Matt had a big grin on his face as he stepped out of his room fifteen minutes later. In his hand was his lucky pin which he rubbed against the front of his shirt. "Guess who just got a big bonus from the boss?" he chirped.
His good humor fled when he saw his friend curled up on her side on the couch with her face in her hands. Her body shook and small sobs escaped her mouth.
"What's wrong?" he asked her as he walked up and sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of her.
"I. . .I couldn't eat the cereal," she sobbed.
He shrugged. "Maybe you just need some time."
She drew her hands away to reveal her red, tear-stained face and shook her head. "That won't fix anything. You can't fix dead with time."
His shoulders fell and he pursed his lips. "Listen, Nena, I' not going to pretend to know what you're going through because-well, let's be honest, a lot of people don't know what you're going through, but I just want you to know I'm here for you, okay? You don't have to go through this alone."
A smile teased the corners of her lips as she looked up at him. "I didn't know you were that good at making speeches."
He sheepishly grinned at her. "Actually, I kind of lifted most of that from an online self-help chat board."
She rolled her eyes and sat up to wipe away her tear stains. "I wondered why you didn't throw in any memes."
Matt snorted. "It's not easy fitting cats in every conversation." There came a knock on the door. He glanced at the entrance and furrowed his brow. "Another one?"
An echo of her pulse quickening ran through Nena's body as she sat straight. "Are you expecting anybody?"
He shook his head as he stood. "No, but just stay there." He tiptoed over to the door and peeped through the tiny hole. There was a pause before he glanced over his shoulder at Nena. His face was a little pale and his voice was a trembling whisper. "What kind of coat did that Jack guy wear again?"
She frowned. "I told you he's dead."
Matt stepped away from the door and stared at her as he jerked his thumb at the entrance. "You might want to see this."
Nena stood and strode over to the door. She peeked through the peephole. Her eyes widened as she beheld the disheveled figure of Jack, complete with overcoat and messy short hair, standing on the other side. She stumbled back and shook her head. Every word she spoke was louder than the last. "I-it can't be! I saw him die! I saw him-" Matt leapt over to her and clapped a hand on her mouth.
There was another rap on the door. Matt looked from the entrance to his friend's terrified face. "You have to get out of here," he whispered to her.
She tore his hand off her mouth and glared at him. "I'm not running away-"
He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the window that led to the fire escape. "You can come back when things cool down-" he told her as he opened the window and turned to her, "-but I bet if he finds you he'll take you back to that Itchy-"
"Scratch," she corrected him.
"He'll take you back to him, and I've seen enough movies to know the devil doesn't like to be crossed," he pointed out.
Nena pursed her lips as she studied her friend. "Just don't get yourself killed, okay?"
He grinned. "Think how much I'd save on cereal costs, now get."
Nena climbed out onto the fire escape as a harder knock came from the entrance. Matt shut the window behind her and gave her a thumbs-up on the other side of the glass. She nodded and raced down the metal stairs to the dark alley below. The last ten feet were managed by a metal ladder. She climbed down and skipped the final two rungs by hopping down.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Death Cursed (Death Touched, Book One)
काल्पनिकDeath comes for everyone. For Nena, Death comes for her, but doesn't collect. She's instead picked up by a mysterious group led by a man named Scratch, and they won't let her go now that she's Death Touched. As Nena tries to understand what that m...
