Ember X (Death Collectors) - By Jessica Sorensen Page 0,37
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 me this morning to be with that guy that has the X on his eye?” I’m stunned. “But he’s a total creep.”
“I like him,” she says, blinking her tears back, looking 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 take me home!”
“Okay. Okay.” What is going on 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 me what the hell happened to you that night Laden vanished,” I demand in a soft but determined tone. “And why you were just with a guy 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 same kind of X in his eye.”
“I know you’re lying,” I accuse. “Your eye just twitched.”
She dabs her eyes with her fingers. “I’m crying. Of course my eye twitched.”
“I don’t believe you,” I bluntly inform her. “You’re lying and you’ve been lying to me since the other night. And you’re not acting like yourself… You’re not taking drugs again, are you?”
“Of course not.” She rolls her eyes.
As we drive over the bridge, her eyes dart to the median. There’s a faint scent of death in the air and on the lamppost is a blue flyer with Laden’s face on it. His car is no longer in the street, but the large red X on the asphalt is still visible.
“Such a shame.” Laughter hints her voice, and her eyes, smeared with mascara, widen as she gawks at the spot Laden vanished. “He was a really good kisser.” She leans forward and relaxes her head on the dashboard, and then she shuts her eyes, sweeps her hair to the side, and fans her sweaty face. “It’s so hot… Isn’t it so hot?”
I notice the scratch on her shoulder blade looks a little infected. “What happened to your shoulder?”
She shelters the spot with her hand. “Things got a little rough between Laden and me. He was kind of into bondage.”
I press my lips together. “How rough exactly?”
Her head whips up and her eyes scorch fire. “What are you getting at exactly? That I might have had something to do with his death?”
“There’s no proof he’s dead yet.” I veer down the road that leads to our houses. “And I didn’t say anything about you being involved. It just looks infected.”
“Yeah, whatever. If anyone should be accused of his murder it’s you, especially with your whole little I-saw-him-standing-outside-my-house thing this morning. You better watch what you say, Ember, or people are going to think you’re as crazy as your dad. Oh wait, they already do.”
At that moment, I loathe her. She is not my best friend and I don’t care if I ever see her again. I want to rip her hair out, hurt her, and scream at her at the top of my lungs.
“You need to tell me what happened. With the details,” I demand as I turn into the driveway of her house. I force the shifter into park and place a hand on her arm. “It’s like you’re possessed by the devil or something.”
She glances at my hand on her arm and then her eyes drain of emotion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She jerks her arm away and jumps out of the car.
I remove the keys from the ignition and jump out after her. “Raven, we’re not done with this conversation yet. I’m worried about you. You’re acting like you’ve lost your mind.”
“You would be the expert on that, Death Girl.” She spats and then whisks around the front of the car, thrusting her hand at me. “My keys, please.” I slam the keys into her palm. “Thanks, Emmy. And I mean for everything. But honestly, I really need a break from you. You’re too much baggage. ” She sashays into her house and slams the door, leaving me in the driveway, stirring in my own anger.
I storm for my house, but a flash of black in the trees sends me