Chapter 3

Before she could finish, her face changed and she toppled straight backward.

Crack!

Melissa hit the floor, clutching her red, swollen ankle, and looked up at me with a wince.

"Davina, was that really necessary?"

"I keep telling you, Darrell and I are just close friends, nothing more."

"I only felt bad watching him suffer in silence. Why would you step on the carpet on purpose like that?"

Then she turned to Darrell, whose veins were standing out with rage, and said,

"See, you've gone and twisted my ankle. Darrell, looks like you'll have to go on the honeymoon tomorrow with just her."

I looked down at the rumpled fold in the carpet under my foot and stammered out a denial.

"Darrell, I didn't—"

But Darrell wouldn't listen to a word. He picked up the crystal stone from the coffee table and brought it down on both my ankles.

The pain swallowed everything I felt.

Then I heard Darrell say,

"Since Melissa's foot can't make the honeymoon, there's no reason for you to go either."

I watched, half crying and half laughing, as he crouched down and gathered Melissa up, his eyes full of tenderness as he soothed her.

Hurrying her toward the door to rush her to the hospital.

And I thought back to those first years after the mechanical heart was put in, when I still wasn't used to it.

It threw off the way I moved, so my walk came out strange and misshapen, and the kids in the neighborhood would see me,

huddle together on purpose to mimic the way I walked, and burst out laughing.

"Ooh, ooh, look, the walking dead's out for a stroll~"

The walking dead. That was the nickname they gave me.

And every time, Darrell would come charging from every direction to protect me.

His fists made them apologize to me.

He'd shield me, aching for me, sweep me up in his arms and carry me anywhere I wanted to go.

He said,

"Davi's not the walking dead. Davi's the most special girl in the whole world, more special than the Barbie doll on TV."

"For the rest of my life, it's you, Davi. Wherever you want to go, I'll be right behind you."

The vows he made as a boy were so earnest that they only made this moment more of a mockery.

Not long after Darrell and Melissa left,

I sent one last message to the wedding-planning group chat,

"The wedding tomorrow is off. Everyone get some rest and turn off your alarms. Don't come."

The screen filled with question marks in an instant.

Darrell replied right after,

"Davi's just kidding, don't take it to heart. She's throwing a little tantrum with me."

Melissa chimed in too,

"The bride's got cold feet. Please bear with her. I've even got a surprise ready for everyone tomorrow, so make sure you're there on time!"

With the two of them talking, the chat filled back up with laughter and chatter.

I couldn't stand watching it, so I just dissolved the group.

I was the one who'd made the chat in the first place, meant to keep everyone in the loop.

But somewhere along the way it had turned into a place for Darrell and Melissa to flirt and banter.

Once that was done, I saw a new message from Lucius.

"The helicopter's about to land at the pad near your place. You have half an hour to say goodbye to your family."

I looked around at the empty rooms, and I laughed.

"I don't have any family left. Just come."