“Good. Don’t ever take it off. It suits you,” he grinned from ear to ear.
“I don’t plan on it,” I replied.
“Kellin, we need some extra hands at the warehouse going through all the old files of the souls reclaimed and entombed. Would you want to help?” Lexie winked at him.
“Count me in. That’s better than sitting around building the lists for the next day.”
“Great! We’re eating really quick and then headed back over there to finish out the day.” She reached into a cupboard and pulled out some plates then set them on the counter in her kitchen. Kellin took his arm from around me to go help her with lunch. I actually felt kind of disappointed that he moved. It was nice and felt...fitting.
“This stuff looks really weird and gross,” I laughed at the yellow and pink mixture in front of Kellin. I was trying to figure out what it was and half guessed it was a soup.
He leaned over the counter with a spoon and held it to my mouth. “Try it.” I looked at him then down at the spoon with the fascinating concoction on it.
“Umm, I don’t know,” I replied, cautiously.
He stared into my eyes again, “Trust me. You’ll like it. If not, then I guess you’ll starve because we don’t have that nasty human food up here.” He eased the spoon closer to my mouth and I opened just enough to tip it in and he was right. It was amazing. A bit spilt out of my mouth and ran down my chin. Before I could wipe it away he took a napkin and rubbed it gently next to my lip and down; cleaning it up.
“Thanks,” I replied, lost in his gaze.
“You’re welcome. Here,” he handed me a bowl of the soupy stuff, “eat up.” He winked at me and fixed himself a bowl.
I bit my lip while I was watching him; the beautiful creature that he was. Lexie caught me staring at the back of his head and cleared her throat. I snapped out of the spell I was under and ate my soup stuff. The sat at the counter next me as we ate a somewhat rushed lunch. It really was amazing.
“That was delicious. Thank you for lunch. I guess it’s time to get back to work.” Lexie stood to clear away the dishes. “Let me do that. You cooked, I clean. Isn’t that how it goes?” I laughed.
“You’re welcome! Oh stop, you don’t have to clean up. I’ll leave it for Jackson to do,” she laughed.
“Yeah, he’ll just love coming home to that, huh?” Kellin teased her.
“He’ll like it or get out. He’s got to learn to do things like that now. Come on.” We walked out of the front door and headed down the steps. “Oh crap, I forgot my drink. I’ll be right back.” She turned on her heels and ran back inside.
I had my hands in my back pockets, leaning against the railing on her steps. Kellin inched closer to me until he was right in front, smiling. I closed my eyes as he pushed a lock of hair back behind my ear and out of my face. When I opened them, his face was right against mine. The slightest movement would have made our lips touch. My chest began to rise and fall quickly as my nerves were getting to me. If I had a heartbeat, he could have felt it against his chest.
“Why don’t you come to my place tonight and I’ll cook dinner then I’ll take you to that place I know you’ll love,” he breathed against my face. His breath sent chills down my spine and gave me goose bumps.
I nodded my head slightly, “Sounds good.”
He kissed my cheek and pulled away just as Lexie walked back outside. “You guys ready?” she looked between the both of us; completely unaware of the transgression that had just occurred.
“Oh yeah, we’re ready,” he winked at me.
“Good! I want to hurry and get this over with today. I’m so tired of looking at stacks of paperwork.” She hopped down the stairs and began to walk briskly in front of us.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at Kellin without a shit eating grin giving my lustful thoughts away. How low was that? I had just met him that day and already wanting to pounce on him.
“Hey, Dev,” a voice rang through my ears. I turned and saw a man waving as he ran up to us.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“Yeah, come on Dev, stop playing around,” he laughed.
I stared at him with an eyebrow raised, “Is this some kind of joke?”
“You really don’t remember?” he asked, letting his face fall with his words.
“No, I’m sorry. I don’t know who you are.”
“Well, let’s start over. I’m Kale.” He held his hand out for mine.
I shook it but our clasped hands felt awkward. “Nice to meet you, Kale. I’m-”
“Dev; I know. Maybe one day you’ll remember me.” Bringing my hand up to his lips, he kissed it. “I’ll see you around.” With that, he took off towards his house, I was assuming.
“That was weird. Why does he think he knows me? I’ve never seen him before? Or have I?” I asked Lexie.
She shrugged, “He’s one of the weird ones you really don’t want to be around, trust me. Stay away from that creeper. It’ll be the best thing you ever did.”
“Was I here before?” They both just stared at me. “You know what, never mind, I don’t want to know.” I walked past them and headed back to work.
***
Several days passed with precise scheduling. I woke up, went to work, went home and slept, got up the next morning to do it all over again. We were slowly making a dent in all the paperwork. Every day I gave Kellin the look that I wanted to know what was going on and each day he was laugh and shake his head at me then I would get frustrated and huff at him.
“Devalynn?” Kellin’s voice was soft and low.
“What?” I huffed out in frustration as I laid the papers down.
He sat on the corner of the desk I was working on and tilted my face up to look at him. “After this is all over with and your job is finished, I will tell you everything.”
“What do you mean tell me everything? I have been here before, haven’t I?” I put my pen down on the paper and stared into his eyes.
“I won’t answer or talk about any of it until after it’s done. You have to make this your priority. There are so many souls down there coming back and it’s not their time. You’re changing lives. I’m going to help Lex with her stack that’s piling up. Jackson and a few other recruits might have to come too so it’s done as soon as possible.” I watched him walk away. His shoulders were kind of slumped down as he ran a hand through his gorgeous, thick hair.
I shook my head to get back into the right mode. It’s not that there was so much work that it was overwhelming but that I had so much on my mind I couldn’t focus. I wanted to call it quits for the day but Kellin was right. I had souls to save. Glancing down, I read the next law.
Law 53) If the reclaimer does not bring back the soul, they must serve the punishment of that who was condemned, for eternity.
Nope. Not anymore.
Law 53 (revised) There is to be a judgment for the moral character of the reclaimer should he fail to bring a soul back. If found guilty, they shall serve the punishment for an allotted amount of time, chosen by the Creator. After which, he will return and have a partner until deemed fully trustworthy and fit for duty again.
That’s how my afternoon drug on; law after law of revising. There was so much work to be done; much more than I had initially thought. I glanced down at the last one I was going to do for that day.
Law 78) Should a reclaimer and a reclaimed know each other, the reclaimer can request a memory wipe by the Creator should the encounter bring back memories of their own death. Once this is done, it cannot be reversed.
I stared at it for at least twenty minutes. Slowly everything was beginning to be pieced together. I had no memory from before that first day, Kale swore up and down he knew me, and everyone else talked like we were old friends.
I let my head fall and bang on the desk a few times before leaving it to rest on it. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I trying to figure something out where there was nothing to figure out? “Okay, I’m done for
the day. I need to get out of this damn place,” I said as I lifted my head off the desk and got up from my seat.
“You okay?” Lexie looked at me concerned as she searched my eyes for an answer.
“Yeah, I’m just ready to go. I need a break,” I faked a smile and headed out of the door before she could ask me anything else.
“Hey, Dev, wait up!” a voice called out from behind me. I didn’t even stop to turn and see who it was. It was like the voice was kind of hazy; I couldn’t really make it out. A hand touched my shoulder, scaring the shit out of me. I jumped at least ten feet. “What’s wrong?” Kellin searched my eyes with his; eyebrows furrowed and lips creased in a hard line.
“Sorry. I must not have heard you calling me.” I shrugged, “I’m not sure. I feel like everyone is hiding stuff from me and it’s starting to piss me off.”
Once again, he pulled me under his arm. “Hey, look, I told you I’d tell you everything after this is all over with. I can’t before, okay?”
“I know,” I grumbled.
“Do you trust me?”
“I don’t know yet. I just met you. Are you trustworthy?”
He chuckled, “You have no idea.”
We walked up the steps to his house; he stopped before opening the door. “Why don’t you wait out here for a minute? I need to do something first.”
I rolled my eyes, “I’m not worried about a messy house if that’s the problem.”
“No, that’s not what I need to do. Just sit on the swing and wait until I come get you.”
“Okay,” I shook my head and tried to force the grin to stay off my face but I was unsuccessful. He went inside and I walked over to the porch swing and sat down on it. Gently, I rocked back and forth; listening to the squeaky chains as they rubbed together. It was a breathtaking view. I could see earth and watch the sun start to set on one side and rise on the other. I dazed off just staring at it.
“Hi, Devalynn.” I snapped out of it and saw Kale walking up.
“Hi, Kale,” I smiled politely.
“What are you up to?” He jumped up the stairs and sat next to me, causing the swing to jerk and I inadvertently moved closer to him.
“Just waiting on Kellin.”
“Are you seeing him?”
I snorted, “Like, is he my boyfriend?”
“Yeah.”
“No. I’m not seeing anyone. My God, I just got here. I’m not some kind of tramp,” I retorted.
He held his hands up defensively, “Whoa, I’m not trying to say you are. I was just curious.”
“Well it certainly didn’t come across that way.” I glared at him sternly; my eyebrows furrowed and pinched together.
“Can I make it up to you? Say dinner tomorrow night?”
“I’ll let you know. It’ll depend on my workload tomorrow. I think I’m going to go with Lexie on a few reclamations to see more of how ineffective and broken the system is.”
His shoulders kind of sagged a little, “Oh, if you can, just stop by. I’ll be around. I’m still pretty new here too so I don’t have a large workload yet. Guess I better go before he comes out and gets upset I’m talking to you.” He stood off the swing and a twinge of guilt hit me.
“I’ll come by tomorrow. I’m sorry I’m acting like such a bitch. It’s the pressure,” I smiled, genuinely, at him that time.
His smile came back and his eyes lit up. “Sounds great, I’ll see you tomorrow night, then.” He waved as he ran off down the street.
I wasn’t outside much longer before Kellin came and got me. “Okay, all ready. Sorry it took so long but I wanted it to be perfect,” he ran a hand through his hair, sheepishly.
“It’s okay. I’ve kind of got all the time in the world now, don’t I?” I laughed.
“We sure do.” His beautiful smile lit up his face and his eyes...I had to force myself to not get lost in them so soon.
“After you,” he held the door open for me and waved me in.
“Thanks,” I turned and looked inside. There were roses and candles everywhere. A bottle of wine was sitting in ice next to his little round table where dinner was already waiting. “Oh. Wow. You really didn’t have to do this,” I gasped.
“Sure I did.” A soft chuckle escaped him.
I sat at the table as he sat on the other side. The soft fragrance from the roses infiltrated my nose. I closed my eyes, trying to remember my memories. It’s like I still knew basics and things like different kinds of flowers, colors, the names of things; but actual memories were gone. I’m not even sure how I knew myself.
His hand laid down over mine and gently rubbed the top. “You really can’t let the stress get to you up here. I know it’s a lot to digest, but you’ll get over the newbie hump.”
“Thanks. I’m trying. It’s just weird...feeling lost all the time,” my eyes dipped down to the table and the food in front of me.
“You only need some help to get past the feeling. You’re not lost. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“You knew me before, didn’t you?”
“I want to tell you so bad it hurts, but I can’t. I made a promise and I don’t go back on my word.”
“I’m not asking you to break some big deadly rule. I just asked a simple question. Did you know me before?”
He paused for a minute, pushed his food away, and rose to his feet. He took my hands and stood me to my own. We were standing there, face to face, with no space between our bodies. “That’s a loaded question, Dev,” he whispered.
“I just need to know,” I whimpered; tears wanting to fall but couldn’t, “I need something from before I came here. I need to know I’m not alone.”
He tilted my face up to his, “You are never alone. Will you drop it until after you’re done working this mess if I tell you one small thing?”
I nodded my head, quickly. “Yes. I promise,” I whispered, barely audible.
He leaned towards my ear, like no one else could hear what he was telling me. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath, almost afraid of what the answer would be. “Yes. I knew you and you knew me. You have no idea how hard it’s been trying to stay away and not tell you things to get you to try and remember. It’s literally broken my soul down.” He rested his head against mine.
I opened my eyes and saw the pain in his. His lips twitched slightly and I missed seeing his smile. I took his face in my hands and brought his lips to mine, in an exploding kiss; a kiss to end all kisses. A kiss the world could be jealous of.
He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me to his chest. My arms moved around his neck and held on like my afterlife depended on it. We moved away from the table, he pushed me against a wall as he moved his lips down my neck and tickled it with the gentle touch of his breath.
My own words I said to Kale came back to me. I am not a tramp. Total buzz kill. I pushed him away…just a little. “Kellin, we can’t do this. Not yet, at least. I’m not ready.”
“It’s okay. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-“
I put my finger to his lips to silence him. “I want to. You should have. Just not yet. Give me a little more time, that’s all I’m saying.”
He backed away and headed for the door. “I still have that place to show you. Are you coming?”
“Y-yeah,” I stuttered. I was confused. He just brushed me off...even if that’s not how he meant it, that’s how he came across...and it hurt. “I’m coming,” I replied, with a soft, low voice as the hurt set in some more.
I followed him to the edge of everything, where the stars began and the pavement ended. I stopped, frozen to the spot.
“It’s okay, you won’t fall. Nothing is going to happen to you,” he reached out for my hand as he jumped out and onto a star. I landed on one behind him and he was right. I didn’t fall.
“This is beautiful,” I huffed out as I followed behind him and jumped from star to star.
“Just wait, it gets better,” he yelled back to me.
I jumped onto a small on
e, my foot barely fitting on it. I wobbled and put my hands out to balance me. We did this for a while. Before I knew it, we were completely surrounded by nothingness. There were some planets around us and we sat on one of the moons as it circled around. For the first time all day, I felt relaxed and completely calm.
“So, do you like it?” he cocked his head to the side, gauging my answer as he rested back on his elbows.
“I love it. Thank you for bringing me here. I needed this. No one around, nothing to bother me; I don’t have to think about working.” I laid back on the ground of the small moon and watched the stars swirl around above us. I counted three shooting stars within just seconds of each other. “Do you like it up here?”
“It beats being down there, that’s for sure. Why?”
“I don’t know, just wondering. I want to remember earth and what it was like to be alive but I can’t.”
“Dev, you have to stop beating yourself up over it.”
“I know.” He laid down next to me and held my hand. There we were; two unbeating hearts, two souls, two people just floating around the solar system. I never wanted to leave that moment.
***
“Thanks for tonight. I had a really great time.” I hugged him tightly.
“I’m glad I could make you happy. I enjoyed your company. Have a good night, Dev.” He kissed my forehead and went to leave.
“Wait!” I called after him.
He spun around on his toes. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just...” I fumbled with the hem on my shirt and shifted back and forth between my feet. “I really don’t want to be alone. I’m scared,” I shrugged slightly.
Without saying a word, he put his arm around my waist and walked me back inside. We went into my bedroom. I sifted through the drawers of clothes that were already there before I moved in. “Are these...do these belong to someone else? Like a collector who is serving an eternity?”
He laughed, “No, none of them have ever been worn, I promise.”
“Okay, just making sure because that would be really gross if they did.”
Reclaiming Souls Page 9