“Yeah, something like that.”
Smiling, she wraps a lock of hair around her finger. “I had no idea how much pain my failing kidneys were causing until I was dead. Now I can walk and run and dance without a single twinge. It’s... Frosty, there are no words.”
“Not even cake?”
“Not even.”
It’s clear she’s happy with her situation, and I love that she’s happy. I do. I crave her happiness above my own. But I also...don’t love it. She’s happy without me. I’m miserable without her.
More tales from a grade A douche-purse.
“Are you treated well up there?” I ask.
“Dude! The best! You seriously have no idea.” She saunters to the bed, which is covered in Blood Lines, and plops onto the edge. As usual, she’s pure energy and excitement. A force of nature. “It’s like a perfected version of here. Earth 2.0. And guess what? Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not the end.”
“Not the end?” My brow furrows as confusion overtakes me. “You can die again?”
“No, no, nothing like that. We’re in a holding zone where we’re allowed to watch over our loved ones.” She taps her chin with two well-manicured fingers. “We even get to help, but only by taking opposing parties to court and winning.”
“Actual court?”
“Yep. Only on a much larger scale, because it’s the final authority. We have to petition for answers and ceasefires and all kinds of other things. That’s where I’ve been all this time. In court. That’s where Helen is now. In fact, she rarely leaves the courtroom.”
Helen, Ali’s biological mom. “Why go through so much trouble for us?” What do they actually accomplish?
Kat kicks her feet, causing the mattress to bounce. “I know you won’t understand this, but sometimes to have victory down here, you first need to have victory up there. Helen, Emma and I do our best to ensure you guys have everything you need.”
Realization strikes me. “You petitioned to appear to me.”
“Uh, you mean I petitioned the crap out of the court to appear to you. Which is why I got a yes. But—boo, hiss—there are rules. More than you know.”
“Such as?”
“Such as what I’m allowed to tell you...and what I’m not.” She blows me a kiss. “Finally I know things you don’t, and for the same reasons you couldn’t tell me about the zombies once upon a time—I couldn’t handle the truth—I can’t tell you everything.”
I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all. “What happens if you break the rules?”
“I can be forced to leave the holding zone. Some witnesses opt not to stay when they first arrive, like Miranda, Ali’s adopted mom. Others, the troublemakers, can be booted out before their time.” Resignation glints in eyes I want filled only with happiness. “I don’t want to be booted.”
Do I detect an unsaid yet?
“I’m helping you guys for the first time ever,” she adds, “and I’m not ready to stop.”
“Why would anyone opt to leave?” I cross my arms and lean against the bathroom door. “And where are the booted ones sent?”
“To the highest heaven...the True Rest. Trust me, everyone in the holding zone wants to enter into the True Rest. Peace beyond your understanding. Joy. And there’s no such thing as heartache or pain. Only love and light exist there.” She smiles wide...then frowns deeply. “But in the Rest, I will no longer have any influence over your situation, no longer be allowed to petition, so, I’ll do whatever it takes to remain in the holding zone.”
My mind whirls with possibilities. “Do people in the holding zone date?”
“And marry. And have babies.”
Excitement blooms. If I’m in the holding zone, I can be with her again. We’ll be a couple. With a future.
But she knows me well, knows the direction of my thoughts, and shakes her head. “Don’t you dare. It’s not yet your time, Frosty.”
“It wasn’t yours, either.”
“I know. I went too early and you are now living with the consequences. And it sucks, doesn’t it? So don’t make your friends live with the consequences of your early death. They need you too badly.”
“I want to be with you.” Whatever the cost.
Her eyes narrow, her temper clearly pricked. “Well, I want a pony, but we don’t always get what we want, do we?”
“Kat—”
“Frosty.” She sighs. “I want you to date other people.”
I blink. Surely I misheard her. “There’s no way you just said—”
“Zip your pie hole, okay? Kitty is still talking. You knew I would die before you—”
“I didn’t! I expected to die in battle long before your kidneys shut down.”
“Please,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “Like anyone could defeat you in a fight. But no matter how you slice it, you knew you wouldn’t get a happily-ever-after with me.”
“I’m not dating other girls, kitten.” I’m pissed that she even suggested it.