My Soul to Take
Page 55
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Good. I tossed back my covers. I was awake, so I might as well be up. So did you get a look at the lists?
I caught a bit of a break there. My boss was out of the office for nearly an hour dealing with some kind of complication in the northern end of the district. And since I happen to know his password
How do you happen to know his password? I sank into my desk chair and plucked a blue metallic pen from a clay jar Id made in Girl Scouts a decade earlier, then began doodling on a purple sticky pad.
Last month he accidentally locked himself out of the system, and as the only reaper in the office who actually lived during the digital age, Im kind of the de facto tech guy.
Oh. Weird, but Id take it. So what about the lists?
They werent there.
What? I dropped the pen, anger blazing a white-hot trail up my spine, splintering to burn down to the tips of my fingers. Id just bargained for nothing? Sworn to keep a secret from Nash only to find out that Tod couldnt get a look at the lists?
The names. They werent there, he clarified, and relief drenched most of my irritation. Followed quickly by renewed fear on behalf of every girl I knew. You were right, Tod continued. Not one of those girls was supposed to die.
AFTER TALKING TO TOD, I couldnt sleep. I needed to tell my uncle that my suspicion had been confirmed: one of Tods fellow reapers was working overtime on some unauthorized soul-snatching. But I saw no reason to wake him after two hours of sleep, even for news of this magnitude. None of the other girls had died before noon, so if the pattern persisted, we had a while before the next one would die.
I would tell my uncle and father at the same time, so I wouldnt have to say it twice. And in the morning, so that hopefully I could avoid having to explain how a grim reaper got my phone number and why hed called me in the middle of the night.
But telling Nash couldnt wait.
My pulse thudded as I scrolled through my contacts list for his name, my heart heavy with what I had to tell him and with what Id sworn not to tell him. I firmly believed that keeping secrets wasnt good for any relationship; my family was living proof of that. But Tod had sworn not to go back to Nashs house, so his secret was now harmless, and thus more than worth the lives that might be saved by me keeping it to myself.
Right?
The phone rang three times in my ear, with agonizing slowness. Yet part of me hoped he wouldnt answer. That I could put off telling Nash for a few more hours too.
He answered in the middle of the fourth ring.
Hello? Nash sounded as tired as I felt.
Hey, its me. Too nervous to sit now, I stood to pace the length of my bed.
Kaylee? He wasinstantly alert, an ability I truly envied. Whats wrong?
I plucked a round glass paperweight from my dresser and rolled it between my palms as I talked, my head crooked at a painful angle with the slim phone pinched between my shoulder and my ear. The girls werent on the list.
They werent? How do you know His breath hissed in angrily, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the explosion. That bastard! He found you?
Just my phone number.
How?
Iyoull have to ask him. Id sworn not to tell Nash, but I wasnt going to lie.
No problem. Something scratched against the mouthpiece as he covered it, but I still heard him shout. Come on out, Tod!
You knew he was there? I couldnt quite squelch a smile, even knowing how angry he was.
Hes not half as stealthy as he thinks he is, Nash growled.
I set the glass ball on my dresser and took my phone back in my hand, turning to avoid a glimpse of my bed-head in the mirror. Neither are you. Your moms going to wake up if you dont quit yelling.
Shes working eleven to seven at the hospital tonight.
Well, Im sure Tods gone now. Surely he hadnt called me from Nashs house.
A door squealed open over the line, and floorboards creaked beneath Nashs feet. Hes still here.
How do you know?
I just do. Another pause, and this time he didnt bother to cover the phone, because he was done shouting. Im not playing, Tod. If you dont show yourself in five seconds, Im calling your boss.
You dont have the number. Tods voice was unmistakable, even at a whisper. He had called me from Nashs house!
Why? Just to rub my boyfriends face in it?
I told you to stay away from her. Nashs voice was so deep with anger it was almost unrecognizable.
By contrast, Tod sounded as calm as ever, which probably pissed Nash off even further. And I havent been anywhere near her, but thats not because of anything you said. She just hasnt invited me over. Yet We all three heard the unspoken qualifier, and even through the phone I could feel Nashs rage.
Then I heard it.
What the hell do you think youre doing? he demanded, and his voice had gone soft and dangerous.
I dont answer to you, Nash.
Get out of my room, get out of this house, and stay away from Kaylee. Or I swear well show up at the hospital tomorrow and make your entire shift a living hell.
I caught a bit of a break there. My boss was out of the office for nearly an hour dealing with some kind of complication in the northern end of the district. And since I happen to know his password
How do you happen to know his password? I sank into my desk chair and plucked a blue metallic pen from a clay jar Id made in Girl Scouts a decade earlier, then began doodling on a purple sticky pad.
Last month he accidentally locked himself out of the system, and as the only reaper in the office who actually lived during the digital age, Im kind of the de facto tech guy.
Oh. Weird, but Id take it. So what about the lists?
They werent there.
What? I dropped the pen, anger blazing a white-hot trail up my spine, splintering to burn down to the tips of my fingers. Id just bargained for nothing? Sworn to keep a secret from Nash only to find out that Tod couldnt get a look at the lists?
The names. They werent there, he clarified, and relief drenched most of my irritation. Followed quickly by renewed fear on behalf of every girl I knew. You were right, Tod continued. Not one of those girls was supposed to die.
AFTER TALKING TO TOD, I couldnt sleep. I needed to tell my uncle that my suspicion had been confirmed: one of Tods fellow reapers was working overtime on some unauthorized soul-snatching. But I saw no reason to wake him after two hours of sleep, even for news of this magnitude. None of the other girls had died before noon, so if the pattern persisted, we had a while before the next one would die.
I would tell my uncle and father at the same time, so I wouldnt have to say it twice. And in the morning, so that hopefully I could avoid having to explain how a grim reaper got my phone number and why hed called me in the middle of the night.
But telling Nash couldnt wait.
My pulse thudded as I scrolled through my contacts list for his name, my heart heavy with what I had to tell him and with what Id sworn not to tell him. I firmly believed that keeping secrets wasnt good for any relationship; my family was living proof of that. But Tod had sworn not to go back to Nashs house, so his secret was now harmless, and thus more than worth the lives that might be saved by me keeping it to myself.
Right?
The phone rang three times in my ear, with agonizing slowness. Yet part of me hoped he wouldnt answer. That I could put off telling Nash for a few more hours too.
He answered in the middle of the fourth ring.
Hello? Nash sounded as tired as I felt.
Hey, its me. Too nervous to sit now, I stood to pace the length of my bed.
Kaylee? He wasinstantly alert, an ability I truly envied. Whats wrong?
I plucked a round glass paperweight from my dresser and rolled it between my palms as I talked, my head crooked at a painful angle with the slim phone pinched between my shoulder and my ear. The girls werent on the list.
They werent? How do you know His breath hissed in angrily, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the explosion. That bastard! He found you?
Just my phone number.
How?
Iyoull have to ask him. Id sworn not to tell Nash, but I wasnt going to lie.
No problem. Something scratched against the mouthpiece as he covered it, but I still heard him shout. Come on out, Tod!
You knew he was there? I couldnt quite squelch a smile, even knowing how angry he was.
Hes not half as stealthy as he thinks he is, Nash growled.
I set the glass ball on my dresser and took my phone back in my hand, turning to avoid a glimpse of my bed-head in the mirror. Neither are you. Your moms going to wake up if you dont quit yelling.
Shes working eleven to seven at the hospital tonight.
Well, Im sure Tods gone now. Surely he hadnt called me from Nashs house.
A door squealed open over the line, and floorboards creaked beneath Nashs feet. Hes still here.
How do you know?
I just do. Another pause, and this time he didnt bother to cover the phone, because he was done shouting. Im not playing, Tod. If you dont show yourself in five seconds, Im calling your boss.
You dont have the number. Tods voice was unmistakable, even at a whisper. He had called me from Nashs house!
Why? Just to rub my boyfriends face in it?
I told you to stay away from her. Nashs voice was so deep with anger it was almost unrecognizable.
By contrast, Tod sounded as calm as ever, which probably pissed Nash off even further. And I havent been anywhere near her, but thats not because of anything you said. She just hasnt invited me over. Yet We all three heard the unspoken qualifier, and even through the phone I could feel Nashs rage.
Then I heard it.
What the hell do you think youre doing? he demanded, and his voice had gone soft and dangerous.
I dont answer to you, Nash.
Get out of my room, get out of this house, and stay away from Kaylee. Or I swear well show up at the hospital tomorrow and make your entire shift a living hell.
