Chapter 27 Ellis #2
There was no small talk or warmth as we stood inside the entrance—only the brittle politeness of someone who wanted to get whatever this was over with.
“Want something to drink?” he asked, already turning toward the kitchen in the corner.
“Water would be great,” Dove said, and I echoed her, my voice cracking slightly with nerves.
Liv slipped past us as we stepped inside, her heeled boots making no sound as her fingertips trailed across every surface, as if desperate to feel textures again.
Her face was rapt, devastated, and I watched as she paused by a cluster of frames, her own face beaming back at her—alive, immortalized on glossy paper.
She reached for one frame, her fingers brushing the silver, and a lump lodged in my throat. It was her and Jedd, just the two of them, arms thrown around each other, cheeks flushed, some party blurred in the background.
My chest ached for her, and Dove took my hand.
I watched as Liv moved on for a moment before she stumbled and froze. My eyes followed hers to a coat hanging on a rack by the door—pink, oversized, faux fur. It stood out like a sore thumb among the neutral tones of the loft, a small fragment of her world still alive in this one.
Liv turned to us, her eyes glassy with tears she couldn’t cry. No words formed on her lips, only a broken gaze, and I pressed my mouth together hard, staring at my feet before I could unravel with her.
Jedd came back into the room carrying two bottles of water. He handed one to each of us before dropping into an armchair. I swallowed and followed Dove to the couch, where we perched side by side. The silence hung thick in the air, broken only by the gentle hum of the AC.
“You have a really nice place,” I said softly, my hands wrapped around the bottle.
His eyes flicked to me, softened for a moment, and he gave a single nod. “Thanks.”
Dove uncapped her bottle and took a long sip, as if giving herself something to do while we all orbited slowly around the elephant in the room.
Then Jedd leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees. “So,” he said, his eyes pinning me in place. “You have her heart?”
As if my heart had heard him, it seemed to skip a beat and my pulse skittered. My hand went to my chest, where I knew that red line sat, and I rubbed it instinctively.
“I do.”
“I knew she was a donor,” he said, his brows knitting together. “She bragged about it the day she signed up. And I knew… I knew most of her was given. I just never thought—” He broke off, shaking his head. “Never thought I’d meet someone walking around with… well, with part of her.”
A lump rose in my throat, and I squeezed the bottle just slightly, the plastic crackling loudly enough to give me away.
“I never thought I’d meet someone who knew her.”
Jedd turned to Dove. “So, you knew Liv? That’s what your message said… and you’re friends with the person who got her heart?”
The disbelief in his voice was thick, underscored by something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Suspicion?
Dove straightened beside me.
“No, I never knew Liv,” she said, taking a breath and ignoring the look growing on Jedd’s face.
“Look, what we’re about to tell you is super fucked up.
Like, so crazy you might think you just let two nutcases inside your home.
But I promise, what we’re about to tell you is the truth.
We aren’t lying. This isn’t a trick or anything. ”
Jedd arched a brow and Dove looked to me.
“Okay, um,” I began lightly, my voice suddenly foreign to my ears as I watched Liv walk around and perch on the arm of Jedd’s chair.
“So, what I’m about to tell you is nuts.
And I’m not judging you for whatever reaction you have to this…
you know, once you hear it…” I glanced at Liv, who ran a hand through Jedd’s hair.
He didn’t even flinch.
“So, you know I have Liv’s heart in my chest. I got it when she died.
You know all this. Obviously I got it when she died—like, that’s what happens.
Um. So. Liv has been with me since then.
Like, attached to me. I—I mean, Dove and I…
we can see her. And um, she’s here. Right now.
Sitting next to you on the arm of your chair. ”
Jedd blinked once, then glanced down at the arm of the chair where Liv sat—where he would, of course, see nothing. His expression was unreadable for a heartbeat, then his lip curled as his face hardened into something sharp.
“Wow,” he said dryly, slowly clapping his hands together.
Dove shot me a look.
“That’s a new one. I’m almost impressed.
I haven’t had this scam before, so you guys are really digging deep for new material.
Wow. I can see the headline already. ‘Dead Girlfriend’s Ghost Tethered to Organ Recipient.
’ Cute. So what are you, podcasters? TikTok influencers?
Who do you work for, and how much did they pay you to come here and fuck with me? ”
His words hit me like a slap, and heat flooded my cheeks.
“What?”
“Don’t play dumb,” he snapped, his eyes narrowing.
“I’m not a fucking moron. Everyone wants to hear the story, and I’m the only person not opening my mouth.
Everyone wants me to spill. This—” He jabbed a finger toward me and Dove.
“This is sick. Pretending you have her heart? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’m not lying!” The words tore out of me, strangled and desperate, as I caught one look at Liv’s stricken face. I glanced helplessly at Dove.
Jedd was on a roll, anger radiating off him in waves. “So you have Liv’s heart and hang out with her ghost. Cool. Great story. Now get the fuck out of my house.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Dove growled, rising to her feet as Jedd did. The tone in her voice shocked even me—I had never heard her so fierce. “We aren’t lying. We drove across the goddamn country because Liv asked us to. She has unfinished business, and we’re helping her finish it.”
“Unfinished business?” Jedd barked a humorless laugh. “Get out or I’m calling the police.”
“Ask him about Mr. Dimples,” Liv said suddenly, panic in her eyes. “Only I know about Mr. Dimples. Ask him.”
Jedd gripped my arm—too roughly—and yanked me to my feet. Dove shoved at him.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” Dove snarled.
“Mr. Dimples!” I shouted, my voice breaking. Jedd halted, releasing my arm almost instantly, as if the words had burned him. “Mr. Dimples,” I repeated, my voice shaking. “Liv wants to know… Liv wants to know if you still have Mr. Dimples.”
“Under his pillow,” Liv whispered, as if Jedd could hear her.
“Under your pillow,” I repeated.
“How…” Jedd’s voice cracked as he spoke. “How do you know about… only Liv knew about him. She—she found him one night when we were… she gave me so much shit. But she never told anyone. So how do you know…”
“Tell him that Wonderwall still sucks and is overrated,” Liv whispered, her hands at her throat.
“Well, that’s just bullshit,” Dove scoffed, and I nudged her quickly as Jedd looked between her and the empty spot where she had been directing her words.
“What the fuck—what is that—”
I jumped in quickly.
“Liv said Wonderwall still sucks and is overrated,” I blurted, hoping to God it clicked with something in his mind.
Jedd looked at me in alarm before disbelief filled his eyes again. He shook his head. “No way. Okay, you guys did your research. Well done. You got some shit right.”
“Fuck it,” I groaned, reaching behind my head.
Before Dove could ask what I was doing, I tugged on the strap holding my halter top, and it fell away.
Dove’s eyes widened in surprise, and Liv let out a startled yelp as the fabric slid down.
I was wearing a cream-colored strapless bra, the top pooling at my waist.
I glanced down at my scar, comparing it to the length of the woman’s at the carousel, before looking up at Jedd. His eyes had zeroed in on my chest in the least perverted way possible, his mouth hanging open slightly.
“I had open-heart surgery a year ago,” I told him, squaring my shoulders and fighting off the heat in my cheeks.
“Well, it’s been a few weeks past the anniversary now, but I’m a year post-transplant with a donor heart I received.
I had been in heart failure. This heart was my Hail Mary.
I was dying—and then I wasn’t. Because someone else died instead. ”
Tears filled my eyes as I looked to Liv, who stared at me with so much emotion I nearly broke apart.
“I’m always going to be so sorry that you died, Liv,” I whispered.
“I’m sorry that I took your heart and that you aren’t here anymore.
I know it’s not my fault. You would have died anyway, and someone else would have gotten your heart—I get the logistics.
But I am sorry. I’m so sorry that you’re gone, and that this part is over for you.
Because I think you’re amazing. And I think you would have been living an amazing life, and would have continued to do so. ”
Dove’s hand slid into mine beside me, and she sniffed, wiping at her eyes.
“I’m going to keep living life for you,” I choked, giving a firm nod. “I promise. No more wallowing. No more timekeeping. I won’t squander it.”
Liv’s eyes fluttered, as if she were desperately trying to cry, but no tears came. Her face crumpled, and she walked toward me, flinging her arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her, breathing in deeply as the tears fell, her pink hair absorbing them.
“Uh,” Jedd’s voice croaked. “Why the fuck is she hugging the air?”
“She’s hugging Liv,” Dove snapped, exasperation in her voice. “Fucking hell, Jedd. Liv, I thought you said he was cool?”
“He is cool!” Liv snapped, letting me go and giving me a small smile as she flicked my nose. “He’s just scared and grieving. Tell him about the time he jerked off into his dad’s porn magazines, got the pages stuck together, and blamed his brother.”
“Ew.” I laughed, sniffing back the remaining tears and wiping my eyes.