Parker wasn't anywhere near, luckily. We seemed to be in the all-clear.
We raced down the steps and I needed to find Ross, we had to go home. With a force that I reserved for emergencies, I pushed past people only to see Ross in the same spot I'd left him.
A few lingering eyes spotted the tear in my dress and how messy my hair had become. The blood had dried and my eyes were wide with alarm and adrenaline.
"You look like shit," he commented, amusement written across his face when I approached.
"Ross, we have to go," I pleaded. Crouching down to his level I noticed how dilated his pupils were and how disheveled he'd become in only a few minutes.
"Reniella," he spoke. There was nothing to his voice that suggested any sort of emotion. However, from the purple circles under his eyes and messy mop of dark hair, I probably woke him up.The light that crawled toward him from the street lights behind me cast dark shadows across Louis' face. It was haunting. As if his skin was melting, distorted."Louis," I answered with just as much animosity."Are you on your own?" he asked, running a hand through his hair slowly."Yes.""Does your father know you're here?"
I stood abruptly startling both Louis and Deshawn whose eyes snapped to mine. Deshawn's warm honey orbs held concern while Louis' swirling brown was angry. Much like his sister, Louis had a short fuse."I think I'd rather walk home than listen to this," I snarled."Don't be like that, now." He chuckled. As if I was overreacting, his eyes crinkled with amusement at my words. Meanwhile, my anger boiled from the inside out causing my skin to prickle with fury. "You're being a drama queen.""Me not wanting to see the grandparents who helped their daughter - my mother, running away from her family is making me a drama queen?" I demanded. "She left without a word, you know. Dad was heartbroken, I didn't have a mother, and nobody knew why! They could have
"Don't beat yourself up over this, Rei," he murmured. "It'll all be okay in the morning. Everything will feel clearer then."His words tore an ache through my chest. I didn't believe him, of course, but the gesture was nice. With my forehead resting against the cool wood of the table, I listened carefully as the train sped along the tracks. Leaving the towering buildings and passing the trees and fields outside, I couldn't wait to get home and go to bed.I moved my head to the side to watch Deshawn who continued to rub circles on my back. It didn't help but I let him do it anyway. When he caught my eyes staring, he copied my action so that we were both facing one another, heads on our arms and eyes trained carefully on the other.
I lifted my head lazily to see a deathly pale hand point to the seat opposite mine. My gaze traveled along the arm to his gauntly thin face. His cheeks were hollowed out leaving harsh lines in its wake. He wore a suit, tailored to perfection, and a tye, stained with red. "No," I squeaked. His movements were slow but determined. Every stride he took had a meaning and he didn't waste time or energy. When he sat opposite me, I scowled. Even from across the table I felt the burn of his eyes, two puddles darker than night stared at me. His black hair was slicked back tidily, not a strand out of place and his paper-thin lips tugged up into a smirk. The cold of Deshawn beside me was merely a background thought as the man in front of me radiate
"Where's the shady small print I should read over or loopholes I should be aware of?"He shook his head. "The only reason you're helping me, to begin with, is because the universe called for it. Some things are far beyond my control and the connection you have to Deshawn is one of those things. Normally, I don't ask teenage girls to get involved with all this. So, no, there is no small print or loopholes. When this is all over, we won't be in contact until your time is up."His words sparked a tinge of curiosity. Not even Death understood the wonders of the universe or why Deshawn and I were drawn to one another, especially since I never knew him when he was alive. I doubted I'd ever get the answer."And will you check on my uncle? I won't be able t
"I went to Ross's seventh or eighth birthday party and you were the only girl there. I thought you were his sister at first - Ross and I weren't exactly friends so I didn't know his family life. I remember you were really quiet and had this weird scowl stuck to your face. Only until we started playing hide and seek did you cheer up. You stuck to Ross's side the whole way through but you worked well together," Deshawn reminisced. "I remember that party." I laughed quietly. "I remember you too." He widened his eyes in amusement. "I remember thinking, who the hell does this kid think he is taking not one, not two but three party bags!" He snorted out a laugh. "They were fo
"You know when you wish me back," he began. I hummed to show I was listening but my heart began to race. I was afraid about the wish, what if it didn't work properly? What if Death really had tricked me? "Do you think we'll remember each other? Remember all of this? And how will it work? Will I wake up right before they bury me? Or maybe we'll go back to New Year's Eve and the killer will have a change of heart? In that case, we might not remember each other. I hope that's not true. I'd like to be your friend while I'm- you know...alive." "If we do remember each other then you can buy me a Tesco meal deal. After dealing with your ghost bullshit and arsehole frien
The phone shook as I grasped it tightly in my trembling hands. The note was written on a crumpled piece of paper, torn straight from an old notebook, evident from the tattered edges.I read the messy words over and over again, trying to make sense of it all.I'm sorry,I'm so sorry to Mom, Dad, Parker, Amalia Hadid, Reniella De Vega, Deshawn Cervantes, and whoever else I've come across lately.Everywhere I look I see Deshawn's face. He's always there, whispering in my ear and sneering at the awful decisions that I've made. He hates me, in life and death, and I can't bear to see his face. It's painful. Reniella De Vega would know what I'm talking about, I know she can see him too.&n