She is Fatal to Death (Standalone Story)

Chapter 9 (Unnecessary Headaches)

Keone

          Keone felt like the scum of the earth as he sat across from her. He didn't expect anything less as he recalled her unyielding gaze as she shot off the gun aimed at his head. The second her eyes landed on him, her entire body seized. Even from across the diner, he saw fear and fury blaze by, burning a hole straight through him.

          He saw that Renata was on the phone, so he didn't speak at first. And when she didn't immediately jump across the table to attack him, he assumed it was permission for him to take a seat.

          His eyes were unabashed as they drank in her features, the ones that played in his dreams, his nightmares. Her braids were down, against her back and tucked behind her ears. The medium tone of her brown skin was especially golden under the yellowish light of the lamp hanging above them. Her dark gaze tracked him as she finished the conversation. There was suspicion, loathing, and everything else related.

          Her hand reached into the bag sitting beside her thigh. The sight was cut off by the table, but Keone knew exactly what she was looking for. "Pulling a gun on me in the middle of a diner doesn't seem like the wisest choice."

          Her face was contorted with irritation. Her hand stopped moving but it stayed buried in the purse. "What do you want from me?"

          Keone's chest spiked with frustration toward himself and uncertainty in what exactly he could say that wouldn't piss her off. He couldn't blame her for hating him, for wanting nothing to do with him. He did this to her, and now that she would never trust him. He'd made things that much harder for himself. "What I did to you," he began, and her eyes widened, "it was wrong. It was more than wrong. It was...the worst. I thought I was doing what needed to be done—"

          Renata leaned forward. The desperate tremble in her mouth made him swallow. "Why? Why was killing me something that just needed to be done?"

          "Nothing I will say will make what I did okay, and it won't bring you any comfort—"

          "You said you'd give me answers, you coward. Give. Them. To. Me."

          Keone nodded. He felt compelled by her rage which was bubbling to the surface. He initially hadn't planned to reveal much, but it appeared she was ready to pounce if he didn't cooperate. "You've learned by now that you can die, but you come back."

          She gave a tight dip of her chin.

          "Before I...Before I attacked you, there were other failed attempts on your life by a very powerful being." Her eyes narrowed with disbelief. The question 'failed?' hung between them. "Not because you did anything wrong or presented any kind of threat. This powerful being takes each life without bias. For whatever reason, when they tried to take you, it wouldn't work, which should be impossible. It's never happened. No one can escape them. Not me. No one."

          Renata sat back, deflated like a balloon. Her eyes were distant. "But I don't stay dead. That's why I kept waking up in those days before. Because of this being."

          Keone nodded and continued. "You shouldn't exist. Whatever you are. So, when he told me that he couldn't kill you, I thought it meant that I must do something. He told me not to engage, but I thought I knew better. That was my first mistake—"