Free Wicked Fate (The Wicked Trilogy) by Tabatha Vargo

cooped up all the time with no socializing’. Make sure and have lots of fun.”
    “I will,” I lean in and pretend to kiss her on the cheek.
    I go to the library to say goodnight to Thaddeus, but he’s nowhere to be seen.
    “Thaddeus?”
    I hear the jingle of his pocket watc h chain and I know he’s there.
    “You look mighty nice tonight , Miss Mage,” h e whispers in my ear. He steps around me taking in my new style. “ I’ll tell ya ’ , if I had a pulse I’d take ya’ out myself,” he smiles and winks . “It’s like watching my very own dear , sweet , daughter go out into the world for the fir st time. Where’s my hankie?” he pretends to wipe away a tear.
    I giggle. “You’ re too much! Thank you.”
    “You’re very welcome darlin ’ . Y’all have fun now , ya’ hear? ”
    And then he’s gone. Thaddeus always makes me feel so much better. Here I am worried that I look awful and he procee ds to fill me with compliments . Leave it to him to put a smile on a girl ’ s face. I bet he was quite the ladies man in his time.
    “Goodnight,” I whisper into the empty room before shut ting the door behin d me.
    Waiting for Bernie, I si t on the porch with my notebook in hand. These days , my writing has taken a bit of a turn. I used to write about dark and dreary things, but recently it’s all sweet and dreamy stuff. Adam’ s had quite an eff ect on me, that’s for sure.
     
    Come to me my sweet and let me fill your head.
    Give your heart to me—awaken mine that is so dead.
    Say my name so softly and take my breath away.
    Vow to stay with me, my love, forever and a day.
     
    Bernie pulls up at exactly six o’clock—If only she could be that punctual when it comes to school. It’s already dark outside so I squint when her headlights blind me.
    We drive to a little Chi nese restaurant in town and eat dinner.
    “Ever wonder what these people are saying about us in Chinese?” she sips her sweet tea.
    “Oh, I’m sure they have plenty to say about me,” I joke.
    “Oh, whatever! You’re totally full of awesome sauce. Trust me, I know awesomeness when I see it,” she sticks her tongue out.
    I tell her about run ning into Adam after school on Friday. I make sure not to mention anything about him getting pushed over the side of the water tower. How would I explain why he’s not dead when she sees him in school on Monday?
    “So, who were they?” she asks when I tell her about the fight.
    “I don’t know. Some guys he works with or something. You should’ve seen them fighting. It was crazy.”
    “Man, I wish I could’ve been there. That’s way cray-cray ! I always miss the drama,” she rolls her eyes while she plays with her straw.
    She doesn’t push for more information and starts talking about boys as usual.
    “So, there’s this dude in my Algebra class. His name’s Kale. Oh my God, he’s totally hot. Seriously, I caught him looking at my boobs the other day. You should’ve seen me trying to poke these bad-boys out,” she demonstrates by poking her chest out. “Hmmm, I just want to do bad things to him.”
    We laugh loudly and the little Chinese waiter shakes his head.
    “Pre- vert ,” I chuckle.
    “What the hell is a pre- vert ?” she giggles.
    “You haven’t graduated into a pervert, yet. So, you’re still a pre-vert. We can still save you!” I joke.
    “Oh, whatever! I’m a total pro- vert !” she throws her fortune cookie at me.
    We burst into a fit of laughter.
    After we stuff ourselves with sweet-and-sour chicken, we go to the movies . I react like a child when I see the brightly colored theater and Bernie laughs at me. Making friends with her was the second best thing I’ve ever done; s aving Adam’s life being the best.
    I slouch against the brick wall of the theater as we wait in the ticket line. Seeing all the people lined up laughing and talking makes me smile. People actually have lives, who knew? It’s goo d to see people out and living, o ther than in