Page 109 of Death is My BFF
“When you were a little squirt,” Aunt Sarah began, as we carried our wooden buckets of apples down an endless aisle of trees, “we used to get you a bunch of those little mini pumpkins they sell at the barn. You loved painting them. And chucking them at your dad.”
“That’s too much,” I laughed.
“No really, you used to do this thing where you’d toss the pumpkins at your father. You’d never really hit him, but he’d pretend to be hurt and say ‘ouch!’ so that you’d giggle hysterically.”
“Sounds like I was a sadistic child.”
“The most adorable, always smiling, sadistic child.”
RAWK!
I nearly dropped the wooden basket in my hand as a raven landed on a high branch above us. All of a sudden, the bird nose-dived toward me, but I ducked down, so it crossed over to another tree. Quickly jerking its head side to side, the raven stared down at me with beady black eyes. As the dark bird opened its mouth and continued its throaty squawk, Aunt Sarah did the unthinkable and hurled an apple at it. She would have hit it, too, had it not taken flight at the last second.
“Nice throw,” I said unsteadily. The phantom mark on my forearm stung again, like claws scraping at my skin from the inside. I pressed my hand against the pain until the sensation went away. I was in too deep with this supernatural stuff to dismiss the bird as a coincidence, but I couldn’t bring myself to ruin another day just yet.
“Now I know where I got my softball skills from.”
The whole hayride back I was on edge, watching the skies for crazed ravens. By the time the ride stopped by the main entrance without a single bird or demon in sight, I’d convinced myself the raven really was just a coincidence this time.
“So,” Aunt Sarah said, as we hopped off the wagon. “What’s up with your celebrity boyfriend? You kinda blew me off before and your mom is convinced you’re dating him.”
“David’s not my boyfriend,” I said, kicking gravel as we walked.
“Turns out he’s as fake as I initially thought he was.”
Aunt Sarah placed her hand on my shoulder with a serious expression, stopping us both. “I had no idea. I’m so sorry you’re hurting.”
“I thought I would see this coming, but I was blindsided. Now I feel stupid. I wasted so much energy on someone who wasn’t even real.”
“Aw, sweetheart . . . ” Aunt Sarah hugged me in a firm embrace and emotion tightened my throat. “You are not stupid, Faith. When you’re in a new relationship it’s fun and exciting. It can be hard to see the warning signs that things might not work out.” She pulled me back at arm’s length. “Listen, life will not always work out as planned, and it shouldn’t. When things don’t work out, when we’re disappointed by love, or life, we learn the most about ourselves.
Heartbreak is part of growing up and figuring out who you are. Who you are to me is intelligent, kind, brave, and so worthy of love. You’re allowed to be upset because it’s disappointing, but don’t put yourself down. Look at how much you’ve learned instead.”
I braved a smile. “Thank you. I really needed to hear that.”
“Anytime, kiddo.” She looked toward the various food trucks parked to the right of us in a compacted dirt area. “You hungry?
Don’t know about you, but I’m in the mood for fried chicken.”
I laughed, since she didn’t eat meat. I hadn’t eaten since tacos with Marcy yesterday, and the morning vomit session had left me incredibly shaky. Before I could respond, a familiar cold sensation pricked at the back of my neck.
Death was here.
I scanned my surroundings and couldn’t see him anywhere.
What could he possibly want with me now?
“Is something wrong, Faith?”
I gazed back at Aunt Sarah, to find her staring at me with an odd expression on her face.
“Nope, I’m just starving,” I said with an authenticity that put Oscar nominees to shame. “Let’s go eat—”
Someone bumped into me as they walked past us, nearly knocking me to the ground.
I whirled around to glower at the clobbering idiot as the cold sensation hit me again. The wide back, broad shoulders, and overall massive frame of the man walking away from us was unmistakably Death. Clad in black jeans and a hoodie with a leather jacket over it, collar up, he managed to blend in with the people around us. At my stare, in almost slow motion, he looked back over his shoulder, revealing a shadowy area where his features should have been.
Death took one last drag from his cigarette, flicked it to the side, and then stuffed his hands into his pockets. He headed in the direction of the big red barn, and as I watched him stalk away, his deep voice invaded my skull.We need to talk. Meet me in the barn.