“Look, I gotta go. Time is of the essence. He’s gonna flip when he finds out I hid his body here at your place.”
“What do you mean his body?”
“That’s Charming’s original body. The one he died in. He seemed pretty shocked when he saw it.”
Is that why it seemed so familiar to me? Did something inside me recognize it immediately?
I rushed toward the bedroom, wanting to look at him again. I wanted to take in every detail about that body. I stopped just shy of touching it. It was so different from the way he looked now… so unpolished, so… flawed. But yet when I looked at him, at the overly long blond hair and full lips, it seemed perfect for him. For Olly.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” I told Storm.
“Some privacy might be nice,” he muttered. “Can’t a guy get dressed in peace?”
Piper giggled. What was with her? Geez, he was not funny.
I was about to point out his un-funniness when there was a noise in the living room. It sounded like the front door opening and closing.
All three of us froze, listening for more sounds.
“Honey, I’m home!” called a voice I didn’t know.
“Holy shit!” Storm whispered.
“Who is it?” I demanded.
“It’s the Reaper.”
Chapter Forty-One
“Balloon - a flexible bag designed to be inflated with hot air or with a gas, such as helium, that is lighter than the surrounding air, causing it to rise and float in the atmosphere.”
Charming
Not having a body was weird. I couldn’t really sit or stand… or do anything other than sort of hover over the floor. It was like existing but not existing. It made me think about Storm and I suddenly understood why he started trying to learn how to be more solid. I understood why he figured out how to borrow other people’s bodies. Because not having a shape of your own was like being caught between life and death.
It also had a way of making a man feel very small and very out of control. And the more I concentrated, the harder it seemed to be. The second I moved or tried to go across the room, my body kind of dissipated away from itself. It didn’t hurt, but it was kind of alarming to watch what was left of you drift out and away.
After a while I was so frustrated that I gave up and settled for just kind of floating there.
I thought about Frankie, about what she was doing right then. If she was angry with me or if she was hurt. I wondered if she was eating a pound of candy and cursing the day I ever walked into her life. I hoped Storm was there by now. I hoped she at least knew I didn’t just abandon her.
Of its own accord, my form started drifting down, moving toward the floor. I tried not to get excited that I was going down instead of up. Figured the minute I stopped trying to do something was the minute my damn body did it.
I wished there was a clock in here. I wished I knew how long ago Storm had left. That’s the other thing about not having a body. There’s no internal clock to keep you posted on time.
“Hey,” Storm whispered, coming right through the wall beside me.
“Did you get to the bodies before he did?”
“Yeah. I brought yours with me. It’s outside in the trees that border his property. You might as well use it.”
“That’s one way to keep it on the move.”
“Yeah. But you gotta stay out of sight, man. For many obvious reasons, including the red ring you’ll be sporting.
I highly doubted I would be strolling down the street.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said, trying to rush toward the wall. I ended up going in the opposite direction with a trail of red following behind. I made a frustrated sound. “How in the hell do you control yourself?”
“It’s not that hard. You just have to concentrate.”
“All I’ve been doing is concentrating. My freaking brain hurts.” Wait. Did I even have a brain? Not having a body was so weird. I took a deep breath and tried again. I got the same results as before. A few colorful swear words slipped between my lips.
“I told you it wasn’t easy,” Storm said. “It’s a good thing I brought the body here.”
“Where was it anyway?”
“I stashed it at Frankie’s.”
“You stashed it at Frankie’s!” I growled, mad that he would involve her more than she already was.
“You said to put it somewhere it wouldn’t be found.”
The guy was an idiot. When I got my body back, I was going to deck him. Maybe she hadn’t seen it. I didn’t notice I was drifting down to the floor.
“She’s something else,” Storm said, watching me. “She didn’t even freak out when she found it.”
Well, shit. “She saw it,” I said, flat. Drifting even closer.
“Yeah, and I also sort of borrowed a body in front of her.”
Double shit. “Where is she now?” I growled, wondering how I was ever going to make this up to her. I wondered if I could. Then I noticed I was right beside Storm.
“I’m on the ground,” I said, shocked. I hadn’t even been trying. I was too busy wanting to deck him in the eye.
“Yeah, apparently pissing you off about your lady is like an anchor for you.”
Huh.
“You ready? We need to get your body out of the woods.”
“Let’s do this.”
Storm moved over toward the far wall. “This wall is an exterior wall. Once you’re through it, we’ll be outside. You’re not going to be able to blend into the shadows as good as me so once we’re out there, we gotta move fast. Just stick with me. Follow me.”
Yeah, moving fast was a lot better in theory. Trying to cram a body, or non-body as it was, through a wall and outside wasn’t exactly easy. It took me four tries to get half my body out of the house and then another three tries to get the rest out.
By the time I made it out and across the open yard and into the trees, I was pissed off and in a very foul mood. It didn’t help that I was staring down at my body—a body that was still kind of shocking to see. I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like to literally be back to my old self again.
“I swear the next time you get your ghost ass in a body, I’m going to give you a black eye.” I threatened Storm. Threatening him made me feel better. And it kept my anger at the surface, giving my body a little bit of weight. If I started flying up here, there would be no ceiling to catch me.
“Promises, promises,” Storm taunted. “Focus on the nose or the ears,” he instructed. “Aim for that and once you’re in, it will be a lot easier because it’ll be like going into a tunnel. There won’t be anywhere for your soul to go but inside.”
My feet (or what would be my feet) were already close to the ears of my body so instead of trying to bend down and go in headfirst, I kicked out my foot, aiming for the ear. As I thought, some red went out and around the head, but some of it made it inside, creating a red trail leading inside and so I kicked again, shoving even more of myself in.
Then something happened.
Something I hadn’t expected.
It was almost like the inside of my body was a vacuum and I was being sucked up through the hose. “Storm,” I whispered, trying not to sound as freaked as I was. “It’s sucking me in.”
“Well, that’s a first,” he said, sounding a little surprised. It didn’t make me feel any better. “Just go with it. You want to get in there. This will just make it easier.”
And so I went (like I had a choice). My body seemed to know exactly what to do with my soul and I began to move faster and faster. The body, which had been lying flat and lifeless on the ground, began to plump up and fill out. It became less like a piece of clothing and more like a living, breathing man.
And then the red was gone.
I was completely inside a body I thought I would never be in again.
I stood up, looking down at my arms and legs, tossing the light-colored hair out of my eyes. I wasn’t really sure how I fe
lt in that moment. I wanted to rush to a mirror, to look in and see if I recognized what I saw. I wanted to stand there in the yard and take stock of every part of me—to know if I felt any different, or if I felt the same…
“Maybe it’s because it’s your body,” Storm was muttering to himself.
“What?”
“I was thinking that maybe the reason your soul went right in was because that was the body it actually belongs in.”
We didn’t have time for theories on bodies and souls.
“Let’s go to Frankie’s,” I said, my eyes darting around to make sure none of G.R.’s staff was lurking. “We can talk there.”
The silence that came from Storm was anything but silent.
“What?” I demanded.
“Well…” he began, drawing out the word. “There’s something about Frankie you should know.”
She didn’t want to see me again. She was pissed I left her, pissed Storm stashed a body at her house, and he didn’t want to tell me back there. “Just tell me.”
“When I was there getting the body,” he said, pausing.
“Spit it out already!” I barked.
“G.R. showed up,” he rushed out.
“What?! ” If I hadn’t already been inside a body, I knew all the red that made up my soul would have scattered for miles. The thought of Frankie and G.R. in a room together made my skin crawl.
“He walked in like he owned the place.”
“How did you get him out of there?”
He didn’t say anything.
“Tell me you did not leave her there with him,” I ground out.
“We didn’t want him to find your body!”
Screw him not having a body. I reached out and punched the air where he floated. Then I stuck my other hand inside of him and shook it, scattering him all around.
“What the hell, man!”
“You deserve so much more than that,” I spat. I didn’t even wait for him to reply or come back into some kind of shape. I took off, racing along the edge of the neighbor’s property, drawing in every last ounce of kinetic energy I could and using it to propel me right out of the fancy neighborhood without being seen once.
I was supposed to be lying low, to not let G.R. know I was out, that I had a body.
Screw that.
He was messing with my girl.
Chapter Forty-Two
“I Love Lucy - an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951 to May 6, 1957.”
Frankie
The Grim Reaper was in my house. He just walked in like this was some episode of I Love Lucy and he was Ricardo telling Lucy he was home and ready for his supper.
But this wasn’t a sitcom. This was real life.
And he was the ultimate life stealer.
All three of us were frozen, staring at the closed bedroom door like it was a bomb about to explode. I clutched my stomach so hard it hurt, but I was afraid if I let go I would hurl all over the floor.
“Come out, come out wherever you are,” the Reaper called in a morbid singsong voice.
It was his voice that spurred me into action. “Storm, get that body and get the hell out of here. Do not let him see you.”
“What about you?” he said, sounding unsure.
“I can take care of myself. Charming needs you. Use the fire escape.” I pointed to the window next to the bed.
“Piper, go with him,” I ordered quietly and rushed toward the door.
“You can’t go out there,” Piper insisted. “Come with us.”
If I didn’t go out there, he was going to barge in here and find all three of us sneaking out the window. He’ll see Charming’s body—the one that wasn’t supposed to be here—and he would likely take it and do who knows what with us.
I couldn’t risk them all. I couldn’t risk Charming’s body.
I had to do this.
I mean how bad could the Grim Reaper really be?
I glanced at Piper and shook my head. Her eyes widened, but before she could yell at me and give away the fact I wasn’t in here alone, I opened the door, slipped out, and closed it directly behind me.
An older-looking man who oddly looked a lot like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons was just coming down the hall.
I jumped, putting my hand to my chest like he startled me (okay, maybe he did even though I knew he was there. This guy was just creepy) and said, “Holy crap! Who are you? Why are you in my apartment?”
“We have a mutual acquaintance,” he replied, looking me over.
“We do?”
“Yes, and I think you know exactly who I am. Why are you pretending you don’t?”
I thought about my friends just on the other side of the door. “Could we go talk in the living room? The hallway is kind of close quarters.”
He pursed his lips. “Okay.”
I breathed a sigh of relief when he walked out into the living room. I followed, watching his every move.
“Marilyn Monroe,” he said, staring at the wall of posters of my idol. “She was very full of life.” He turned to look at me. “Until I killed her.”
I gasped. “You didn’t kill her. She died of an overdose.”
“Did she?” he asked, lifting a brow.
“If you killed her, why didn’t you take her body? I hear you have a little problem with hoarding.” In truth, I had no idea how many bodies he did or did not have. Charming and I hadn’t spent our time talking about him. Now I kind of wished I knew more. I felt very unprepared for a confrontation with him.
He laughed. A real laugh. “I don’t usually collect female bodies. But I’m thinking maybe it’s time for a change.”
Oh, that’s great, Frankie. Inspire the body collector to start collecting women, starting with you.
“Why are you here?” I asked, hoping to steer him away from the idea of hanging my body in his closet.
“I seemed to have misplaced something. I was wondering if you had it?”
I almost told him this wasn’t the lost and found, but I bit my tongue. I didn’t think he would appreciate my sarcasm. “What did you lose?”
“You don’t know?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t like liars.”
“I’m not lying. I don’t have whatever it is you’re looking for.”
“Then you won’t mind if I take a look around.”
Oh, I minded all right. “No,” I burst out and his eyes narrowed. I took a breath. “I mean, now isn’t really a good time.”
“Really? What were you doing in your bedroom when I got here?”
I put my hands on my hips. “I don’t really think that’s any of your business.”
He smiled, then came across the room, holding out his hands. “Step aside,” he warned. “Wouldn’t want me to accidentally touch you.”
I jumped out of the way like he was a speeding car and I was a squirrel.
He went down the hallway and yanked open the door and went inside. “Well, what do we have here?” he said.
They didn’t get out. I didn’t stall him long enough. Now he was going to take Charming’s body and kill us all.
I ran down the hallway, skidding to a stop just inside the doorway, ready to beg for our lives. But Storm was gone. So was Charming’s body.
Piper, however, was still here. She was standing beside the bed, staring daggers at the Reaper.
“Ahhh, the one that got away,” he said, looking at her. “How are you enjoying life knowing I will never be able to come for you?”
“Why are you here?” Piper asked, her voice completely calm.
He ignored her question, going over to my closet and going through all the hangers and clothes.
“Did you want to borrow an outfit?” I quipped. “I don’t think I’m your size.”
Piper gave me a shut up look.
“They aren’t here,” he murmured.
“What’s n
ot?” I said, still playing dumb.
“My bodies!” he yelled. Piper and I both flinched. “Where are they!”
“I don’t know,” I replied, backing up as he stalked toward me. “I really don’t know.”
“Hey! Get away from her,” Piper called, moving across the room toward us.
“I wonder,” the Reaper mused, “if Charming would be a little more forthcoming if I brought him your dead body.”
Oh, this wasn’t going well. Not at all. “I don’t really think that would help.”
“I think it might be worth a try.” He yanked his hand out of his pocket and reached for me, all five of his fingers waving about like they were snakes trying to slither away.
I shuddered and backed up some more, coming up against the wall.
I was trapped.
He came closer, his hand just inches from my face. I squeezed my eyes closed.
“I said Leave. Her. Alone.” Piper cried, her voice so close that I opened my eyes to tell her to run.
But it was too late.
Piper grabbed the Reaper by his wrist, yanking his deadly touch away from me.
“Piper, no!” I yelled, my chest seizing up so hard that I fell backward against the wall. If it hadn’t been there for support, I would have crumpled to the floor. “No!” I cried again, staring at where her slender fingers wrapped around his wrist. She was dead. She was going to die. She went and wasted a perfectly good death pardon from the Grim Reaper by touching him.
I waited for her body to fall to the floor.
I waited for her to die.
Nothing happened.
I blinked, trying to clear my eyes of the tears that filled my vision, thinking I was just seeing things.
I wasn’t.
She was still breathing. Moving. Living.
And her hand was still wrapped around his wrist.
She was staring down at where they touched, frozen in shock.
I looked at the Reaper, thinking maybe he knew what was happening, that he wouldn’t be surprised. But he looked just as shocked as the rest of us.
“You’re touching me,” he said in awe.
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