Eternity

When they arrived at Pete’s Pizza, Ali was already waiting for them in a red vinyl booth. Her skin shone flawlessly under the reddish lights of the restaurant. She had on a low-cut turquoise tank top, despite the fact that it wasn’t exactly beach weather. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and again he had no trouble picturing her rolling around in a bikini on the beach with cameras flashing. Everything about her was perky and oddly— almost eerily—perfect.

“Hey guys,” she said, smiling.

“Thanks for the invite,” he said as he scooted into the booth, trying not to stare too long into Ali’s ice-blue eyes. He tugged off his peacoat and adjusted the collar of his cable-knit fisherman’s sweater, hoping he looked at least semi–put together.

“I ordered a large pepperoni with mozzarella sticks on the side,” she said once they’d settled in. “Hope that’s okay.”

“Perfect, I was actually praying for a heart attack tonight,” JD said, grinning but making a mental note: Someone likes to be in charge.

“Well, luckily you have a nurse nearby if it happens,” Ali responded. “Speaking of which, Mel, how’s your ankle?”

“A little better than it was,” she said. “I’ve been icing it like you said to.”

“And making me run back and forth getting things for her,” JD interjected.

Mel glared at him while Ali laughed. “I bet I’ll have to sit out of practice for a while, though. . . . ”

JD tuned out while his sister chatted, letting his gaze fall unfocused on the windows and the parking lot outside. He bent his head to one shoulder and then to the other, listening for the snapping cracks at the base of his neck. He did that sometimes when he was stressed, despite the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Winters both told him it was bad for his posture or something.

Em. He thought of how much she loved Pete’s Pizza, especially her favorite combo of pepperoni and pineapple. He was halfway through his second set of cracks when he took in a sharp breath: As though he’d conjured her, Em Winters was coming through the door of the restaurant.

“Oh, good,” Ali said just as JD was about to call Em’s name. “Ty’s here!” She waved to the newcomer and patted the bench next to where she was sitting.

As the girl came closer, JD could see it wasn’t Em after all. Her cheekbones were wider and her eyes were green and catlike, nothing like Em’s, which were big and brown and varied in darkness according to her mood. (They got lighter, weirdly, when she was angry; dark and chocolate brown when she was relaxed.) This girl didn’t have the single freckle above her left eye.

But otherwise, Ali was right: Ty and Em were total doppelgangers.

“This is the cousin I was talking about earlier,” Ali said, introducing JD to Ty, who stuck out her hand for him to shake, which made him feel awkward. Maybe she was older? He was surprised at the firmness of her grip.

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

“The famous JD,” she responded, as though she’d been hearing about him for ages, which didn’t really make sense since he’d only met Ali today. She spoke with a casual drawl, as if she was from the South or someplace where time moved more slowly. “Meg is going to be jealous!”

“Oh yeah, meeting me. That’s on everyone’s bucket list,” he said drily. “Who’s Meg?”

“Meg’s the third one of our little trio. We’ve been wanting to meet you for a long time,” she repeated. Again, it was an odd thing to say, but JD still felt kind of flattered.

Once introductions were made, Ty joined the group, chiming in seamlessly as Ali and Melissa discussed the intricacies of some dance-tumble move for the cheerleading squad. JD sat back, unable to take his eyes off of Ty. Of course, as soon as he studied her more closely, the differences between her and Em became sharper: her voice was deeper, her mannerisms more extravagant, her laugh louder and throatier. She wore a bright red flower in her hair, and it reminded him of something, though he couldn’t remember what.

He was simultaneously attracted to her, immediately and instinctively, and put off at the same time. Like he was looking at a mirage, a mist that might vanish if he tried to touch it.

“So, what do you do around here?” Ty asked JD as they waited for the food to arrive. “Other than school, I mean.”

Nothing, he nearly said, but he could see Melissa looking at him, silently praying for him not to be a geek. So he said: “Well, I like messing around with old cars . . . and right now I’m helping my friend do the lighting for a school play.”

“Oh, cool,” Ty said, flashing him a smile that showed off her perfectly white teeth. “I’ve always been interested in theater. Lighting, especially. Isn’t it funny how one thing can look completely different depending on what light you shine on it?”

The pizza arrived, steaming and greasy, and as soon as Ty took a bite, her eyes practically rolled back in pleasure. “Ummm, thisissogood,” she said, her mouth full, eyes wide.

JD nodded and finished chewing. “Pete’s never lets you down.”

She wolfed down the rest of her slice and grabbed another one. “No, really, this is de-lish,” she said. Meanwhile, JD noticed that Ali had barely touched her own pizza.

“I guess I’m less hungry than I thought,” she said offhandedly when she saw him eyeing her plate. “Mel, want to come get refills on the soda? Then I’ll play you at Big Buck Hunter,” she added, pointing toward the handful of arcade game consoles in the corner.

“She literally has no idea what she’s missing,” Ty said when Ali and Melissa had gone off toward the counter. “I’m totally going to have a third piece!”

“Eat up,” JD said. He liked girls who could eat. That was one thing he’d always loved about Em: her crazy sweet tooth and obsession with all things chocolate. “I think I’m done. A little too grease-heavy for me.”

She looked at him seriously for a moment. When he stared back into her eyes, it was almost like looking into the center of a fire, where embers smoldered black-red. It sent shivers down his spine. “You have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve had pizza,” she said, going in for another bite. “You must think I’m such a freak, huh?”

“I think you’re hungry,” JD said.

Ty threw her head back and laughed, but it was different from before. Now the sound was surprisingly hoarse—like the laughter of a much older woman. Like she had dust in the back of her throat. The happy, hazy feeling surrounding JD dissipated momentarily.

“So, how long have you and your family been in town?” he asked. “Ascension’s a little screwed up right now. . . . ”

“Oh, you mean because of all the murders?” She dabbed at her mouth with a paper napkin, leaving a smear of red lipstick behind.

“Well, they weren’t murders, technically. There were two suicides and two accidents and . . . ” He trailed off. ?“This is a kind of morbid conversation topic, huh?”

“When bad things happen, you can’t just pretend they didn’t,” she said.

He nodded, reaching for the stack of napkins. “That’s true,” he said. “Although lots of people seem to be good at doing that.”

“Oops, don’t take this one,” she said, whisking her lipstick-marked napkin away from him. “You don’t want to end up like Chase Singer did. . . . ”

JD’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

She smiled, looking temporarily embarrassed. “Sorry, that really was morbid. I was just thinking of that lipstick mark they found on Chase’s cheek.”

“Oh . . . I didn’t . . . ” JD trailed off, wondering if he’d heard that specific detail before. It seemed like something he would remember, but he didn’t. “You—you knew Chase?”

“Just by sight,” she said casually.

And just then, it hit him where he recognized Ty’s flower from: Drea’s service. Bright crimson, like the one that had ended up in Drea’s casket.

He was hit with a wave of nausea. “Where did you get that?” he asked, pointing to her hair. It occurred to him that perhaps she had sent all those orchids. He remembered how strange they had looked against the other bouquets: just like droplets of blood.