Dead Girl in Love

“Would you really turn me in?”

“Yes.”

“Then do it. Your car’s not far away.”

I turned to look at the car, then back at Gabe. I couldn’t figure out what sort of game he was playing. Was he trying to con me into believing he was a friend? I wasn’t that naive. Still, he could have hurt me and hadn’t … yet.

“First tell me why you’re here,” I said.

“Curious?” He smiled, amused.

“I’ll listen to what you have to say before turning you in.”

“Ah, being fair-minded. I’m grateful.”

“You’re mocking me,” I accused, irritated by his smug smirk. “You may not respect Temp Lifers but I do, and it’s important to me to do a good job.”

“It was important to me too … once upon a time.” His face tensed into hard lines, but otherwise he showed no expression. He just stood there, surrounded by blooms of new life which seemed like an ironic background for someone who stole lives and should have died naturally decades ago. I should have run to the car and grabbed my GEM. But I stood still, too.

“Aren’t you afraid of being captured?” I asked.

“The DD Team has been trying for over a century with no success,” he said wryly. “The only way they’ll catch me is if I let them.”

“They came close on the boat.”

“I was gone before they even touched Earth. I have powers far beyond the average Dark Lifer. Most of them think the only way to gain energy is to steal glowing light from someone who has recently contacted the other side. But powers mean little to me anymore. This existence is meaningless and boring.” His shoulders slumped and he stared down at his hands. “I’m tired of always running, only living borrowed lives. That’s why I’ve decided to change … if you’ll help me.”

“Why me? We’re not exactly friends! You threw me in the ocean and then tied me up with duct tape.”

“That’s all in the past.”

“Only a few days!” I argued.

“Mark Twain said, Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” He gestured to a small lavender rose bush that was past its bloom and hung heavy with withered pedals. “A purple flower represents forgiveness. I’d offer you a bouquet if you’d accept it.”

“Are you trying to apologize?”

“If I was, would you accept?”

“No. I doubt you went to all the trouble to track me down just to say you’re sorry.”

“It wasn’t that difficult to find you.” We turned down a row of miniature roses, most still full with buds and ready to bloom. I had to hurry to keep up with his long-legged stride. “Once I’ve met someone, I know not only their face but also their unique aura, which is like a soul fingerprint. When I found the imposter in your body, I knew she wasn’t you.”

“You met her!” My breath caught nervously. Grammy hadn’t said a word about meeting a Dark Lifer — especially one that was #1 on the Wanted, Dead and Alive list.

“I was suspicious at first to find a Temp Lifer in your body. I thought this might be a DD Team trap until it was obvious she believed I was a friend from your school — she didn’t recognize me. Her glow, though, was surprisingly bright, almost as sweet as yours. Who is the Temp Lifer in your body?”

I shook my head, determined not to give Grammy’s secrets away. “I don’t know. I only do what I’m told.”

“But you’re a living girl, so why leave your body? It doesn’t make any sense … unless this is an elaborate trap to catch me.”

“Not everything is all about you.”

“You’re avoiding the question,” he said, his eyes narrowing.

“If you must know, I’m doing this because I care about people — something you obviously know nothing about.”

“I know too much about people — most of it unpleasant.”

“Negativity equals a bad attitude. You aren’t the only one who knows quotes. That’s from a self-help book called Pollyanna’s Rules for Gladness. You could really learn from self-help books.”

“I’d rather learn from you.” He reached out, taking my hand, his touch sizzling hot, tingling dangerously.

“No!” I pulled back. “You promised not to touch.”

“Right,” he said. “I apologize and hope you’ll listen to what I have to say without judgment. You see me as a villain but once I was like you, a new Temp Lifer eager to do a good job and improve lives.”

“Improve by lying, being cruel, and betraying trust?” I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest.

“You made me realize I’ve made grave mistakes. That day on the boat, I wanted to stay and get to know you — the real you. I regretted having to leave so abruptly, before I could confide in you. I sensed you would never betray a trust.”

I knew he was referring to the great betrayal of his human life, back in the late 1800s, when he confessed to a crime he didn’t commit to save the woman he loved, but she left him to the gallows while she went off with another man. I felt sorry for him … but was wary.

“What do you want from me?” I asked softly.

“Only that you listen to me as you would a friend.” He frowned, staring beyond me out the window. As his gaze shifted back to me, I sensed tenderness. “I’ve been alive for over a century yet don’t have one true friend.”

“You must have had some friends.”

“Only sweethearts … and that always ends badly.”

“Your fault,” I said. I thought of girls like Eli’s sister, who had fallen in love with him only to have their hearts broken.

“If I’d met you sooner, things might be different.”

“I doubt that,” I said, leaning slightly toward him as I studied his sad face. His salty ocean scent stirred my sympathy. It was dumb to feel sorry for the guy who’d carjacked me. I didn’t let down my guard but nodded for him to continue.

“No one else has talked to me like you did that night in the boat,” he told me.

I tried to remember what I’d said. After we got past the whole kidnapping thing, he’d explained about his past and how he’d gone to the gallows for the girl he loved. I’d told him a few things about myself, too. I’d admitted to being a Temp Lifer but only because I wanted to convince him to let me go.

“You said some things that made me realize I’d been living my lives wrong. I wronged you, too, yet you didn’t hold a grudge and showed unusual compassion. That’s another reason why I sought you out.”

“I can’t do anything.” I shook my head. “I’m just a typical human girl.”

“Typical?” he asked with a hint of a smile. “I think not. You’ve changed the weather of my soul like a force of nature. You’re my only hope for forgiveness so I can end this half-life of stealing bodies.”

I gasped. “You want to end your life?”

“No — I want to begin it again, where I belong. I’m ready to go home.”

“You mean … to return to the other side?”

“Yes.” He bowed his head in a solemn nod.

“I don’t believe you. This is some kind of trick.”

“No, only the truth.”

I doubted him … yet he sounded so sincere, and I couldn’t think of any other reason why he’d risk coming here. “Well … that’s easy enough,” I said. “I’ll contact the DDT with my GEM and they’ll come ASAP.”

“No!” he protested with a shake of his head.

“But you just said you wanted to go back.”

“Not by force with the Dark Disposal Team. If they take me, my future will be hell. They’ll lock my soul away in such a dark pit of horror that I’ll never see light again. I won’t be able to prove that I’ve reformed and that I’m