Before I Fall

by Lauren Oliver

Page 36

 

  Izzy blows air out between her lips. “I wish nobody ever died,” she says.

  I feel an ache in my throat, but I manage to smile. Two conflicting desires go through me at the same time, each as sharp as a razorblade: I want to see you grow up and Don’t ever change. I put my hand on the top of her head. “It would get pretty crowded, Fizz,” I say.

  “I’d move into the ocean,” Izzy says matter-of-factly.

  “I used to lie here like this all summer long,” I tell her. “I’d come up here and just stare at the sky. ”

  She rolls over on her back so she’s staring up as well. “Bet this view hasn’t changed much, has it?”

  What she says is so simple I almost laugh. She’s right, of course. “No. This looks exactly the same. ”

  I suppose that’s the secret, if you’re ever wishing for things to go back to the way they were. You just have to look up.

  THROUGH THE DARK

  I check my phone when I get home: three new text messages. Lindsay, Elody, and Ally have each texted me the exact same thing: Cupid Day