"Honey, you've been holed up in this room for a week. Please let me take you to see a doctor."

My mother barges into my room without knocking. I roll over in bed to make space for her to sit. Her dark brown eyes study my face as she raises a hand to my forehead to check my temperature the old-fashioned way. I mumble how I'm feeling much better today, despite not having been sick in the first place. I quickly tell her there's no need for me to see a doctor. They'll cut right through my act and I can't have that happening.

"I'm fine now. I think it was just a stomach bug." I sit up in bed and put on my best smile, hoping she'll believe me. "I promise I'm alright."

My mother sighs. "If you won't let me take you to see a doctor, at least go outside to get some sunshine and fresh air. It'll do you good."

"Yeah, sure. I'll go out later."

Although necessary, it kills me to look my mother in the eyes and lie. I want more than anything to tell her the truth about what's really been going on with me, but who's to say she'll actually believe me? Or will she end up thinking I'm crazy and seek to have me committed? I honestly wouldn't blame her if she went that route. Regardless, I can't tell her the truth.

I can't tell her about the deal that I was forced to make with Laudon in Hell, and how I now have only twenty-three days left to give him what he wants, or else everyone that I know and love will die. Going outside will force me to start looking for a soul to take, and in spite of knowing what's at stake if I fail, I'm just not ready to carry out such an evil deed.  

"Your friends miss you," my mother comments after hearing my phone buzz next to me. "Since you're feeling better you should stop ignoring them and let them know that you're still alive and breathing."

"I'm not ignoring them," I say. "They know I've been sick. And I miss them too, but we can't exactly hang out right now. I might be contagious or something."

"But you just said you're feeling fine."

"Mom, certain viruses can hang out in the body for days after you've fully recovered, or so says Google. You don't really want me to invite my friends over and accidentally infect them, do you?"

I panic and lie again. I have no clue if what I said is on Google or not. I had to be quick and come up with something on the spot, anything to make an excuse for why Johnny and Krista shouldn't come over. They've been blowing up my phone ever since I came back from Hell and I really wish they'd give it a rest already, for their own sake.

"Ma, you gotta stop babying her. She ain't even sick!" My brother stops at my door, rolling his eyes at me. "She's just trying to get out of looking for a job this summer."

"Gregg, play nice before I come over there and pop you in the mouth," my mother calls out.

"Sis, if I have to go out and work, so do you."

"How about you worry less about me and more about that non-matching outfit you're wearing because you look a hot mess," I tease.

Gregg and I throw a few more shots back and forth until he accidentally lets a curse word slip and mom throws one of her shoes at his big head. He dodges it before heading down the hallway, laughing. My mother retrieves her shoe and then returns to sit next to me.

"If you are serious about a job, your dad and I are currently hiring at the clinic," my mom informs me. "We need at least two people to help run the front desk. It's an easy job with good pay, plus Samuel Carpenter just started working there..."

I groan from embarrassment. "Mom, I really don't need you playing matchmaker for me, and definitely not with Samuel Carpenter. He's old news."

"Is he, though?" she asks, smirking. "I know you've had a crush on that boy since middle school. Might as well snatch him up before someone else does."

"Hold up! How do you know I've been crushing on Sam since middle school? I've never told anyone that." 

"Don't think I never came across all those cute little love letters that you used to write him but never had the courage to give him," she says, completely exposing me. "I know more about you than you think, missy." 

"Oh, God! How did you find out about the letters?" 

"I used to pick up after you and your brother all the time back then. He was great at hiding things, but you? Not so much."

This is utterly humiliating. I can't believe my mother has read all the cringe love letters that I wrote back in middle school, all of them about a boy who never paid me any attention.

Samuel Carpenter and I were on two different spectrums back then, ran with two completely different crowds. He was friends with the cool kids, while I felt most comfortable with the outcasts. We would have never made it as a couple. And as for now... well, I don't know shit about dating or relationships because I've never experienced either before. And with everything that I have going on with Laudon, it's best if Samuel and I remain strangers.  

"Back to what is most important—your health. Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

My mother grabs for my hand to hold. I watch as the bracelet around my wrist glows. Laudon neglected to tell me that the stupid bracelet only works if people touch me, or vice versa. But of course, my mother has a pure soul. Makes me wonder how much longer it'll take before mine becomes tainted and worthless, given the task that Laudon has forced me to carry out.

"You really can't see it, can you?" I ask, testing her.

"See what, honey?"

"Nothing." I pull my hand away, ignoring the bracelet. "So anyway, about the job—"

"Maggie! Get your butt out of bed and come downstairs. Your friends are here to see you," Gregg yells. "Nevermind. They're coming to you instead."

My mother kisses me on the forehead before departing. Seconds later, Johnny and Krista enter my bedroom. They ignore my pleas to stay back and instead plop down on either side of me. One look at their faces and I know, unlike my sweet and gullible mother, that they see right through my facade. I stop the games and give them the real me.

"Okay, so I'm not actually sick..."

"We can tell," they mutter in unison. "And even if you were, we were coming to see you regardless," Johnny says. "Now let's hear the real excuse for why you've been dodging us all week."

I shrug, being quick to come up with another lie. "I just wanted to spend some one on one time with my family. I'm only here for the summer and then it's back to campus. I would've told you guys, but... I don't know. It makes me sound kind of lame, doesn't it?"

Krista rolls her eyes. "There's nothing lame about wanting to spend time with your family, Mags. We'd never tease you about something like that. Now, faking sick, on the other hand..."

"Yeah, that's being hella extra." Johnny laughs. He then pulls out his phone to respond to a new text. "Looks like there's a party tonight at Hannah Cyrus' place. Her parents are out of town on business, so she's got that big ass mansion all to herself. You guys down to go or what?"

"Only if Mags is," Krista says, putting me on the spot.

"If I go, will you guys forgive me for lying to you about being sick?" I ask. They nod. I sigh, immediately falling victim to peer pressure. "Okay. I'm down. When does the party start?"

I guess it's time to go soul hunting.