After Goodbye

Epilogue

I sit up suddenly, jolted out of my sleep by something. I blink back drowsiness and lock eyes with Death's green ones. He's leaning against my far wall, his boot propped up.

"What's going on?" One moment I was standing with him in the void and now I'm here, in my room, dressed in the pajamas I died in. I run my hands down my body, feeling the steady rise and fall of my chest.

"I'm breaking rules." I sit back, feeling the softness of my pillows and jerk away. The feeling is very foreign.

"Death. What gives?" He moves closer, walking slowly and sits on the edge of the bed, placing his hand on my thigh. A chill runs up spine.

"Haven't figured it out yet?" I scoot closer, reaching out to cup his face, but find there's nothing to touch.

"How..?"

"I told you. I'm breaking the rules. Completely. And no doubt I'm going to pay for it. But I find it will be worth it. It's April 5th. Good morning, Hazel." What?

"Death, wait!" But he's gone. "Nathan! Nate!" My door flies open, my brother in the frame looking disheveled.

"What? It's 6 in the morning why are you screaming?" I fling myself out of bed and at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He's confused but puts his arms around me anyway.

"Just a bad dream." Death has given me a gift that I will never be able to repay. My life back.

"Okay. Well I'm gonna go get dressed for school." I let him go. He can't possibly ever understand why I'm so hysterical. He doesn't know I'm supposed to be dead. I find my phone, sitting on the nightstand where I had left it and tuck it into the waist and of my shorts.

"This is so weird."

"Z, get dressed. We have to leave soon. I'm gonna go get Tori up." I shoot off the side of the bed and out the door.

"No I'll get her."

"Oh-kayy. You're acting really weird," he puts his hand on my forehead. "Are you sure you're feeling good? You aren't warm." I shake off his hand, skipping down the hallway.

"Never been better!" I flick the light on in my little sisters' room. Victoria groans and rolls onto her stomach to avoid the light, but Jordyn reaches her arms out for me.

"Sissy!" I bring her to my chest, inhaling her baby scent. She got a bath last night, I can smell soap on her skin.

"Tori, get up." She has fallen back asleep, but moans again when I put Jor on the bed to jump on her.

"I'm up. God. Jordyn get off." She shoves at her sister, pushing her off the bed and into my arms.

I take Jordyn with me into my room and place her on the floor where she plays with the ugly Bratz doll. I flick through the dresses in my closet, ignoring the black dress. I pull a light pink skirt and a cropped darker pink sweater with a sequined collar and pair it with flats.

"How should I do my hair, JorJor?" She stares at the mop of bed head for a minute before getting up and grabbing a ponytail holder off of my door knob.

"Up." I pull it into a neat ponytail on the back of my head and curl the ends. Since the outfit is so simple I do my makeup more intricately. Once I'm satisfied I take Jordyn's hand and help her down the stairs to the kitchen.

While we eat, Victoria stumbles in and pours herself a bowl of cereal, plopping into the seat beside me.

"Good morning." She glares at me, shoveling Frosted Flakes into her gob. Once Nathan makes it downstairs and has finished eating we pile into the car.