Free Redheads are Soulless by Heather M. White

me. I didn’t want him to know he has any effect over me.
    I was thankful when the bell rang alerting us that lunch was over. I walked out of the cafeteria as quickly as I could, followed by Jason.
    “I’m sorry about him,” he apologized. “ Robbie is kind of a bitter person.”
    I just nodded my head, unsure of how to respond.
    “He’s a liar, and he knows he’s getting to you, Sof. You can’t let him. You’ve got to fight it. I will protect you.”
    “Can I really not pray or go to church?” the question came out in a whisper.
    “Of course you can,” he laughed.
    “Good. Cause I have a feeling I’m going to need a lot of prayer when it comes to him .”
    After school , I didn’t go visit my mom. I just called her and let her know I wouldn’t be home again . She said it was ok , becau se she would have company again as well. I had a sinking feeling that she wouldn’ t miss me, even if I never came home. The thought saddened me more than I thought it would.
    Everything had become overwhelming, and I was feeling a little depressed. Jason said that he would take me out on Saturday to do something fun, and I found myself very much looking forward to the upcoming weekend.
    On Thursday night, I cuddled with Jason on the couch while we watched a movie. Of course Robbie sat on the other side of me. As much as I tried to ignore him, it was impossible. I had never met anybody so persistent , and annoying before.
    Jason got up to make some popcorn, as always, Robbie took it as his opportunity to annoy me. Maybe he thinks he can annoy me to death . I didn’t think it was possible, but with him, it may truly be.
    “I can keep you warm while he’s gone,” Robbie winked at me. I felt his arm slip behind me on the couch.
    I took his hand and threw it back to his side. “No thank you. I’d rather freeze.”
    “Ouch.”
    “Don’t pretend to be offended. You don’t care about me,” I said angrily.
    “What makes you think I don’t care about you?” I could n’t tell if he was being sarcastic , or honest . So I went with sarcastic.
    “You want to kill me. If you cared about me, even a little, you wouldn’t kill me.”
    He rolled his eyes. “ I don’t want to kill you. It’s Jason who wants to kill you. But I may have to kill you. Don’t act like you know something when you really have no clue , Sofie.”
    “Why would you have to kill me? ”
    “You know why … Because it’s the only way I can get this curse lifted.” I could n’t tell he was lying.
    “What curse? You seem fine to me,” I answered. “Please, explain this curse to me. If my dad put it on you, maybe I can lift it.”
    “Of course you can lift it,” he smiled bitterly . “Your death is the key to it all.”
    “I don’t want to die.” My voice came out in a whisper. I didn’t want to admit my weakness to him, but I couldn’t help it.
    “I don’t want you to die either.” His voice was so quiet, I was certain I had misunderstood him. I didn’t have time to question either. Jason walked back in with the popcorn a nd we resumed playing the movie, but after that I had a hard time concentrating. I knew that there was more to me dying than just lifting some curse. I knew that even Jason didn’t know the truth, but I was going to figure it out. I ha d to.
     
    …
     
    That morning when I woke up, to my surprise, Robbie wasn’t standing in the doorway. I couldn’t help but smile. I rolled over to give Jason a kiss, and jumped when I seen Robbie lay in his place instead. My heart beat franticly from the surprise.
    “Where’s Jason?” I asked. I tried to sound calm, but I could hear myself freaking out.
    Robbie’s eyes stared at me. For a moment, I got lost in his caramel-colored eyes, the same color as Jason’ s, b ut his eyes soon turned red. “Jason can’t come out and play,” he replied, followed by a deep laugh.
    I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. My throat wouldn’t let me. I tried to get up and run, but I