Page 57 of You'll Be the Death of Me

Dell’s empty chest lifted. She watched her mother find the TV remote and click it on. The flat screen mounted on the wallcame to life, already set to a local news channel. Dell gasped and sealed herself to Cole’s side without even noticing it. Video footage showed Evelyn marching down city hall’s steps, flanked by security and her legal team, including Mr. Sterling, and fending off a crowd of reporters and photographers.Breaking Newsscrolled across the screen’s bottom while the camera panned over to focus on a young reporter with long brown hair and pink lips.

“We’re coming to you live from city hall, where Mayor Evelyn Moratto can be seen making a dramatic exit, accompanied by her legal team and security,” the reporter said. “We’ve just learned moments ago her son, Thomas Moratto, has been arrested on conspiracy to commit murder charges. Earlier today, Mr. Moratto admitted to a group of reporters outside the home he shares with his fiancée, Dell Rodgers, local chef and restaurant owner and daughter of prominent San Francisco real estate tycoon, William Rodgers, that with the help of his mother, he had plans to murder Ms. Rodgers on their honeymoon set for next week. Channel Four has obtained this footage. Viewer discretion is advised, as this is sensitive content.”

The video cut to a shot of Tommy standing outside their house, looking fully like he’d seen a ghost moments before. His face was pale; his eyes were wide as the moon. He was visibly shaking and glancing back at the house like Dell’s ghost might have been waiting to pounce. “It was for her money. We were going to stage an accident on our honeymoon ship. My mother was in on it—it was her idea, actually. Her campaign is out of money after years of embezzling the city’s money.” The damning words spilled from his mouth like someone had turned on a hose. Dell was smiling bigger and bigger with every sentence, both for thegrave he was digging himself but also because she knew she’d put that look of horror on his smug face.

“The mayor’s office declined comment when asked, though the mayor is now under investigation,” the reporter continued. “While Mr. Moratto denies involvement in Ms. Rodgers’s hospitalization, his plans raise serious concern over what may have happened in their home this morning. This is a developing story.”

“Oh my God,” Patricia said, and held a hand to her mouth.

William stepped closer to the TV with a deep frown and looked up at it. “Andy, what is going on?” he said into his phone he still held to his ear.

“Exactly what they just said, Dad. They were going to kill Dell!” Andy’s voice was audible through the phone. “We got a tip from our PR team that the story was breaking. We need to make a statement.”

Everyone in the room was gaping at the TV. The visitors from outside the room had slowly leaked in while the story played out at a loud enough volume to hear. Dell only now noticed Oscar and Lena had joined them.

Dell’s father bristled with anger. Dell felt it, even in her ghostly form.

“I’ll call you back, son,” he said to Andy in his customary even tone. One of the most formidable things about her father was his ability to keep cool while boiling with fury. He lowered the phone only to immediately end the call and dial another number. “Perry, it’s Bill,” he said, and marched out of the room.

“Who’s Perry?” Cole whispered from beside Dell.

“His lawyer,” she said with a hint of worry for the hellfire about to rain down on the Moratto family. But the worry was short-lived. They deserved every bit of what was coming tothem. A scoff suddenly burst out of her. “I can’t believe I was going to marry him. That—that—” The proper word to describe Tommy wouldn’t come to her. Instead, she growled an aggravated sound and felt her body tense.

Her mother suddenly gasped. Dell turned to see her body in the bed moving. When she’d growled, her chest had arched up off the bed and then flopped back down.

“Dell!” her mother shouted. “Oh, sweetheart, can you hear me?”

Dell turned to Cole, eyes wide in excitement. “Is this it? Is it happening? Am I about to wake up in my real body?”

Cole’s face was frantic with too many emotions to count. “Oh, um. I don’t—” He slid his hand from Dell’s and reached for the rule book.

“Oh my God, did we do it? Did we fix things?” she nearly squealed, and gripped his forearm. She rose up on her toes to see what he was reading, all the while keeping one eye on her mother, who was now leaning over the bed, petting her hair, and holding her limp hand.

“Um, it would seem your strong emotion had some effect,” Cole muttered, and kept flipping pages.

As Dell looked up at him, another vision like the one she’d had of him in a forest hit her. Except this time, he was in a room with dark walls, sitting by a fireplace in a thick sweater and sipping something caramel colored in a tumbler. His cheeks were fire-kissed pink, and he was smiling at... who, her? Again, it felt like a memory, but how could that be possible? As the image floated in her mind, a warmth filled her like the sun hitting her face on a crisp day. It left her feeling like she didn’t want to go. The distant thing tugging on her heart wanted her to stay and figure out what she was seeing. Why some unnamed partof her kept serving up images ofhimwhen all she wanted was to go home.

At the same time, Dell could feel an earthbound reality pulling her away. She glanced around the room at the hopeful looks on everyone’s faces. They all wanted her to wake up—and she did want to wake up. Despite whatever mysterious anchor kept pulling her toward the man in the corner only she could see.

Dell looked to Cole again, feeling forces pull her in multiple directions. “Well, see you in about sixty years when we do this for real, I guess,” she said with a half smile.

Cole gave her a longing look, his eyes still swimming with emotion and wonder. He truly looked like he was going to miss her. “Dell—” he started, but Dell snapped her eyes shut, half wondering if she needed to click her heels three times like Dorothy but trusting whatever force had landed her in this in-between reality would pull her back over to the side where she belonged.

“Goodbye, Cole,” she said. “Thanks for the help.” She managed to keep the wobble out of her voice as she prepared to wake up among the living.

Chapter 10

Nothing happened.

Dell peeled her eyes open, expecting to now be staring at the ceiling from her position in the hospital bed, but instead, she was still standing in the corner of her crowded room, facing the transition specialist who’d put this whole journey in motion.

“What happened?” she said curtly to Cole. “Why didn’t that work?”

“Um... I—I’m not sure,” Cole stammered.

They didn’t have much time to figure it out before commotion overtook the room.

“Bill! Get in here!” Dell’s mother shouted toward the doorway. “Get a nurse! She moved!” She hovered over Dell’s body, squeezing her hand and petting her hair with a hopeful plea in her eye.