My Own Personal Hell

Chapter Nineteen: I Hate Winter.

Rose slams on the door over and over again. "Jack! Open this door! Right now!" She hits it over and over until her fists turn bloody. "Jack... please..." She slides down the door wrapping her arms around herself.

It is cold. It is very cold. The wind blows rapidly. Shooting snowflakes every which way.

Rose looks down at me and tries to pull me over to her, but she isn't able too. She has become too weak.

"What a situation." A voice says unexpectedly.

Rose looks up to see Dalilah Bubblebath back in her blue dress with Willow perched on her shoulder.

Willow takes flight and lands on Rose's knee. The black bird looks up at Rose with a sad expression. "Frost didn't make it."

Rose immediately tears up. "What?"

"I'm so sorry..." Willow shakes his head.

"You stupid bird! I was gonna tell her that!" Dalilah rages.

"Yeah, in a really horrible way, I'm sure." Willow shakes his head.

Rose just cries.

Not even Dalilah speaks.

Rose stands up and slams on the door. "You stupid jerk! YOU STUPID JERK!" She slams harder and harder until her thumb breaks. She grabs it in pain and collapses on the ground.

There's a long pause.

"He didn't care about you anyway." Dalilah laughs. "He was just a worthless piece of garbage."

Then, Rose snaps. She's heard enough. She jumps up and tackles Dalilah. Rose puts her hands over her neck and begins choking her.

"Hey, Rose, stop." Willow speaks up. "Not that she doesn't deserve it, it's just that with my curse and all... you might get hurt." Willow looks nervous.

Rose doesn't listen. She doesn't care.

Dalilah gasps for breath, but can get none.

Willow starts transforming. "Rose, please. I don't want to do this at all."

Rose doesn't care.

Dalilah goes unconscious.

Willow shakes his head. "Dang it..." He grows into a giant creature. A mutated crow. It's horrifying. Willow's eyes go red and he roars incredibly loud.

Waking me up.

Rose turns around and starts backing away quickly in fear.

I grab my head and see the monster. I light a cigarette and put it in my mouth quickly.

The creature snaps at Rose, inches from her being.

I take a puff and blow fire out of my mouth all over the mutation's back.

He screeches in pain and turns around to face me.

"Wow, I didn't think this through." I shake my head.

He swallows me whole in one bite.

It turns around back to Rose.

"Damen!" She yells.

Willow goes to eat her, just as I blow another breath of smoke cooking the creatures insides, and me, in the process.

Fire bursts from the side of the bird. It falls over dead. It slowly starts shrinking.

My body falls out of the hole. Dead.

Rose runs over to me. "Damen?!"

Willow's body forms into that of a naked man with blond hair.

Dalilah stands back up slowly and looks at him. She runs over to him.

"No Damen..." Rose grabs me into her arms. "I can't lose you too." She holds on to me tightly.

There's silence.

"I can save him..."

"What?" Rose looks over to Dalilah.

"I can save him." She stands up.

"Don't touch him! Don't come anywhere near us!" Rose screams.

"I'm sorry for the stuff I said to you... I didn't want to say any of it... I'm not really myself much anymore..." Dalilah sighs.

Rose doesn't say anything.

"Willow was my brother. He was my big handsome hero. He kept me safe when we were little." She looks down at Willow. "Dad was horrible. He was a drunk and a waste of space in our home. He said, to me, a lot of the things I said to you actually..."

Rose looks up from Damen.

"When I was 17, my brother was 19. We were best friends. We did everything together... I started to notice my lack of wanting for other boys. I fell in love with him." She starts to cheer up. "And he fell in love with me..." She smiles. "My father caught us in the garage one day. We were embraced tightly together and I was kissing him. Dad got angry, and he went to hit me. Willow blocked his fist and shoved him into a wall. Dad fell onto an axe." Dalilah closes her eyes. "We freaked... so we stole Dad's car and drove away. Willow told me we would run away together and no one would ever hurt us. That's when we got blindsided by a Ford. Now he's cursed to be this stupid bird and I can't remember who we are unless I see his face. He tries to be patient with me, but... It's our own personal Hell."

Rose looks down at Willow. "I guess he's hot." Rose chuckles.

Dalilah smiles then she sighs. "Let me save Damen, while I'm ok. Before Willow turns into a bird again... let me do something good."

Rose nods and steps away from Damen. "What harm could you do?"

Dalilah walks over to Damen and looks at Rose. "I can only do ironic curses, so I'll do my best?" She gives a half smile.

"I understand." Rose bites her lip.

Dalilah puts a hand on me and closes her eyes tightly.

There is no sound but the wind for what feels like forever.

Just then, breath returns to my lungs. I shoot up, huffing.

"Damen!" Rose jumps on me and kisses me over and over again. "I thought you were gone!"

"Me too!" I shake my head. "Holy wow..." I hug her tightly.

Rose turns to Dalilah. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome..." she looks down. "He will stay alive as long as you love him. That's the curse."

Rose nods knowingly. "Ok... we can handle that."

The door swings open. "I have words for both of you..." Check In says from the other side of the door.

"Here's a few of those words." Rose looks at him. "Let's go kill Satan."

"That's some of what I was going to say." Check In smiles.

Rose turns to Dalilah. "Willow is going to heal soon, then you're going to go crazy again right?"

"Yeah?" Dalilah looks confused.

"All you need to stay sane is see his face?"

"Yes." Dalilah shakes her head.

"Well, it just so happens that I can take form of what you lust for most." Rose snaps her fingers and takes the form of human Willow.

Dalilah smiles bewildered.

"Dalilah Bubblebath? Will you help us relight that candle within the darkness?"

Dalilah smirks. Her clothes go red and her hair flattens out. She takes a spiky whip out. "Who needs a bubblebath, when you can have a full out bloodbath."

Rose laughs.

My eyes go wide. "What exactly am I missing? Cause I have absolutely no idea what's going on."

"Ditto dude" Check In says.

I guess it doesn't really matter. Might as well just go with it.