I ran down the stairs, stumbling on the last step. Matt jumped up from the couch when he saw me slip. I reached for the banister and stopped myself from face-planting. "I'm okay." I smiled at Matt. "Would it be okay if we had a small change of plans?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess. What did you have in mind?"
I looped my arm through his. "Let's go out back." I turned to Mom. "We'll be on the bench swing." Mom nodded, narrowing her brows at me. I could tell she wanted to know what was up, but she didn't want to embarrass me in front of Matt.
Melodie, on the other hand, looked like her eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. She rushed over to me, giving Matt a quick smile. "Can I talk to you for a second?" She tugged on my free arm, not giving me a choice. She pulled me into the kitchen. "What are you doing? You are going to completely screw things up with Matt. He likes you, and he's put up with a lot from you. Please, don't tell me you are cancelling your date tonight."
"Weren't you the one who asked me how I could even think about going out tonight after everything that's happened?"
"That was before Matt showed up looking … "
Oh, God. How had I not seen it before? Melodie had a thing for Matt. When I'd met them, they'd said they were friends. They'd grown up together. I never thought Melodie had feelings for him, but looking at her now, there wasn't a doubt in my mind. What kind of friend was I? She'd set us up because it was what I wanted. She'd rooted for us because she's a good friend. Unlike me. I felt like dirt.
"Mel-"
"Don't. It was a long time ago. Before I met you. I kissed him once. That was it. He said he didn't think of me that way." She was talking fast, like she had to get it all out before the pain set in. "It's fine. I can't force him to like me. But he does like you, and he deserves to be happy."
I didn't know what to say.
"Go. Don't keep him waiting." She gave me a small push toward the living room, but I turned and wrapped her in a hug.
"You're the best friend I could ever ask for."
"Yeah, yeah. Like I said, my birthday's coming. You can thank me with a really big present."
We both laughed, and I went to rescue Matt from time alone with Mom. We headed outside to the bench swing on the back patio. We sat down, and I didn't know where to begin. I had to break up with him. If what Alex had said was true, he'd be in real danger dating me. And now that I knew how Melodie felt … well, I had to end this.
"Matt, listen," I began.
But before I could get any further, he leaned over and kissed me.
Chapter 11
Matt was kissing me! Matt was kissing me! It was everything I thought it would be. I leaned into him, kissing him back. Then, it hit me. Matt was kissing me! Oh, God, no! I pulled back, knowing it was too late.
"I'm sorry," Matt said, the terrified look on my face registering with him. "It's just I've been wanting to do that for days, and well, I had to do it before I lost my nerve."
I stared at him, waiting to see what would happen. But he looked okay. He looked like Matt. For a split second, I thought maybe Alex had been lying. Maybe he really was a crazy stalker guy who just wanted to break Matt and me up. I relaxed, letting go of the tension in my shoulders. I smiled at Matt. "No, I'm sorry. I've been wanting to kiss you, too."
Matt leaned toward me again, and I met him halfway, but before we got our second kiss, his face turned red and he started choking.
No. Please, no. Please, be a coincidence. He could've choked on his gum. But he brought his hands up to his throat. He couldn't breathe. His hand reached for his chest. I watched the life drain out of his eyes, knowing I was the cause of it. He slumped forward, and I caught him in my lap. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't give him mouth to mouth, could I? My mind went into overdrive. Alex said I'd brought the deer, the rat, and the squirrel back to life. Could I bring Matt back?
Tears spilled from my eyes, and I let them soak the back of Matt's neck. I didn't know how my power worked. So far, it had been calling the shots, and that wasn't going too well for me. But I couldn't control myself. Matt was my boyfriend. We'd only gotten one kiss. He was dead, and it was because of me. Because I had been stupid enough to let him kiss me, to kiss him back. I had to try to fix this.
I stared at Matt's limp body in my lap. Nothing was happening. He wasn't jerking back to life the way the deer had. Maybe my tears weren't enough to bring back a human being. Then I remembered I'd bled on the deer. I looked around. If my blood was the source of my power, then I'd have to use it to fix what I'd done. I lifted him off me and rested him on the bench, then got up and dashed to the tool shed. I went straight to the hedge clippers hanging on the wall. Grabbing them, I ran back to the bench.
Matt was gone. I panicked, spinning around in a circle to search the entire backyard. Had Alex seen what I did? Maybe he took Matt before I could bring him back. Or had my tears worked? No, I needed blood. Didn't I? "Matt?" My voice was shaky. "Matt, please, if you can hear me, say something. I can help you. Just tell me where you are."
I had no idea what waking up from the dead would be like for a person. The animals I'd brought back acted crazy, confused. Matt might be feeling the same way. I had to find him and fast. "Matt?" I ran to the bench, looking for signs of where he might have gone. I checked the back door. It was still shut, but that didn't mean he hadn't gone inside. Still, that would be my last option. I couldn't go in there without Matt. Mom and Melodie would ask too many questions that I couldn't answer.
I checked the bushes and the front yard. He wasn't anywhere. I walked back up the driveway, deciding to head to the backyard again. But as I passed Melodie's car, I jumped. Matt was sitting in the passenger seat. His expression was vacant. He stared straight ahead at the garage door. I tapped on the car window, trying to get his attention, but he ignored me. My hand shook as I reached for the door and opened it. My instincts told me to hold on tight to the hedge clippers, and I hated myself for thinking that.
"Matt? Are you okay?" I bent down, hiding the clippers behind my back. "What are you doing in here?"
He wasn't answering, so I touched his arm. He looked down at my hand and sniffed the air. I didn't know what that was about. What was he smelling? Finally, he raised his eyes to my face.
"Why don't we go in the backyard again? We could talk some more." I had to figure out what was wrong with him, if anything was wrong with him. I had no clue why he'd gotten in Melodie's car, especially since his was parked right behind it. All I knew was that I couldn't have Melodie come out to her car with him still sitting here. "Come on." I took his hand in mine and gently tugged. My right hand hurt, and I noticed my sutures had split. I must've bled on him when I moved him off me on the bench. That was how he'd come back to life. He came with me, staring at everything in a daze. I closed the door as quietly as I could. I didn't want to make noise and draw attention to us. We walked around the side of the house, and I heard Mom calling my name. I stopped short. Matt walked right into me and grunted.
"Sorry," I whispered and put a finger to my lips. Mom couldn't see us. Not until I did something about Matt. Only I had no idea what that something was going to be. We waited there, on the side of the house, until Mom finally gave up and went back inside. I peeked around the corner to be sure. We couldn't go back to the bench swing. It was too much in the open, and Mom or Melodie could walk out and find us. I headed for the trees lining our property. Still holding Matt's hand, I crept along the trees and came out behind the tool shed. No one would see us here.
"Matt?" He stared past me. Tears spilled over my cheeks again. "Oh, Matt. What have I done to you?" A bunny hopped across the lawn behind him. I wouldn't have even noticed if Matt hadn't whirled around, practically yanking my arm out of the socket. I let go of his hand and rubbed my shoulder. "Ouch. What are you doing? What's wrong?" What was wrong was that he was dead. I knew that.
Matt eyed the bunny, and his face contorted into a tortured expression. His top lip curled up on one side, and he let out this guttural sound. "Matt," I said a second too late, not that my talking was having any effect on him. He lunged and scooped the bunny off the ground. He brought it to his face and sank his teeth into the bunny's back. "No!" I yelled in complete horror. This couldn't be happening. I fell to my knees, dropping the hedge clippers, and covered my face with my hands. Matt grunted, and I heard slurping sounds that made me gag. The next thing I knew, I was puking. I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn't support me. Matt tossed the bunny on the ground in front of me, like a cat that brings its leftover food scraps home to its master. I cringed and crawled backward, trying to get away from Matt.
He stared down at me with his head cocked to the side, blood splattered all over his face and neck. He stepped toward me, and I scrambled back until I was pressed up against the shed. Matt raised his arm like a club, and I shielded my head from his oncoming attack. Before I could scream, Alex grabbed Matt around his waist and knocked him to the ground.