Eyeless Jack
It was weird waking up in Chelsea's bed again, greeted by her colorful tapestries and the fresh air from all the plants scattered around the room. She was still fast asleep in my arms, using my chest as a pillow and the sunlight hitting her bare shoulders made my heart swell; the dark letters were still there, they always would be, but I'd certainly never look at her any differently for them. I moved to tuck her hair behind her ear and she blinked awake, groggy eyes rolling around until they locked with my eyeless gaze and lit up with a smile. I did not deserve this woman.
"Feels good being home," she hummed, snuggling in a little closer, "got my plants, my bed, my favorite monster, life is good."
"And I've got my little witchy woman back in my arms," I teased and listened to her muffled giggles as I planted a kiss on her lips, "think you'll take Delilah up on that apprenticeship offer?"
"Might as well, if I can fight I'm going to. Not just to have my own back but yours too when that tall-ass shitpole of a creature comes around."
"You should learn fireball," I pestered and she stuck her tongue out at me while I laughed.
"Maybe when you change the bong water out for yourself I will," she bit back and I grimaced, her snickers fading while she reached for her phone and wiggled up closer in my grasp. I played with her hair while she checked notifications, noticing the blonde roots beginning to show through but I was smart enough not to point those out while she spoke, "Kitty wants to know if we can grab her and Nina's bags or if she has to get off her ass and get them herself. Looks like they're probably staying with her mom, something about a divorce and not wanting to leave her alone."
"Yikes, I wonder what the fuck her dad did," I whistled.
"I'm sure we can ask when we get there," she chirped, sitting up and giving me the most pleasant view before she got to her feet and gave me and even better one.
While she wiggled her jeans over her hips I grabbed for mine, getting dressed and scoffing to myself as I plucked the gray jacket off the ground. She led the way through the apartment and grabbed her keys, pausing before reaching for the door and running back into the kitchen to hand a spare one over to me. My heart skipped in my chest and while I understood that it was probably for the best I have it anyway, it still meant she trusted me enough with one. That old guilty wave washed over me as I ran my thumb nail along the cracks and I squeezed it tight enough to sting.
"You sure you want me to have this?"
"I figure if you're going to be my boyfriend it's only fair," she said brightly, "plus with all of our shenanigans and my work schedule you need some way to get in when I'm gone."
"I still can't believe you're okay with a cannibal as a boyfriend," I laughed, my face burning while I wrapped my arms around her.
"Can't be a cannibal if you're not human," she reminded me with a cheeky smile, "Tom I don't care what you are, you came to rescue me and I wouldn't want anyone else waiting for me when I got home."
"Of course I came to rescue you, Chelsea I—" I caught myself, my throat tight but as caught sight of those stormy eyes I knew it was true. "Chelsea, I love you. I'd go to the ends of the earth and back for you, it's the least I could do after everything I've done."
"Well you don't have to." She reached up to cup my cheeks and she kissed me sweetly, a smile trying desperately to fill my face while she pulled away. "Because I love you, too."
I crushed her in my grip, her giggles echoing as I lifted her from the ground and swung her around. We grinned from ear to ear like a couple of idiots when I finally set her back down and sent her on her way, doing her the favor of locking the door behind us before we hopped in the Xterra. Delilah would be at work so when we pulled in I grabbed for my key, looping Chelsea's onto the ring and listening to the jingle as I let myself in. The creepy cat greeted us from the counter and Chelsea gladly scooped him into her arms with a bwurr, my gaze narrowing when he gave me that little Cheshire grin.
"Don't think you're slick, you little shit."
"Oh leave him alone!" She cackled, letting him down so we could grab the bags. Nina had a suitcase and her backpack and Kitty had her duffel, all tucked away in the bottom of my closet and we set them in the back seat before heading out again.
It was strange being back in Silver Cove knowing that Jeff wasn't here. Whether it be him lurking in the darkness as my enemy or sleeping on the ground next to me as a friend it just...didn't feel right. Silver Cove wasn't Silver Cove without all of its killers. That thought was pushed to the back of my mind though as we pulled into Kitty's driveway, another one replacing it while a creeping sensation sent shivers down my spine. I could see her mother's SUV in the garage and my stomach dropped when I stepped out onto the pavement.
"Uh...oh boy," I took a deep breath, Chelsea's concerned glances flicking between me and the door, "I haven't...seen Kitty's mom since before...she doesn't know what I look like now. Not to mention...giving Kitty that concussion and you..."
"Are you worried she's going to be afraid of you?"
"I mean, she had Jeff under her roof for long enough, I don't know if afraid is the right term with his ugly mug," I chuckled uneasily, "guess I should pick my balls off the sidewalk for this one, shouldn't I?"
"Hey, you managed it with me just fine," she assured me as she squeezed my hand, "I think it's time to cross the last person off that list of people you fucked up."
I laughed and nodded, taking a deep breath before grabbing Kitty's bag and Nina's backpack, Chelsea doing me the favor of knocking on the door before Kitty's voice echoed to come inside. Stepping through that threshold sent a nostalgic wave of ease through me, old memories both good and bad flooding through my head as I looked to the marble floor I'd stained with my own blood, cleaned without a trace now and recalling knocking Jeff out up on the balcony. My fingers trembled but the girls all moved to greet us, the smell of whiskey pungent as Kitty approached and pulled me into a hug. She wasn't drunk now but she'd definitely been drinking, I couldn't say I was surprised; Nina smelled like vodka but looked a lot happier than her cousin as I picked her up and hoisted her over my shoulder, her laughter easing me even further while she smacked at my spine.
"You two look pretty chipper, knock some boots last night for a good welcome home?" Jules teased, giving me a bit of whiplash when she approached in her old clothes but as I set Nina down I was glad to pull her into a tight embrace next.
"Knocked some boots, passed out for a good twelve hours, you know the drill," I laughed, handing the girls their things before the final figure approached. Kitty's mom looked the same as ever, maybe save for a few new gray hairs amongst the straw colored bun atop her head but her amber eyes glittered with faint recognition when she saw me.
"Tom...?"
"Hey Mama Kitty," I started, my throat tight and my voice choked as she took my hands and gave me a good once over. "Long time no see, huh?"
"She told me you looked a lot different," she said finally, her own tears glossing over her eyes as she chuckled and reached up, wanting to get a better look at my face, "my God, look at those teeth!"
I flashed a big smile and my ears burned as I straightened back up. "I uh, I know, they're pretty gnarly. I've changed a lot."
"You're telling me, Christ kid you and Jeff both put on some muscle," she said with a smile and I returned it, albeit I realized she could feel the tremble as she squeezed my fingers, "you can still see?"
"Clear as day."
"Good."
She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around me while I froze before finally caving and embracing her as tightly as I could without hurting her. A few stray tears slipped out before I could stop them but I'd spare her the waterworks, her gentle hands wiping away the ones that did escape before I released her.
"I'm glad you're back," she told me, "back to you."
"I am too, although, I'm sure they've filled you in on my situation a little bit."
"Something about needing to eat organs to stay alive, yadda-yadda, you know you could have came to me! I work in a hospital for Christ's sake, kidneys might be expensive but they aren't hard to get ahold of, we have a morgue after all—"
I broke into howling laughter and so did everyone else, sweeping her into another tight hug while she patted my back and knowing I could finally toss that damned list out the window. Jules and Nina moved to the couch after Nina came back down from her room, having changed from jeans and a sweater to sweats and a tank top, revealing pink lines in her shoulders that her aunt fussed over like a mother hen. She didn't even know they were there and laughed, letting her clean the wounds and eventually sweeping Chelsea into the kitchen to sit her down and even out her hair. She looked a lot better once she was done, the bob falling to just below her jawline with a couple longer strands in the front for that Ramona Flowers look.
"You going to let her cut your hair?" I teased Kitty as I leaned on the counter beside her, tugging on a brown sugary lock while she shrugged.
"Maybe, I'm not even worried about it right now," she sighed, an exhaustion in her eyes I'd never seen before, "we went to Jules' place last night and stole some of her old clothes back. She's...definitely not keen on this whole killer thing."
"She knows you need to, right?"
"Yeah but I'm going to hold off for as long as I can. Besides I'm...I'm still holding out hope Jeff can break his ass out of there sooner than later." Her attention picked back up and she smiled at me. "You look a lot better. Had me going for a while there."
"Got a meal in, had a little fun with the heathen child, I'm feeling good."
"Speaking of meals, stop sending bodies to my hospital!" Kitty's mom scoffed at me while I sputtered and tried to hide my embarrassment by moving Kitty in front of me as a human shield. "That woman's skull was cracked open like an egg and she was missing half her internal organs! You'll be lucky if the cops don't start snooping around!"
"Sorry, sorry," I laughed sheepishly, "when I have to go for the third we'll take it somewhere else, we should all probably tone it down around here for a while."
"Agreed, more bodies means more pigs oinking where they don't need to go," Kitty nodded.
"Aww," Nina groaned from the couch, "but I have a title to uphold! A record to beat!"
"What fucking title?!" I laughed.
"I'm Nina the Killer bitches, I've gotta make my big brother proud!"
A warmer smile crossed mine and Kitty's faces while I walked to the couch, leaning over and squeezing her shoulders. Nina talked big but I could practically smell the sadness as it washed off of her in waves.
"He's already proud of you, kiddo. We all are."