Dead girl walking. Actually, dead girl sitting because I was too tired to walk. I sat on the walkway outside the motel room with my legs poking between the bars and dangling over the edge.

Ms. Hansen's words made no sense. I wasn't dead. My heart pulsed under my hand, just like it had the whole afternoon since she'd told me I tasted dead. I'd pulled out a few more strands of hair for her to try again. She'd stuck them in her mouth and shook her head with an apologetic look. ...