Holden must’ve stopped talking between now and five seconds ago, because his eyes are blankly staring back at mine when I stop texting.
“I am so sorry, Holden. Let’s meet up tomorrow.”
Holden stoically nods as he slides out of the booth without hesitation. I grab my bag, ready to leave the restaurant.
On the sidewalk, I type the address—4217 Palomino Crest Road, Calabasas, California—Ghosty and I stand at the side of the curb, waiting for my driver.
“You didn’t need to jump as soon as you saw the text,” she says.
From the opposite end of the sidewalk, a man moves straight toward us, eyes glued to his phone. Completely unaware he’s about to walk right into the girl that has been following me…
“Watch—” I start, but the thought fades as he doesn’t bump into her but walks straight through her.
Her body fractures into fading light, matching my pendant’s color as she hollows out, pulling pieces of her into thin air.
The man walks away, completely oblivious to the interaction, his attention already back on his phone. She is morphing back to her physical state from before.
“So, you are really dead, aren’t you?”
“Only in physical form.” A faint smile appears for a fraction of a second. There is no doubting this anymore.
As she shapeshifts in front of me, questions surrounding the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and every alien sighting at Area 51 aren’t far behind.
“So how did you figure it out?” I start to ask as the rideshare pulls up to the curb where we are standing.
It’s the longest car ride of my life.
The Toyota Corolla smells like apple cinnamon air freshener. Everything is pristine, with the extra power cords accessible to me and neon dice in the mirror.
In the corner of my eye, I catch a wallet-size photo of a kid, no older than five years and wearing a tiara, hanging on to the sun visor.
“Would you be willing to make a quick stop on the way? Really quick.”
The driver says nothing.
Over the top-forty music playing in the background, I repeat myself. His accent is so thick that it takes my brain a moment to realize he is saying the word “no.”
I’ve heard the word “no” so many times in my life that it has become as familiar as seeing the sky every day. However, today…
Fuck, I refuse.
“I’ve had the worst forty-eight hours of my life. I had my coworkers put my face on a cake where I’m drooling on my boss’s couch. My boss just took credit for my idea. My boyfriend thinks I’m ignoring him. I am failing miserably in my career and personal life. For the love of god, please stop at a grocery store.”
There are hardly any breaths in between the words as I exert all the air left in my lungs. When I am done, I inhale.
Iván, my driver's name according to the app, lowers the volume on the stereo all the way to zero as we drive. Painfully silent.
Nothing annoys my brain more than sitting with no words, leaving me to the most self-destructive path… my inner thoughts. I just wait for him to say anything.
A few sharp turns and minutes later, Iván cuts through those thoughts with a cold, “You got five minutes” as I see the sign for Ralph’s come into frame.
“Do you want anything while I am there?”
In the rearview mirror, I see him shaking his head.
“Okay, God bless you. Best driver ever!”
“You got five minutes,” Iván yells back.
