“How was practice?” Leighton asks as soon as Moet steps into his car.
“Fine,” she lies. The dizzy spells have gotten worse. She can’t even do triples anymore without seeing spots. It infuriated Mother, who yelled at Moet in turn, which made Moet’s headaches hurt worse, which started the cycle all over again.
“You’re lying to me again,” Leighton bluntly states as he makes a right turn. He’s been driving Moet home after practices ever since the night they met.
“I don’t want you to worry about me, Leighton. I’m fine.” Moet replies, giving his left hand a reassuring squeeze.
Instead of smiling and squeezing her hand back, his hand lays limp in hers as he stares out the windshield with a stiffened jaw. “No, you’re not fine. You’re starving yourself. You’re burning off more calories than you’re taking in. How do you not understand how dangerous this is? You’re going to die, Moet.”
Leighton isn’t one to beat around the bush. Moet winces at the harsh tone his words had taken on.
“I know.” Moet’s lower lip quivers a bit as a lump starts forming in her throat. “But I can’t stop, Leighton. It’s like another girl’s controlling my mind, forcing me to exercise when I’m tired, stopping me from eating food even though I’m hungry... I can’t help it.”
“But you can,” Leighton stubbornly says. “You don’t understand what you’re talking about. Anorexia is all in the mind. If you try hard enough, you can do it. You’re just not trying hard enough. Try harder.” He makes a right turn.
“Don’t tell me what I do and do not understand, Leighton. You don’t understand. You never understand how logic isn’t the answer to everything.” Moet’s voice starts taking on a stern tone.
“If you just try hard enough…” Leighton starts, but Moet interrupts.
“I’m trying as hard as I possibly can, Leighton.” Frustrated, the two lapse into a tensioned silence that lasts until they pull up onto Moet’s driveway. However, there’s a pale-haired girl sitting on Moet’s porch steps waiting for something… or someone.
With a gasp, she recognizes the bloodshot blue eyes of Dakota as the girl turns her head towards the oncoming car. “Leighton, it’s my sister.”
“What? Where?” He looks out the windshield and glances around the front of the house.
“Right there. She’s sitting on the porch steps, don’t you see her? Come on, I’ll introduce you guys.” Disregarding the little dispute they had a few moments before, she gets out of the car, runs around to Leighton’s side before he’s had his seatbelt detached, and grasps his hand as she leads him to the porch steps.
“Dakota, this is my boyfriend, Leighton. Leighton, this is my sister, Dakota.” Moet introduces happily. It’s a great thing to introduce the two people you love most in the world to each other. Right after the small introduction, she notices how Dakota doesn’t even make a move to shake Leighton’s hand and that Leighton doesn’t make a move to shake hers either. In fact, Dakota’s blue eyes seem to be brimming with tears.
“Moet,” Leighton says concernedly. “I don’t see anyone.”
Confused, Moet looks from Dakota in front of her to Leighton who was beside herself. “What do you mean? She’s right here.” Suddenly, Dakota stands up and extends a hand out toward Leighton with a grim face. “She’s waiting for you to shake her hand.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I don’t see anybody there. There’s nothing standing between us and the door to your home, Moet.”
And then Leighton does the strangest thing.
He walks up to Dakota.
And walks straight through her to get to the front door.
Moet can’t breathe.
Dakota doesn’t look surprised at all. Instead, there’s an infinite sadness reaching out from her bloodshot blue eyes and into Moet’s soul. Tentatively, Moet steps closer to Dakota herself. Reaching out a hand, she aims to brush her fingers against her older sister’s arm, but her fingers go right through her.
Hyperventilating, Moet struggles to catch her breath as she grasps her chest with her hand trying to accept the impossible. Leighton comes next to her and tries to help her up the steps but in seeing him walk straight through Dakota again, Moet flinches from his touch and rushes into the house and locks the door behind her. Collapsing on the floor, she inhales shaky, shallow breaths until black spots stop abhorring her vision.
“I’m sorry.”
Moet’s head snaps up to meet the eyes of her sister’s. Speechless, Moet just stares at the slender girl standing before her in a mix of horror and shock. Finally, she whispers, “Why can’t Leighton see you? And why… why can he walk through you? What’s going on? Is this a joke?”
“I’m dead, Moet.”
“What?” Unable to process her words, Moet feels like her mouth is moving but her mind isn’t. “What do you mean you’re dead?”
“I mean…” Dakota bites her lip and rubs her eyes aggressively. “I’m dead.” She gestures to her body. “This… doesn’t exist. Well, it does. But I don’t know where. Moet, remember when I told you that I was gonna be gone for a while and I needed you to look for something when I came back?”
Mutely, Moet nods in agreement.
“I need you to find my body.”
“How long?” Moet whispers.
Dakota’s brow furrows in confusion. “How long what?”
“How long,” the younger girl continues, “have you been dead?”
Dakota seems speechless for a moment. Her sister’s question had taken her by surprise. “A few weeks after I ran away.”
“You mean from the first visit, you’ve known you were dead and didn’t tell me?” Moet’s eyes started to water. “Do you know what I thought the first time I saw you come back since you ran away?”
Dakota stays silent.
“I was so happy that you came back for me.” A lump started to form in the back of Moet’s throat. “I was so happy that you were safe and real and there was a chance that we could buy a small apartment with the money I saved and we could get out of here so you wouldn’t be so unhappy and we’d just live… I thought we had a chance, Dakota. You should’ve told me from the beginning. How could you do this to me? How could you do this to me?” Moet screams at her now teary-eyed sister.
“I’m sorry, Moet. I--”
“Get out.”
Dakota recoils from the iciness of her little sister’s tone. “Come on, let’s just talk about this.”
“Get out!” Moet yells.
“Fine,” Dakota replies. “But I just want you to know that I didn’t die just to spite you.” As she stomped out of Moet’s bedroom, Dakota turned back and pierced Moet with her angry blue eyes.
“I was murdered.”
Slam.
Author's Note: I had it planned that from the beginning of the book, Dakota is dead. Whether she's a figment of Moet's imagination or a ghost, that's up to you, but don't worry. Dakota's not going anywhere because she's a major part of the plot. I just wanted to clear that up in case I confused some of you guys. Anyways, thanks for reading!