The view? Alex dropped the dustpan and straightened up fast. He was basically an equal opportunity kind of guy. But that didn't mean he was cool with Isabel giving him compliments on his butt.
'I can finish later,' he mumbled. His face felt hot, and he prayed he wasn't blushing.
'The flowers are an apology present,' Isabel explained. She thrust them into his hands. 'I figured since it was my second apology in about a week, you deserved the deluxe version.'
'Uh, thanks. If it's about calling me a charity case, don't worry about it. I know you were kidding.' He set the flowers on the floor next to him.
'Actually, that's not what I'm apologizing for. Although I should apologize for that, too,' Isabel said.
Oh no, Alex thought. She's going to say she's sorry about crying when I kissed her! This was awful. Couldn't they both just pretend that it never happened? Why did girls have to talk about stuff so much?
'What I wanted to say is that I've been totally using you to help me get through… what happened,' Isabel told him. 'I've taken up every second of your time just because I was afraid to be alone.'
'That's not using me,' Alex said. 'We're friends.'
'But the other thing… you know, me thinking about Nikolas when I was kissing you and crying and everything. I do owe you an apology for that,' Isabel insisted.
It was bad enough that it happened. He really, really didn't want to do some postgame analysis of it all. 'Forget about it,' he muttered.
'I can't forget about it,' she said. 'I went to the mall after school. I wanted to look at the spot where Nikolas died, to prove to myself that I could take it.' Isabel pulled in a long, shuddering breath. 'It was horrible, but I did it.'
'That took guts,' Alex told her.
She shrugged. 'Anyway, after that I went around to some of the other stores, places Nikolas and I had gone right before…'
Alex nodded. This had to be what hell was like. Listening to Isabel tell him all her special memories about Nikolas. He knew he told her he'd be there for her. And he wanted to be. But couldn't she do this part with Liz or Maria?
'I started thinking about him. And you. And I realized if Nikolas was still alive, and you were both standing right in front of me, I'd choose you,' she said in a rush.
Yeah, she thought that now that Nikolas was dead. When they had really been standing right in front of her, she'd walked away from Alex and never looked back.
'Isabel, I… thanks for telling me that,' Alex said. 'But I don't think… I think…' Can you say babbling? he asked himself. 'I don't think it's a good idea for us to try to be more than friends.'
'Okay. I definitely understand,' Isabel answered. 'I just want to give you one more thing, then I'll take off.' She pulled a little strip of photos out of her purse and handed it to him.
The photos were obviously taken in the same booth as the last set. Alex recognized the faded blue background. At least Nikolas won't be in these, he thought.
Isabel leaned forward and touched the top photo. 'In this one I was thinking about how you helped get Valenti away from Max-right after you found out the truth about us,' she said.
She pointed to the next photo. 'And in this one I was thinking about the sound of your voice when you told me all those stories. I was sitting right on the other side of the door, listening to every word.'
She slid her finger down to the next picture. 'This is the one where I was thinking about the way you touched me at the homecoming dance. Remember?'
Alex suddenly found it hard to breathe. Yeah, he remembered. He definitely remembered.
'And the last one, in that one I was thinking about how much I want you to kiss me again,' she said.
Maybe she really meant it, he thought. Maybe she really would choose me over Nikolas.
He leaned forward slowly, then he kissed her, his lips barely brushing hers.
Isabel kept her eyes open, looking at him the whole time. At
Maria felt like someone was stabbing an ice pick into the back of her eyeballs. She couldn't get her nose to stop bleeding. But she had to hold out a little longer. Valenti was in the warehouse with the ship. She had to
'Where's Valenti?' she asked, gripping the pen in both hands. The dots spun around her, making her head feel like it was about to explode. When they clumped, she was back in the warehouse. Valenti hadn't moved since last time. A few seconds later the warehouse began to dissolve into the dots, and she didn't try to stop it from happening. She would check back in a few minutes. She needed to rest.
The dots clumped, forming her room. Maria took a deep breath and realized the blood had completely soaked the tissues in her nostrils. She reached for the box of tissues on her dresser-and the paralysis hit. She couldn't stop herself from tumbling onto the floor.
Don't panic. All you have to do is wait it out, she told herself, fighting to stay calm. You're not going to get hurt lying on the floor of your own room, okay?
Maria could feel the blood dripping out of her nose and sliding down the side of her face. The sensation was driving her nuts. She wanted to reach up and wipe the blood away. But she couldn't even move her little finger.
It won't be much longer, she thought. Her eyes started to feel dry and itchy because she couldn't blink them.
Not much longer, she repeated. Her skin felt itchy, too, itchy and hot. She must have given herself a carpet burn when she fell. Except… except
The heat covered her body, sending pinpricks of heat into every pore.
And it was getting hotter.
Michael didn't know how he was even going to get his two hours of sleep tonight. He had to be living in the noisiest house in America. Dylan was doing his snoring thing in the other bed, and Amanda had the flu. Mr. Pascal kept bringing her into the bathroom across the hall, so Michael got to hear every moment of her puking. He felt bad for her, but still…
He rolled over on his side. He was going nuts. At least Sarah hadn't started her nightly scream fest. He had to be thankful for that.
Sarah must have been a mind reader because right then she started to wail. Michael heard Mrs. Pascal rushing into her room. Which meant the singing would start any second.
I'm out of here, Michael thought. With all this going on, the Pascals probably won't even notice. And if they do, I'll deal with them-and Cuddihy-tomorrow. He crept over to the window, opened it, and crawled out.
He didn't even have to think about where to go. He headed straight for Maria's. He wanted to find out if she'd had any luck with the pen. And maybe he'd try kissing her again. That quick one hadn't brought up any little-sister feelings. Maybe he was ready to move on to the real thing and really let himself taste Maria's raspberry lips.
Michael started to jog. He loved being out at this time of night. He felt like he owned the whole town. He picked up speed, running full out, flying. He turned onto Maria's street. It was after midnight, but he knew she wouldn't mind a late visit. She never did.
Her mom's car was parked in the driveway, so he tried to be extra quiet as he climbed over the fence. He crept around to Maria's window. It was still open, so he climbed on in.
And saw her lying on the floor. A sharp acid taste flooded his mouth as he rushed over to her. Maria's blue eyes stared up at him, blank and empty. Blood was smeared under her nose and down one cheek. And tiny red dots covered her skin-her face, her neck, her arms, her hands, everywhere that he could see.
'Maria!' He took her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. Her body was stiff and still under his hands. 'Maria, come on! Say something.' She didn't utter a sound.
