“Really?” I sniffle. “That’s a really nice thing for you to say.”
“She’s having twins!” Amelia shouts from inside the casita. “There’s no way to miss her being pregnant!”
“I hate you!” I yell back.
Charlie’s eyes are comically wide as she watches my backyard drama. She clears her throat. “Twins. Wow. That’s so cool.” Looping her arm in mine, she smiles. “We could do a pregnancy shoot if you wanted.”
“That’s so sweet of you, but I can’t afford it right now.”
She tilts her head. “What if you helped me with my website? It’s all drag-and-drop, so there’s no programming or HTML. But you have such a great eye for design, and it would be a huge help. In return, I could do a pregnancy shoot for you.”
“Let’s do it!” Swapping services is my favorite thing.
After Charlie leaves, I get out my aggression on the backyard weeds. The side yard is out of control. Olly keeps promising to do this for me, but I hate reminding him when he’s been so busy.
Using the weed whacker, I hack at the taller growth. I just need to get it low enough to run the mower over it. Sweat stings my eyes, and I blink to see. I’m not sure if I hit a rock, but the trimmer dies after ten minutes. Damn.
I toss it on the ground and lower myself to my knees to see if I can fix the problem. I’m tired and hot and feeling a little woozy, which is why I don’t notice the rattling sound right away.
But when I do, my heart stops.
A giant rattlesnake is two feet away, and it’s pissed. That sucker is coiled and ready to strike.
I try to scramble back but land on my ass.
That’s when it lurches at me.
Screaming, I squint my eyes closed because there’s no time to move.
In that half-second, my whole life passes before my eyes. How I might lose the babies. Olly. My mom and Frannie and Bash. My crazy house. Everything I’ve been working so hard to achieve. Gone in a flash.
Thwack.
I’m panting, waiting for the pain to kick in.
When it doesn’t, I crack open one eye.
Wait. What?
I blink several times to try to make sense of what happened and why the snake is lying on the grass in two pieces.
“You’re welcome.” Amelia tosses a shovel on the ground and stomps back to her casita. “You have to let me stay in your shack now. Because if it weren’t for me, you and your little Oompa-Loompas would be dead.”
Holy shit, she’s right.
Amelia Larson, the worst person in the world, just saved me and my babies.
45
MAGGIE
Five minutes ago, Olly came home from camp in a great mood.
That was before I told him about the snake.
“What the fuck happened?” The blood vessel in Olly’s temple looks just as angry as the rest of him.
“Don’t curse at me. I’m not one of your bros.” I completely understand why he’s upset, but yelling at me won’t change what happened.
