“Bullshit.” Alice grabs the purple Tarot deck off the table and starts shuffling with a sharp snap of her wrists. “I’m happy to help you leave LA for your career or for love, but not to run away and keep your head buried in the sand.” She fans out the Tarot cards in front of me, the vibrant images like a secret language I’m finally ready to hear. “It’s time to find answers that are not from a place of fear.”
My heart jumps into my throat. I stare at the cards, suddenly willing to listen, to believe that they might offer the guidance I’ve been too scared to find on my own. “What if I’m not ready?” I whisper.
“When is anyone ready?” she says, her voice softer now. She motions for me to choose.
I pull three cards from the pile with a shaky hand, flipping each over one by one, laying them in a row. My blood whooshes in my ears, my anxiety pounding like a second heartbeat.
Alice leans forward, studying them, then taps each card as she explains. “The sun upright—positivity and success. Followed by the lovers reversed—self-love. And lastly, the devil reversed—exploring dark thoughts and releasing limiting beliefs.”
She says this like it’s obvious, but I blink at her, needing more. “Please, none of your vague answers,” I say, biting my lip. “Just tell me.”
Alice gathers the cards and reshuffles them slowly, giving me a second to breathe. “It means you should focus on the good things in life and stop spiraling into the darkness.” She places the deck aside and levels me with a look. “And the cards think Sully’s agood match.”
I narrow my eyes at her, but deep down, I believe her.
The doorbell rings, and Alice jumps up. “I’ll get it.”
Sure. Avoid my death gaze. The reading echoes what I already knew but was too afraid to admit to myself.
Alice dashes into the kitchen, opening containers and eating orange chicken with chopsticks.
She points at the container in front of her. “I got you the pot stickers you love.”
“Thanks. And thanks for the reading.” I grab what I can carry and sit at the table. We eat, switching containers every few minutes.
“You might bite my head off for saying this, but I think you’re in love with him.” Alice steals a spring roll and bites into it. “You already had a crush before you spoke to the guy, and now…it’s…” She pauses to finish the spring roll. “Magic.”
“Huh.” I stab the last pot sticker. That’s what Sully called it. Magic.
I swallow my bite and grab the mushroom chicken. “Maybe I did fall for him, but now it’s a mess. You know what? Serves me right thinking love could be something I could have.”
Alice slams her container down, and rice goes flying. “I’m sick of you sabotaging yourself. Stop shutting out the universe with any sign of trouble. Open up, dammit!”
My stomach twists as a cold sweat breaks on my forehead. “I need to finish packing.”
I lock myself in my room, sorting through the clothes I want to bring with me. I grab my folded underwear, and a note floats to the ground. “What’s this?” I drop the underwear onto my bed and pick up the note.
A red-hot blade pierces my chest. Despite trying to turn my heart into a black hole, it’s still beating in its bony cage, raw and bleeding.
I stumble into the living room and fall beside Alice on the couch. “I found this…” I hand her the lyrics.
She squeals in delight, waving the paper in the air. “You can’t deny fate now! This is like a car running you over.”
Definitely feels like it.
“What now?” I ask, picking at my thumbnail.
“You risk it all, girl! Life is a game of poker. You gotta be all in and risk losing everything with the cards in hand.”
I smack her thigh. “Stop sounding like a fortune cookie and tell me what to do.”
“Get dressed and put on your war paint. It’s time we fight back.” She waves her phone. “And I may have cyberstalked Sully and pinned his location.”
“Where is he?” I ask, surprised.
She pushes me to my room. “First things first. You get ready, and I’ll come up with the plan. It’s going to be insane.”
Fear burrows in my gut and blooms doubt. But I resist the urge to tuck my tail and run. That’s what I’ve done my entire life.
