Rest in Peace Roz: The R.I.P. Series Book 1

by Kris Johnston

  “I love it,” she said, sniffling. “I’m so proud of you.”

  And just like that, everything else ceased to exist. I had finally heard the words I’d so longed to hear as a child, the words which had always been denied me.

  I clung to her, fighting back the tears as I shakily whispered, “Thanks, Mom.”

  She gripped me even tighter, and there we stood, a mother and a daughter who had only known each other a few months, but shared a bond of love that went far deeper than time, or biology.

  ***

  The entire night was a great success. I sold several of my pieces (not the tombstone piece, that was not for sale), and Mr. Harken whispered in my ear that my work had been what everyone was talking about. I took it all in stride, careful not to let the praise go to my head, but I did allow myself a tiny pat on the back.

  I had come a long, long way from the pitiful girl who hid not only her figure, but her talents as well.

  I had stayed behind long after everyone else had left. Mitch and Bonnie told me to text them when I was ready for a ride home, but I wanted to sit in the quiet, in the dark, and absorb the entire night. I didn’t want to forget the way it felt having people approach me about my inspiration, or have them ask about my future projects. It all was too important for me to just leave and forget about it.

  Mr. Harken left me with instructions to pull the cafeteria doors closed completely, all the way, when I left. They would lock behind me automatically, and I wouldn’t need a key. It seemed simple enough, and I agreed. I sat at my display, staring up at the tombstone with my name on it. Morbid, perhaps, that I should create something so foreboding. I heard one woman even call it sinister, but I didn’t mind.

  It was the truth. It was dark, and morbid, and sinister, just like my past life had been.

  But nothing like the life I lived now.

  Even with the frightening aspects and unknown of my current life, I had one thing I never had in the former one.

  Love.

  And love, no matter how hopeless and gloomy everything else seems, will always outshine the darkness.

  “Quite the piece you’ve created there, Rosalind,” a voice said from behind me.

  I turned slowly, somewhat startled that he should show up with everyone else gone.

  “Parker,” I acknowledged with a nod.

  “I find it interesting that your friends would dessert you and leave you all alone here, at night, when they know what I have in store for you.”

  “The doors,” I said lamely, “They were supposed to be locked.”

  “They only lock if you pull them tightly closed, all the way.”

  “Oh,” I whispered.

  I stood there looking at him, not knowing what to do with myself. Waiting for instructions, perhaps? Like an idiot, I realized that yes, that’s exactly what I was doing. Standing here, waiting for this douchebag to tell me what to do, so I could obey him like some good little pet.

  Screw him.

  “Alright then,” I said forcefully, “Make sure to close the doors when you leave, won’t you, Parker? I’m going home.”

  I turned on my heels and made long strides for the doors, my heels clacking on the cafeteria floor.

  “Please stop, Rosalind,” he said quietly.

  My body obeyed.

  Crap!

  “You know as well as I do that you’re going to do whatever it is I say, so you might as well put an end to this useless independence of yours, and listen to me.”

  I turned around slowly to face him, noticing his eyes as they raked over my dress.

  “You’re stunning,” he said darkly, desire lining his words.

  I swallowed nervously. “Thank you,” I said dumbly.

  Oh my gosh what was that? Tell him to kiss your butt! Tell him to get bent! But don’t you dare thank him!

  I opened my mouth to do exactly as my Inner Roz instructed, but what came out was, “You’re stunning, too.”

  And I meant it. He looked divine. He was dressed in a navy blue tailored suit and tie, with shiny black dress shoes and a pale, blue shirt with collar.

  As soon as I realized what I’d said, I clamped my hand over my mouth.

  He does not look divine! What is wrong with you? Remember Jimmy!

  Parker walked to where I stood frozen, slowly.

  “You like the suit?” He asked, pleased. “I wore it just for you.”

  Don’t come any closer, Parker! I screamed in my head, but my stupid mouth said, “I love it. Thank you for thinking of me.”

  What’s happening to me? Where are these words coming from? It has to be him, he’s controlling me completely now. Oh no… no… no… he’s going to do it now. It’s now. His spell, the ritual, this is it.

  “You please me so much, Rosalind,” he said thickly. Then he held out his hand and said, “Come with me, darling. It’s time.”

  I obediently placed my hand within his, unable to stop myself. He walked me back to my display, and I looked at the tombstone piece.

  How appropriate, that my soul should die here.

  The last few pieces of art on the display table had been removed, and were now replaced with his jeweled dagger, his small leather book, and his golden goblet.

  “At long last, brother, the time has come,” a voice said to my right.

  I looked and found we were not alone. Agnes was there, covered in a blood red, velvet cloak, with about ten of her closest friends.

  I say her closest friends, because they were all dressed alike, the horde of them looking like Little Red Riding Hood wannabes.

  I was officially freaking out on the inside. But on the outside I was calm and poised, my body showing no reaction because its master (barf), had not told it to react.

  He led me to the display table and said softly, ‘Lie back, darling,” as he placed his hands around my waist and eased me back on the table.

  No. No. No. This isn’t happening, this cannot be happening. No! I don’t want to die! I just called Bonnie Mom for the first time ever! She’s going to be crushed! Please, Parker, don’t do this, don’t do this!

  I opened my mouth to beg him, to plead for my life, for my spirit.

  What came out was, “Thank you for helping me. You’re so thoughtful.”

  I’m going to be sick. Wake up, stupid! Get control of yourself!

  “And you are much more agreeable than I’d hoped,” he said. “You must be anxious to spend your eternity with your James.”

  He gestured to Agnes, and she stepped forward carrying a small, black box as the rest of their coven formed a circle behind her.

  “This cube contains the spirit of our fallen sister, Lillianna,” she announced, “We shall be pleased to have her back with us again, living in the body of this girl, our servant.”

  “Your servant,” I said, as if in a trance.

  “Our servant,” the group echoed.

  “Once she has been reborn, we will celebrate the marriage of our necromancer to our immortal sister!”

  Marriage? Parker was going to marry this Lillianna person? He’s too young! Wait, what am I saying? She’s immortal? She’s going to live in my body forever? What will happen to me?

  Parker came forward and took the box from Agnes, and set it down on my stomach. Up close, the box looked to be obsidian, with no lid. It was as she had called it, a cube.

  Parker stood over me and began chanting. I gazed up at him, trying to reach him with my eyes, trying to plead for my life silently, but he ignored me. He reached for both the dagger and the goblet, holding them up as he chanted strange words I couldn’t decipher.

  He turned around then, with his back facing me, and presented them to the group.

  “We bless these items,” they said in unison.

  He bowed, then turned back around, setting the dagger and goblet down beside my arm, and smiling upon me.

  “You have pleased me so much tonight, Rosalind,” he said softly.

  “I have?” I asked, my voice sounding way t
oo happy for my ears.

  He nodded and caressed my cheek with his finger.

  “You have, darling,” he said softly and lowered his face to mine. “I want you to know that if I was any other person, born to any other way of life, I would have courted you properly. I would have protected you against the evil in the world. I would have pledged my love for you eternally and I would have died before letting anything, or anyone hurt you.”

  Tears instantly filled my eyes at his words, because I knew what was coming next.

  “But I wasn’t born to another way of life, I was born to this one. It is the only thing I know. And as much as I hate to say goodbye to your spirit, I have no choice in the matter. It has been demanded of me, my darling, and I am an obedient servant. Just as you are.”

  “P-p-please-” I managed to force out, as my body began to shiver violently.

  “I’m so sorry, my darling,” he said.

  He took the dagger and held it to my throat, making the slightest incision. I barely even felt it. He held the goblet there, allowing the small stream of blood to collect within its golden body.

  Then he knelt down and, with a voice full of remorse, whispered, “Forgive me,” before placing his lips upon mine, kissing me as he stole my life’s air right out of my lungs.

  CHAPTER 44

  I was dying.

  Parker was stealing the oxygen from my lungs, my body, in a way that was not humanly possible. And yet, it was happening, and my soul was leaving with the air.

  And he was doing it with one last, passionate, final kiss.

  The group in red cloaks chanted some gibberish behind us, but I couldn’t make it out. I couldn’t fight off Parker. I couldn’t even speak.

  All I could do was see, and feel.

  My body began to weaken as the cube upon my stomach grew hot. I think it was in that moment, that I understood my soul was being transferred to the black box while Lillianna’s was being put into me, into my body. My sight dimmed, and I blinked, and then I saw him.

  Jimmy, my love, my everything, my protector, stood at the end of the table, watching in horror as I lay dying.

  “Fight it, Roz!” He screamed, and I tried so hard to listen to him, but I was too weak. My spirit was giving in, giving up, and I could do nothing about it except say goodbye.

  I looked at him a long moment, trying to send him all my love through my vision, as Parker kept his lips firmly on mine. I tried to convey in that one last look exactly what he had meant to me, what he had done for me. And lastly, how sorry I was that I had allowed it to end like this.

  At least I got to experience true love, I thought, as my vision slowly ebbed to black.

  And that’s when I felt it.

  A change in the air.

  A spark of electricity.

  A current from out of nowhere zipped through the space around us, hitting Parker dead on.

  He flew through the cafeteria, coming to land with a sickening thud on the other side of the room.

  “Who’s next?” Came a strong, loud voice from behind me.

  Devon!

  I sucked in deep, long pulls of air into my starved lungs. Jimmy still stood before me, and he immediately came to my aid, helping me to sit up on the display table that I had thought would be my end.

  “Roz,” he soothed, pulling me close to him as I breathed in deeply, “Baby, I’m so sorry, I’m here, I’m always here,” he said.

  I clung to him.

  Around us, commotion hit everywhere as The Pastels sent charges of electricity and fire to the ones in the red cloaks. Bits of torn, charred red velvet rained down around us as they tried to fight back.

  Agnes had vanished, and the others, seeing they were outpowered, began to flee.

  Devon, Erica, Jess, Belle, and Cindy stood protectively around me and Jimmy, watching until the very last one had left. Parker lay unconscious, or dead, the chest area of his suit blackened and burned, exposing the bubbling flesh beneath it.

  Jess ran to him first, placing her fingers on his throat.

  “There’s a pulse!” She called out, “But barely!”

  “Let him rot!” Odie called suddenly from behind me.

  I turned my head, and she looked at me. We shared a moment, silently. Her eyes said she was so sorry, while mine said it was okay.

  “And this was the big plan?” Jimmy exclaimed suddenly. “This was the worst plan ever! She almost died!”

  “Hey, it got the job done!” Cindy said defensively.

  “Wait,” I said, shocked. “You can see him?” I asked Cindy.

  She grinned and nodded.

  “Wait a minute, what plan?” I demanded. “What’s going on?”

  “Before we do that, someone tell me if I should call 9-1-1 or let this jerk-off die, please?” Jess called from her place beside Parker.

  “Yes,” Devon sighed loudly, “Call for help. We don’t believe in killing when it can be prevented. Remember?”

  Jess rolled her eyes and brought out her phone.

  “Okay, someone now please tell me what’s going on?” I demanded.

  “This was all part of the plan, sorry Roz,” Odie said sheepishly. “We didn’t know it was going to happen tonight, but when you said you wanted to be here alone after everyone else left, I got The P’s on standby.”

  “Would you please stop calling us The Ps?” Erica said angrily. “It sounds vulgar!”

  “What?” Odie said innocently. “It sounds like vegetables.”

  “It sounds like urine!” Erica said.

  I pulled away from Jimmy and raised my hands. “Someone better explain to me what’s going on! Now!” I shouted.

  “Right,” Belle said. “So, Odie called us to come here and be on standby in case anything went down while you were alone. Smart thinking.”

  “Thanks,” Odie said. “ Now, don’t get mad Roz, but Devon and Cindy worked a spell that would make you go along with whatever Parker would say.”

  “We had to make you agreeable so he would lower his defenses,” Cindy explained. “That’s why you were saying things to him that you probably didn’t mean.”

  “Ya think?” I asked sarcastically.

  Belle chuckled. “See, if we made him think he was totally in control, then he wouldn’t have been on the alert, and he would have felt our power coming from just inside the kitchen.”

  “Exactly,” Devon said, “But because you were so agreeable to him, he lowered his defenses and was unable to feel us back there,” she nodded toward the kitchen with her chin. “He was controlling your body, and we were controlling your words. I’m sorry it came to that, but we work with what we’ve got.”

  “Okay,” I said, trying to digest this information. “So why didn’t you come out fighting sooner? I was almost dead!”

  “He had to be weak enough for me to zap him,” she explained. “With all of his power channeled into transferring your soul, it would be the one and only time I could be strong enough to take him down.”

  “That’s why the others took off so easily,” Jess called out, “They saw he was knocked out and knew they didn’t stand a chance with him out of the equation.”

  I nodded and looked down at my hand. Jimmy’s hand was there, holding mine. He squeezed.

  Nothing had ever felt so good in my entire life.

  “So now explain how all of you can see Jimmy,” I said quietly.

  “Once I zapped Parker with my power, Jimmy just appeared,” Devon said. “Taking Parker down meant that all his spells were broken in the process.”

  “And I was right in my earlier assessment,” Odie said, “He is gorge!”

  Jimmy chuckled and blushed, and said, “Well thanks for that, Odie!”

  “Wait,” I said, still not understanding completely, “None of you could see Jimmy before Parker placed his spell on him, so why can you guys all see him now?”

  Just then, a beautiful, blinding white light came from the corner of the cafeteria.

  “It’s my gift,” Jimmy
said softly, sadly, “I get to say goodbye to all of you one last time. That’s why all of you can see me.”

  I stared at him in disbelief.

  “No,” I whispered.

  He placed his hands on either side of my face and peered deeply into my eyes as the light glowed and filled the cafeteria.

  “I love you, Rosalind Ines Pastrano. I have loved you from the first moment I saw you. And I love you now. I will love you forever.”

  I shook my head no as the tears poured from my eyes.

  “Please don’t go,” I cried.

  “I’m so sorry baby,” he whispered, “I don’t have a choice this time.”

  His thumbs wiped the tears as they flowed down my face and I held on to his wrists, trying to keep him there.

  He put his lips on mine and my arms wrapped around his shoulders, clutching him, clinging to him, as he clung to me. Around us, I could hear the sounds of my friends crying or sniffling, and if further added to my anguish.

  He was leaving me. Forever.

  And I wouldn’t see him again.

  “No, please,” I begged one more time, “You promised. You’re always here, you promised me, Jimmy!”

  Devastation filled his face as he pulled away.

  “Odie, take care of our girl,” he said thickly.

  Crying into her hands, Odie nodded silently.

  “Ladies,” he said to the others, “You have my eternal thanks for saving her.”

  They took turns wiping their eyes and nodding.

  “Rosalind,” he said, “Live your life, baby. Please. Will you promise me that?”

  “I can’t!” I cried out, “Not without you!”

  “Yes you can,” he said simply. “And you will. Find a way to continue, and do it. I know you’ll miss me, sweetheart, and I’ll miss you. But you must live your life. For me.”

  I sobbed brokenly and threw myself around him once more. Then gently, tenderly, and oh so sweetly, he kissed me one final time before stepping away from me and walking toward the light.

  Odie put her hands on my shoulders as I cried, holding me and trying to send her strength into me, but it did no good. I was beyond broken.

  “Live for me,” he said, turning around one last time.

  “I love you!” I sobbed.