Page 6 of Dead Love

“I don’t understand how you don’t see it,” Nyla said. “He’s like a popsicle on a hot summer day.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like he melted all over the place.”

“He makes me all sticky.”

“Gross!”

As Shea and Andrew returned to the main room, Nyla jumped up. “Miss Shea,” Nyla said, in a sweet tone, “It’s my twenty-third birthday. Will you please come out to 52 Peaks tonight?”

“You mean, willKoraplease come out to 52 Peaks tonight?” Shea corrected, raising her eyebrows.

“I couldn’t imagine celebrating it without my best friend,” Nyla said.

We both knew that the only way I could go anywhere, was if Shea was with us, which luckily, usually had its perks, like a private suite or VIP service. Shea knew most of the people in the county; it was part of being on so many committees and being the sheriff’s wife.

“What about the Echo deaths?” Shea said, turning to Andrew.

“There has been a surge,” he said. I sighed.Thanks for the help, Mr. Popsicle.

“What even is an Echo death, anyway?” Nyla asked.

“It’s a synthetic drug, masquerading as the new equivalent to MDMA,” Andrew explained. “Doesn’t hit people until they’re driving home. Then they’re dead.” He shook his head, his chin heavy. He turned to me. “It’s a good thing your daddy is on the case.”

“Wait. Why would it only give them symptoms when they’re driving?” Nyla asked. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe it has something to do with the lights on the road, inducing a seizure or another reaction.” Andrew shrugged. “All I know is that I don’t like it. Too many funerals for twenty-somethings lately.”

We were all quiet for a moment. The funeral orders had been good for my mother’s business, but it was never fun to put together white lilies, carnations, and roses. Even if they were beautiful, you could never forget what they were for. Especially with the parents. No one wanted to survive their children.

“That settles it, then. We’re busy tonight,” Shea said firmly. “But we can have a cake here tomorrow.”

“Miss Shea,” Nyla started, her eyes round like two giant sunflowers, “I never do drugs. And I wouldneverlet Kora do drugs. I would never even let her out of my sight!”

“And I volunteer to escort them,” Andrew said.

“Yeah! We could take Andrew with us,” Nyla said. “And with Andrew there, no man would even try to talk to us, and he would make sure—”

“The answer is no,” Shea said, her eyes cold. “Now, come here, Andrew. I want to show you something…”

The two of them disappeared once again, and I stared off into space. I might have been home-schooled and barely let out of my parents’ sight for the last twenty-one years, but still, I could survive one night at a club. But in a small town like ours, people talked, and my mother hated when she was in the middle of unfavorable gossip. It was our responsibility to be the perfect image for my father’s career; we owed it to him. And when we failed, she spent days in bed. Letting me go out would risk all of that.

“What’s that face for?” Nyla asked. “No frowns allowed on my birthday.”

“I just feel like I’m always missing everything.” My shoulders sank. “Like I’m stuck in quicksand.”

“Don’t worry,” Nyla said, rubbing my shoulder. “Once I open up my own shop, you can come work for me. Or if your business plan with Andrew falls through, maybe we can own the shop together. See if he can work something out for us.”

My heart fluttered. “That sounds amazing,” I said. “We can call it Best Buds, you know. Like two flower buds.”

“What about Buds & Buds?”

I squeezed her arm. “I love it.”

“Don’t worry, Kora.” Nyla beamed at me. “We’ll get you out of here one day.”

She was right. I shook away the fear, the shame, the anger, burying it deep down. There wasn’t any point to those feelings; all they did was remind me of what I didn’t have, and that’s not how you lived: you had to appreciate the beauty in each moment, even if that moment was dreaming about a future that might never come.

“Nyla, for heaven’s sake!” Shea yelled from the storeroom. “You know I’m sensitive to mocha syrup. I always get a chai latte. How could you forget?”