Page 43 of Rules of Association

“The fuck I won’t,” she spat.

There was something about the change in her voice that should have put me on high alert. But we were merging off of the highway and onto the quiet two-lane road leading up to my neighborhood. She really had nowhere to go unless she swerved around me by looping into the opposite direction of traffic… And she wouldn’t do that… Would she?

My stomach dropped

“Ceci, don’t you fucking dare,” I warned, my voice suddenly becoming serious.

Her laugh was menacing this time. “It’s clear, and I’m going for it.”

“No,” I said.Ordered. Her silence pricked at the back of my senses. “No, Ceci, you'renot doing it.”

Her voice was so calm,too calm, as she repeated, “The fuck I won’t.”

She was fucking serious. She was going to swing into oncoming traffic just to prove a point. Just to win a stupid race. And I’d forgotten something vital. Something crucial when dealing with Celestia Fernandez.

Ceci saw reason and took instruction if and when she was ready.Not before.No matter the issue, big or small, Ceci was going to do what Ceci was willing and ready to do. And knowing this, as a rule I tried not to tell her what to do. I tried not to push her, because kind of like a petulant child, if you told Ceci what to do, there was always the possibility that she’d do the exact opposite.

And my dumbass had basically just-triple-dog dared her into racing headfirst into oncoming traffic.

“Fuck.”

Predictably, but no less nerve-racking, she swerved, switching into the opposite lane and gunning it. Ceci’s car was this huge hunk of gas guzzling steel that was fast but not as fast as my car. So even as she pushed it, she still didn’t quite overtake me right away, and up ahead there were cars coming right for her. They were far enough in the distance…for now. But she wasn’t bluffing. She was going to ride this out until she either passed me or I slowed down. Either way, she had made up her mind. She wouldn’t be falling back behind me.

“Ceci,” I said, teeth clamped together, jaw aching from being locked so hard.

She chuckled in a taunting little lilt. “Slow down, Con, if you want a best friend after this.”

Up ahead, the cars were getting closer, their lights coming into view.

“Ceci,get over!” I insisted, because Ihadslowed down. Of course I did, but she wasstillin the other lane. I’m convinced she just wanted to torture me at this point.

“Hold on, I just need a little more room,” she said, sounding like she was focusing. That sound making me feel sick.

Up ahead, the cars were still far, but close enough to see Ceci and understand. Honks filled the air, urgent and panicked.

“Ceci!” I just groaned this time. Through the scene in front of me, I felt like I was seeing my life—no,herlife—flash before my eyes. It was full of red gold hair and mischievous laughs and rowdy pranks and the deepest love for those around her even if she showed it in unconventional ways.

Her life was like a flap of a butterfly’s wings, beautiful and chaotic and so damn impactful to those around her. Like the gathering of a tidal wave. Fierce and powerful, leaving everything stunned and changed in her wake. It was like that sliver of honey, sweet and raw and real.And important.And she was toying with that life.

“Cee,” I croaked, feeling itchy and unwell.

Sadist. That’s what she was. Because a second later she let out a cackling, triumphant laugh as she moved her car into the right lane, swerving in front of me and away from danger.

I was breathless. Long seconds passed before I could feel the sweet seep of air filling my lungs, helping me to feel less… Whatever the fuck I was feeling.

It was such a thin line. Being okay and not okay. Being safe and being in total fucking danger. I suppose thisallwas a thin line. Me and Ceci.Us. The us that made us friends and us that made us…more. In that moment, when she could have been in danger, I saw that line blur. Just a flicker. And then her laugh was bringing me back to the other side.

We pulled into my driveway a few minutes later. I had silently forfeited, not wanting to test her. She was obviously in a hell of a mood.

Her car slammed into park, and almost in the same motion she hopped down and immediately threw her hands in the air. I winced at her continued recklessness. My chest bubbling as I stepped out of my own car with unsteady limbs. Ceci didn’t seem to notice.

“You talked so much shit, and now you owe me,” she gloated. Buzzing like she always did, but it suddenly felt so much less invigorating and more incinerating.

“You’re crazy,” I shook my head.

“Stop it, you’re gonna make me blush,” she said sarcastically, grinning from ear to ear as she pressed palms to her cheeks.

My voice was not playful or sarcastic or anything but genuine as I stared at her, “No really, Ceci. You can’t be that crazy. You’ll get hurt if you keep—”

---