“You’re still here,” Jet said, pulling me from my musings. He draped a coat around my shoulders and I pulled it tighter around myself.
“Thanks.”
“I thought you might be cold.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. But it was. Jet was thoughtful and caring.
He was my future.
My chance to start afresh.
“I’m freezing, actually.” As I said the words, I realized how true they were. Goosebumps had made their home across my skin and were bringing their friend, the shivers, with them. I slipped my arms through the coat and tied all the buttons.
“Are they still here?” Jet asked. He was chewing on his bottom lip, his hands in his pockets. I hadn’t seen him this nervous in a long time. It instantly made me worried that something had happened in the tunnels that I didn’t know about.
“No, they’re all gone now. Everything is silent.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
I smiled like I hadn’t been able to do for a long time. “It’s a wonderful thing. They are all where they should be. I feel so…” I grappled for the right word to describe it. “Peaceful. I feel peaceful.”
Jet rubbed my arms, helping spread warmth through me. “I’m glad. You deserve it.”
“How did things go underground?” I asked, hoping he wasn’t about to ruin the peace. There were always dramas in the city and they wouldn’t stop just because Kostucha was dead.
“I told them we had to sort out some business and it’s all finished now. They didn’t need to know all the details.”
So he had kept my secret. I never doubted he would. Only Oliver, and now Jet, knew I could see spirits. It wasn’t something you opened a conversation with. Most people would have thought I was crazy.
Jet never did.
Neither did Oliver, but he already knew I could because I could see him and he was dead himself.
I imagined the conversation and laughed. “And that was enough for Perry?” I couldn’t see her being satisfied with such little information. She was never the need-to-know kind of girl. Especially where Jet was concerned.
Jet joined in my laughter. “She thought it was a bit sketchy, yeah. Her exact words were ‘we’re going to have a long conversation… soon’ and then she stomped off.”
I almost felt sorry for the girl. She was obviously in love with the guy and never going to have him. I would make sure of that. Still, unrequited love was a burden to bear. Falling in love with someone that didn’t love you was torturous, a pain that dug deep into the heart and didn’t let go easily.
“Thank you for keeping my secret,” I said sincerely.
“It’s not my place to tell anyone.”
I stood on my tiptoes to give him a kiss, pressing my lips onto his. His body was so warm pressed up against mine that I never wanted to step away again.
This, right here, is where I belonged.
Jet’s arms snaked around me and pulled me closer. With the peace and quiet of the twilight, it was easy to forget the rest of the world existed.
I pulled back far too soon, but with good reason. It was going to be even colder soon once the last of the sun’s warmth was enveloped into the night sky.
There was something important I needed to ask Jet and it couldn’t wait until the darkness took over. “Jet?”
“Hmmm?”
“Will you move into the apartment with me?” The words hung in the air like the lingering scent of summer flowers. I held my breath, not knowing what the answer would be.
Rejection was a very real possibility.
Just because we’d been to Hell and back – literally – didn’t mean he was ready to live with me permanently. I knew I was asking a lot of him to move out of the underground but it felt right. For me, at least.
With only silence between us, the words tumbled from my mouth before I could stop them. “You don’t have to, of course. I just thought, considering we spend a lot of time together anyway, that it would be more convenient. But you can say no, it will be cool.”
A smile a mile wide stretched across his face. “Convenience? That’s why you want me to move in with you?”
I struggled to get out of his arms. If he was going to make fun of me then I knew I had made the wrong decision. I shouldn’t have said anything, I should have just gone home and not said a word about him coming with me.
“Hey, I’m joking,” Jet said, not letting me out of his grasp. “Of course I want to move into the apartment with you. You have no idea how grumpy I get when I’m not with you.”
I raised an eyebrow in question.
He was right, I had no idea.
But I didn’t care. He wasn’t rejecting me, he was moving in with me. I wouldn’t be lonely again. I would never have to be lonely ever again.
“We should go, before it gets too late,” I said cautiously. I wasn’t entirely sure what the protocol was from here. Did he have to get his stuff? Did he do that now or come back for it later? Would he want to stay another night in his old room for sentimental reasons?
His arms let me go as his hand sought out mine. Linking our fingers together, he looked up. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Relief flooded through me. We started walking across the city. There were hardly any kids still out in the streets. Everyone knew it was safer to find a place to stay for the night before the sun went down.
It was eerily quiet. Maybe not so much for Jet, but a world with no spirits was going to take some time to get used to for me. Hopefully any new spirits would cross over immediately, meaning no-one would linger in suspense now. That was how it was supposed to always be.
Jet never let go of my hand for the entire journey home. It was surreal thinking I was actually returning. Before hunting down Kostucha, I had been so certain that I would die along with the demon.
It kind of made me wished I had tidied up.
We reached the apartment and Jet used his key to get in. Mine was still sitting on the planes of Hell somewhere. Somehow I didn’t think I would be getting it back.
“Wait,” Jet said suddenly, holding out his arm to block me from entering.
I thought he might be wanting to check out the place for intruders. The last thing I expected was for him to pick me up in his arms and carry me across the threshold.
He gently placed me on the concrete floor inside. “That wasn’t necessary. We’ve been in here plenty. You’ve stayed over before. Many times.”
“But it hasn’t been official before.” His stupid, foolish grin was a disease and I was completely infected. And incurable. “I was always waiting for the time when you’d throw me out.”
“So I can’t throw you out anymore?” I asked innocently.
“Never. Once you issue an invitation, it would be extremely rude to take it back.”
“Noted.”
We busied ourselves making dinner and changing into more appropriate clothes for the weather. It wasn’t nearly as cold as it used to be in the apartment but wearing only underwear underneath a coat was not enough clothing to be comfortably warm.
The meal was baby corn spears and it was delicious. We even followed it up with a can of warm cherries for dessert. It had been far too long since we’d eaten and we cleared the bowl too soon.
“What are you smiling like that for?” Jet asked, eyeing me suspiciously. “Do I have something on my face?”
I shook my head. “No. I was just thinking how nice this is. I didn’t think I’d come back from Hell and here I am, eating cherries with you. It doesn’t feel real.”
“It is. Real, I mean. All of this.”
“It’s crazy.”
“Yes, it is. But Lucifer cast us out of Hell. That’s quite something to brag about. We survived. We’re survivors.”
“We certainly are,” I agreed.
I stacked the two empty dishes in the sink, ready to take them to be washed the next day. Such an ordinary mundane task actually seemed appealing. A bath wouldn’t go astray either to wash off the layers of dust a
nd dirt covering my skin.
“We should make this place more homely,” Jet started when we were settled onto the blankets and getting ready for bed. “We could find some carpet and lay it on the concrete. We might even be able to find some furniture.”
I lay down on the blanket and turned around to face him. “We could get a real bed. And a couch. And a fireplace for winter.”
He nodded through every one of my suggestions. “A bed with a mattress, nothing like the one in the underground. Something soft that we can sink into.”
“I know exactly where we can find one of those,” I said happily, thinking of my house on the hill. It had everything we needed and would no longer be infested with forty-three spirits. I couldn’t live there again, though, I had changed too much to hide away now.
Jet kissed my forehead. “We can start tomorrow.”
Tomorrow.
When I would start living my life.
I wriggled closer to Jet so that our bodies were pressed up against each other underneath the blanket. It still felt too far apart. Jet draped his arm over my waist, his hand finding my back and rubbing it.
This was my version of Heaven.
“I love you,” I whispered, looking directly into his warm brown eyes. I could get lost in those eyes so easily.
Drown in them.
Never resurface.
Jet leaned down and kissed me, a long lingering kiss that seemed to have no end. It made every nerve in my body stand to attention and electrify.
The blanket was barely necessary anymore.
Even if we were only in our underwear again.
He nuzzled my nose. “I love you, too. Always, okay?”
“Okay.”
We fell asleep in each other’s arms. This was my new favorite way to sleep. I couldn’t imagine drifting off without him ever again. I hoped I wouldn’t have to find out what that would be like.
I had never slept so soundly before.
There were no dreams, no nightmares. Just a peaceful sleep that replenished my energy, heart, and soul. I had never felt so good as I did when I woke up.
The sun was shining on a brand new day.
A brand new beginning.
While Jet went to the tunnels to pack up his few possessions, I told him I had another errand to run. There was something I had to do and it was something I had to do by myself.
I picked up what I needed and strolled through the city. It was like a brand new place. Without the hundreds of thousands of spirits hanging around, the parks were beautiful again. The lakes shimmered with the sun’s reflection, the buildings looked like they might hold up a little longer, and I’m sure the birds sung louder.
It was the dawning of a new era. One where I could focus on helping Jet rebuild the city. There were no more reasons for innocent deaths. We would put a stop to it together.
The building I needed was nestled in the heart of the city. There were more kids lingering outside than I had seen in the past year.
They were no longer afraid of the library.
I entered without hesitation and took out the book I had stolen. Crossing the large space, I was relieved to find it empty. The librarian had crossed over, she wouldn’t have to stress about her books anymore.
Taking the flashlight from its hook, I hurried down the staircase and into the secret room she had guided me to. Without her, I never would have been able to find my way into Hell and kill Kostucha. She was just as much responsible for her salvation as I was.
Gently, and with great care, I slid the stolen book into its slot and lined the spine up with its neighbors.
“Rest in peace, librarian,” I whispered.
And, somehow, I just knew she heard me.
Epilogue
2 Years Later
The place was a madhouse. Kids of all ages were playing tag, running in and out of the house, filling the air with giggles and the padding of their bare feet.
I was trying to cook dinner but they were seriously distracting me. “Keep it in the backyard. Ten minutes until dinner,” I called out.
They mostly ignored me.
The kids living on the large, two-story property had almost forgotten the struggles of years gone by. They never had to wonder where their next meal was coming from, where they were going to find a safe place to sleep for the night, and the gaping loneliness in the fight for survival.
All they remembered now was the day we had opened our doors and invited in as many kids as we could manage. There were currently sixteen here with us. The youngest was four, the oldest fifteen. Once they were old and capable enough, we helped them find a house of their own so they could pay forward the kindness.
Nobody was homeless anymore.
Unless they chose to be.
There were still kids who couldn’t trust the helpers, they didn’t want to accept charity. They were the lost souls that had to find their own way in life. We still kept our doors open for them but they barely came for help.
I understood the need to do things alone. I had been like that for too long myself. Letting people in was far harder than people gave it credit for.
Checking my watch for the fiftieth time, a creeping dread was starting to pool in my gut.
Where was he?
He was supposed to be home for dinner, that was the rule. Darkness still did not guarantee safety and I liked to know all my little chickens were safely home. I wished we still had phones so I could track him down.
I needed to hear his voice and know he was okay.
The world had been too dangerous for too long for me to forget about the things hidden in the dark. At least we didn’t have to deal with a demon anymore. But… still, you could never be too careful.
“Are we eating yet?” James whined at me, hovering by the door with a streak of dirt down his face.
“Tell everyone to wash up and then we’ll eat,” I replied. I couldn’t put off the meal for much longer. The kids thrived on routine and they were hungry. Messing with that combination was enough to spell disaster.
Five minutes later, he still wasn’t home.
My eyes flicked to the door every few minutes but it didn’t make it open any sooner. I tried to hide any traces of my concern, lest I spook the kids, but I was worried.
He was never this late.
It was supposed to be a quick run into the city to check on the factories. He had spent the morning on the farms and promised me he wouldn’t be out for long.
That was four hours ago.
“Hey, Everly,” Beatrice called out from her spot in the middle of the table. I tore my gaze from the door to her cheeky seven-year-old face.
“What’s up, Bea?”
“What do you call a horse in pajamas?”
You could have heard a pin drop while the other kids waited for the punch line. I knew the answer but I wasn’t going to ruin her moment, she reminded me too much of Faith.
“I don’t know. What do you call a horse in pajamas?” I replied, pretending to be completely clueless.
“A zebra!” she exclaimed happily. Giggles echoes around the room while the older ones rolled their eyes. This was usual for our dinner table conversation. We had a few little jokers in the group and they loved nothing more than to entertain the rest of us.
Where was he?
It was so unlike him to be late like this. We had few rules between us but our nighttime curfew was one of them. If I had stayed out after dark he would have a heart attack and launch a hundred-person search and rescue mission.
The rumble of a car engine came up the driveway and I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew that sound and it could only belong to his vehicle.
I pretended to act nonchalant as he opened the door and stepped into the house. I didn’t want him to know how worried I had been but we would be having a discussion about it later. We’d been through too much to frighten each other like that now.
“Jet!” James said in greeting, followed by a round of ‘hi’s’ and ‘hello’s’ from
everyone else. He returned them all – including some high-fives – before taking the last empty seat, right beside me.
He saved a kiss for me, planting his lips on mine before piling his plate with food. “Sorry I’m late.”
“What kept you?” I managed to keep all annoyance out of my voice and remain level. That was a triumph in itself.
“There was a meeting at the clothing factory and they asked me to stay.”
There were only five factories operating in the city, all for necessities like canning food, making clothes, and manufacturing basic items like first aid supplies. It had been a slow process reopening them and training enough staff to run them, but they were going better than we ever expected.
“There’s nothing wrong, I hope,” I replied. Jet rarely got involved in the day to day operations anymore, he was too busy trying to coordinate all the essential services like the electricity and water plants. Not to mention the mega-farms surrounding the city.
Jet shook his head while he finished his mouthful of mashed potato. “No, it’s all good. They were thinking about trying to make sandals for summer and wanted to run it by me first.”
“Sandals. That will be nice to have.”
“Good thing I approved it, then,” Jet said, backing it up with a wink. “How did you go with your school round?”
While he spent the day moving all around the farm and the factories, I had been in the city checking on the three schools we had opened. They weren’t compulsory because we had no way of enforcing attendance, but we did welcome in any child who wanted to learn.
Our numbers grew every day.
There were currently about five thousand kids enrolled.
It was something I felt particularly passionate about. The only way to really rebuild the city was through education. The kids were taught by the older teenagers from books we took from the library. We didn’t focus much on history, our curriculum was largely practical. Classes on how to keep a household, how to build things, and how to cook were all relevant.
We also taught compassion, hope, and love.
All things that would have killed Kostucha a thousand times over.
“The schools were all really good,” I replied. “I was thinking maybe we could organize some field trips into the factories and farms so the kids can see how the city is working together.”
We Are Always Forever Page 20
