willing

before

sarah's pov

She stirs her straw before taking a sip of her milkshake, "Unbelievable, S. There are no excuses for not taking risks."

I shake my head before protesting, "Yeah, but the risks you take could literally get you killed or arrested. Don't blame me for not jumping at the opportunity to take a risk with you."

Sighing, she stares at her shake, "Fine, I'll go by myself tonight. I'm sorry for even asking."

"Eliza," I start, waiting for her to look up at me, "This is why we're best friends. Because we're different. You've been begging me to go on an adventure with you ever since we became friends in the second grade. I will one day—Just—Today's not that day. You understand that, don't you?"

She shifts in her seat, "Yeah, I get it. Well, I should probably get going, then. It takes four and a half hours to get to Vegas. I'll get Cher to go with me."

I nod sympathetically, "That'll be fun. Hopefully you'll finish your scavenger hunt. Text me when you get there to let me know you're alive."

"I will." She forces a smile, pulling out a wrinkled five and setting it next to her milkshake.

She kisses me on the cheek before heading out of the diner.

I stare blankly at the booth for a moment after she's gone. I then pay and leave myself.

Dylan, my boyfriend, is coming to my house tonight and I want to make him dinner. I decide I should probably stop by the store before I go home.

Unlocking my car and climbing in, I notice a small white card on the corner of my windshield.

I reach my hand out and grab it, closing the car door and cranking the engine. There's no telling what it says.

I flip it over and read, "And let out a loud yell, and threw a bottle, as a brute tribute of respect to beauty. Of course the bottle fell short by a mile,
But the shout reached the girl and put her light out. She went out like a firefly, and that was all..."

- Robert Frost

Horrified, I study the printed words organized across the card. I recognize this poem from last year in AP Lang. It's called Pauls Wife and it's basically about murder.

Slightly spooked, I toss the card into the passenger's seat and pull out of the parking lot, heading to the store.

I guess someone's trying to be funny, I'm not really sure. But what I do know is that card sends me on edge.

I turn the volume up to the radio, expecting to hear 98.5 (the pop station that I was listening to last time I was in the car), except, a quiet violin movement fills the speakers.

I look away from the road for a second to see what song is playing, thinking it may just be a commercial. However, when I see the name of the song, my blood runs cold.

Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns

Which, in case if you don't speak French, it means Dance of the Dead.

Someone put the CD version of this song in my car because I know there's no way in hell I would ever buy that CD.

Someone was in my car.