Page 77 of Kiss Slay Replay

Thirty minutes.

I need to go.

I steal a quick last look in the mirror. Fine. It’s fine.

I grab my bag. My cigarettes. The key card for the cabin that was left on my nightstand. My car key, because I’ve learned my lesson.

When I step out onto the porch, I’m struck by the meat smell. It’s gotten significantly more potent. What do I do?

I hurry down the path, wobbling in my heels.

Flats. I should have just worn my fucking flats.

I circle around the reception hall and approach the floral arches.

There they are. Ravi and Tanya. Chatting with my friends near the bar—her fingers in his hair, his arm around her waist.

Seeing them together doesn’t feel as bad as dying, but it’s not far off.

I would’ve hoped that having already seen them, anticipating that this was coming, might lessen the blow, but nope. Because part of me was still holding out hope that today would be different. That Tanya didn’t exist.

How can this be in my head? How can I be imagining this? My relationship with reality has completely deteriorated. I can feel myself dissociating, eyes glazing over, body piloting itself. My pace slows. I yawn into the crook of my arm. The ceremony hasn’t even started yet and I’m dead on my feet. I notice movement in the woods. Something shifting between the trees.

Too many eyes.

I see you.

Red, glowing.

Tick, tock.

Only it’s not the Eyeball Man. Or the Top Hat ghoul. It’s not a person at all. It’s…it’s an animal. I see flashes of brown, matted fur. Antlers.

A deer. It’s a deer. It moves erratically. It leaps forward, then doubles back. Spins around. Changes direction. It seems lost. Spooked.

I take a cautious step toward it to get a better look.

“I wouldn’t.”

I gasp, so startled that my knees give, ankles go weak, heels cave in under me. I almost fall.

“Whoa, whoa.” It’s Danny. He catches me. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Danny!” I say, pushing him. “You gave me a heart attack.”

He lifts his chin, suspicious. “Do we know each other?”

Yeah. You’ve been inside me. “Um, I know of you.”

“Uh-oh,” he says, grinning.

“I’m Willa. I’ve been friends with Steph and Jace since college.”

“Ah,” he says. “Nice to meet you, Willa.”

He reaches out his hand. I shake it. He holds on to me for too long, making eyes.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.