Page 63 of Mex

14

“My god, this is incredible,” Bonnie moans, sliding another forkful of food into her mouth. “If I knew you could cook so well, Mex, I would have gotten with you instead of Western.”

Western gives her a look, and she smiles at him.

I numbly place another forkful of food into my mouth, my thoughts silencing me. They’re swimming around in my brain, and I’m finding it hard to concentrate. Bonnie is right, the food is incredible, but I’m so zoned out I’m eating without thought. It’s my phone that suddenly vibrates in my pocket that snaps me out of my thoughts. Only two people have this number – Jayme and Marek.

I already know, even before I look at it, who it will be.

“Excuse me,” I say, standing and pushing the chair back.

I pull the phone from my pocket and glance down to see the number I know belongs to Marek flashing on the screen. Exhaling, I answer it and bring it to my ear, glancing over my shoulder to make sure nobody has followed me outside or is listening.

“What do you need?”

My voice is clipped and short.

Marek chuckles down the line, a low, icy sound that only puts me on edge. “Now, Acacia, is that how you speak to the man who let you live?”

“How kind of you,” I mumble. “I’m forever in your debt. What do you want?”

“You.”

I want to roll my eyes, but I don’t, instead I demand, “Get to the point, please.”

“I wish to speak to you. Be here tomorrow, noon.”

Exhaling, I agree.

“Don’t be late, my darling, you know what happens when you are late ...”

“Oh, I know. I’ll be there.”

“Very good.”

With that, he hangs up the phone. I want to toss it off the porch and yell angrily, but instead, I stuff it back into my pocket and press my hands to my face. I’m going to make my request to him tomorrow and see if he’ll free me from this world, but I know that doing that means going to see Death. I have to tell him what is coming, to at least give him the chance to leave. I owe him that, at the very least.

---