Page 52 of A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love

She pulls them out of her pocket, and Sailor jumps up from the couch and slams into the shelves, knocking potted plants and crystals to the ground.

“Put that away!” He throws his arms up like a shield and crouches down next to the couch.

Pepper glances at me before she complies and slides the amulet back into her pocket.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“I can’t help you,” he says. “I’ll refund all your money. I need you to leave and take that thing with you.”

No. This can’t be right. He said he could do it. He had an idea that we’ve never tried before. He’s supposed to be what makes this better. “But you said you could help,” I say, my voice taking on a desperate edge—because I am, in fact, desperate.

“This is above my skill level.” He jumps on the couch, races past us, and opens the door, hiding himself behind it.

Oh my god. He’s kicking us out. I shake my head. “I don’t understand—”

“Come on.” Pepper stands next to me, holding out her hand.

“But he’s supposed to fix this. He’s supposed to…” What? What is he supposed to do?

“He can’t.” Her voice is so calm, it makes me want to scream even louder, but instead I let her pull me to my feet.

“I’m sorry,” she tells him as we pass and head outside.

“You seem really nice, I’m sorry I can’t help you,” Sailor says as he closes the door behind him and the lock clicks.

I stand there staring up at the trailer—standing in the hope I had as it burns up and dies inside me.

The dark shadow is still there—looming—mocking.

We never should’ve come here. I never should’ve gotten my hopes up.

For a fleeting second, I truly thought this was our answer. I can’t believe how wrong I was.

Tears slip down my cheeks, and Pepper wraps me in her arms.

“It’s okay,” she whispers in my ear.

“No. No, it’s not okay.” I cry into her shoulder. “He knew things about me that he shouldn’t have. I don’t understand. He was supposed to help. This isn’t okay at all.”

“I don’t know what he told you. And I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do.”

“We can’t just give up.” I want to run back in there. I want to ask him why he seemed so sure before and then he kicked us out. I step away, and Pepper grabs my hand. I still have leftover spray paint on my fingernails. My heart sinks a little more. I feel like such a fool.

“This is what I didn’t want to happen. This is why I didn’t tell you this time around. You get so obsessed—”

“Am I supposed to do nothing?” I shouldn’t yell. I’m not mad at her—I’m just mad, which is why I’m crying, and that makes me even angrier. But crying is better than punching people, and I’d really like to punch someone right about now.

“That’s not what I said.”

“You might have given up, but I haven’t. I won’t. I will fight for us.” Sailor might be a really good scam artist, or maybe this curse is more powerful than anything he’s ever seen. But I’m not going to run scared from it.

“And you will drive yourself into an anxiety-induced panic attack.”

I want to tell her she’s wrong—but she’s not. I’m just not going to let this slide. I can’t let her go through this again. “Then help me. We’ll figure out how to destroy that amulet without him,” I say. “Please, Pepper. Please.”

There’s still time before I have to get to the haunted house for the night, so Pepper takes me to the one place that always cheers me up—Brain Freeze.

The neon sign outside is a greeting on any day that’s been “just one of those days”—and that sure as hell has been today.

The look of sheer terror on Sailor’s face when Pepper pulled out her keys is forever engrained in my mind.

Or maybe it’ll disappear just like she does in seven days.

I don’t know what is worse, the knowing it’s going to happen, or the knowing there’s not a damn thing we can do about it.

Pepper holds the door open for me, and I step inside. The scent of freshly baked waffle cones is my greeting. “Do you know what you want to get?” she asks me.

What is the perfect flavor after my soul has been crushed and needs to be reconstructed so I can keep on living? Is it cherry? “I don’t know.”

“Maybe you’ll have to taste a few.” She gives me an encouraging smile. She knows me better than anyone in the world. How am I going to live without her? But the answer is I just will. I won’t remember her. My throat gets thick even without trying any of the frozen milky creations.

“I do like to sample.” I struggle to put on a brave face. She’s trying and I need to, too.

“I know.” She squeezes me into her side, and it feels like coming home.

There are two people ahead of us, so I scan the board.

“You know, there are no less than two cups of sugar in a gallon of ice cream,” the boy in front of us is saying.

“Kevin?” Pepper says, and the boy spins around.

He looks vaguely familiar—the traditional college frat boy type with shaggy hair and khaki pants.

“Hey, Pepper.” The boy holds his hand up like he wants to high-five, but Pepper doesn’t move.

“Where the hell have you been?” she asks.

“Is this your mom?” the boy with him asks. He looks almost exactly like the first except he hasn’t shaved for a long time.

Pepper deadpans, “Hell no. I don’t want any part of…” She gestures to Kevin’s entire being.

“Damn,” the boy says.

“I’ve been doing some very important things for the store,” Kevin says, ignoring his friend. “There’s this company that can create custom costumes. Just think if we could offer that service.”

That’s it. He’s the guy who reorganized all the boxes and pissed Dewy off. The one who almost lost my very important order.

Pepper shakes her head like she can’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. “It’s a retail job, Kevin. The only important thing you need to do is show up and help the customers.”

“You’ll see. It’s really going to revolutionize things,” he says.

His buddy hands him his cone. “Let’s go, bro.”

“We expect you to be there tomorrow,” Pepper yells after him as they walk out the door.

“What was that all about?” I ask.

She stares after them. “Just someone who shouldn’t be working at the store.”

“I remember. He seems really enthusiastic.” I grimace. That’s the kind way of putting how annoyingly arrogant that guy seems to be. I can’t imagine what it would be like to work with him. “Wasn’t murder on the table before? What happened to that?”

“I haven’t forgotten. Timing is key,” she says, then gestures to the ice cream case and the attendant who’s waiting for us, a smile on her face.

“Ready?” she asks. Her multicolored hair is piled on top of her head, and her pink visor matches her lips. Her bedazzled name tag says Sally .

“She’s going to need to taste a few,” Pepper answers.

“Of course,” Sally says. “What can I get for you?”

Pepper gestures with her head like, Go ahead , and since there’s no one behind us, I taste at least six flavors before I settle on Fruity Pebbles.

It’s the happiness I need in my life put into an ice cream flavor.

She pays for my cone and her cup of strawberry, and we head outside to sit on a shady bench.

The boys from before are down the street chatting in a larger group of college students. They don’t act much different than high school boys, pushing one another around and being loud enough so their jeering is easily heard from where I’m seated.

“I know we talked about murder, but maybe that guy wants to take your job.” I gesture toward them.

“I won’t trick anyone,” she says.

“Even if they deserve it?”

She looks at me like I know the answer, and I do, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s fair.

“What if he wants it?” I ask, and she raises her brows in response. “Come on. That guy wants to be important. I’m not saying trick him, I’m saying that you could tell him it’s the most important job at The Dead of Night, and that isn’t a lie.”

She tips her head from side to side like maybe she’s actually contemplating my suggestion. “I don’t know.”

“Just think about it, okay?” I reach over and squeeze her knee. “For me.”

“I won’t lie, but if he wants it, I’ll gladly hand it over.”

Noted. I smile in response. Now I just need to find this guy and slip him the word that a big promotion could be up for grabs if he’s willing. I get Pepper’s stance, and it’s honorable, but I didn’t make that promise to her or anyone else—and I will do whatever I have to do to keep my girl.