Page 34 of Death is My Ride or Die

“I mean, I can get my grade back up . . . ”

“No, I mean thereasonyou’re failing. We both know I’ve had my fair share of flunks, but this isyouwe’re talking about here. What’s going on?”

I chewed on my thumbnail. “Can’t a girl just miss an assignment—?”

“Did something else happen with David Star?”

I spun my chair away from her, pretending to look for a hair tie in my drawer. “I said it’s fine, Marcy. Drop it.”

“Clearly not,” she said, crossing her arms. “You haven’t failed anything since the third grade.”

That result had been a mistake, since the teacher had accidentally graded one number ahead for half of my pop quiz, and she ended up correcting it.

“What’s this?” Marcy asked, holding up a folded piece of paper that she’d plucked off the floor. “‘Tick-tock’?”

My heart fell into my stomach.

Death’s note.

“Oh, that?” I snatched it out of her hand, shredding the paper into little pieces of confetti before dumping it into the trash. “That’s just a note to humble myself. Tick-tock, life is short! Ha ha!”

Marcy stared at me like I’d just sprouted Medusa snakes as hair.

“Okayyy, let’s look at the facts,” Marcy began, flicking out a manicured nail as she counted off. “You, anA student, are failing chemistry. You’re skipping school, like, all the time now—very unlike you. When you do show up to school, you’re tired, daydreaming, and, frankly, a bit of a sour bitch. More than the usual loveable amount.”

“Kiss my ass.”

Marcy gave me a pointed look. “You’ve been doodling those freaky green cat eyes all over the place again,” she continued, “and you’ve just been acting weird. And if none of that is enough proof, you literally just said ‘ha ha’ out loud like a total weirdo. So, can you be honest with me? What’s going on? Is it David?”

I felt frozen in place, emotion tightening my chest.

“Why don’t we talk about it, Faith? You’ll feel better.”

I wasn’t one to dump my problems on other people. I tended to keep everything to myself until it all surfaced, until it all exploded. However, all the paranormal happenings in my life were much harder to keep to myself.

I rubbed my hands down my face. “David is part of the problem.”The other part being the ancient villain half of his split personality.I didn’t mention that part. “We, uh, had a big fight . . . recently.”

“You never did tell me what happened after he showed up at Manuel’s.”

“He came to apologize.”And manipulate my gullible butt.

“Apologize for what? For letting the MF girl of his dreams go? You’re funny, smart—nix that current chem grade—and you have the biggest heart of anyone I know. But it’s not bigger than that ass.”

“Marcy.”

“Not to mention, you’re gorgeous. Capital G for emphasis. Not in a ‘I know I’m hot’ or attention-craving way like everyone else who’s hot either. In a humble, girl-next-door kind of way. Which makes you even hotter.”

I laughed despite the surge of tears blurring my vision. “I’m such an idiot, Marcy. There were so many warnings that we were wrong for each other, but I ignored every one of them. I think I loved him.”

“Oh, Faith . . . ” Teary-eyed, my best friend pulled me into a bear hug, and all the emotion I’d suppressed the past few days came pouring out. I broke down in tears.

We stayed up late playing card games and doing each other’s nails while bingingBuffyon my TV. Between laughing until we wheezed and talking about all our stressors (minus anything supernatural, obviously), hanging out with my bestie had been the medicine the doctor ordered.

Marcy passed out before I did. I made sure the blanket was fully on her before I crawled into bed and hugged Mr. Wiggles to my chest. The lamp beside my bed was still on. I reached toward it but paused, my fingertips haloed by the light. A small, uneasy sensation shimmied down my spine at the thought of plunging the room into darkness. I slowly pulled my hand away and curled into a tight ball underneath my comforter to sleep.

I was in an abandoned mausoleum.

At least, I was pretty certain I was, based on the gray, crumbling marble and the crypt plates on one wall. My body felt light, numb, detached. Slowly, I looked down at my fingertips, which were haloed by a soft, white light.

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