by Michael Dean
“You know, there is a lot about this situation that I won’t be able to explain to our human world. People have seen things they can’t explain. It’s only getting harder and harder to sweep this mess under the rug.”
“I know, Sam…I’m sorry…”
“That’s not what I meant.” He placed his hand on my wrist to stop me from speaking. “What I mean is, we’ve all made a sacrifice…those of us in the know about you. Whether it was to marry you, knowing the risks, adopt you, stand at your side to defend this town, or even give their life for your cause. That was our choice, Leo, not yours. We decided to back your play. That one is on us…and us alone. You didn’t choose that for us.” He patted my wrist before clasping his hands together around his knees.
“Yeah, but, that doesn’t make me feel any better. All I have brought to this once quiet town is misery and death. I can’t help but feel disgraced for that.” I lowered my head.
“Disgrace? Is that what you think you’ve done here? Leo, you’ve given us hope.”
I raised my head to him.
“You-you’ve shown us that life continues after we’re done with this world. You’re a living symbol of proof. When it’s all said and done, even for the worst of us, we still have a chance to be something more. With Mark’s passing, although I feel great pain along with you, I know he has moved on to somewhere else…that he’s still alive...somewhere. I also add, up until you, I thought that demons were supposed to be the most unreasonable of all things, if they were even real to begin with. Now, not only do I know they-you are real, along with other beings, there is also comfort in knowing, at least in one demon, love lives. Somehow, even in the darkest of hearts, love can still bloom. You’ve given us something more, Leo, something worth fighting for. Your concern for us, being what you are, has made you even more sacred to us. Because of that, we’ll stand side by side to the death with you. That’s why Mark came back, that’s why Shade chose to be with you, that’s why Benjamin and Amanda adopted you, and…that’s why I’m sitting here with you now.” He smiled.
I glanced over to him and flashed a smile. About that time we could hear the sirens of an ambulance heading our way. It wasn’t long before it roared right up in front of us and parked.
“What am I going to say to mom and dad?” I said as he stood up to escort the paramedics to my brother.
“Don’t worry about that now…I’ll break the news to them, to everyone, tomorrow. I want to give our friends and family, as well as the town, an extra day before I give the all clear for everyone to return. Go clear your head, get it as right as you can. You have a fight coming. Go get strong again.” He leaned down and squeezed my shoulder.
“Thanks, Sam.”
I stuck around to watch them gurney my brother out and place him into the ambulance. I knew Sam was right, Scruffy was alive somewhere else, but that still didn’t change the fact that I wouldn’t get to see him every day here on Earth. Not only that, because I was demon, I would be forbidden to see him because of where he went. I mean, Argento and Elysia mentioned that he’d moved on to their realm; the heavens. A demon is forbidden to go there, so, it didn’t do anything to ease my suffering over him. I was in the same boat as our mother and father in this, I’m sure they’d feel very little solace in knowing that their son had moved on. I’m sure they’d trade that in a second in order to see him every day again…so would Sandra.
I watched the ambulance pull away and I stood up. The sun was beginning to rise and Sam approached me again, looking completely exhausted.
“So goes the life of a public servant. You think you could handle this life…times of little rest and much worry?” He grinned.
“I don’t sleep as it is…I think that curse would work to my advantage in this case.” I released a half-hearted smirk.
“Where you gonna go now?” he asked.
“I’m not sure, probably home…home, home. Wait for Shade to come back…take your advice and clear my head.”
“That’s a good idea…you do that. I’ll contact everyone, you don’t worry about that part. I’ll inform them about Mark. Like I said, take the day for yourself.”
“Thanks again, Sam.”
“When will I hear back from you?” He looked concerned, like I might take off after Christian right now.
“I’ll see you at the funeral…I owe Scruffy that much. Not only that, I have to be around to witness the birth of my daughter. Christian can’t take that away from me.”
“That’s good…that’s good to hear. I’ll talk to you soon, Leo. Take care.” He smiled.
“Will do.”
I took a short walk down the road in order to get out of the sight of his deputies so I could take flight towards home. When I got there, the sun was breaking over the trees and a new day was dawning. I went inside and Fate greeted me first thing, so I picked him up.
“Hello, my friend…at least I still have you, huh?” I scratched him under the chin before setting him back down.
I aimlessly paced around the inside of the house for the better part of the morning and early afternoon, unable to sit. My mind was racing about so many things that I couldn’t settle myself. Scruffy’s death and Christian's last desire for world domination consumed me for the most part, but Elysia’s enlightenment about Shade and herself comforted me to some degree. I was, at the very least, looking forward to spring that good news on Shade amongst all the bad she was about to be showered with.
I went outside and sat on the porch for the remainder of the day, waiting for my wife to return. Sam sent me a text about eight o’clock that night that he’d informed the families about the coast being clear to come back home, as well as about the death of Scruffy. He didn’t get into any details about their reactions, well, he didn’t have to.
I expected Shade to come pulling up the driveway at some point that night, but she never did. It wasn’t until the next morning that I heard the sound of a vehicle on the pathway to our house. I never left the porch for an entire day I was in such disarray.
They pulled right up in front of me and I stood to greet Shade and her parents. Richard got out along with Anne. Richard helped his daughter out from the backseat while Anne came over to hug me.
“I felt it Leo…I felt what happened. When Sam called us last night, I knew what happened before Richard picked up the phone. I’m so sorry.” She kissed me on the cheek as we broke from our hug.
Richard was holding his waddling daughter by the arm as he led her to the porch and up it.
“I’m sorry, Leo.” Richard shook my hand.
Shade placed her hands around my neck and kissed me. “Are you going to be okay?”
I nodded, “Yeah…I will be fine. Just a little…absent right now. Don’t know what I’m going to say to Benjamin and Amanda…I mean, what can I say?”
“Well, they are a mess right now. We’ve spoken with them already. You should go over to see them when you get the chance. You are their only son now. They’ll need you all the more in their lives now.” Anne informed.
“I will…I just need some time with Shade. She always calms my spirit when it’s troubled.” I smiled at her.
Both her parents smiled at us. We caught up for a few minutes as I told them about what exactly happened while they were gone, leaving out certain obvious parts because I felt that was something meant for strictly Shade and I to share at this time. Eventually they left and my wife and I went inside and copped-a-squat at the kitchen table to talk further.
“This is all too much…Sandra is so crushed right now that she doesn’t even want to see me. She could barely talk to me she was so broken up over Mark.” Shade sniffled and wiped some tears from her eyes.
“I can’t imagine not having him around anymore. I can’t believe that he won’t be coming through that door anymore, acting dorky and throwing around those nerdy jokes.” She started to laugh through her crying.
I laughed with her.
“What’s it like not being able to cry?” She
questioned me out of nowhere.
“I wish I could, but again, demons are made to suffer. There is no release from my pain. I think a good cry would help me to heal, but, I’m not granted such grace.” I tilted my somber face at her.
“Sometimes I wish I couldn’t cry.” Tears continued to flow as she constantly wiped them, so I got up and got her a couple tissues.
“There is one thing I didn’t bother to mention out there while I was telling you all about what happened while you were away.”
“Oh God, what now?” She rolled her eyes around, embracing for more bad news from me.
“No, no, no…it’s not like that…” I smiled. “Just listen.” I reached over and held her hand in mine.
I went into telling her about the whole story of me and Elysia…the whole story. This time I filled in the blanks about when I was a human soldier. Shade’s eyes began to dry and her mouth opened in shock as she learned about her odd attachment to Isabella the former life of our child. She almost fell out of her seat when I told her about Elysia being reborn as our future daughter. But right after I told her, she came up with a brilliant idea.
“That’s it.” She exclaimed.
“That’s what?”
“The name of our daughter.” She looked excited.
I was still unclear.
“What do you think about naming our daughter, Elysia?” Her face appeared to be at peace for the first time since she got home.
I chuckled a bit, “Yeah…I didn’t think about…that’s a beautiful name for our daughter.”
“Elysia it is?”
“Elysia it is.” I smiled.
After our discussion I helped Shade to bed so she could take a nap. While she did so, I placed a phone call to mom and dad to see if they wanted me to come by. To be honest, I was kind of afraid to talk to them. I was fearful that they would hate me or blame me for what happened with Scruffy. In my mind, they had every right to feel that way towards me. But when Benjamin answered, I was pleasantly surprised that the two of them were so grateful that Shade and I were still safe. I spoke with both my mother and father briefly. It was very hard to communicate with them because they kept breaking up during our conversation anytime the subject of Mark arose. Of course I couldn’t fault them for that. They’d had their hearts ripped out of them. I promised them that I would swing by their house that evening after Shade got up and we had a bite.
When she got up, we had dinner and I told her that I needed to go see my parents afterwards. Instead of flying over there, I thought it best to go the conventional human way and use the car.
When I arrived, I sat in the parked car for a few minutes, knowing what I was about to walk into. I finally summoned the courage to get out of the car. I stood in place momentarily, feeling angst. It was taking everything in me to walk to the front door.
If I’d had a physical heart right now, it would be shattered into a thousand pieces.
CHAPTER 18
RECKONING
I approached the door and knocked ever-so-gently. Amanda opened the door and it was plain to see that her face was dripping with sorrow. Just the site of me made her begin to bawl and she reached for me. I hugged her tight. It wasn’t long until Richard joined in, swinging his arms around the two of us. His eyes were swollen and red.
“C’mon, let’s go sit down,” he requested.
We plopped down on the couch as Amanda blew her nose into some tissues while Benjamin did his best to swallow his emotions.
“I want to let you two know that I realize this is my fault…all of this. I cannot ever repay this debt. All I can do is push on and bring justice to his killer. I’m…I’m so very sorry.” I started out the conversation.
There was a moment of silence, only Amanda sobbing could be heard, but Benjamin broke it up.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Leo. Neither I, nor Amanda, hold the actions of another against you. You are giving your life to save us. Mark just got caught in the crossfire. That is no one’s fault…only the killers.” He tried to console me but my guilt in seeing them in such despair was overwhelming me.
“His last words to me were to watch over you, Sandra of course, and to take out Christian. I will honor that. You have my word. There will be no more casualties,” I said with certainty.
“Except your own.” Amanda spoke with a trembling voice. “Then we’ll have lost two sons…I don’t know if I could handle this again.” The tears kept flowing.
“I assure you, I will do everything I can to not allow that to happen.” I squeezed her knee.
“Leo…Mark is gone now. Nothing we can do about that anymore. It is you…you are our only son left. His spirit will live in this world through you, at least to us it will. That in itself is comforting. We want you to know, just because of what you are and how you entered into our family, doesn’t mean you ever took a backseat to Mark. We have grown to love you every bit as much as we did our paternal son. You are an extension of us now…you always have been.” Benjamin cleared his throat several times as he spoke.
“I know. You have always treated me warmly. I never once felt like an outsider here. I’ve always felt loved by you all. You’ve accepted me as I am. It shows what loving human beings you are, but…I feel I have been doing you a disservice for quite some time now.” I looked at both of them.
“What do you mean?” Benjamin answered.
“I’ve always referred to you as Benjamin and Amanda…even to our friends. When in reality, you are my mother and father. Never again will I dishonor you to your faces by calling you by your names. You will be Mom and Dad from now on. Because that is what you are and that is what you’ve always been to me. It should be spoken out loud for all to hear,” I said wholeheartedly.
This caused my mother to break out in hysterics before she hugged me again. I held her as I watched my father wipe his eyes as he grinned.
“Thank you for that, son.”
We talked for a while about positive aspects of Scruffy’s personality. It helped to ease the pain for the time being, but it still didn’t stop the occasional tears from flowing. Just when they’d reel in the waterfalls, we’d mention something about my brother that would make us laugh and then cry at the same time all over again.
“You know, Leo, Mark loved you so much. He talked about you all the time. I think in some ways…you were a hero to him. I think you should know that,” my mother said.
“I loved…love him too. He was a hero to me as well. I will never forget him,” I responded.
“Do me-us a favor son, if you ever…see him again, you know what I mean, tell him we miss him and love him.” Mom kept on.
“Mother, trust me on this one, wherever he is…he knows…he knows.” I smiled.
“C’mon sweetheart. We better get down to the hospital for the hard part,” my father said.
“What do you have to do?”
“We have to go identify him.”
I dropped my head again. “Do you need me to accompany you there for this…for support?” I asked.
“No son…we’ll be fine. Thank you,” my father responded.
They began to gather their things and I sat silently on the couch waiting for them to finish. We left together and they urged me to visit Sandra before I went home. I promised them that I would do that as well as come by as often as I could. I told them if they needed any help with his funeral arrangements to not hesitate to ask. We hugged in the driveway and I followed them out.
I did as they asked and stopped by the Tipton household to see Sandra and speak with her. Although I was greeted warmly by her parents at the door, Sandra refused to speak with me. Her parents kind of clued me in to the fact that her despair over losing Mark has turned to anger towards those around her. I was expecting this kind reaction out of my parents, but not from her. Nonetheless, she had every right to feel that way and I told her parents that I would respect her feelings and stay away until she was ready to talk about it. Just as I told my mom and dad, I left a
parting message about if they needed anything, don’t hesitate to call me. They smiled, wishing me farewell and I left for home.
When I returned and spoke with my wife, she informed me that she’d been trying all day to speak with Sandra too, but she was having none of it.
“I think she blames us both for Mark’s death.” She proclaimed.
We were in agreement on that. Well, at least half of that statement I believed was correct.
“There’s nothing more we can do to help her right now. She has to come to us when she’s ready. I’m sure she will. Don’t take her actions to heart. Allow her time to grieve.” I consoled Shade.
“I know, but, this is hard enough as it is right now. Not being able to talk with her is just making this whole mess more difficult. She needs to know that we love her and are here for her.”
“She does…just give her the space she needs. Everything will work out fine.”
For the next couple of days until Scruffy’s funeral, we walked around in a daze. The fact that the birth of our child was a mere week or two away fell by the wayside because we all were so busy in mourning.
We avoided going to Scruffy’s viewing because it was too hard to look at him in that state. We wanted to remember him standing up, being who he was when he was alive. Our families were very understanding and supportive of our choice about that. It was simply too hard for both of us.
When the day of the funeral arrived, we dressed up in our best and set out to Clover Cemetery to meet with our families and friends. Clover Cemetery was of course the same location where Darryl Kite was buried. As a matter of fact, my best friend was being put to rest just a few rows down from where he was buried. It was an ominous feeling being back here again. I hadn’t returned, or even came near this place since Darryl’s death.
Upon arrival, there were tons of people. I even recognized Argento and Elysia in attendance standing just a little way away from where people were gathered under the canopy where Scruffy was resting. They were clothed in more human-like garments perfectly fitting to the current unfortunate event at hand.
