Free So Hot For You by Melanie Marks Page B

along with whatever plan you had for me after school today? Maybe. I don’t know. Why did you and Aspen do any of the mean things you did to me?”
    Cooper bit his lip, then shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know why Aspen did any of that stuff. But I didn’t do anything mean to you, Krista—ever.”
    Krista crossed her arms, not even slightly convinced. “You can’t blame it on Aspen anymore. She’s not here.”
    Cooper looked as though he had been punched in the stomach. Finally, he said softly, “Believe me, I know she’s not here.” Then he drove away.
    Krista watched him go, feeling torn. He’d seemed sad. But of course it was an act. It had to be. Aspen wasn’t around for him to blame this on, not this time, but this was exactly the kind of thing Aspen had done to Krista all year. It was typical Aspen. Well, make that typical Aspen and Cooper. Though now, apparently, it was just Cooper.
    What a freak!
     
    ***
     
    Later that night, while Krista was at work, cleaning the toilets at Pizza Haven, her head was shoved into the toilet. Literally, shoved. Hard. Then it was held there, under the water. Krista reached back, fighting at the hand that held her head down. She scratched and pushed and fought, but it was no use. She was getting weaker and weaker, unable to breathe. She was drowning.
    Finally, she heard girls’ voices coming into the bathroom. “Krista!”
    It was Maya, her co-worker, and another girl from school. They ran to Krista as she crumbled to the bathroom floor, wet and gasping for breath.
    “What happened?” they asked.
    But Krista didn’t know. She shook her head. “Someone tried to kill me,” she cried.
    Both girls swore they didn’t see anyone else in the bathroom when they came in. No one besides Krista.
    “Look though,” Maya said, pointing to the bathroom mirror. Scrawled in lipstick, it said, “I’m back! A.”
    “Aspen!” Krista gasped, feeling queasy and sick. She was suddenly shaking all over.
    She’s back? From the dead?
     
    ***
     
    Krista left work early—as soon as she could move, actually. But on her way home, she realized she was being toyed with. Of course it wasn’t Aspen that had done that to her. Of course not. Aspen was dead. Not a zombie, just dead. Dead, dead. She had been dead for almost four months now. She died in a car accident. A truck had spun out of control on an icy-patch of road and driven head-on into Aspen’s car. Aspen had died on impact.
    No, it wasn’t Aspen that tried to kill her. It was Cooper—somehow. But no. She doubted he was actually trying to kill her. The Freak! Only scare her. Punish her or something. In the name of Aspen. He was obviously nuts, flipping-out on his birthday due to grief or something. Crazy!
    But that’s why he had been looking at her so oddly in class lately. It wasn’t longing or love, like she had imagined. No! Of course not. That was just romantic, wishful thinking on her part. No, he had been looking at her with mal-intent on his mind. Ugh!
    Krista dialed his cell phone. “What kind of psycho are you!” she yelled into the phone as soon as Cooper answered.
    “Krista? Is that you?” Cooper sounded concerned, but Krista knew it was an act.
    She was going to yell at him—scream accusations at the top of her lungs, but then, she fell silent. She could hear someone laughing in the background on Cooper’s end of the line—a girl. It sounded like … Aspen.
    Krista’s heart sped up. She gripped the steering wheel, feeling faint.
    “What’s going on?” she gasped.
    “I have no idea,” Cooper said, speaking in a confidential, worried tone.
    In the background, Krista heard the girl laughing again, heard her say, “Come here, Birthday Boy.”
    Then the phone went dead.
    Krista’s heart pounded in an exploding burst. “Hello? Hello?”
    Shaking and sick, she pulled over to the side of the road, certain she was going to cause an accident. And puke. With trembling hands, she dialed Cooper’s