(A/N: Just to clarify... this is the FINAL CHAPTER :O I felt like you needed a warning :) Hope you enjoy!! A/N)
Chapter 50
I did it. I actually did it.
I stabbed my boyfriend in the heart.
Daniel’s chest rose sharply. Immediately, glossy red blood bubbled up over his shirt, glimmering on the knife and oozing over my hands. In the flicker of the fire, ghostly images seemed to dance in the dark liquid.
Daniel’s eyes flew open, wide and surprised, and I caught a glimpse of bright blue, just for a second.
“Alexis-” he choked – and then he was limp.
I sat there, shivering violently as I fought to breathe. My hands were still locked around the knife, but I didn’t need to hold it in. Daniel wasn’t fighting for his life anymore.
“Holy shit,” Travis gasped.
“Get Matt,” I said, my voice far too calm. “And Rose. She needs to heal him.”
Travis obligingly staggered to his feet, and his feet crackled over the pebbles as he dashed towards the others. I could still hear them fiercely battling against Theresa, Rose shrieking angrily while Zoe sobbed in terror, but it all seemed muffled, detached from me.
Slowly, I pulled the knife out of Daniel’s heart. It stuck at first, and I found myself wincing as I dragged it raggedly out. As if I could hurt him anymore. Once the knife was free, blood spilled over freely, and I attempted to staunch the flow with my hands.
“It’ll be okay,” I said to Daniel, like he could hear me. “You’ll be okay. You’ll come back to me.”
Just then, hurried footsteps crunched across the stones, drawing up short behind me. I heard gasps, stifled sobs, and then Rose’s tender, tearful voice as she pulled Harrison upright. “It’s okay, H. It’s over.”
Harrison groaned groggily, but I could tell the exact moment he saw Daniel, lying still and pale and overflowing with blood. “Christ.”
Rose let out a sob, and then I heard a familiar heavy sigh.
“Ah. It is done.”
Old Maria. I wondered when she’d got here, and how she’d appeared so quickly, but I was too numb to really care.
I turned round to look at all of them, studying the varying degrees of sadness on the faces surrounding me with a dull detachment, but I felt a sudden flash of déjà vu as I took in Zoe’s sobbing, Rose’s tear-stained cheeks, Travis’ white face...
It was the image I’d seen in the crystal ball. So many faces of the people I loved, crowded round the face of the person I loved most of all, lying dead and still.
“Rose,” I said numbly, “you need to heal him. Or he’ll bleed to death and he won’t wake up.”
Rose looked at me, such a deep sadness etched on her face that it hurt to look at. “Lex... honey...”
“Don’t look at me like that,” I snapped at all of them. “He’ll be okay. I know it.” I looked away, down at Daniel’s beautiful face, and for the first time, felt a sharp, piercing shard of sadness bury itself in my heart. “He’ll wake up, and he’ll be Unchanged, and it’ll be fine...”
I was rambling, but it didn't matter because no one was listening anyway. Rose had obligingly dropped to her knees, pressing her hands against Daniel’s chest and closing her eyes. Soft blue light spilled out of them, and she frowned ever so slightly in concentration, even as tears slipped out her shut eyes.
Matt took charge. “We need to get home. We should all be healed.”
I heard murmurs of agreement, but I said nothing, watching intently as the blue light burned brightly and then faded. Rose lifted her blood stained hands away with a sigh, and I noticed the blood flow had been staunched. Through the rip in Daniel’s shirt, I could make out the faint shadow of a scar. The only sign that I had driven a knife through his chest.
“Come on, Lex. We can take Daniel back in case-” Matt cleared his throat and corrected himself. “Until he wakes up.”
“We can’t move him,” I said quietly, brushing his hair out of his lovely eyes. “What if it hurts him?”
“We can’t leave him here,” Matt insisted gently. “There’ll be people about soon.”
“I don’t care.” My voice was hot with sudden anger. “Leave me alone, won’t you?”
Somewhere in my head, I knew I was being a bitch, especially after everything everyone had done to help, but I couldn’t stand their pity and sympathy. Like they didn’t believe I might’ve saved Daniel from Changing.
But what if you haven’t? What if you killed him?
But I wasn’t going to think about that.
“Come back to ours,” I heard Matt say to the others. “We can get fixed up.”
“What about Alexis?” Travis asked, his voice low.
“I’m staying,” I said.
“Me too,” Rose agreed, her voice catching on a hiccup.
“Rose, you’re covered in bruises. You should get healed up,” Harrison said to her softly. I heard her sigh quietly in agreement.
“Okay. But I’m coming back.”
Matt began to lead Zoe – who had stopped crying, but still seemed to be in shock – across the rocks, nodding for the others to follow him. Old Maria and Travis obliged, but Rose and Harrison lingered a little longer.
“You sure you don’t want to come back, Alexis?” Harrison asked me.
I shook my head. “I’m okay.” I attempted to smile at them. “Thanks, guys.”
“We could stay with you?” Rose offered, but I shook my head again.
“You two need to get fixed up.” My voice trembled when I spoke again. “You were both really brave.”
Rose smiled a little, but she looked closer to tears. Harrison put an arm around her.
“We’ll come back,” he promised, and began to tow Rose away. Rose leaned against him, and I heard her murmur softly to him, “I love you, H.”
I watched them to see what Harrison’s reaction would be to the sudden yet undeniably truthful admission. He simply squeezed her shoulders and mumbled back, “I love you too,” and somehow I knew they’d both be okay.
I turned back to Daniel and gently pulled his head onto my lap, stroking his hair out of his face. His eyes were shut, but I could picture them clearly in my mind; the wonderfully sharp clarity of his blue irises, the way they crinkled when he smiled his proper, happy smile, how they were so incredibly piercing yet impossible to look away from at the same time.
“I hope I did this right,” I whispered. I wasn’t even sure if I was saying it to Daniel or myself.
I stayed there for what felt like hours, gently stroking his soft hair, cradling his still, cold body, waiting for the moment when his eyes would open. Every second they remained shut felt like a grater was being slid over my heart. Every thump it made hurt, counting away the time he had left.
“You better wake up,” I told him miserably. “If this was all for nothing...” I took a shuddering breath and continued. “If you don’t come back to me, I’ll have to go and find your dead soul and stuff it back inside you. Don’t you dare think you can leave me.”
Daniel didn’t move, but then he’d never taken my threats very seriously.
“Just because I’m short, it doesn’t mean I can’t hurt you... even if you’re not technically alive yet.” I choked on a stupid laugh that felt bitter and wrong. “But you better be soon. Think of how it’s gonna be when you’re Unchanged forever, Daniel. You and me against the world. And we can go to your garage and you can fix your damn cars every day of your life.”
I was still laughing that horribly painful laugh, but it kept burbling out of me uncontrollably. I took several deep breaths to control myself, and found there were tears sliding down my face.
“Oh God, Daniel, you can’t leave me now. Not after everything we’ve been through.” I leant forward to kiss his lips. They felt cold and hard like marble. “Come back to me. Please, please come back to me.”
I broke down into sobs which I tried to stifle, but they kept tearing out of me, wracking my whole body with shivers. Tears fell onto Daniel’s shirt and cold skin as I pressed my face into his neck. I should’ve felt his pulse beating gently. I should’ve felt the warmth of his skin, the rise and fall of his breathing. Instead, I felt nothing, because there was no soul in there, good or bad, that would ever make this body live again. It was just a shell now.
“At least you’re not Changed like you never wanted to be,” I choked softly. “I kept my promise. You’ll never be like Jason now.”
After a few minutes, I’d regained a shred of my composure. I sat up, still breathing hard and shivering, and planted another gentle kiss against his mouth.
“I love you so, so much,” I whispered. “And I’ll never, ever regret falling in love with you.”
A tear fell to his cheek. It ran down the side of his face, like he was crying too.
I heard soft footsteps behind me, and then someone sat down heavily on the ground next to me.
“Hey,” Travis said, quiet and glum.
“Hi.” My voice was husky.
“He’s not... doing good, is he?”
I shook my head, and leaned forward to rest my forehead against Daniel’s. Travis kept talking.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go home and get fixed up? Rose has been a miracle worker.” He held out his arms, as if to demonstrate how well he was. “See? All fixed.”
“I’m okay,” I whispered, even though my arm was throbbing really badly now.
“Okay. But you can’t wait here forever. Everyone else has already been patched up and sent home.” His voice became sheepish. “Don’t tell Matt I was here. He told me to go straight home and give you some space.”
“I don’t mind.” After a few seconds of silence, I asked, “What happened to Theresa?”
“Rose beat her up pretty good,” Travis said. “She knocked her out, and then the scary guy who used to be her boyfriend – what’s his name? James. He said he locked her up somewhere.” I saw him shiver. “From what I’ve seen though, Demons kind of suck at being prisoners.”
I said nothing, and for a few minutes, there was no sound, except the gentle sighing of the ocean and the occasional rasp of the pebbles as Travis shifted about. I realised suddenly that the fires must have been put out.
“I didn’t mean what I said, y’know,” Travis said suddenly, sounding anxious. “I mean, when I said I was in love with you. It’s not that I don’t like you – I mean, I think you’re great, but not anymore. Well, I still think you’re great, but not in that way. Not anymore.” He stopped suddenly and looked down at his hands, his expression awkward and embarrassed.
I sat up to look at him. “I know you’re not. Because if you really were in love with me, you’d have never have done all this to help us.” I gestured around, like his good deeds were floating visibly in the air. “You’d have been fine to let Daniel die.”
Travis smiled, relieved. “Wow. You know me better than my mum does.”
I choked a laugh. “You’re mom’s kind of evil, though.” I tried to smile, even though I felt like my face was made of fine china and might shatter if I strained to hard. “But yeah. I know you because you’re my best friend, and I know I’d do the same for you.”
Travis grinned, but in a gentle way, as if he knew too much cheeriness would cause me to shatter like a fragile pain of glass. “If I ever got any crazy Demon girlfriend, you mean?”
“Yeah. Exactly.” Strangely, the though made me want to cry harder. I bit my lip and closed my eyes, my hands still framing Daniel’s face. Hot tears leaked through my lashes.
“I’ve actually, um... kind of got a girlfriend, now,” Travis admitted, sounding sheepish again, but this time in a pleased way. I opened my eyes.
“Really?” I hoped the surprise in my voice didn’t come across as insulting. “Who’s the lucky girl?”
Travis smiled. “Nancy. Again.”
I felt another fragile smile curl up on my mouth. “I’m glad you didn’t give up on her.”
“Me too,” a voice mumbled. Both me and Travis started in shock.
“Daniel!” My shriek was loud enough to raise the dead. “Are you – oh my God – what the-”
Daniel was blinking, and beneath his thick dark lashes, I could make out flashes of bright, twilight blue. They locked and me, and he smiled tiredly.
“Hi,” he said weakly, like he could barely summon up the energy to speak any more words. It didn't matter. It was all I needed to hear.
“Oh my God!”I pulled him up into my arms and hugged him so hard he winced. “Oh my – fucking hell-” And then I was a crying, blubbering mess, sobbing into his shirt. “I thought you were dead!”
Daniel’s arms went around me, pulling me into him, and I took in every single detail of the moment – the way his body was already warming, the way his arms curled around me, holding me tightly to him, the way his muscles moved as he shifted, how his hair stirred in the breeze and his breath ruffled ed my hair –
And most importantly, how the gentle thump-thump, thump-thump of his heart tapped reassuringly against his chest. Like it had never been still at all.
“It’s okay, Lex,” he mumbled into my neck. I revelled the way his lips moved against my skin. “I’m alive.”
“Holy shit, dude!” Travis sounded completely freaked. “How can someone just die for ten minutes and then come back to life?”
I felt Daniel shrug, his strong shoulders rising and falling with me clinging to them like a life support in the middle of a stormy ocean. “Some things we’ll never know. How can gingers exist without souls?”
“Touché,” Travis mumbled. “I guess I was stupid to think death would make you a nicer person.”
“Very.” And then, to my amazement, I felt Daniel lift an arm away from me, and when I twisted, I saw he’d held it out to Travis. “You kind of saved my life, dude. I owe you one.”
Travis looked just as surprised as I felt, but he took the hand and shook it. “Um, anytime.” And then he cracked a grin. “If you weren’t around, I’d only have the rest of the universe to remind me of my hair colour.”
I sniffled, wiping my eyes in disbelief. “I’m dreaming, aren’t I? This isn’t real. Daniel’s still dead and neither of you will ever be friends.”
Both of them laughed at me. “‘Friends’ is pushing it a bit,” Daniel admitted, but I could tell he was grinning.
“For the record, dude,” Travis added. “I’m not in love with your girlfriend.”
“I know,” Daniel assured him. “I heard.”
I leaned back from his hug, no longer sobbing embarrassingly but still gasping as I attempted to regain control over my tear ducts. “You heard?” I started beating his chest fiercely with both my fists. “How long were you awake for, you idiot?”
Daniel laughed, making his eyes dance, and my stomach jitter warmly. He caught my fists in both his hands. “Relax. It was only a second.”
“It better have been.”
Travis pushed himself to his feet, sensing the couple-y stuff was approaching fast. “I’m gonna get Matt,” he said. “You two keep your clothes on.”
“Shut up,” Daniel and I said together, and then grinned at each other. I’d missed that grin so much my heart twanged at the sight of it.
Daniel leaned forward and kissed me deeply, letting go of my fists to twine his arms around my waist. I melted into him, my hands brushing his face, his shoulders, his hair, checking he was still real and alive and breathing.
Daniel leaned back after a minute. “I knew you could do it,” he said, his voice low.
“No, you didn't,” I teased. “You had absolutely no faith in me.”
“Of course I did.” His lips brushed mine again, and I treasured the way they moved, savouring their taste. “I love you.”
“Love you back.”
Sudden footsteps crashed against the pebbles, fast approaching. We both leaned back from each other, painfully climbing to our feet. I think we both expected it to be Matt, or Rose, or maybe James or Harrison.
It wasn’t.
Daniel’s father appeared directly in front of me in a flash, his nostrils flared and teeth bared in absolute fury. His fists were on my collar, lifting me from the ground before I could even register him in front of me.
“What did you do, you little bitch?” he roared.
“Dad!” Daniel cried out in shock. Before he could move, Mr Black had flung me back, then thrown his hands in front of himself, sending a wall of blackness hurtling towards me like solidified shadows. It was like being hit by a bus. Or a train. Or both.
I flew back across the shingles, crying out as various bones in my body snapped, and then landed hard at the edge of the water, slamming every bone, broken or otherwise, into the ground and causing my head to ring painfully. It took a few seconds for the agony to break through my hazy shock, and I screamed out.
Another thump. I forced my eyes to open, even though one of them had a gluey trail of blood past it that stuck my eyelashes together like cement. Daniel’s father was on the ground. Daniel was standing above him, his face so furious that for a second I could see the resemblance so strongly they might’ve been the same person.
But Daniel had never been the same person as his father.
“I’m stronger than you,” he snarled. “I always have been, and I still am. Being Chosen or not wouldn’t change that.”
“That girl ruined you,” I heard his father his. “You’re worthless.”
Daniel turned to look at me, and when he smiled tenderly, it wasn’t hard to respond, despite the pain radiating through my body.
“She didn’t ruin me,” he said. “She saved me.”
He turned back to his father. “You ruined me.”
There was a bright flash, a loud cry, and then nothing. A few seconds later, I heard Daniel’s approaching footsteps, and he gently pulled me into his arms, cradling me against his chest as gently as though I were made of glass. Which, at that moment, I felt like I kind of was.
“Alexis?” He kissed my forehead. “Can you talk? Is there anything broken?”
“Yes and yes,” I replied, trying to keep the strain out of my voice. “But no internal bleeding or permanent head injury, me thinks.”
Daniel chuckles ever so softly and began to walk up the beach with me in his arms. “If you say so.”
“What did you do to him?” I mumbled, trying not to wince as he accidently jostled some of my broken, battered bones.
“Not much. I just teleported him under the ground, seeing as that was where he was so keen to send me.” Daniel’s tone was grimly satisfied. “It should only take him a few hours to get out. Once he figures out I’ve buried him upside down.”
I laughed incredulously, but the movement made my whole body ache. “Ouch.”
“What am I going to do with you? You’re pretty cut up.” Daniel’s voice drifted from warm amusement to gentle concern.
“Your sister is a pretty good healer, apparently,” I told him, as he stepped gently over the stones and onto the road. “By the way, I think her and Harrison are hooking up.”
“Really? Huh.” Daniel brooded over that for a few seconds. “I guess he’s okay.”
I laughed incredulously again. “You guess he’s okay? I thought he was your best mate.” My voice became teasing. “Or is that Travis now?”
“Just because the guy helped save my life, it doesn’t mean I have to like him,” Daniel joked back.
“You’re way too cocky for a guy who was practically dead for nearly an hour.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The walk back to my house was slow but peaceful. Daniel held me as gently as he could, moving smoothly so he wouldn’t jostle me, but I still swayed softly in his arms, and that combined with the fading dawn chorus and his wonderful, familiar smell of pine and spices was enough to make me sleepy.
“Hm. You have a visitor,” Daniel told me quietly, as we approached my house. I opened my eyes and gasped in surprise. A familiar figure was stepping out of a yellow taxi, dragging a suitcase.
“That’s my mom,” I said in incredulous surprise. “What is she...?”
“Uh oh.” Daniel slowed to a halt. “I don’t like mothers.”
Unluckily for Daniel, Mom had spotted him. And me.
“Alexis?” Her voice rose to a high squeak in the single word, and I winced.
“Hi, Mom,” I mumbled, but she was speaking over me.
“My God, what’s happened to you?” she dropped her suitcase and came rushing over, her inappropriate heels clacking sharply against the sidewalk. She drew up short of Daniel and narrowed her eyes at him. “Who are you?”
Daniel had at least four inches on her, but he still seemed smaller. “I’m Daniel, miss,” he said hesitantly.
“Would you mind tell me what on earth has happened to my daughter?” she bent over me and brushed a stand of sticky, bloodstained hair out of my eyes. “Alexis, honey? Can you hear me?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” But my voice contained a thread of the pain I was trying to hide.
Mom brushed the blood from her fingers. “You don’t look fine! What happened?”
“Hit by a car,” Daniel said immediately. “While she was on her skateboard.”
Luckily, Mom didn’t stop to think why we’d been wandering around in the early hours of the morning. She whipped her head up to glare at him. “And you didn’t think to call an ambulance?”
“Sorry, miss, neither of us had our phones. Besides, she could still talk, so I thought I could take her home first.”
“It’s really not that bad,” I mumbled pathetically.
“Stay here. Don’t move. I’m calling an ambulance.” Mom turned and marched away, fishing out her phone as she went to pay the taxi driver.
“Don’t forget, it’s nine-nine-nine here!” I called out to her, and Daniel snickered softly.
“Wow. She’s just like you, only scarier.”
“Bet she can’t throw a knife like I can,” I muttered, closing my eyes again.
“No,” Daniel admitted. “Probably not.”
~***~
Mom called an ambulance and burst into the house to get Matt. He, Zoe and Travis emerged, looking surprised and anxious. Zoe’s eyes were still red. Matt actually looked relieved to see Daniel – probably another first – and finally persuaded Travis, who looked dead on his feet, to go home. The ambulance arrived, sirens wailing and everything, and somehow Daniel managed to convince everyone that he could go with me and my mom to the hospital.
It took hours for me to get properly fixed and bandaged up, and by ten past two in the afternoon, when I’d barely eaten for over twenty four hours, I was properly starving. Daniel had managed to get me a sandwich and a coffee from a small cafe downstairs, but it wasn’t enough to cover four meals worth of missed food.
Eventually, I was allowed to go, and as Mom ordered a taxi (and complained about the lack of cabs in England), Matt rung me up.
“Hey,” he said. “How’s it going?”
“I’ve been released,” I told him.
“Good. How bad’s the damage?”
I sighed and stared down at myself, taped in white plaster. “A broken arm, a sprained ankle, couple of bruised ribs and a possible concussion.” I examined a bloody rip in my leggings. “And I’ve got some pretty mean cuts.”
Matt’s voice was deep with concern. “How’d you even manage all that?”
I lowered my voice, and glanced over at the chair next to me, where Daniel had tried and failed not to fall asleep. “Daniel’s dad.”
Matt sucked in a breath. “Where is he now?”
“Daniel dealt with him.” I watched Daniel’s sleeping face and felt warmth burn up inside of me. “I don’t think his dad liked the fact he ended up Unchanged.”
Matt was quiet for a few seconds. “I didn’t think you could do it, Lex,” he admitted finally. “After everything Old Maria said...”
“I know. Me neither.” I watched my fingers flex as they peeked out my arm cast. “But she did always say I could control my own fate.”
Matt’s voice was wryly amused. “I guess we should’ve known nothing could’ve stopped you from getting your way.”
I grinned. “Cheers, Matt.”
“Anytime. Hey, does Rose know Daniel’s okay?”
“Yeah, I phoned her a little while ago. How’s Zoe, by the way?”
“Gone home now,” Matt told me. “Still kind of surprised... but I think she coped with it pretty well.”
I thought of the way she’d sobbed in terror for hours straight and tried not to roll my eyes. “Mmm. Well, if she hasn’t dumped you yet, then I guess you’re okay.”
“Shut up.” I could hear Matt shaking his head. “See you later.”
“Bye.” I hung up, just as Mom marched back into the waiting area.
“The cab’s here, finally,” she said, with a roll of her eyes, and then clip-clopped back out. I leaned over to shake Daniel awake with my good hand.
“Daniel? Cab’s here.”
He shifted and blinked blurrily before glancing at me. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I smiled and stood up. “Come on. I need a crutch.”
Daniel grinned and pushed himself to his feet, putting an arm around me to hold my weight. “Rose probably could’ve healed you in five minutes.”
“I know,” I grumbled. “Then I wouldn’t have to waste six weeks of my life hobbling around all wrapped up in gauze.”
Daniel squeezed my waist and sent me one of his brilliant, glowing smiles. “Well, thanks to you, we have all the time in the world now.” He kissed my temple. “No more worrying.”
My heart glowed as I leaned into him. “We can just hibernate in your garage for forever.”
His lips moved against my hair. “That sounds perfect.”
1 Year Later
My knife arm flew through the air in a deadly swipe, raking a deep line across the chest of the manikin in front of me. I whirled and followed up with a strike to the heart, driving the knife deep into the stuffing.
“Good,” Matt said. “But you didn’t scratch hard enough the first time. Again.”
I puffed out a sigh. “Seriously? No one’s ever going to attack me once I’ve hacked at them like that.” I gestured to the deep score line across the chest, but Matt shook his head.
“If the Demon is desperate enough, they’ll attack you however injured they are.” Matt’s eyes flickered over my shoulder. I sighed and tugged the knife out the manikin’s chest.
“This is pointless,” I complained. “If I can hurt them, I might as well kill them outright.”
“You might want to shock them first.” His eyes flickered over my shoulder again, and he smirked. “Really? You’re going to sneak up on her when she has a knife in her hand?”
I whirled around, and my heart leapt when I saw Daniel several feet away, pulling a face at Matt.
“You ruined it.” Before he could say anything more, I’d dropped my knife and ran over to fling myself in his arms.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming back!” I squealed into his jacket.
“Well, the wedding’s in two days,” he reminded me, voice amused.
“Is it?” Matt cursed. “I gotta go. See you guys later.” He secured his knife in his pocket and grabbed his coat as he headed for the door. “Lex, be home by six.”
“I hear ya.” I leaned back to grin at Daniel. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He kissed me deeply. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too,” I murmured. “How’s Uni going?”
“Pretty good.” He grinned at me playfully. “How’s school going?”
“Shut up.”
Daniel laughed warmly. “You wait til Uni, babe. It’s even worse.”
“Urgh, don’t.” I leaned forward and hugged him tightly again. “I’m so glad you’re back!”
“Me too.” He squeezed me back.
Daniel had only been at university for two and a half months, but I’d missed being able to see him every day, going round to hang out with him in his garage whenever I wanted. I still had my key, but I didn’t like going in it when he wasn’t there; it felt colder and lonelier. I still had my other friends, but Bridgewood wasn’t the same without Daniel.
Daniel pulled back again to get a good look at me, his twilight blue eyes flickering over me. “Have you got taller?”
“You make me sound like a five year old,” I scowled, but my face broke into a grin. “I’m five foot four now.”
Daniel managed to conceal a smirk. “Wow. I’m proud.” Then he cocked his head to the side. “Five four? Are you sure? Looks more like five two or three to me.”
I knew he was only teasing, but I gave his arm a hefty punch. He rubbed it, wincing.
“Ouch. You’ve gotten stronger.”
That made me grin.
We eventually decided to head home, so we stepped outside into the drizzle. Daniel glanced up at the sky, and an invisible barrier formed over our head, stopping the water from hitting us. He took my hand as we began to slowly walk back.
“How’s your brother feeling about the wedding?”
“Nervous, I think. But he’s not having second thoughts. Yet.”
It was obvious to everyone how in love Matt and Zoe were. Old Maria wasn’t the only one who could predict that they’d be together forever (even though she had refused to tell me when I’d asked, saying she didn’t want to ‘test their fate’), so just two months ago, they’d gotten engaged. Mom had complained that they were too young, but she complained about most things, so Matt ignored her.
Zoe had got over her fear of Demons, or at least of Rose and Daniel. She had completely accepted Matt’s way of life – another reason they were perfect for each other – but when we told her about some Changed or Phased Demon we’d come across, I still caught her shivering in horror.
We’d arrived outside my house. As we headed along the path, the front door suddenly flew open, and a beaming face appeared in the doorway.
“Sup, loser?” Savannah said happily.
“Sav!” I let go of Daniel’s hand to hug my old best friend. I’d seen her last Christmas and Easter, and spent a month in Canada during the summer where I’d visited her pretty much every day, but the times we saw each other still felt far and few.
This was also the first time she’d been to England. She glanced over my shoulder and I knew she was smiling wickedly.
“Hey, it’s Daniel!”
Daniel looked amused that he’d been recognised. “Hi.” He held out a hand as Sav and I drew apart, but she boldly pushed it away and hugged him instead.
“I’ve heard so much about you, I feel like I already know you!” She pulled back and studied his face, folding her arms and cocking his head. “Damn, he’s every bit as fine as you said, Lex.”
“Don’t,” I complained, as Daniel grinned and winked at me. “He’s never gonna let me live that one down.”
“Not a chance.”
~***~
“Alexis, you look adorable!” Rose cooed, fluttering her hands.
I mock scowled at her. “Shut up.”
I felt like I was wearing a puff pastry. My bridesmaid’s dress was long, simple and elegant, but the cinched in waist and puffy netting made me feel trapped and uncomfortable. I tugged at the silk, trying to straighten it, but Rose slapped my hands away.
“No touchy! You’ll rip it!”
I rolled my eyes. “Give me a break, I’m not that clumsy.”
“Huh. I wouldn’t say that.” Savannah propped her fists on her hips and her eyes skimmed over me. “I think you’re gonna break your neck wearing those shoes.”
I looked down at the pretty white heels / death traps I was wearing. “I think you’re right.”
I gave a practice twirl, glad I didn’t trip. “Nancy? What d’you reckon?”
Nancy, who was sitting shyly at the side, smiled. “I think you look great.”
“Your boyfriend’s the redhead, right?” Savannah asked her, and Nancy nodded. “He’s cute. Nice score.”
Nancy blushed, grinning. “Um, thanks?”
Zoe’s kindly mum opened the door and peered in. “How’s the second bridesmaid?”
I gave her thumbs up. “All set.”
“You look stunning, love.” She smiled appraisingly. “The bride has asked to see you.”
“Let’s go get our seats,” Rose said to Nancy and Savannah. “We’ll save you one, Alexis.”
“Thanks.” I slipped out the door and headed to Zoe’s room.
Zoe turned as I opened the door and smiled at me. She looked gorgeous; her light brown hair was perfectly curled and glossy, her veil spilling down the back like a cascade of ice. Her makeup was simple yet pretty, her eyes wide and beautiful, her skin smooth and creamy. She looked like a model, especially with the beautiful dress.
“And I felt like a puff pastry,” I mumbled. Zoe’s white dress was a sea of silk and foamy lace, studded with pearls that glimmered when they caught the light.
“You look amazing,” she told me.
“So do you.” I edged in and shut the door. “What’s up?”
Zoe’s forehead crumpled with anxiety. “Am I making a huge mistake, Alexis?”
I shook my head fervently. “Of course you’re not! You and Matt love each other.”
“I know.” Zoe turned around, the silk swishing gently. “And I can’t imagine ever loving anyone else, but... I’m only twenty two. I have so much more of my life to live, and marriage just seems so... final.”
“It’s not final,” I assured her. “You still have your whole life to live – you’ve just got someone to live it with you now.” I stepped forward and touched her back gently. “You and Matt are perfect for each other.”
Zoe turned to look at me, smiling slightly. “I guess not many people would stay with someone who kills Demons for a living.”
“Exactly. If you don’t marry him, he’ll be destined to a life of loneliness.” I pulled a sad, over-exaggerated pout, and Zoe grinned.
“Guess I better go out there and get married, then.”
Right on cue, her mother poked her head in. “Are you ready?”
Zoe smiled. “One hundred percent.”
The two of us hurried down. Zoe’s eighteen year old cousin, Jessica, gave me a vague smile.
“Ready to go?” she said, as Zoe’s mother disappeared inside and her father stepped forward to take his daughter’s arm.
“One hundred perfect,” I said, copying Zoe, and I saw her grin out the corner of my eye.
We started down the aisle as the organ began to boom, me clutching my small bouquet hard and counting my steps to make sure I didn’t fall. One step forward... one step forward...
You look amazing.
I smiled at Daniel’s voice in my head. Thanks. I glanced toward the third row of pews, where he was sitting with the rest of my friends. You don’t look so bad yourself.
Daniel was wearing a tux, which suited him incredibly well, and the brightness of his eyes seemed to light up the whole church. He smirked slightly. I know. Savannah told me.
Stop being arrogant. I’m trying to concentrate. I tried unsuccessfully not to grin at him.
He began to hum an All Time Low song loudly in his head, which was completely off putting, and I mock glared at him as I walked past. Luckily, I made it to the end without tripping up, and was allowed to make my escape to my pew of friends.
Rose stuck her head down the road as I sat down next to Daniel and gave me thumbs up. You didn’t fail! She mouthed happily.
I copied her gesture. Thanks, I mouthed back. Harrison, sitting on the other side of her, leaned round her to grin at me, then put an arm around her and sat back.
Matt had at first insisted I’d only invite one other person. I’d then persuaded him to allow me to invite Rose and Travis, and then I’d realised that they’d want their dates to come too. Matt had eventually given up on restricting the amount of guests I could have.
Savannah was on the other side of Rose, watching Matt. Even though I knew she’d only been joking all the times she’d said she was in love with him, I could tell she found it strange that the boy she’d known since he was nine was getting married. She wasn’t the only one.
Nancy was next to her, holding Travis’ hand. Their second attempt at dating had gone a lot more successfully than the first – even I’d been surprised by how well the two got on.
Travis caught me watching them and grinned at me. Travis had still remained my best friend, throughout everything, in a way that was different to Savannah because he knew things about me that she never could.
Travis leaned forward and said something to Daniel in a low voice, and they both snickered. Despite the fact they still insisted they weren’t friends, there was no denying that they were now. They’d both been through too much to avoid friendship, as much as they were jokingly reluctant to admit.
Daniel smiled at me, his face warm and his eyes incredibly, piercingly blue. As long as I lived, I knew I’d never take that wonderful blue for granted.
Love you, he mouthed.
Love you too, I mouthed back, and rested my head against his shoulder as he tucked an arm around me.
It wasn’t just his eyes. I’d never, ever take him for granted, either.
~***~
After the ceremony, everyone spilled out the church to scatter flowers at the newlyweds. I took it as an opportunity to hurl petals in my brother’s face with as much force as I could manage, and Travis quickly picked up my game.
We headed to some fancy, posh hotel for the wedding reception in a bunch of over packed cars. Everyone pigged out on cake for a while, and took it in turns to congratulate Matt and Zoe, and Daniel and I had a target throwing competition using a small platter of cakes for ammo and the guests (as well as each other) as targets. Eventually, Mom caught us out in the game.
“Stop it! Now!” she hissed, like we were naughty five year olds, and ushered us, laughing and covered in cake, out the doors.
“Great, now we’ve been shut out,” I snickered. “And I’m covered in cake.”
“You started it.” Daniel grinned and took my hand. “C’mon, let’s have a look around.”
Most of the place had been emptied, due to the wedding, but as we explored the marble and velvet carpeted hallways, we found a massive swimming pool that was open to the public.
“Wow,” I sighed wistfully, staring at the cool blue water. The day was hot, and my dress was sticky. “I’d die to go swimming.”
“Would that dress get ruined by chlorine?” Daniel asked abruptly.
“No,” I replied, without thinking; and suddenly found myself hoisted into the air.
“Hey!” I shrieked, spluttering with laughter. “Don’t you dare throw me in the pool!”
“You said you wanted a swim!”
“Not like that!” I laughed and struggled in his grip. “Put me down, you idiot.”
Daniel held me over the edge of the pool and dropped me, but as I plummeted, crying out in surprise, his arms swooped out and caught me again.
“Saved your life.” His eyes crinkled as he smiled.
“You are such an asshole,” I gasped, and he laughed as he set me down on my unsteady feet. Some of the families in the pool had stopped to stare at us. I ignored them as I gave his chest a light shove.
“I could so ninja-kick you in right now.”
“I’d love to see you try.” Daniel jumped out the way as I kicked out a leg, which was probably a good thing, seeing as the spiky heel would’ve been pretty lethal. He grabbed my hand. “On three we jump in?”
“Deal.” I hastily reached down to kick of the white shoes. “Ready?”
Daniel grinned his daredevil grin, the one that always kick-started my heart. “Three, two...”
“One!” I yanked his hand and we both plunged into the pool.
The cool water swirled around us as we emerged, spluttering and laughing. The few families in the pool were watching us, open mouthed.
One little girl padded over to us, watching me with big blue eyes.
“Are you getting married?” she asked me seriously.
“Oh yeah,” I told her. “This is my husband.” I tugged on Daniel’s sleeve. “Say hi, husband.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, wifey.”
“Oh yes I do.” I ruffled his wet hair. The little girl watched us solemnly.
“You look like a fairy princess,” she told me, blinking.
“That’s cos she is.” Daniel held a finger to his lips. “But don’t tell anyone, ‘kay?”
The little girl smiled and nodded. As her mother called her away, Daniel hooked his arms around my waist and pulled me close, so our foreheads rested together.
“I love you,” he told me, and his voice appeared in my head. All five foot of your. And four possible inches.
“Four definite inches,” I insisted. “I love you too.”
Daniel grinned, water dripping down his face from his hair. “And one day, you really will be my fairy princess wife.”
“I look forward to that.” I leaned forward to kiss his lips, feeling like my heart might explode with joy.
Daniel and I had been through far too much to ever consider letting each other go. I don’t know whether our fate is written in the stars, or carved in our palms, or even hidden in the dregs of Old Maria’s tea – but I do know that, whatever it is, it can never, ever tear us apart.
The End
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I can’t physically believe it’s the end. I’ve been writing this story for two years – it’s like a part of me now. I haven’t just watched it grow up, it’s watched me grow up. This can’t be the end.
Holy crap it’s the end!!!
I know I say this every time, and so does EVERY other author in the universe, but it has to be said – thank you SO much to every single reader. If it hadn’t been for your encouragement and support and love for all my characters, I don’t think there’s any way I could’ve made it to the end. So thank you, a MILLION times thank you, for everything. I’d be nothing without you guys.
I’ll shut up being so mopey and serious now :) I REAAALLY hope you enjoyed the final chapter, and as always (but ESPECIALLY this time) please drop in a vote and a comment, as it’s pretty much the last chance to vomment!! (Unless you re-read or something... but a vote now would make me happier xD)
VOMMENT AND ALL YOUR DREAMS SHALL COME TRUE, AND A BASKET OF VIRTUAL STRAWBERRY COOKIES SHALL APPEAR MAGICALLY ON YOUR DOORSTEP... ENJOY THEM, BECAUSE LIFE IS SHORT!!
Lovelovelovelovelove to alllllllllllll of you, Brodie :) Xxxxxxxxx