The Friends We Used to Be

Prologue

Sometimes a deep and special magic is woven into the friendship of teenage girls.

Girls whose light shines twice as brightly when they’re together.

They walk into a room sparkling like diamonds, feeding off their delight in each other.

They are a magnetic force of sunlight and possibilities and joy.

That was us back then. The Core Four—Audrey, Micah, Jasmine and Beck.

The lucky one, the beautiful one, the smart one, the sporty one.

We were veins of gold woven into granite, an impenetrable pack that was both envied and admired, not because we had status or power, but because of the magic.

The sparkle. We were welded together in a way that made it clear we were four—not three, not five.

Four equal parts; no leader, no weakest link.

We were that rarest thing in the world of teenage girls—happy.

Kind. Loyal. Fun. We never doubted that we’d stay friends forever, be in each other’s weddings, godmothers to each other’s children.

We’d take family vacations together and have Core Four weekends that no one would ever miss. Friends to the grave.

Until that night, when the accident took away the friendship we didn’t think could ever be destroyed. That night, everything we thought was true died.