Fated

the window, gazing upon streets littered with skull masks and marigolds—jagged bits of grinning teeth and flowering eye sockets gazing up from the asphalt, staring vacantly into space, as though mocking the very people who lost them.
    “Good luck with that.” I turn to face him. “She’s predisposed to hate you. Convinced you’ll be my downfall. Says you’ve got heartbreaker written all over you.”
    Dace grips the wheel tighter, eyebrows quirked, gaze stricken in a way that makes me feel bad for saying it, but it’s only a moment later when he laughs and says, “Funny, that’s the same thing Chepi said about you.” Addressing my confusion when he adds, “That day at the gas station, when I saw you sitting on the curb, talking on the phone—Chepi caught me looking and warned me right then and there to keep my distance, to not get involved.”
    “Why do you think she said that?” I ask. “It’s such a strange thing to say about someone you’ve never met.”
    Did she get an impression of me like I did of her? Is that why she hates me?
    Dace reaches toward me and places his hand over mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze when he says, “That’s what mothers do.”
    I lean back in my seat, determined to push it out of my mind. Staring blankly out my window as the truck bounces down the dirt road before pulling onto Paloma’s street that’s crowded with cars, one in particular I can’t help but notice.
    Barely allowing Dace enough time to park before I’m leaping from the truck and racing through the courtyard. Heart firmly wedged in my throat, as I bolt through the door, terrified by the thought of what I might find, only to see Jennika sitting at the kitchen table with Marliz right beside her. The two of them surrounded by a group of girls I recognize from school—all of them waiting their turn at a professional Hollywood makeover.
    “Daire.” Jennika’s gaze slews toward me as she applies mascara to Lita’s top lashes. “I’ve been looking for you.” Then seeing Dace right beside me, she adds, “And why am I not surprised to find you together? You guys look terrible by the way. Where the hell have you been?”
    I dismiss the question with a wave of my hand, my eyes frantically scanning the room, searching for Xotichl and relieved to find her curled up on the couch next to Auden—flashing me two thumbs up the second she senses me. Jacy and Crickett are there too, laughing and talking with some of Cade’s guy friends—all of them lounging on the woven rugs and chairs, no one seeming to notice that Cade Richter is missing.
    My attention returning to Jennika, taking note of her disapproving glare, and knowing it’s time for us to hash through this mess and find a way to compromise.
    “We need to talk.” She pushes away from the table, her expression turned grim.
    Her flight interrupted by Lita, face only half-finished, who cries, “But you’re gonna finish me first though, right?”
    Jennika shakes her head and motions for Marliz to take over. “I think she can take it from here,” she says, nodding for me to follow her into Paloma’s office.
    Dace looks uncertain, but I drag him along. The two of us united before an angry Jennika, when he says, “You can blame me. I take full responsibility.” Which is probably one of the worst things he could’ve said. It’s an honorable attempt, but definitely not the best way to get on her good side, and when I see her sarcastic expression, I can’t help but cringe. “She was worried about Paloma,” he continues, desperate to make things right. “So I took her to the reservation to see her, and it must’ve worked because Paloma is better.”
    Jennika smirks, her focus on me when she says, “So, I guess that settles it then.” She pushes away from the sink, as though it’s been decided that easily. Motioning for me to follow, and when I don’t, when I remain right beside Dace, she says, “We had a deal, Daire. Now that Paloma is better, it’s time to say good-bye to your friends and go back to L.A.”
    I stand rooted in place. My eyes grazing over the herbs, the drum, the piles of books on the shelves—this is my home, I’m not going anywhere. Not when Paloma still has more to teach me. Not before I find a way to evict those Richters from the Lowerworld—not before I stop Cade in his insane quest for power—and maybe not even then.
    Jennika places her hands on her hips, her voice rising in anger when she says, “Daire!”