Page 20 (1/2)

Chapter Nineteen

Pagan

Sleeping on it didn’tit any easier It seemed like a really bad dreaht with Nathan I had two feone The other wasn’t human I was truly alone I reached for my phone and scrolled down my contacts until I found my mother’s number I needed to hear her voice This an? Hey, Honey, are you okay?"

"I’m okay," I assured her I wasn’t one to call home much The one time we had talked last week had been when she’d calledin

"It’s seven in theawake at seven in the ht am classes a week, thank you very much"

"Oh, well that explains it This is a new phenoet you up before seven thirty"

"I’ a lu this better I wanted to go curl up on the couch with her and watch CSI reruns

"You sure? Because soed to choke out without crying

"Oh, baby I miss you too! Are you homesick? I could come visit Do you want me to come visit?"

No I didn’t want her to come visit because I may not let her leave me "No I’ and tell you that I "

Moet ho for you"

"Thanks I can look forward to those I need to go now I’ve got to get dressed"

"Alright Don’t be late for class Call irl and you’ll find your place there real soon"

"Okay, I’ll talk to you soon Love you"

"Love you, Honey Bye"

"Bye"

I dropped the phone onto the bed and stood up to go get a shower My eyes landed on the silver Celtic knot that had once hung around Dank’s neck It was lying on top of my notebook I started to reach for it and stopped I wasn’t sure how it got here and why it was here I’d told hi he could be inI hurried to the bathroo out of this room and in the real world where people had bodies and weren’t ioal

When I opened the front door of the dorm to head to class I stopped when Jay shoved off fro on He had a coffee in his hands I knew Jay didn’t drink coffee

"Goodthe coffee out toward me "Caramel latte hipped crea the cup fro coffee service?"

Jay shrugged, "It gave me a reason to see you Miranda told ht I’d see if I could score soet to startI took a sip of the coffee then sighed my approval "Well, thank you That’s really sweet"

"I had one ether That was his nervous gesture I kneell

"Okay, but can we discuss it onup beside him

"Yeah, yeah, of course" We walked down the stairs and headed for the sidewalk that led to the front of the English building

"Okay What is it you want that you got up to co?"

"I ondering if there was any chance you’d give me one more chance at a date Just friends, but, well not just friends I want to spend ti You used to kick "

Under normal circumstances, this would have been a definite no However, I was lonely I needed friends Jay had beenti out with Death was the worst idea in the world This was definitely a step up; at least he was human He wasn’t as sexy and his kisses didn’t h I couldn’t ainst Dank It was unfair He wasn’t human so therefore a human could not compete

"Sure That sounds like fun When do you want to do this?"

Jay stopped walking and looked over at me as if he didn’t believe I’d just said yes He started walking again grinning like I’d just offered hiht We don’t have school the nextto do "Sounds like a plan"

Three weeks later and I’d found a coht me coffee three days a week and walked me to class We went out to eat with Miranda and Nathan on Tuesdays, ent bowling on Thursdays and Friday night was dinner and awas very organized and very boring

The one thing I’d learned was that having someone with you all the time did not take away the loneliness You could be surrounded by people and be lonely Soht when it ithin ht I was supposed to go to a study group for er in It bothered me that Iinto class knowing he one now I had the excite and headed out the door and down the steps The loud screeching of , crunching sound ofout of the dorm to see what happened I walked with the crowd closer to the street where the two cars that had collided were now still S out of the hoods The s to call 911; others were crying

The shattering of glass drew everyone’s attention to the car that had flipped The weight the SUV was putting on the sin either car I heard girls on their phones aroundother people about the wreck No one seemed to knoho it was just yet

It was then I felt him I couldn’t see him but he was here No one else seemed to notice Why was it that I did? I scanned both the wrecked cars for any sign of him but he wasn’t visible The fact I kneas nearby didn’t frighten me If I was honest with myself I wanted to see him Warmth ran up my arms and I shivered "Where are you?" I whispered

I got no response

The waran to blare and the croas one

I was sad Not because I knew someone in those cars had died I was sad because he’d been close but I hadn’t been able to see hi with h the crowd until I was free of the bodies pressed closely together as they tried to get a closer look at the accident Taking a deep breath I walked over and sat down on the steps I was positive that our study group would not ht I just hoped it was no one I knew in those vehicles

My phone began ringing and I pulled it out to see Miranda’s nu on the screen

"Hey"

"Oh oodness you’re okay I just saw the wreck on the news and it was right outside our dor any more information so I wasn’t sure Jay is already on his way over there I called him and he left work and headed your way"

I wasn’t in the o curl up in my room alone and pull out the necklace I’d hidden in my drawer Dank had left it with me for a reason I needed to understand why

"I’h I think they have roads blocked off But I’ll call and let him know I’m safe It is a bad one No one knoho it is yet"

"Call o inside and be safe," Miranda said in a co up

By the ti towed off the road and the coroner had pronounced the driver of the ser of the other vehicle had also been pronounced dead All I could think about was that Dank had to live through this daily It was so he could never escape Did it bother hiht you so to eat," Jay said as he climbed the steps to the dorm and sat beside me I hadn’t been able to walk away fro it Everyto be told someone they loved was dead I’d watched it all They walked away tonight hating Death It had taken from them I could understand their pain but my chest ached for Dank He didn’t cause the accident He didn’t choose to have those people die It was their bodies that couldn’t survive It wasn’t his fault that their souls could no longer stay inside their bodies But because of his name and his purpose people hated him The event in everyone’s life wasn’t an event at all It was a being If they only understood that it wasn’t Death’s fault

"I figured you hadn’t eaten anything," Jay said as I took the bag froreasier fries wafted up fro but h for food

"I don’t think I can eat anything," I said apologetically It was nice of hio to bed and forget Forget what I knew Forget what I’d seen It all hurt too o inside Watching this isn’t good for you"