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blanket.”
    “Good thinking.” Evie turned her head, a slow smile forming on her lips. “Smart, even.”
    “Glad you think I’m not a hopeless case.”
    “Oh, I think a lot, Blythe, but never that.” Evie’s expression turned a little wicked.
    Blythe muted a gasp at the last moment. Was Evie actually flirting with her? Blythe had never mastered that particular art, and it had been too long since she’d thought of a woman that way. Working too hard, all-consumed by looking at life through the lens of her camera, she had withdrawn. Apart from communicating with her agent and the people she worked with, she spent what little free time she had in her condo. Even then, she worked on her photos, using her computer to experiment on them. She was far more comfortable doing that than reading other people’s signals. Blythe returned Evie’s smile carefully. “Want to share what you do think?” she heard herself ask. To her surprise, and intrigue, Evie blushed faintly.
    “Um. That I find you amazing. Admirable. Pretty.” Evie pulled her knees up, hugging them close.
    “Admirable? Pretty? Huh.” Blythe cringed. She was never comfortable accepting compliments and always suspected ulterior motives behind them. Surely Evie was pulling her leg.
    “Is that so surprising?”
    “Yes. And unexpected.” Blythe took a deep breath. “What makes you say that? I’m not fishing for compliments or details, just your reason.”
    Evie’s lips parted and she looked confused, a small frown appearing between her eyebrows. “You think I’d come up with a compliment that isn’t true? What would be the point?” She tilted her head, her eyes becoming like unwavering green searchlights, impossible to look away from.
    “I haven’t the faintest,” Blythe murmured, withdrawing from the camaraderie they’d shared briefly. Looked like Evie was of the same make as many other people who’d enjoyed taunting her back when she allowed such remarks to bother her. Blythe had run her own race for many years, and one of the ways she did that was to close the door on that soft, vulnerable inner part of her that bled so easily. The shell became harder with each hurt, impenetrable, or at least, that’s how Blythe chose to see it.
    Evie leaned closer. “Hey. Where did you go? You’re good at that, aren’t you? Shutting yourself in, like the shutter opening and closing in your camera.”
    “Evie, please.” Blythe folded her arms over her chest.
    “Ah. I see.” Evie scooted closer, startling her by finding and gently cradling one of her hands between hers. “I said something that hurt. It was a compliment and a very true one, but if you hate anyone calling you pretty, I won’t do it again. Okay?”
    “I’m quite a bit older than you. I can handle whatever you choose to call me.” Blythe meant to sound indifferent, but her voice had a faint tremble. Naturally, as she was trying to get her emotions in check, the thunder and wind escalated and something, a branch perhaps, slammed against the wall close to where they sat. Mortified, she felt her body go rigid and could smell smoke, taste dust, and hear cries of pain in the distance. Trembling, she clung to Evie’s hand.
    “Hey, I’m here. You’re okay. You’re fine.” Evie closed the last bit of distance between them and almost pulled Blythe onto her lap. Wrapping the blanket around them, she uttered hushing, comforting sounds. “I’ve got you. We’re in a storm, but we’re safe.”
    “I—I can hear them. I can hear them cry out. I smell the…the blood.” Blythe had never had such a strong flashback in the company of another person, and to go through this in Evie’s presence embarrassed yet oddly comforted her.
    “It must’ve been hell to witness what you’ve seen.”
    “I saw you too, through the camera. The smoke, the flames. All I could do was keep pressing the shutter release. You were hurt. I kept taking pictures. Others were dismembered, gutted, and I took fucking