?”

“I saw Chris’s magic circle of fire on the register counter. That circle ... it meant so much to me. He’d done that trick during the senior talent show and gave me that amazing kiss, right in front of everybody—”

“Itwasan amazing kiss,” Chris said.

Claire froze, locking eyes with Chris. For seven years she’d assumed that incredible, passionate kiss had meant something only to her, not to him. She felt her face start flushing red.

“Please continue, Claire,” Rose said.

But Claire’s mind had gone blank, her thoughts went missing. Chris had stunned her voice right out of her. She had to force herself to look away from him to try and remember where she’d left off. “So ... um ... so I picked up the circle of fire and broke it into pieces and...” Her eyes filled with tears. “Suddenly sparks went flying everywhere.” She splayed one hand against her chest. “Don’t you see? I’m the one who started that fire.”

“Hold on a minute, Claire,” Chris said. “You can’t claim credit for what you didn’t know. I’m the one who’s truly responsible for that fire. That afternoon, I should have been trying to fix the cooler’s motor like I told Rose I would. Instead, I spent the afternoon practicing the circle of fire whenever there weren’t any customers in the shop.”

Jaime gasped. “Oh no you didn’t.”

Chris looked at her. “Oh yes I did.”

Despite everything, this moment brought a smile to Claire’s face. It conjured up echoes of similar conversations in the flower shop. Jaime was such a rule abider and Chris was such a rule ignorer.

Jaime’s forehead was furrowed in a frown. “Rose told you over and over that you weren’t supposed to practice your magic in the store. Too dangerous, she said.”

“I know,” Chris said, scratching his forehead. “I wasn’t listening much to anyone back then.”

A laugh burst out of Tessa. “Don’t you remember the frightyou gave poor old Mrs. Smithfield when you tried to swallow the sword?”

“Yeah,” Chris said. “That one didn’t work so well. I punctured a tonsil.”

“I’d forgotten!” Claire said. “You had to get both tonsils taken out.”

“Chris,” Rose said, sounding weary, “let’s stay focused on that August afternoon.”

“Right,” Chris said. “Normally, the circle of fire has propane inside the ring. I had a performance that evening and hadn’t practiced the circle of fire in a while. So I went to the gas station to get propane, but they were out, so I had to buy a substitute gas. Acetylene.”

“Oh my goodness,” Tessa said.

“What’s that?” Claire said.

“It’s a highly flammable gas,” Tessa said. “I only know because Dawson uses it for welding. He’s always warning me to keep away when he’s using it. It’s very unstable.”

“Yeah. Not a good choice for a magic trick.” Chris scrunched up his face. “I’d just finished refilling the circle of fire when Tessa came in, all upset and crying. Then Claire came in, all, you know”—he waved his hands in the air to indicate the state she was in—“and then she must’ve pulled the trigger when she picked it up.”

“So, Claire,” Rose said, “let’s get back to that moment.”

“The sparks started flying and then Chris yelled at all of us to run for our lives. So we bolted out of the shop and down the street, and sure enough, suddenly there was an explosion coming from inside the shop. I kept on running. Right to the bus station.”

“So did I,” Jaime said. “I hopped in Tin Lizzie and took off.”

“I ran too,” Tessa said. “All the way to Saudi Arabia.”

“And that,” Rose said, strength back in her voice, “brings up the heart of the matter. You ran.” She looked at each girl. “All three of you fled Sunrise and left me to pick up the pieces alone. All ofyou ran but Chris. He’s the one who confessed to arson, just to avoid entangling the rest of us.”

“Why did you do that?” Jaime said. “The fire was an accident. We all played a part in it.”

Chris rocked his hand in the air. “Yes and no. I’m the one who brought a highly flammable fuel into the shop in the first place, despite being warned, repeatedly, by Rose. The fire investigator determined the fire originated with the acetylene. When I learned that, I knew how things would roll out. I’d already been in juvey for arson. It made more sense to plead guilty to third-degree arson than risk being charged with first degree.” He shrugged a shoulder in a careless way. “Prison was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. Turned me around.”

Rose lifted a hand. “Chris went to prison on an arson charge just to protect your reputations. All of you.”

Claire looked at Chris at the same moment he looked at her. He’d gone to prison to protecther. Shame pierced her soul, as sharp as an arrow. She’d had no faith in him. No faith in anyone.

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