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"You tell e to the side of hiet out of here"

Raven shakes her head and skitters away froe flickers across his face as he lunges for roan as the veno, painful, too early, broken heart, old age, help me, help h all of theles my heart; unbearable and ironic because what if death omens are the cause ofvoice chips away at the blackness and pain

Sleazebag abandons asping for air Deep breaths Deep breaths Deep breaths

A hand appears in my vision, but I shake my head "Let me help you up"

"Go away" I choke "Please I swear I’m fine"

"Ember, take my hand," Asher says and the resonance of his voice settles lides throughthe pain

He helps rass out of orating "Are you okay?"

Intoxication huh my head "I’m fine…" God, please just take ers down my cheekbone, roans and lust fills his eyes

I repress aback "I think I… I think I…"

"A little help here" Raven’s sobs crash us back to reality

"I think you’ll be okay" His eyes focus on the doors of the school as he blinks the glazed look in his eyes away "But I think you need to take your friend ho her eyes out "E on"

I crouch down in front of her "Coet her to her feet, focusing past the pollution of her death, I notice both Asher and the sleazebag are gone "Where’d that guy go? Rav, did you see where he went?"

"Take me hohing, I lead her toward the parking lot, picking up h her death o froer seat of her car and buckle the seatbelt for her, then climb into the driver’s seat

"Do you have your keys on you?" I adjust the seat back by flipping the lever

Tears rain froes the keys out of her shirt pocket "I’m so sorry I don’t knohy I yelled at you"

I seal e to yell at her as I turn the engine on "Sorry for what?"

"For bailing on you so I could meet up with Garrick" She covers her face with her hands and cries, her shoulders shaking

"You bailed out on uy that has the X on his eye?" I’m stunned "But he’s a total creep"

"I like hi possessed "He’s nice, has good teeth, and is courteous"

"No, he’s not" I back the car out of the parking spot and I notice Asher’s GTO peeling out of the parking lot "Okay… where is he going?"

"Ember!" Raven shouts with terror in her eyes "Please takeon with her?

I drive toward our neighborhood, letting her cry for a few minutes, and then I turn down the volume of the radio "Okay, you have to tell ht Laden vanished," I demand in a soft but deteruy that probably slipped you a roofie"

"He didn’t do that," she protests with a quick shake of her head "It was another guy with the sa," I accuse "Your eye just twitched"

She dabs her eyes with her fingers "I’ Of course my eye twitched"

"I don’t believe you," I bluntly infor tolike yourself… You’re not taking drugs again, are you?"