He's Just Worried
1639 Words
Senses Fail- Dreaming A Reality
B.B.:
Mrs. H emailed me after my sister quit. I told her it was fine, that I didn't mind so as long as she wasn't replacing Natalie. I haven't opened her reply as I look over the results of Ray's tests. Damien is pacing back and forth trying to find a way to help him. He might hate ray but this an opportunity he can't pass up.
"What if we try the crows?" he asks.
"He's not a devil anymore. I have Dec's blood samples and they read the same as the other devils. Ray's have the power of the devil but he's mortal now. His blood is different," I toss the results back on the table. He picks them up.
"They all look normal to me,"
"Look with your reaper eyes," I sit back in my office chair.
I turn to see Miles banging his head on the glass. I fed him this morning. Gave him a shower and then a change of clothes. Rem doesn't want him. Eve is getting what she wants by torturing him in there. She bit him last night and it gave him nightmares, but that's the extent of it. They don't want him.
"Okay, I see it," he says. "Next time start with that,"
"Really? You're working on hallow DNA and you didn't stop to think you'd need your hallow abilities?" I scoff.
"Shut up," he laughs. "What do you want to do with this asshole?"
"Rem doesn't want him,"
"Eve?"
"Eve loves him in there," I point back at her. She curled up by the unfinished A.Is. They get warm when they're updating. My phone begins to buzz on the table.
"Hey," Stacy answers. "Nat is on her way back from Cali with Dylan and Carson. I'm going to need a couple of hours,"
"How far out are they?" I ask.
"Fifteen minutes,"
"Okay, I'll be up soon. Can you put six goodie bags aside for me?"
"Just six?"
"Mhm,"
"Sure. Delilah got extra s**t anyway. Everything is starting to look amazing if you want to come see,"
"Okay. Damien and I will be up in a bit,"
"Okay, see ya," she hangs up.
"Do I have to?" he asks without putting the paperwork down.
"Yes. I'm not leaving you in my lab alone. The birthday girl is on her way back and we have to distract her for a couple of hours,"
"Can't she just start getting ready?"
"No," I laugh. "Two hours prep time. Whatever time it takes her to get ready after,"
"Girl talk," he rolls his eyes. "All right,"
The two of us head up. I completely lock down the lab and set the silent alarm that goes to my phone. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I am ready to distract Natalie. Damien is waiting at the bottom of the stairs playing a game on his iPad. I climb down and sit next to him.
"They're not here yet," he informs me.
This is the first time I'm sitting directly under the chandelier without hearing that eerie creaking sound. I look up at it and still feel the coldness of it on my skin and inside of me. I have her here but it doesn't change anything. The feeling of losing her is still there. The memories are engraved in my mind. It's not as demanding but I dreamed about it last night. I woke up a few times.
"Nat's outside," Carson waves his hand in my face. I look up at him and smile.
"Hey," I greet him.
"We just had a whole conversation. You okay?" he looks between Dylan and Damien before meeting my eyes again.
"Yeah, I was just thinking," I say standing up.
Natalie is sitting in my jeep tapping away at her phone as Damien and I approach. Damien holds up my jeep keys. I get in the back seat. Carson follows to my left and Victor to my right.
"Does that mean I'm driving?" Damien asks.
"Guess so," Carson answers before turning to me. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Let's go to the farmers market," I put the address into my phone and place it on the dashboard. As I'm pulling back I smack Damien on the forehead.
"Bro," he growls.
"Never f**k in my car again, dickhead. Get your own car," I say. The others laugh. The driver's side is opened suddenly.
"Get out. Del needs you inside," Dylan growls at him.
"Yes," Damien jumps out. Dylan takes his place.
"Hey," he greets Natalie.
"Hey," she grins without looking up from her phone.
"Ugh," Victor rolls his eyes. Dylan opens the trunk and Marco jumps in.
"Let's go," Marco settles into the seat behind us. "Where are we going?"
"Follow the GPS," Natalie finally puts her phone away. She turns around to face me. "You know that you're the only person I know who plans a party and has someone else do all the heavy lifting?"
"I made instructions. Lots of them and they're specific. Stacy likes when I do that. She says it takes a lot of the pressure off to know what I actually want,"
"When is your birthday?" she asks.
"I don't know. I thought it was in April but my dad told me I was born on his birthday. If I were that would only make me and Delilah eleven months apart but the same age since we were born in the same year,"
"Wait, why would your parents do that?" Dylan asks.
"I was born too early,"
"Oh," Natalie nods. "Was it a complicated pregnancy?"
"No, but I don't want to talk about that right now," I dismiss it.
"Devil's night," she says.
"I'm sorry?"
"Your dad's birthday is on October thirtieth. Devil's Night," she turns around to face the front. "I'd pick that one. We could have so much fun that night,"
"I'd keep them both. The night you were born and the night you were let out of the incubation tank," Carson suggests.
"Aww that would be cool," Natalie laughs. "A birthday for the reaper and a birthday for the snake,"
"I'll think about it," I shrug.
"What are we getting at the farmers market?" Dylan laughs.
"Uh, it's literally the greatest place ever," Natalie proclaims and goes into detail about all the cool things they have. The overload of information makes me laugh.
"Did you know she loves the farmer's market?" Marco asks from behind us.
"Yeah, she's taken me a couple of times. It's also business,"
"For?" Carson asks.
"I'm thinking about reopening the orange grove and the Halestorm cotton fields,"
"What?" they all say at the same time.
"What for?" Carson laughs.
"Science stuff is really expensive and there's not always a lot of money in it. Back up plans so the trust fund doesn't run out. Also, the more entangled our illegal earnings are the less we're likely to be discovered, right? Rodrigo said that you guys are doing better now that you're not at each other's throats,"
"Who have you shared these ideas with?"
"Stacy and James,"
"Why wasn't I included in that?" Natalie turns around to look at me again.
"We've been working out together. Now that she has better control of the butterflies she has more energy. I've been helping her with the anxiety. When it overwhelms her she starts crying,"
"Yeah, I was reading her journals. She takes the fear of the mercy kills to help them cope with their death," she sighs. "I don't think I could have that much empathy. I'd blow my brains out,"
"It's crossed my mind," the two of us laugh but the guys don't think it's funny.
"No digas eso," Victor scolds. "Promise?"
"Yes," I agree.
The Hellbourne Farmer's market is hosted in what used to be the Halestorm observatory. The building itself was burned down in nineteen forty-seven. In the late nineteen fifties, it was turned into a sports compound and it remained that way. It's the one place in Hellbourne that doesn't have a scary tragedy attached to it. Every weekend after the morning soccer and lacrosse matches, it's turned into the Farmer's market and the world is good. :)
"We're here," Natalie bounces in her seat.
Carson stops me from getting out after him. His fingers dig into my cheeks when he covers my mouth to keep me from talking. I stay still looking into his pretty icy eyes. He's not mad but he is bothered by my behavior and they still haven't made clear my punishment for killing Jamal and making things worse for Dec. So, whenever I'm alone with one of them, I get nervous.
"You're wandering," he says. "I don't want you to tell me everything. I made that very clear but this lost in thought s**t makes me nervous. You'd tell me if it got to be too much, right?"
I give him a nod and place my hand on his wrist and lean into him without saying a word. He releases my face and leans in to press a kiss to my forehead but I raise myself up so he kisses me on the lips. He grins and steps back to let me out. I jump out to see Victor standing close by. Carson walks ahead as I go over to him to take Victor's hand. He pulls me close as we walk together. Dylan has Natalie on his back.
"Was he mean to you?" Victor asks as Carson takes a cigarette out and lights it.
"No, he's just worried," I shake my head.
"Should we be?" he asks. I shake my head.
"Not right now. Wait until the killing starts," I smirk. He laughs pulling me closer so he can put his arm around my shoulders.
"Okay, then. We have time until then,"
- Writer
