by Simone Elise
“Well, it would suit you,” Archie attempted, picking a fight with me.
“Oh, why don’t you just go and choke on a lung or something?” I fired at Archie.
“Would it kill you to show elders respect?” Ethan sighed.
“Perhaps, but I don’t really want to find out,” I replied.
“So, no school today then,” Ethan concluded.
“No school ever. Anyway, it is not like they can teach me anything. I know everything.”
They shared an expression with each other as if to say I didn’t but hell, who listens to old people anyway? Back in their day, people still pooped outside.
Archie was examining me from across the table and just before I threatened to stab him with the spoon he was holding, he said, “Maybe your problem is you are too sheltered.”
I grumbled under my breath but didn’t say anything.
“Do you want to hear a story, Addison?” Archie drummed his long fingers across the wooden table, looking deep in thought.
“Nope, I’m not into that kind of thing, but Ethan is crazy about bedtime stories, so you can hold out for him if you want.”
“Addison,” Ethan said, as if warning me.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “Go on then.” I gestured for Archie to continue. I’m sure hearing about how the first car was invented was going to be thrilling.
“Do you know what it takes to live as long as I have?” Archie asked to my surprise.
I groaned. “If your next words are, eat your veggies, I already told Ethan that nothing will convince me to eat those horrible little things.”
Archie suppressed a smirk. “No. I’m responsible for the deaths of numerous women.”
“You hit them with your walking stick, didn’t you?” I guessed.
“I don’t have a walking stick,” he snapped.
“But you should. Come on, admit it, your bones aren’t what they use to be.” I gave him a taunting smirk.
He muttered something under his breath but, to my surprise, he continued to try to tell me the story. “As I was saying, I killed a lot of women.”
“Yeah. Yeah, you’re Jack the Ripper. Stop with the boring details and get to the good bit.”
“I am not Jack the Ripper.”
“Well, you certainly aren’t Jack the Happy either.”
Ethan
I tried to suppress a smile. If Addy saw that, she wouldn’t stop and I could see Archie’s nerves were raw.
“Can you listen without speaking?” Archie gave her a serious look, but Addison ignored it.
“Can you move without your joints cracking?” Addison wasn’t letting up with the old jokes and that evil smirk on her face told me she was enjoying getting under his skin.
She was just trying to piss him off enough that he would end up leaving.
“I was behind the burning of women who I believed were witches. It wasn’t until after my death that I found out how wrong I was,” Archie continued. “You see, Addison, you only lived as a guider for a short time. You were able to make up for your wrongdoings but bad people don’t get the promise of a resting place.”
I knew it was hard for Archie to speak about this. He hated what he was, and he hated that he would be doing it until the earth exploded.
“So, you’re telling me that every serial killer is granted an immortal life to walk among the living?” Addison looked mortified. She glanced at me. “What the fuck are you thinking?”
Archie cringed at the word; he was old-fashioned like that.
“No, only some are given this opportunity. Most are just cursed.” Archie explained for me. “I was given the chance to grace the world as an immortal for the rest of existence. Doomed to forever make up for what I did.”
Addison didn’t say anything. She just blinked at Archie, not taking her eyes off him. What was she thinking? Had Archie’s story made a difference?
“Okay.” Addison frowned then looked between us. “I’m still waiting for the point of you telling me that story, because you just went and made this place depressing.”
Nope, it hadn’t made a difference.
“That’s it, I’m hungry.” She got up dramatically. “Pity I’m in a mood for cornflakes and someone ate them all.” She glared at Archie.
“I’ll take you to get something.” I needed to get some fresh air, and I wanted to speak to Addison alone. She was still upset about the whole Alex thing.
“Maybe I don’t want to go with you,” she argued.
She really wanted to play games, didn’t she? “I’ll get you one of those Happy Meals.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Will you help me put the toy together?”
I couldn’t resist rolling my eyes. A two-year-old was expected to be able to put those toys together but Addison expected me to do it for her. “Yes, I will put it together for you.”
“Score!” Addison spun on her heel with a large grin.
Maybe the Happy Meal would soften her up so she wouldn’t attack me when I tried to talk to her about Alex again but then, knowing Addison, she would probably try and kill me with her damn plastic toy - after I put it together for her.
Chapter 21
I wasn’t sure what Ethan was up to, but if he looked at me once more with those ‘I need to tell you something but don’t want to tell you but gonna have to tell you’ eyes, I would punch him in the face, and I wasn’t a violent person.
“So, we need to talk, Addison,” Ethan broke the silence between us, “about what happens next.”
“Not really interested unless it includes another Happy Meal,” I snapped back. I knew I would regret getting in the car with him. Enclosed spaces didn’t suit me.
“Pig.”
I smirked at him. “Fine, tell me then. What happens next. Mr. Wise One”
“Would it kill you to not be sarcastic?” he snapped with an annoyed expression.
“Don’t really want to find out. Think I’ve told you that before.” I tapped my Happy Meal toy against the window to annoy Ethan.
“I’m heading back to Hell.”
My tapping out the ACDC “Highway to Hell” beat stopped, and I turned to look at him. “Why?”
“I’m not human.”
“I’m not human either.”
“Yes, you are, Addison.”
“I’m superhuman.”
He let out a long sigh. “Anyway, the point is, I’m heading back to Hell.” He took his eyes off the road to glance at me. “Dad wants me back on the council.”
Why did this cause something to twist and burn within me? Did it matter if Ethan headed back to where he belonged? I’d known it was going to happen one day. So that day had finally come; what was the big deal?
Maybe I was coming down with something.
“So, when are you going back?” More importantly, when would he return for a visit?
“I was meant to be back yesterday. But, you know, Archie showed up and yeah, things got delayed.”
“So, when are you planning to go back?”
“Tomorrow,” he replied with regret.
“Well, talk about late notice!” I exclaimed. “What if I had plans that involved you? And now you just throw down the overused excuse, ‘I’m heading back to Hell, Addison, sorry about that event that you planned, which was really important!’”
“My voice doesn’t sound like that.” He wrinkled his nose. “Why do you always make me sound like a high-pitched woman?”
“I don’t make your voice sound like anything. I’ll have you know my mimicking is spot on.”
“Right!” He rolled his eyes. “So what was the important plan that my departure ruins?”
“Groceries, and we all know you have a fetish for the supermarket cashiers.”
“One time.” He grunted. “And you won’t let it go.”
“I grew gray hairs waiting in that line.”
“You did not.”
“Did so!” The real truth was, I was avoiding the subject of him leaving and I was doing a
darn good job of it.
“So, you’re cool with me leaving then?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
What the fuck was I going to do without him?
“Of course.” I waved my hand, dismissing the concern in his eyes. “Hell, I never needed you anyway.”
His grip tightened on the steering wheel. “Good to hear.”
I was pleased but my stomach was churning with disbelief. I didn’t think he would actually leave. Sure, he was meant to, but we are all meant to do things and we fail to do them.
I wanted to tell him I didn’t want him to leave but I just couldn’t force it out. I guess, deep down, I didn’t want to weigh him down.
As if he wanted a human clinging to him! He wasn’t of Earth, after all. I needed to let him go. But that didn’t mean I wanted to.
***
I couldn’t say goodbye to him, so when he was asleep I crept into his room. A wide grin spread across my face. If Ethan knew I was in his room, he would hate it. Which made me smile more.
I would miss him.
But I couldn’t do a goodbye.
Would I forget him? I hoped not.
I touched the necklace that now hung around my neck. It was his. He had taken it off last night before his shower and, as always, he’d forgotten to put it back on.
So, I took it as something to remember him by.
No matter where I was, he would be with me. Even if he didn’t want to be. I sighed and left the house.
I wasn’t sure where I was heading, but I’d never been big on plans. Wherever I ended up, I was sure Ethan would be looking over my shoulder, like the perv he was.
Chapter 22
Ethan had redefined my outlook on life. How I saw the world wasn’t as clear-cut anymore. In some ways, it felt as if there was no point to life at all. If this was merely a ‘waiting room’ for the next world, what was the point of hanging around?
“Stop eating my food!” Archie shouted.
I looked over my shoulder. “Morning to you, too, Archibald.” I extended the potato chip package. “Want some?”
He snatched the package from my hand. “I told you to stop eating my stuff.”
“You ate my food.”
He scoffed loudly. “A day’s worth of food is nothing to a month’s worth.”
I’d learned a few things within days of leaving Ethan. One, I hated buses. Two, I didn’t like being lonely. So, I tracked down Archie, who had given me his address before he left, in case I wanted to visit him.
I doubted that he ever expected to see my face again.
“Come on, Archi-bald, you know you love having me here.”
“When is Ethan coming to collect you?” he snapped, pulling down his box of Fruit Loops. “You aren’t welcome, may I remind you.”
“No, you may not remind me.”
He huffed, sitting down in the chair across from me: “You didn’t answer my question.”
I never mentioned anything about Ethan ever coming to collect me. In fact, I’m sure here, with Archie, would be the last place he would look for me.
“Ethan’s gone back to Hell.”
His jaw dropped. “Then why are you here? Why have I been putting up with you for a month!”
“Gee, calm down, old man, you might blow a joint.” I dismissed his dramatic display of unhappiness.
“I let you stay here because I thought I was doing a favor for a friend. I didn’t realize you were nothing more than a leech.”
“Well, what do you know, I get breakfast and a show.” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, waiting for his lecture to continue.
“I want you out!”
“You can’t kick me out.”
“My house, my rules, and your visit is over. I mean it, Addison.” He leaned across the table, his beady eyes locking with mine. “You better be gone before I get back or, so help me God, I will make the things I did all those years ago look kind.”
With a challenging look, I leaned forward. “I thought you were in this world to do good? Not banish people.”
His lip curled, and he let out a small snarl. “Be gone when I get back!”
“And where are you going?” I asked his retreating figure.
“Away before I kill you!” he yelled before he slammed the front door, leaving me alone in his house.
And that reaction was just from eating a few of his chips. Really, the man had issues!
I didn’t like the idea of being homeless. I also didn’t like the idea of being alone. But where one is not wanted, one cannot stay.
Perhaps I should just go back to Hell. Surely, I could do something cruel and awful that would land me back in Ethan’s company.
***
In my first life, all I had were goals and wants. I knew who I wanted to be, and sort of had an idea of what type of life I wanted to live. With this life, I only wanted one thing and that was for it to end.
I rolled over in bed, trying to stop my brain from thinking.
I missed him.
I missed him more than I ever thought I would.
I kept thinking of random things that he would do. Like the way he would roll his eyes when I did something stupid, or the way he would keep telling me to shut up.
I sighed, sitting up.
Sleep just wasn’t going to happen tonight.
Archie hadn’t come home, and I wondered if he had finally met his maker. Those old joints were bound to give out one day.
Just as I was thinking that, I heard the dull sound of the front door opening.
Maybe Archie was alive after all.
“Archibald!” a deep male voice called.
No, it couldn’t be.
“Archibald!” The yelling got louder.
Bolting out of bed, I ran to the door, flinging it open just in time to see Ethan Beast walking up the staircase.
Shock.
Blankness.
Anger.
These were the three feelings that flashed across Ethan’s face as he saw me for the first time in two months.
“Ethan.” My voice was barely a whisper. I felt as if the air had been vacuumed out of me. I struggled to move, so I just stood there frozen.
Ethan exhaled sharply. “All this time. All this time you have been here!” He stormed up the last few steps toward me. “Two months I’ve been looking for you and here you are, hiding out with the only man you hate more than me.”
Perhaps the pain of missing him had reached the limit and I had crossed over into insanity.
I don’t know, and I really didn’t care. I didn’t think about it; I just did it.
I launched forward, grabbing his shirt. I crashed my lips against his.
It took a few seconds before he started to kiss me back.
His lips were hot, and I found myself unable to get enough of him.
Wrapping my arms around his head, I kissed him back harder, not even caring if I couldn’t breathe.
All I wanted was him.
Screw breathing!
The fire in his eyes made my pulse quicken. He wanted this just as much as I did.
His hands ran down my back, one moving under my top, while the other went lower. In one swift movement, he took my body weight and lifted me in the air. Wrapping my legs behind his back, he began to move us back toward my room.
I pulled my lips away, taking in a quick breath before he found my lips again.
With care, he lowered me down on the bed.
“I missed you,” I said as I broke apart from his lips.
His large hand cupped the side of my face, such gentleness in his eyes. “I missed you, too.”
“I’ve never kissed you before.” A tiny smile twitched on my lips.
He chuckled lightly, still holding his weight just above me. “No, you haven’t, but I’ve always wanted you to.”
I gently cupped his face and slowly went in for a kiss. This time, it was gentle, quick, and sweet.
“Yeah. I ha
ve, too,” I confessed. His hand slipped under my top. Feeling his warm fingers graze my flat stomach caused all my senses to come alive.
His eyes sought permission to keep going, as if he didn’t want to cross a line. So, without debating it or knowing where this was leading to, I placed my lips back on his, and he got his answer.
Chapter 23
Ethan Beast. I don’t know how many times I had pictured him in my bed!
But there is a difference between dreaming and reality. Just because I would fantasize about it, didn’t mean I ever expected it to happen. That was the thing about reality and dreams; you never expected them to intertwine.
Until this morning, when I woke up naked next to the sleeping Ethan Beast.
My stomach was twisting into an unbearable knot. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the circumstances or if my stomach was slowly eating itself.
“You’re thinking loudly.”
I twisted my head to meet Ethan’s bright green eyes; concern flickered there.
“You can read minds now?” I turned on my side to face him.
Why was he so attractive?
I was sure his attraction was turned to maximum volume in the morning.
“You scared?” His fingers traced my cheekbone.
“Scared of what?” Smiling, I wiggled closer toward him. “That I’m in bed with Satan’s son or that I’m naked with a man that I kind of love annoying?”
Tingles shot across my body as his fingers ran down my side.
“Love annoying?” He arched his eyebrows at me. “So, you admit you do it on purpose?”
“You’re my favorite hobby.” I smirked, wrapping my arms around his neck as he moved to hover over me. “That has to count for something?”
“You’re lucky I love you.”
My eyes popped wide. Did he? No. He didn’t? Did he?
“Addison?” He frowned down at me. “Something wrong?”
I had lost my tongue.
“Addison?” His tone hardened with panic. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“You... said you… loved… me…” I stuttered out the words, slowly, like a toddler speaking for the first time.
His expression turned into one of understanding, then quickly switched to one of pain.