by Neal, Xavier
“Is your name really Eve? Not Melody?” Drew snaps at me. I turn my head and he bites, “You've been fucking lying to me this whole time haven't you?”
“I-”
“Here's what's interesting,” The Devil grabs our attention again. Leaning back in his seat he scrunches his face. “Either little Eve hasn't been giving you the proper dose or your brother's immune system is weaker than yours. Check out what Eve's creation has done to him...or should be doing to you.”
The screen splits to Daniel who is laying in bed an almost green color, sweating profusely, shaking uncontrollably while Nina dabs his forehead with a towel.
In a barely audible tone, Drew croaks, “Daniel...”
“Beautiful isn't it?” The Devil chortles as the other shot vanishes. “She really is a whiz at this shit.” He ashes his cigar. “If it makes you feel any better, you're not the only guy she's ever slept with and killed. You know...I don't miss Jimmy.”
I can explain that too. I can! I-
“Now if you keep up your end of the deal McCoy, there will be a beautiful antidote waiting for you, courtesy of the same woman beside you.” The Devil smirks. “I'm not even mad at you for fucking a McCoy Eve. I'm almost impressed you've finally started to reap some of the benefits of your job position.” Before I can say anything else he states, “Thank you, Omar. You know what to do next.”
“Yes sir,” Omar replies.
“See you two very soon...”
The second the screen is shut off, I turn to Drew, voice pleading, “I can-”
“Get out.” He coldly states, head hung.
“Drew-”
“Out!” His scream causes more tears to come from me. “Now!”
Yanking the sheet to keep my body covered, I hold it closed and rush from the room.
I deserve that and so much more. I just...I need to explain. I can explain. Will you listen? Um...hello?
“Melody.” Omar's voice states as I cross the living room for my own bedroom. “Melody.”
I don't respond. Once I'm in my room, I head straight for the bathroom to clean up since I'm most likely about to be dragged from here to my demise.
Fine. Don't listen to me about anything else, but hear me now. The Devil is not okay with me sleeping with Drew. He's livid. How I'm going to die just went from quick and meaningless to slow with lots of torture. And since you are somewhat listening, I tried to tell you I was going to heal Drew! I wasn't going to just let him die like The Devil has planned.
“Melody. Stop.” Omar's demand turns my body around, hand still on the door knob.
“What?”
In a low, almost hurt tone, he shakes his head. “How could you fucking do that?”
I press my lips together.
“How could you not fucking listen to me? How could you throw your life away for a McCoy? For a fucking McCoy.”
“He is so much more than the disgusting tag line that is his name.”
“If you believe that then you're even more naive than I thought.”
“Or maybe,” I snip and lift my eyebrows. “Maybe I'm not fucking stupid enough to believe everything I'm told. Maybe I did a little research myself-”
“You let him research between your legs.”
“Fuck. You.” My curse stumbles him backwards. “Don't you dare stand there and judge me.”
“How can I not?” Omar whispers. “You gave up your life for a quick fuck. You're a dead woman now.”
“I've been a dead woman for a very long time.” The tears that had paused begin again. “Just because your heart is beating doesn't mean you're alive.”
“Melody-”
“I've been dead for years, just waiting for my moment. For my time card to be punched.” Taking a step forward I state, “You know what I did? I took the power away from The Devil. I picked when my life is over and if I was given the chance to do my time with Drew over the only thing I would change is I would've started sleeping with him sooner.”
Omar's surprised expression actually feels good.
Well as good as it can, knowing the one person you actually love in the world now hates you.
“Now, I need to shower. Chances are if you are here that means it's to drag me somewhere. I would like to be clean first.”
Omar clears his throat. “I'm not.”
“What?”
“I'm not here to take you anywhere.” Seeing the look of confusion on my face he sighs, “The Devil figured because of the power outages last night, the cameras might've needed to be reset. He knows how much you hate fucking with them so he sent me out.”
Basically my own distaste for that chore got me caught. Wow. My fucking luck.
Trying to hide my own hurt, I ask, “Why did you rat me out?”
“It wasn't intentional.” He confesses. “I was fucking with the power and when the cameras came back on, The Devil immediately spotted you.” Omar sighs, “I can't save you.”
Instead of being understanding, I ask, “If you could, would you?” His eyes flicker and what I had been afraid of hit me like a ton of bricks. “I didn't think so...”
The only thing sadder than being completely alone in the world, is the moment you realize it.
Melody
At least you're listening to me now. I tried to talk to Drew yesterday and nothing. I wasn't surprised, not even a little, but spent most of the day crying as a result. You know what's even worse? He wouldn't come out to eat or drink anything. He needs to. Even if I have to force feed it to him. If he doesn't he's going to be dying a lot faster without giving me a chance to save him. Like I told you and have been trying to tell you, I'm not gonna keep killing him. I wanna heal him.
With a heavy knock, I forcefully say, “Open the door, Drew.”
There's no response.
I could just open the door because there aren't locks on them, but I'm not trying to make the situation worse.
“Open the door, Drew. Now.”
To my surprise this time he yanks it open. His usually strong frame looks like it's seconds from tumbling over. His skin looks washed out. There's a distinct blood shot hue to his eyes from constant vomiting.
My hand twitches to touch him. I wait for him to say something. Anything. Finally I offer him the glass I'm holding and the pills. “Take. These.”
His eyes glare. “Get that shit the fuck out of my face.”
Holding my ground and more importantly my tears at bay I shove them at him. “Stop being so fucking stubborn and take them.” He doesn't move. “You look like shit. Feel like hell. Take them, so you can feel better.”
Cruelly he says, “As in when I'm a dead man?”
In a weak whisper I demand, “Take. Them.”
Drew gives the pills one final look before reaching for them. He gulps them down with the glass of water and shoves it back at me. “You can go now.”
“No.” I firmly state. Surprised his eyebrows dart down. “I gave you all the space you needed yesterday. Today, you eat. You drink. You live to escape the fuck out of this place. Now get dressed or don't but breakfast is on the table.”
He rubs the back of his neck clearly on the cusp of passing out. With a shrug he says, “I guess I should eat something.”
Swiftly he moves past me and heads for the kitchen table where pancakes, eggs, and bacon are waiting for him.
What can I say? Just trying to make it all easier...
As soon as he sits down at the table he sneers, “Peace offering? Pathetic.”
“I deserve that,” I reply sitting beside him. Picking up my coffee cup I sigh, “I deserve a lot. So hit me with it. Yell at me. Scream at me. Tell me what a shitty person I am, but at the end, I need you to listen to what I have to say.”
Hesitantly he reaches for his fork. “Talk.”
Surprised he's not ripping me apart, I choke out, “Huh?”
“You wanna explain or justify killing me and my brother. Go ahead. Talk.”
“Aren't you gonna-”
“Wal
k out of this room if you don't start explaining and start explaining fast? Yeah.” Before I have a chance to say anything he snaps, “Tell me he was lying. Tell me you haven't been killing me since I walked through the door.”
My fingers clink the side of the mug. “Not exactly.”
The pointed look pushes me to continue.
“You're given two tablets every morning. One is the poison, the other is like an antidote. Not enough to cure you but enough to slow down and mask the symptoms you should be experiencing.”
“So Daniel's dying faster because you're not fucking him?”
Hearing the harsh nature of his sentence I put my cup down. “No. He's dying faster because he's either not taking them like he should or he's only taking one instead of both. The purpose was to kill you slowly and after it was all finished the 'antidote' is the final dose to end your life. It wouldn't be enough for you to just fall out, so much as die in front of your brother's eyes.”
His jaw slips open.
It's okay. You can be speechless too.
“I've been working on an actual antidote for you and your brother. One you can take home and immediately use to cancel out what The Devil wants you to take.” Drew's mouth twitches. “I've also swapped the poison pill for two antidotes. I was going to sooner, but I wasn't here that morning then your brother got extra sick and I just hadn't had the chance.”
“The Devil is going to notice.”
“Use some of your paints and to create a similar discoloring and continue to fake the symptoms. No one will know the difference.”
Drew leans back in his seat, food still untouched.
“You need to eat. You're body will heal faster.”
“Why did you do it to begin with?” He questions.
“It was my job,” I answer. “This is what he keeps me for. Well kept me for. I'm a dead woman now.”
Confused he tilts his head in question.
“You know in this lifestyle there are only two choices. Kill. Or be killed.” With a shrug and tears in my eyes I sigh, “I'm tired of helping kill people. I'm tired of living under The Devil's reign. And after just days with you, I knew I would rather die than be responsible for killing you or your brother.”
“But-”
“The sacrifice you make for love, I guess.” My eyes glance down at my cup in an attempt to gain my composure. “Fact is, everything is a choice. Even when there are nothing but bad choices, with no possible way out, you still have to choose. A choice still has to be made.” I sniffle. “You deserve to live more than I do.”
So do you.
Suddenly there's a hand on my thigh. I drag my eyes upward.
“You don't deserve to die either.”
I try to offer him a smile. “I can't say I agree.”
“Mel-”
“I'm sorry,” my voice chokes out. “For everything. For not telling you sooner. For having to hurt you and your brother in the first place.”
“Thank you for saving us.”
“Haven't saved you yet...”
“But you will.” Drew squeezes my thigh with one hand and finally lifts his fork with the other. “And that's what matters.” When the corner of my lip turns upward he says, “Promise you won't try to kill me again.”
“No promises if you cheat on me...”
He chuckles reminding me of just how much I've missed that sound.
I love this side of him even more than I love the naked side. I know. Hard to believe. You've seen him naked. He's like a modern tattooed Adonis.
“I swear to never cheat on you. You're the only woman I wanna spend the rest of my life with.”
Hearing the words out loud causes new tears.
He will spend the rest of my short lived life with me. Bittersweet isn't it?
“And you're gonna make it out of this alive with me. Got it?” I nod and he has a bite of eggs moaning as they hit his pallet. After a few more bites he says, “Tell me about Jimmy.”
The sound of his name causes my body to go rigid. Drew immediately gives my leg a comforting rub.
“Honesty. That's the only way we can move forward.”
You agree?
A deep exhale escapes me. “I met Jimmy while I was working on my Master's Degree. On one of the few nights I was invited for a drink with my classmates, I went. He was there. He reminded me of a younger Benicio Del Toro. Women flocked to him, but he flocked to me.” Shaking my head slowly, I glare at the memory. “Thinking back on it now, it's obvious he was playing me from the beginning. Anyway, he wined me and dined me. Typical shy girl falling for the first guy to pay attention to her. Eventually he told me, he had a friend who needed a favor.”
“The Devil.”
“Sneaky as shit even then. We met and he offered me a job. Said he needed someone with my specific skill set. Turns out Jimmy was his 'Find It' man. He went out and found whoever it was The Devil needed. This time, a medicine maker. I had two choices. I could accept the job and the riches and live or deny him and be killed. On the spot.”
“Sounds about right.”
“So desperate to live, I agreed to do whatever it was he needed me too. At first, it was just little jobs. Pain killers. Healing aids. Then he had me start creating things to shut down memories. Then organs. Eventually, he saw the opportunity of a lifetime, which is when he kidnapped me from my apartment in the middle of the night and stuck me here. Made the whole thing look like I ran away and eloped with Jimmy. Only my mother didn't believe it. By that time Eden was slowly under way, but I created the rest. He told me I could have whatever I wanted.” In a whisper I snap, “Anything but my life back.”
“What happened to Jimmy?”
“Like a hopeless idiot I tried to give him more chances in the beginning. I didn't want to believe he was that horrible. I wanted to believe there was still good in him. Eventually though, no matter how hard I tried to hide from it, I couldn't anymore. Jimmy's biggest flaw besides lying was being greedy. He always wanted more. One day The Devil found out Jimmy was stealing from him. He had me create something he named 'Hail Mary'. It's a nasty poison. The first time I created it, he invited me to see the effects in person. He also failed to mention the person it would be used on was Jimmy. I watched as he injected it into him. I was forced to watch him die before my eyes. At the very end of it all, The Devil made sure to let me know I needed to be careful with the choices I made in his world or I could end up like Jimmy.”
Drew ceased eating. Slowly he takes my hand and lifts it to lips. “I'm not gonna let you end up like Jimmy. I promise.”
I offer him the reassuring smile he needs.
As much as I want to believe him, I know better. It's not that I don't trust him. It's that I know what The Devil is capable of. He's always three steps ahead. Chances are he's already got everything set up in place for my death, so I'm gonna do the only thing I can. Save the man I love and enjoy my dying days.
Drew
What do you do when it feels like there's no right answer? What do you do when you're not sure you can trust the person you love most in the world? Yeah. Yeah. I know. I have no business saying that bullshit. Spending a week with someone, chances are it's not love is what you're thinking. Well fuck you for that. You're willing to give up your own life to let them live? That's love. I believe everything Mel told me a couple days ago. Hell, she even made good on her word of slipping me antidote she hid in various places to make it less obvious in case we are being watched. The aspirin bottle. Back of the fridge behind fruit I could hide it with. Underneath my napkin. I don't think for one minute she ever wanted to kill me or Daniel for that matter. I don't even blame her for not telling me sooner. I hate that she didn't. I hate that she didn't trust that I would save her, that I'm going to get her out of this hell hole. And I'm gonna get us out. I just hope when we're on the other side, when we have a chance to start over, she actually starts to trust me. I hope I can start to trust her. Can you be in love with someone you don't trust? That doesn't trust you? How
about this? Can you rebuild trust with someone you love?
“You're thinking too hard,” Melody calls to me.
I look up to see her leaned against the kitchen counter.
“I can tell by the way your forehead wrinkles.”
My eyes roll.
It's doesn't wrinkle. No. No it doesn't.
