A fight broke out, and Jared stood. He was on high alert, waiting for the crowd around us to shell. I watched the scuffle until they were thrown outside, and then I breathed. Jared was right. I was too confident. Even with the added security of Claire and Ryan, Chad and Beth could easily be hurt if the rowdy crowd inside shelled and we had to fight our way out.

“Maybe we should find somewhere else,” I said.

“I agree,” Beth jumped in.

“I’ll get the tab,” Jared said.

Claire rolled her eyes. “You guys are babies.”

Beth and I left Claire and Ryan sitting at the table, walking together toward the door. Just a few feet away, we waited for Chad and Jared to pay the bill. Chad was laughing at something Jared had said. I smiled. There was something so satisfying about Jared socializing with someone other than our inner circle. It made him more...human.

Spending time with people who didn’t know our secrets was relaxing for me, and it seemed to be that way for Jared, too. In that moment, I accepted my choice to keep the truth from Beth. Not only was it for her own safety, but I could rationalize that it was for my own sanity as well.

“You’ve really popped!” Beth said, gesturing to my stomach.

Instinctively I put my hand on my rounded belly. “Crazy, isn’t it? It seems like it happened overnight.”

Just then another fight broke out. People were punching and shoving, their bodies bouncing against each other like pinballs. I desperately tried to find Jared in the chaos, but when a line of sight finally opened up, he was no longer beside the bar.

Knowing the safest place for us was outside, I hurriedly opened the door and pushed Beth into the night air. The fighting spilled out onto the sidewalk, forcing Beth and me farther away. I tried to keep her out of harm’s way, tugging on her until we found ourselves in the alley.

“Oddly enough, I feel safer in the dark,” Beth whispered.

Yelling and breaking glass sounded just around the corner, and I decided to stay put. We waited for Jared and Chad, but the minutes passed, and I fought away feeling of panic. I imagined they were fighting their way out of the pub in that moment, and at any second they would come around the corner.

The small space between the two buildings didn’t allow for much light. I felt a chill down my spine, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. From each end of the alleyway, whispers floated from the shadows.

I squeezed Beth’s hand. “We should see what’s taking so long.”