We all sleep during the next few hours, then get up and work on editing the footage so we could send it in so it can air.
All through the day we spend in Jay and Billy's room, Zak doesn't speak to me. It hurts, but a voice inside of me says that I deserved some lonliness, to make up for all the lonliness I had caused several families over the years. I concentrate on my work, sending the voice to the back of my mind.
That night, as I try to fall asleep, I hear a knock on my door. I open it, and my heart starts to cry when I see Zak. Wordlessly, I step aside to let him pass me, and close the door behind him. I sit on my bed, cross-legged, and watch silently as Zak sits down on the end of my bed. We sit in silence for a few minutes, then Zak speaks.
"Would you like to go to Vegas? To live there and to be close to GAC headquarters?" he asks, and I blink at him, surprised. "Yeah," I say, and Zak looks up at me from looking down at his folded hands. "But," I continue, and I see Zak's eyes darken slightly,"I don't have anywhere to stay. None of my friends live in Vegas, and I couldn't ask one of you to take me in; that just seems rude." Zak looks at me, and says seriously,"You can come live with me. I don't mind."
I look at Zak with shock, surprised that he'd offer for me, a murderer and coworker, to live with him. My heart screams yes while my mind screams no. Zak seems to sense my indecision, because he says,"You don't have to chose right now. It was just a thought. You can sleep on it if you want. Um, I'll just, uh, go now." Red creeps up Zak's cheeks as he speaks, and he moves to leave.
Quick as a viper, I grab Zak's hand before he could move an inch. He looks down at my hand, then looks up at me. A strange light seems to shine in his dark eyes, and butterflies start flapping in my stomach. "Stay," I say quietly, looking Zak in the eye. He nods, and I scoot back to lean against the headboard. Zak climbs up next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close to him. I lean my head on his shoulder, and look up at Zak, thinking.
Zak looks down at me, and our faces are so close it would be easy to close the gap. "What are you thinking?" Zak asks, staring into my eyes. I shrug and snuggle closer to him, thinking about how to phrase what I want to say.
"Why did you offer to take me in?" I ask, blinking up at my friend. Zak smiles slyly, and says,"Because. Why wouldn't I want you in my house? It'd make it feel more lively. And besides." Zak leans closer to me, so our lips barely brush. "What else could we learn about each other while we sleep under the same roof?" I laugh lightly and roll my eyes, but my heart jumps at the idea. I lean closer to Zak, and press my lips against his.
We lay there, kissing and laughing quietly, for what seems like a few seconds. The next thing I know, though, is that golden light is streaming into my eyes. I blink and look up and around, and notice Zak laying beside me, sleeping soundly. I carefully extract myself from his arms, and walk into the bathroom after quietly getting some clothes out of the dresser.
I dress, and look into the mirror above the sink. A blurry face looks back at me. I roll my eyes, thinking myself an idiot, and grab my bathroom bag from under the counter. Rifling through it, I find my glasses case. I slip on my bifocals, and blink as the world comes into complete focus. The blue-and-white frames catch the light streaming in through the open doorway, refracting it. I blink at myself, surprised to see my face transformed by glass and plastic, considering I normally wore contacts.
I walk out into the room, and lean against the doorframe of the bathroom while I watch Zak sleep. Sunlight filters in through the window, highlighting his dark hair gold and dancing across his face. I smile as I watch the deep rise and fall of his chest, thinking about what he said last night.
As quietly as I can, I pick up some stray clothes off the floor and put them in my suitcase. I pack up all the clothes from the dresser and put them in the black case as well, as neatly as I can. I'm so busy with packing up my clothes that I don't hear the bedsprings uncoil or feel the arms wrap around my waist until it's too late.
I yelp as Zak lifts me off my feet and spins me around. He sets me down as I start laughing, and I spin around to face him. "Why'd you do that?" I ask as I laugh from excitement and surprise. Zak smiles and laughs,"Just because I could. You looked so serious packing, so I decided to surprise you." I roll my eyes and laugh, then get on my tiptoes to kiss Zak.
He pulls away first, arms around my waist and smiling. I smile up at him, giddy and excited for no reason. A knock on my door breaks up the moment, and I pull away from Zak to open the door.
Aaron stands there, looking sheepish, with Billy and Jay behind him. He locks eyes with me, then his brown irises drift behind me, to where I can sense Zak standing. Heat climbs up my neck, but Aaron saves me from explaining myself by saying,"We got the van packed. Plane leaves in two hours. We wanted to find our seats first so we don't have to wait."
I sense Zak nod behind me, then the three boys leave. I turn to find Zak looking down at me, a strangely calm look on his face. "Have you made your decision?" he asks, cocking his head to the side slightly. I smile slightly and say,"Yep." He smiles as well and asks,"Well, what is it?" I laugh and say,"I wonder." I reach up to kiss him, and he smiles down at me as his arms loop around my waist once more.
We break apart, then I go back into my room to get my suitcase and bathroom bag. Keycard in my pocket, I close the door to the hotel room, barely glancing at the silver numbers 333 on the door. A blessed number, some say. A symbol of God's faith. To me, they look like curled cobras ready to strike, to sink their fangs into already weak victims and impart the venom of the Devil into the unsuspecting human.
I put my bags in the back of the van, like all those days ago, then climb into the back like always. The drive to the airport is joyous, with Aaron cracking jokes and Billy laughing. Even Jay, who's usually quiet, tells some jokes he heard from listening to comedians like Jeff Dunham and Gabriel Iglesias (FLUFFY!). I laugh and tell some jokes of my own, along with some funny stories about times my friends were goofballs in college.
The airport is packed when we enter, after giving the keys to the rental car person of course. We walk in to register, drawing some second glances as people recognize us. Soon, a mob forms around us, everyone asking for autographs and pictures. The five of us take it calmly, smiling in photos and signing papers, but inside I'm fluttering with nerves, considering I'm not as well known as the four guys. Apparently not, however, as a group of girls specifically ask me for my autograph first before the guys. I happily oblige, smiling and laughing with the excited girls who were probably my age or a little younger.
We finally make it to registration. Thank God, too, because the mod's energy was starting to drain me. To others, a crowd might pump them up. To me, a shy girl from a small town, the crowds of people all yelling across the large floor and talking into phones and eating obnoxiously are almost too much to handle.
The five of us find seats to wait for our flight to be called. I open my book, but can't even get through a paragraph before I see a dark shape in front of me. I look up, and meet the most beautiful pair of sky blue eyes. The man smiles and sits next to me, holding out his hand. "Justin," he says as he shakes my hand. "Saira," I respond, pushing my bangs out of my eyes so I can get a better look at him. Blond-brown hair, carefully messy, farm-tan skin, tight black long sleeve T-shirt, loose blue jeans, brown cowboy boots. A country dream.
"I know. I watch the show," Justin says with a smile, releasing my hand after a slightly-too-long grip on it. I smile shyly and place my hand on the page of my book, not closing it. Damn natural shyness. Justin watches me for a second, then asks,"How old are you?" I blink at him, startled, and answer on reflex. "Twenty-eight." Justin smiles slightly and says,"Great. I'm thirty. And single. Amazing, right?" I smile shyly, feeling fire race up my neck.
"Well, since you seem to have some reading to do, I'll just give you my number and text you later, if that's alright," Justin says, handing me a little sticky note. I take it, smiling at him, and he smiles back before departing.
"Who was that?" Aaron asks as he leans forward to look at me around Billy, who sits right next to me. "I have no clue," I answer honestly, watching Justin's figure disappear into the crowds. "Got yourself a rival, Zak," Aaron says, looking at his friend, who sits next to him. I feel Zak's eyes on me, even through Aaron and Billy's bodies, as he says,"Yeah. Maybe."
I quickly look down at my book, and try to get lost in the pages of The Scorpio Races. Even though I had read the book several times before, it's still one of my favorites. Just as I'm getting to the funeral part, the call for our plane sounds, and we all stand up. Moving to the terminal, I feel a strange sense of deja vu while watching the security guard scan the people in front of me in line. I remeber all too clearly the police station back when I was fourteen, and the level of security they put on me after my house had burned down. They thought it purposeful arson; I thought it revenge from the Dark Lord himself.
After what seems like forever, we get on the plane. Luckily, I get a window seat, with Jay next to me and Aaron, Zak, and Billy behind us. The seat on the other side of Jay is filled by a pretty woman who seems vaguely familiar, though I can't put my finger on why.
The plane lifts off quickly, causing most of the people around me to grab the armrests; I calmly turn the pages of my book, not caring about the sudden jolt. Hell, I had lived through worse than a little turbulence. Actually, one of the twenty-seven had died on a plane when I was eleven.
For a while, everything is silent. Then, I feel a poke in my side, and look over to see Jay looking at me. "She wanted you," he says, pointing at the woman on his other side. I lean forward so I can see the woman more clearly, and her name suddenly strikes my mind.
"Katherine Boyce. Chase and Chelsea's mom," I say, and the black-haired woman smiles. "Yes, I am. And you are Saira Collings, the girl everyone thinks burned down her house all those years ago," Katherine says, making me instantly remember why I don't like Chelsea. Her mother's eyes, though, are brown instead of gray, so it's slightly harder to imagine Chelsea's face on her.
"So, Saira, I hear that you and my daughter had a little spat a few days ago," Katherine says casually, but anger sparks in her eyes as she looks at me. I shrug and say,"Yeah, we did. And?" "And," Katherine answers smoothly, like a serpent who could talk,"I want you to apologize to my daughter for the way you treated her."
I stare at the woman, confused for a second. Me, apologize? For what her no-brain evil little demon of a daughter said to me, accused me of? Never. Katherine seems to read my defiant expression, for she says,"I will not take no for an answer, Saira Collings. For, I was there at that bonfire as well, recording it to show my bosses what little education does for teenagers. So, I actually captured your little, ah, incident, with my son." The blood in my veins freezes, and I feel the impulse to reach across Jay and strangle this woman, the mother of a person I killed and the mother of a person I sincerely hated.
Katherine smiles coldly, knowing that she had won me over. I see black flicker on the edges of my vision, so I look. A demon sits there, smaller than any of the other human-sized ones I had seen. It cocks its head at me like a dog asking a question, its lupine eyes glowing with amusement. I reach my consciousness out to the small black mass, and feel its mind connect with mine. Its a child, I realize. A child with so much darkness within it when it died that it got sent to Hell. Silently, I tell the child-demon what to do. It smiles with serrated teeth as sharp as knife blades, and lunges for Katherine's throat.
It scratches her throat, leaving four slightly red marks that break her light-colored skin, exposing her red blood. Katherine gasps, grabbing her throat with both hands while looking at me in horror. I keep my face calm and blank, but send a mental thank you to the demon. It hisses, its form of laughter, then disappears into black smoke that smells of car exhaust and cigarettes.
Katherine glares at me, then leaves her seat to go to the bathroom to see her neck in the mirror. I huff and lean back into my own seat, opening my book once more. My phone in my pocket buzzes, so I pull it out and answer it. A text from-gasp-Zak glares back at me from the screen, so I pull up the messages and read what Zak had said.
I know that was your doing, Saira. I could feel the shift of energy. What'd you do to her? She was grasping her throat. I roll my eyes and text back, I did nothing. A demon scratched her. I can feel Zak's eyes glaring into my back from behind me, then receive another text. A demon you sicked on her, I suppose? I smile slightly and text back, A woman never reveals her secrets. A second later, Zak's snarky reply gleams up from my screen. That's why I asked you.
I just barely gulp down a chuckle, but receive a weird look from Jay, who glances up from his own phone. A picture of a pretty brown-haired woman hugging Jay stares up from his home screen, which he quickly clicks off of as he realizes I was staring at it. I turn back to my own phone as a text from Aaron comes through. You and Zak need to sit next to each other. Him texting you from right next to me is annoying. I text back, a smirk on my lips, Then stop reading what he's texting.
I can practically feel Aaron's laughing gaze reach through the seat. I turn back to my book, pocketing my phone, and continue to read. Unfortunately, I finish the book ten minutes out from Vegas, so now I have nothing to do. So, out of things to do, I stare out the window, watching the clouds below us.
My thoughts go, surprisingly, to my diary, the one I gave Zak. I start to wrote, in my mind, the way that I might write my dairy as a book. Ten minutes later, we descend into Las Vegas Airport.
We get off without a hitch. As I exit the plane, the heat smacks me in the face like a physical blow. I blink, and the heat becomes normal for me almost immediately. A strange ability I have: to accustom to all temperatures immediately. We walk through reception, get mobbed by fans, and finally exit, walking to a few waiting vans in the parking lot.
Aaron climbs into one, Jay in another, Billy in the third, and Zak and I in the fourth. "See you later, guys," Zak calls out the open window, and the rest of the guys respond likewise. I wave to them as Zak pulls out of the parking lot.
I roll down the window as we exit the large parking lot, leaving the airport behind. I sniff the breeze as it goes by. Zak laughs, and I turn to glare at him. Then, the heart of Vegas appears in front of me, and my breath is stolen.
Lights. Colors. People. Noise. Chaos. My first view of the Sin City is the Strip, which festers with seemingly millions of people. Though my gaze isn't on the people; at least, not the alive ones.
Ghostly blue flickers everywhere I look. Up on rooftops, in between moving people's bodies, in the street. No one else seems to notice them, for which I feel sorry. Most of them wonder around aimlessly, as if lost and confused. One glares straight through the glass at me.
A quote from Ghost Adventures comes to me, from the Return to the Riviera episode: People come to hotels to die. I scratch the scars on pn my arms subconsciously, and I feel Zak's gaze on me.
"Spirits. There's so many of them. I think they almost outnumber the people," I say, still staring out the window at all the blue-white apparitions. I see Zak nod in my peripheral, and go silent.
I zone off as we continue to drive, and am only shaken out of my reverie when Zak parks the van in front of a house near the outskirts of Vegas.
I get out of the van, grabbing my suitcase and backpack from Zak's hands. My gaze travels over the house, the architectual part of my brain kicking in.
Zak opens the door for me, and I hear a dog bark. A black-and-white blur runs through the hall striaght towards me, barking all the way. "Gracie, heel!" Zak says, and the blur skids to a stop right in front of me.
The dog looks up at me, her tongue lolling, watching me with large brown eyes. I see her nose twitch, and know that she's scenting my scent.
I smile at her, and her tail wags. I pat her on the head as I edge by her, since she stands right in the doorway. She nuzzles my hamd as I scratch behind her ears. Zak laughs, and I smile at him.
Zak gestures for me to set my stuff down on the couch, so I do. My gaze travels all around the living room, which is decorated with expensive furniture, and which opens up gracefully into a full kitchen. Large windows allow bright sunlight in, which dances around with intricate footsteps.
Gracie paws my hand, and I laugh as I crouch down to meet her eyes. She licks my nose as I scratch behind her ears and run my fingers through her soft fur. I sit on the floor, and the dog climbs right onto my lap as if it's the most normal thong in the world.
Zak laughs, and I turn my head to see him with his phone out, filming us. I mock-glare at him and stick my tongue out, which he laughs at. "Gracie, go get Zak," I say, and Gracie barks, licks my nose, and bounds off to knock Zak down.
We sit on the floor, laughing and playing with Gracie, for what feels like forever. Then, a rumble echoes through the room, and Zak and Gracie both look at me. I blush, and Zak laughs, standing. He holds out his hand to me, which I take, and pulls me to my feet.
We're standing close, and I see Gracie sit down in the corner of my eye. I smirk, and peck Zak on the lips, then break away from him, veering towards the kitchen. Zak laughs,"That's not fair, Saira." I look at him, smiling, and say,"Food first, then we'll talk about fair."
Zak growls playfully, but follows me to the huge kitchen. We make simple sandwhiches, then sit on the couch, facing the TV. Gracie climbs up next to us, watching us eat our sandwhiches. I feel pity for her, so I break off a piece of my turkey, ham, cheese, mayonnaise, and cucumber sandwhich to give to her.
"You're gonna be fat before the end of the year, with both of us giving you food," Zak says to his dog, which she gives a doggy smile to. We both laugh, then put our plates up.
Zak shows me to the guest room, which is now my room. I thank him, putting my suitcase on my bed. Looking around at my plain gray walls, I'm reminded of my old room, back when I was a child. It was gray as well, with swirls of color from paintbrush. Even the ABCs I wrote on the wall when I was learning them were still there when my house burned down.
I fall backwards onto my bed, allowing myself to delve onto the memory of how my room looked, before it turned into ash and fire.
I sleep, somehow, jet lag and boredom catching up with me. Peace envelopes me, for once in my life.
Maybe a new life was all I needed to move on from my past.
Within my chest, I feel some shards of black glass fit together, with the names of some of the people I let die etched into them. Mary, the first person I watched die; Albert, the man on the plane who was choking; Isabel, one of the ghosts I helped free in Sarcoxie, and who died by hanging and beating.
Maybe there was hope for me out there. Maybe I could rebuild my soul, one shard of glass at a time. Maybe, just maybe, I could be free of my burden.
Just twenty-four more shards of glass to go.