Page 100 of A Dead Girl's Guide to Living
I followed silently behind them to the car, fighting to keep the shit-eating grin off my face.
ELLIS
Tip #15: When the universe gives you only one bed, it’s less about sleeping arrangements, and more about story progression.
By the time we hit Mother Road Market in Tulsa, I was ready for lunch. I was starving, not just for food but for silence. For a moment alone in my head, where I could unpack whatever the hell had just happened and sort out my thoughts in an organized fashion. Without Liv shooting me thoseknowinglooks.
The drive into Tulsa had been filled with tense silence as we sat in fresh clothes, each of us trying to ignore the faint pond-water smell still lingering in our hair.
We’d hit the major sights before coming here, only a few things left to check off the itinerary, and it had all blurred together into weird statues and selfie stops. Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios, where Dove insisted we each pick out a pin for our bags. Dove had also managed to secure some fireworks, which had surprised me. Then the giant oil guy, the Golden Driller, wholooked weathered and tired, as if he’d seen too much from where he stood.
I wasn’t even sure where I stood anymore on the whole Americana roadside-kitsch debate, but I couldn’t deny that Dove had looked cute posing with Buck Atom, her sunglasses perched precariously on the tip of her nose, grinning like she hadn’t just taken a faceful of pond water this morning.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it—the way Dove’s hands had felt on me when she caught me, trying to steady me. The press of her body against mine. And that tiny, almost imperceptible flick of her gaze to my mouth that had sent vibrant static zipping through my brain, frying all logic and reason.
But it had to be nothing, right? Just a reflex. She caught me, we were standing close, eyes moved. It didn’t mean she—
Dove startled me as she dropped her tray of food across from me, some sort of nacho dish on her plate. She plopped down with casual ease, propping one foot up on the edge of the bench, regarding me over the lenses of her sunglasses.
“You okay?” Dove asked, picking up a nacho.
I swallowed hard and blinked, grateful for my own sunglasses. “Uh, yeah.”
“You’ve been staring at your burger for a solid minute,” Dove said, popping the nacho into her mouth and sighing blissfully.
I quickly grabbed my burger, taking a bite, then busied myself with my phone, firing off a quick update to my mom before opening TikTok for the first time since uploading. My eyes nearly bulged at the 50+ notification icons. I clicked into the posted video, now sitting at 25,000 views and 4.5k likes, plus 1.2k comments.
“What’s that face?” Dove asked, pausing mid-nacho. “You all good?”
“Yeah,” I said quickly. “It’s just… the video I uploaded has gotten a lot of views. Like, in a really short amount of time.I’d posted part one of the trip and recorded some voiceovers whenever I got a minute alone, but I hadn’t thought it was much.”
But the comments…
“Whoa,” I muttered, scrolling faster. “The comments.”
“What’s it say?” Dove asked as she chewed her corn chip, eyes alight with interest. “Anything about me?”
“‘Watching these videos from my hospital bed in Ohio. Chemo is rough, but you’re making me smile, Ellis. Live your best life, girl.’”
Dove made a noise in the back of her throat, something akin to excitement. “That’s so good! What else?”
“‘My daughter has the same condition you did. She’s eleven. Thank you for showing her that there’s a lot more road ahead of her. Literally.’”
“Oh, that’s a good one,” Liv murmured, suddenly sitting beside me on the bench.
“‘Ellis, you’re living proof that miracles can and do exist. Keep living loudly.’”
A sudden sting behind my eyes had me setting the phone down. I blinked hard and took a forceful bite of my burger.
“See?” Dove said, her voice softer. “You’re helping people.”
I shrugged and bit my lip. “I mean, it’s just documenting what we’re doing. Who wants to see that?”
“People who can’t,” Liv said, nudging my arm with her shoulder.
A chill ran through me at the contact, and my heart stuttered.
“Okay, while I’m super happy that little Miss TikTok might be forging a new path here, I want to talk about tonight.” Liv propped her chin on her hands and looked to Dove expectantly, who suddenly resembled a deer in headlights.
