Half In Love With Death by Emily Ross Page A

death.”
    This was simply too much. “I have more important things to do than going to football practices. Like I told you at lunch, I have to find my sister.”
    She stared at me. “You’re not mad at me about Billy, are you?”
    Mad? I was livid. She hadn’t even told me they were back together until now. “I thought you broke up with him. You said he was boring.”
    She paused, considering this. “I did, but things changed. Billy and I were together a long time. It’s complicated with us. You can’t expect me not to feel what I feel just because of what you feel. That wouldn’t be fair, would it?” When I didn’t answer she repeated, “Would it?” as if somehow I’d missed her ridiculous point.
    It was no use arguing with her—she was always right. “No, it wouldn’t be fair.”
    I started walking away.
    â€œYou can’t make a person feel bad for something they didn’t do,” she called out after me. I pretended not to hear. She went in one direction toward where the playing fields were, and I went in the other. Billy’s kiss wasn’t that great, all teeth and tongues out of sync with each other. Nothing like the movies. And thinking about the orange soda taste in his mouth made me gag. May could have him.
    I kicked a rock in the dust. So what if my friends couldn’t be bothered to help me find Jess. I didn’t need them. I’d talk to the person who’d been waiting for me after school almost every day this week, the person who knew my sister better than anyone, and who liked talking to me, though he wasn’t talking to anyone else. The person who everyone told me not to talk to. I glanced across the street, disappointed to see that on today of all days he wasn’t there. It figured. But as I was trudging home a car roared past, sending dust into my eyes. It banged a U-turn and fishtailed all over the road as it headed back my way. I squinted, my eyes stinging, and stopped dead in my tracks. No one else drove like that.

CHAPTER 12
    Tony slowed to a stop beside me. Debbie sat next to him, wearing a white uniform, a silver snowflake pin gleaming on her collar. He leaned out the window and said, “Something wrong, Twinkle Toes?”
    I sighed. If he only knew.
    â€œCome on. Get in. I’ll drive you home. It’s too hot to walk.” His eyes were swimming with sympathy. I climbed in the back. He went on, “I was driving Debbie to work when we saw you and I says, ‘Isn’t that Caroline?’ And she says, ‘Doesn’t she look unhappy?’ So I says, ‘We better give her a ride.’” He grinned.
    â€œYou musta been dying out there. It’s hotter than a firecracker lit at both ends,” Debbie said.
    Dying? I’ve been half in love with easeful Death, I thought. I glanced at the blue fuzzy dice dangling from the rearview mirror. There was a plastic figurine of Wile E. Coyote on the dash, and a gold bangle that didn’t belong to Jess on the floor. I squirmed, the hot vinyl seat sticking to my thighs.
    Tony said, “So tell me, why do you look so unhappy?”
    My nerves raced. “It’s nothing.”
    Tony shook his head. “You miss your sister?”
    â€œYeah, but . . . .”
    â€œSomething else?” He raised an eyebrow.
    I stared into the black mirrors of my shoes. “I thought Billy liked me, but apparently he’s back with May.” It was stupid to be upset about such a small thing when Jess was missing, but it felt good to tell him.
    Tony cast a quick glance at me. “Sorry to hear that darlin’, but you can do better.”
    â€œLove stinks, and don’t I know it,” Debbie said. She turned to Tony. “You better step on it. My boss will kill me if I’m late.”
    â€œDon’t worry, you’ll make it.” Tony pulled another screeching U-turn that made me nearly fall off the