I felt something ripple through me. It might be pain. I didn’t know. I was numb. Heven, listen to me. Listen, sweetheart. When I didn’t answer, he said, Are you listening?
Yes.
I’m not going anywhere. I promise. I’m going to be there soon. You’ve got to stay calm. Don’t do anything crazy.
We were on our way to get you.
Don’t come. Not tonight.
You don’t understand; I have to come. The scroll is gone. I lost it.
There was a pause before he answered. How?
I think I lost it when Colin and I… when I killed him.
Don’t think about that now. Don’t worry about the scroll. We’ll find a way to get it back.
How can you say that? Don’t you see? He got what he wanted and now he’s going to kill everyone I love.
I haven’t seen him at all. He isn’t here. I can take care of myself for another night.
I just need a moment. I can’t breathe.
I’ll be right here. I won’t let go. I felt the frustration and the desperation behind his words. He wanted to be here and he couldn’t be.
I sank down beneath an apple tree and stared up at the sky. I wondered if my mother was with my dad now, if she was at peace. I felt rather than saw something nearby and I turned in that direction to see Riley. I turned away, not wanting him to see my tears.
“You heard?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
He didn’t say he was sorry. He didn’t offer his condolences, and somehow, it made it easier to breathe. He sat down next to me, his knee brushing mine, and still said nothing. For a long time, we just sat there listening to the evening bugs chatter.
“My mother said some awful things to me,” I said, my voice sounding hoarse.
Riley didn’t say anything.
“She meant them.” Riley turned his head to look at me and I wiped a stray tear from my cheek. “But she was my mother and I loved her. Now she’s dead.”
Riley debated a moment, then reached out stiffly and pulled me into his side. I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I sat there grieving all the while, thinking about the man who did this and wondering what else he was going to do. Beelzebub was on a tirade, hell-bent on making me pay, and he wasn’t going to stop until I was dead inside.
Chapter Ten
Heven
“Gran’s worried.” Cole spoke from behind us. My eyes closed at the sound of his tight tone. He disapproved of me being out here with Riley.
I pushed myself to my feet. “I’ll come in.”
Cole nodded tersely, but his aura softened when I came to his side. He put his arm around my shoulders and leaned down to kiss my temple. “How’s it going, sis?”
“You and Gran are the only family I have left now.”
“Well, you’re stuck with me,” he said lightly.
“Sam doesn’t want me to come tonight.”
“He’s right,” Cole said and I stiffened beneath his touch. He tightened his grasp on me and sighed. “I know it’s hard, Hev. But your mom just died. Your mind is in no state to fight with Beelzebub.”
“We don’t even know if he’s down there.”
“I thought you said he was back.”
“He definitely is, but Sam said he hasn’t seen him.”
“That’s a good thing.”
The house came into view and I pulled away from Cole and turned back to Riley, who was a few feet behind us. “Are you leaving?” I tried not to sound upset at the idea.
“I’ll be around,” he said, sounding vague.
“I’ll come by Sam’s tomorrow after Gran and I go to the funeral home…” My voice dropped off. “We’ll go get him then.”
“It’s too soon,” Cole said. His aura was etched with worry and concern and I knew he was only looking out for me.
“It isn’t. I’m going to be busy after tomorrow with the viewings and the funeral.” I shivered a little and out of the corner of my eye I saw Riley take a step closer. “I need him home, Cole. Now more than ever.”
“Yeah, all right.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked Riley.
“Yeah.”
I looked at him a little longer than I should have, but then he took off and the screen door banged behind us. I turned to see Gran standing on the porch peering out into the darkness, looking for us. “Heven? Cole?”
“We’re here,” Cole said and grabbed my arm to tow me toward the house. I didn’t want to go with him. It was all too real inside. It pressed in on me and I couldn’t take the sorrow on Gran’s face.
“Is Gemma still in my room?” I whispered.
“No. I saw her when I came out to get you. She left.”
“How are things with her going?” I asked.
“Fine,” he said, but his aura said otherwise.
“I was worried,” Gran said as we came up the steps. “You’ve been out here a while.”
“Should I go to the hospital tonight?”
“No. I took care of it all when I was there. You’re a minor so I signed all the documents and filled out the forms. We’ll need to go to the funeral home in the morning and to your mother’s house to pick out an outfit for her…” She trailed off, unable to say the rest.
I sat around the kitchen with Gran and Cole and tried to convince them as well as I could that I wasn’t going to crumble into a million pieces. Thankfully, Logan had fallen asleep on the couch and was spared all the drama and I hoped he slept the night through. He wasn’t looking too good.
I forced a cup of hot tea down to please Gran, but refused to eat and tried to discuss arrangements with Gran without crying. Soon, the night began wearing on me and I excused myself to go upstairs to bed. I felt Gran and Cole’s nervous stares as I went from the room but had no energy left to try to make them feel better.
Upstairs, I stood in the center of my room for a while without moving. Regrets clouded my head as I thought of things I wished I had and hadn’t said to my mother during the past few months. I would never get the chance to make any of it right. My last moments with her were horrible and that was all I had left.
I grabbed Sam’s favorite T-shirt and changed my clothes, throwing my dirty ones on the floor and leaving them there, too tired to bother with them. The soft fabric brushed the tops of my bare knees. I went into the bathroom to remove the makeup I had applied with such care and anticipation. Tears threatened, but I blinked them back for the millionth time tonight. Crying wouldn’t change anything. I was so incredibly tired, but sleep wasn’t an option. Bad things happened when I went to sleep. I was terrified if I went to sleep tonight, Beelzebub would seize the opportunity to pull me back into hell. The thought of seeing Sam was tempting, but if I went down there, Beelzebub would show up and he would continue his revenge by doing something to Sam while I watched, helpless. At this moment, it seemed like the best thing I could do for Sam was to stay away.