Why can’t I do this and what the hell is going on with me? I turn and run out the door.
3
I bust through the front door and throw myself on the couch in the den. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. I felt something begin to happen and then nothing. It’s like my reaper power doesn’t want to connect with me.
It’s a blessing my parents aren’t home right now. They’d be wanting to comfort me, but I need time to myself and space. How come everyone can do this, but me? Something isn’t right, and I have no clue what.
My stomach lets out a large grumble and a sharp hunger pain rips through me. That’s what I get for not eating breakfast. Wallowing here in self-pity isn’t going to help with that. I get up and head toward the kitchen.
After walking through the door, I head straight for the pantry and pull out some blueberry muffins. I left my backpack at school, so the ones I carried earlier are still back there. At this point, my pajamas and bed are calling my name. It seems like one of those days where I want to sleep the day away.
There is a case of bottled water next to the muffins. I grab one of those as well and head out of the kitchen to my room. I walk down the short hallway and notice Charlie’s light is off. Thank God. He’s out of the house too, so I’m alone, for at least a little while.
When I open my door, my eyes land on a person sitting on my bed. I startle and drop everything from my hands. “Ah!”
“Oh, my gosh.” Christina covers her mouth with her hands and giggles. “Aren’t you a scaredy cat.”
Holy shit. “How did you get in here?” My heart’s still hammering in my chest.
“Well, I walked in the front door but saw you wallowing.” She glances down and picks at a fingernail. “I just came up here, because I thought you might need a minute. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
Now I feel like an ass. She’s always worries she’s upset someone. “No. You know this is your second home.” I bend down and pick up the muffins and water and sit next to her. “I just had no clue you were here. I thought I was alone.”
“Yeah. I could see how you got freaked out.” She grimaces. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Wait.” I open the packet of muffins. “Aren’t you going to get in trouble for being here? Did you skip class?”
“Oh, that,” she takes her shoes off and pulls her legs up on the bed. “No, Mrs. Palmer said I could leave and come check on you. She was worried.”
Huh, I guess that’s nice. I take a bite of the muffin and chew. “I just don’t know what to do.”
“What happened today?” She reaches over and grabs a piece of my muffin. “It looked like you had it.”
I groan. “I thought I did too.” The image of the dummy fills my head. “When I got close to that stupid thing, I could feel something coming off of it today.” I close my eyes. “It was as if a heartbeat was surrounding it, calling to me.”
“Yes, that’s the life force.” Christina smiles. “You couldn’t feel that yesterday?”
“No, not at all.” There was something different going on with me today. “But today, I felt it, and something shifted inside me, but that was it. Nothing else”
“Well, that’s good. You made progress and I think that’s why Mrs. Palmer wound up giving you one more shot.” She leans back against the wall.
“How does your power work?” It’s different for her, and it’s always amazing to hear. Charlie says there is something strange with her, but I think it’s because she’s so different. I knew from day one, my best friend was special.
She snorts. “It’s complicated. I can feel my power coursing through me right now.”
Times like this, I try not to feel envious. She’s complaining because she can feel her power unprompted when I can’t feel mine when I’m in desperate need. “That doesn’t sound bad to me.”
“It is when your power wants to do the opposite of what your assignment is.” Her voice is just above a whisper.
Wait … what does that mean? “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”
“You know I struggle with things.” She snorts and shakes her head. “Yesterday, when I was doing that assignment, that life force spell had my power going crazy. It reminded me of that time when the baby bird fell from the tree.”
We haven’t talked about that instance since we were twelve. If anyone knew she brought a dead thing back to life, there’s no telling what the repercussions would be. She confided in me that day and we both vowed to never bring it up again. For her to be talking about this is a huge deal. “You wanted to bring the dummy to life?” Wait. That sounds funny.
After about two seconds, we both break out into a fit of laughter.
“It sounds bad when you put it that way.” She wipes some tears of laughter from her eyes, but her face returns serious. “But yes. My reaping power was giving me a hard time.”
Okay, that’s not funny after all. That’s bad. Our powers can’t be giving us a hard time. Our senior year is to show we are ready for this life—or death. Whatever. We’re not supposed to be struggling. “But you did it.”
“Barely, but I did.” She taps her hand on her leg. “My mom and dad wouldn’t have it any other way.” A sneer crosses her beautiful face.
