The First to Die at the End (Death-Cast #0)(89)

Gloria turns to Pazito, but she understands she should be pulling out a mirror instead.

She reminds herself that she’s important, that she matters, that she deserves a better life.

“I’m scared,” Gloria finally admits.

“I understand. Frankie is terrifying.”

“No, it’s more than that . . . I’m scared of starting over.”

Gloria looks at the park, finding her son going down a slide. He’s one of many kids who will grow up and expect for life to be smooth sailing. But Gloria’s journey has been rocky, and she’s sure that peace will be on the horizon if she throws her husband overboard. But it’s not that simple. Frankie will weigh her down like an anvil, keeping peace out of reach.

“Starting over is scary,” Rolando says. “But that’s the only way forward.”

“It’s the only way forward,” Gloria repeats with tears in her eyes.

“For me, starting over means not waiting for my End Day to admit that I’m still in love with you, Gloria. Always have been, always will be.”

Gloria sucks in a breath, as if she’s had the most amazing kiss in her life. But Rolando has not touched her. Not physically, at least. They remain seated apart and staring at one another, the sounds of children living in the background, and Gloria’s heartbeat pounding in her ears. Rolando does love her—always has, always will. Gloria believes those words with a fierceness that she never felt for Frankie’s vows. The man she should’ve married was the one standing behind her husband at the wedding.

“I’m not expecting you to divorce your husband for me,” Rolando says. “But I hope you’ll divorce him for yourself.”

Before Gloria can decide if she wants to restart her life with Rolando, she must choose to end this one with Frankie.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Gloria must divorce Frankie—for herself, and for her son who will always be at the heart of every decision she makes, no matter what anyone says. But unlike before, she’s now thinking about what she wants her life to look like after Pazito has grown up and moved out to live his. She doesn’t want to share a couch or bed or even a hundred-foot radius with her husband, with the man she should have never married.

The man Gloria should have left long ago.

Long ago when he first terrorized her.

When he first put his hands on her.

And after every other time.

Gloria cannot undo the past, but she can forge a new future.

And all’s well that ends well.





Rufus Emeterio


3:00 p.m.

Death-Cast did not call Rufus Emeterio because he is not dying today.

In fact, Rufus is having the time of his life as he rides his new steel-gray bike around Althea Park. He learned how to ride a couple years ago, ahead of his older sister, Olivia, who has no interest in picking up the skill, and it’s all good because Rufus has enough passion for the both of them and then some. Back during his short-lived training-wheels day, his father asked him to take it slow, but Rufus picked up everything fast and was ready to go, go, go. He built up speed through this drugstore parking lot and almost rode his bike into a busy street where a car would have easily killed him if he hadn’t hit the brakes. That was the first time he got a big talking-to from his pops, and it certainly wasn’t the last, but look at where those lessons and talks have gotten them today: Rufus is riding a bike that he believes is destined to carry him on many adventures, and his father is trusting him to navigate his own journey.

Honestly, Rufus isn’t even mad at how his father sprung this chat on him. (And he definitely wasn’t mad when he got surprised with his dream bike at the end of it!) The thing is, Rufus loves his pops, but they’ve been going head-to-head lately when what they needed was a heart-to-heart. His father talked to him about his past, and while Rufus wasn’t in the mood for a history lesson, especially during summer break, it actually turned out to be pretty cool. It taught Rufus that it’s okay to feel his emotions, even anger, just like his own father often did with his parents when he was growing up. But Rufus can’t let anger be the only thing he feels.

Rufus thought about this a lot on the train ride to Althea Park with his pops and sister.

A while back, Rufus and Olivia made up a game called Traveler, where they tell stories about the other people they see out in the world, though usually when they’re on public transit. Today on the train there was an old man who dropped a lot of cash into the purse of a young salsa dancer and Rufus imagined that he’s a Decker making sure his money goes into the right places before he dies, whereas Olivia was more focused on this woman whom she believed to be a spy for Death-Cast to make sure people are dying as they predicted to protect their reputations.

But if someone else were playing Traveler and saw Rufus, who would they see? Probably a boy who always talks back and is always trying to win a fight. Even against those who don’t want to fight him. In reality, Rufus is a cool kid who loves his family, and he would rather show the world that side of himself instead.

He wasn’t at the start of today, but right now, Rufus is happy.

Things are good with his pops.

His sister is also hanging out.

And his mom has just arrived, wanting to see everyone before she returns to work.

Rufus is tempted to try to pop a wheelie, even though he’s never been successful in executing one, but he doesn’t want to stress out his mom over broken bones when her job at the hospital has her specializing with literal broken hearts.