I turned off the engine and sat there for a moment, hands resting on the steering wheel, forehead dropping forward until it touched the leather.
“Okay,” I whispered to no one. “Breathe.”
My phone buzzed on the seat next to me. I was Mel.
“Hello,” I said, trying to squash the nerves. I’d hadn’t heard about try-outs yet, and they had said we would hear by the end of the week.
“Eleanor, are you ready to be a Grimm Reaper?!”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course, I am. You were an easy choice. What do ya say? Wanna join the chaos?”
“Yes!” I said, bouncing up and down in my seat. “I’m so excited!”
“Awesome! It’s going to be great. First practice tomorrow if you're ready. Welcome to the Reapers.”
“I’ll be there!”
I hung up and was ready to run inside and tell Belle. She should be here today. She had missed Monday, but surely she wouldn’t miss two days in a row. My mom would have a conniption.
I tried not to worry. Belle was busy. People missed things. Life happened.
But today?
Today she’d said she’d definitely be here.
I climbed out of the car, but the driveway was empty.
No van. No Belle.
A prickling unease crept up my spine.
I slipped into the house quietly. Ridiculous, really. I lived here. I was a grown woman with a child and a career. And yet the moment my shoes hit the hardwood, I instinctively softened my steps, like a teenager trying not to get caught sneaking back after curfew.
Old habits. Old wounds.
The house was silent, tightly, purposefully silent. My mother’s preferred form of warfare. Since my sister left, she hadn’t said a word to me. Not one. Not even a passive-aggressivehmm.
She’d given Ava a stiff nod this morning, but that was it.
It should’ve hurt. A few months ago, it would’ve gutted me.
But now?
Now I just felt . . . tired of it.
I crept upstairs, not to avoid her wrath, but because I didn’t want todealwith her. Not today. Not now that I was a Reaper.
I sank onto my bed and opened my laptop. Might as well check email while I waited to see if Belle magically materialized.
Two new messages.
The first subject line hit me right in the chest:
Scholastic Contract – Ready for Signature
My breath froze.
