Delilah stared blankly at the now empty nursery. All that remained were lavender walls and memories that felt like a lifetime ago. Bridgette put a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed.
"You're helping a lot of people" she assured her big sister.
"Did they load up my bags?" Delilah asked, her voice hollow.
"Yeah. They're all waiting for you downstairs" They descended the stairs into the foyer where the three men waited.
"You ready to go?" Murderface asked. She nodded. "Bridgette's gonna take good care of the place. Right, Bridgette?"
"Right"
"Call me at any time if you need anything" Delilah instructed. The three family members gave hugs, and then Delilah was out of the door.
The ride to Mordhaus was long and quiet. The muted plucks of Skwisgaar's guitar didn't do much to fill the silence. Delilah was curled close to the fireplace, watching the flames dance. She sipped an old fashioned and reminisced about bonfires and cheap alcohol she and Chris enjoyed as teenagers. She yearned for vodka kisses in the late New Jersey summer. The air would be sweet with the smell of the harvest mixed with burnt wood. She dreamed of raising her daughter in Hammonton. She would have taken her to the berry festivals and apple picking. She had looked forward to hayrides in the many farms, retiring with Chris on their own plot of land and growing tomatoes and strawberries. All of that disappeared as they crossed state lines.
"It's going to be a couple more hours. They have a bed ready if you'd, ah, like to take a nap" Charles offered.
"No thank you" Delilah said quietly.
"Would you like anything to eat?" She shook her head no. "If you need anything, I'm in my office" as he passed by Murderface he gave a shrug. "I tried"
"She hasn't eaten in days" there was concern in Murderface's voice.
"She ament's beens hungry" Skwisgaar set his guitar down. "Neithers of us ams" Murderface had noticed the weightloss in his bandmate. The already slender frame looked about ten pounds lighter.
"Maybe when we get home we can have Jean Pierre make her some of her favorite foods? Maybe she'll eat then?"
Two more hours passed before the bus pulled up to the Mordhaus entrance. It had been Delilah's first time there since before the Revengancers' attack. It hadn't changed much. She didn't care for the European gothic décor, but the sheer vastness of the viking ship never ceased to amaze her. Klokateers lead her to her room where her luggage awaited.
"If you need anything else, mistress, just press the button on your bedside table" She tried not to grimace at being called mistress. The klokateer bowed and exited. She plopped down on the queen sized bed covered with a blood red comforter and black sheets. She had her own bathroom complete with a Jacuzzi tub and shower. A gift basket filled with items from Dethklok's new The Smell of Deth bath and body line sat on the countertop. The smell of death was roses in this case, Delilah's favorite. In a second gift basket there were several bottles of her favorite New Jersey wines. The bed was new, but comfortable. Before she knew it she had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Skwisgaar walked into his room to see a nervous Toki waiting anxiously on his bed. His initial shock turned to annoyance, then resolved into guilt. "Heys" was all he could manage to say.
"Heys" the younger man returned. "How ams yous?" Skwisgaar crossed the room and slumped onto his bed. He let out a deep sigh as his head hit the mattress.
"Tireds" he answered. "Ands yous?"
"Tireds toos. I ament's sleepings much" Skwisgaar could tell. The blonde sat up and reached out to trace the dark circles under his bandmate's eyes. Toki turned his head away. The other man awkwardly place his hand on his shoulder instead. "Hows yous goirlfriends?" Toki didn't mean to sound so bitter but he couldn't help it. Skwisgaar raised an eyebrow.
"Toki, she ament's my... hers husbands just dieds. My-my boyfriends just dieds!" The words felt foreign coming out of his mouth. He had never called Chris his boyfriend. His irrational fear of appearing homosexual was made even more irrational in the moment. "My boyfriends just dieds" he repeated. "She neededs me, Toki. Ands I neededs hers"
"I needs yous toos, Skwisgaar!" Toki yelled. "I was kidnappeds! Tyken også, what's abouts me!? What's abouts Toki?"
"What's abouts Toki!?" Skwisgaar shouted. "What's abouts Skwisgaar!? I was theres for yous every nights whens you cames homes! You slepts ins my beds" Toki was shocked by the tears streaming down Skwisgaar's face. "I comforts yous ands I does everythings I cans to makes yous feels betters!" His voice cracked as he broke down. "I loveds hims and nows he's gones"
"You coulds haves cames to me" Toki said in a near whisper. "I woulds haves beens theres for yous what's you weres fors me" He pulled the broken man into his arms and shushed him. "I'ms heres fors you, Skwisgaar"
"Yous beens throughs too much. Ands Moidaface ands Delilah ams the onlys ones who knews"
"I wouldn'ts evers judge yous. After everythings we's been throughs" He stroked Skwisgaars long, blonde mane. "If you loveds hims, I can'ts be mads abouts it"
"Toki, I knows hows you feels abouts me. You woulds haves been devastateds" He was right. Toki was devestated. After the kidnapping he decided to let the secret out. Skwisgaar didn't reject him, either out of guilt or his own mutual feelings. He indulged him as much as he could.
"I woulds haves founds out eventuallys" He kissed the top of Skwisgaar's head.
"I'm sorrys" Skwisgaar croaked.
"Hush nows, you ament's needs to be sorrys. I'm sorrys" The two men shared a passionate kiss. The older man let himself fall fully onto the white sheets and Toki followed. They stripped each other of their clothes, their hands exploring the other's body.
"I'ms always goings to be rights heres" Skwisgaar whispered into his lover's ear.
Murderface downed his fifth whiskey of the day. He had a klokateer checking on Delilah every so often. He was glad she was sleeping. With her heavy ambien use he was worried she wouldn't wake up. He dug chunks out of the arm of the sofa with his knife. The last time he had been this on edge was when Toki and Abigail had gone missing.
"Where's your cousin?" The gruff voice of Nathan asked. He took a seat on the far side of the sofa.
"She's taking a nap" Murderface answered. He poured himself another drink and offered the bottle to Nathan. "Shouldn't you be with Abigail?" Nathan took a swig.
"We broke up"
"Oh. That sucks"
"Yeah"
"Does that mean she's not our producer anymore?" Nathan shook his head no.
"She's still our producer. Wouldn't have it any other way to be honest" the men sipped their alcohol in silence.
"It's weird how people can just disappear like that" Murderface said suddenly. Nathan cocked his head to the side.
"What do you mean?" The bassist pointed to the T.V.
"The show 'How To Disappear' it's about people that go missing. You never think it will happen to the people you love, and yet, here we are"
Delilah was awoken by a firm knock on her door. She sat up feeling heavy and confused. She was reminded of her new surroundings by the deep red of the bedroom walls decorated with black sconses. "I'm coming" she called out in a raspy voice. She dragged herself to the door, answering to a very distraught Skwisgaar. "Hey. Is everything okay?"
"We has to stops sleepings togethers" Skwisgaar blurted out. Delilah narrowed her eyes.
"What do you mean? We only had sex once?
"I knows. We has to stops goings to sleeps in the sames beds" Skwisgaar crossed the threshold into her room, taking a seat on the bed.
"Okay...? Why?" She took her own place on the bed. She couldn't deny that she was hurt. They weren't dating, and he had no obligations to keep sleeping with her, but he was her only flesh and blood connection to Chris.
"Toki ands I.. we haves a things goings ons" The swede avoided her gaze.
"Wow." She said incredulously "Glad to see you've moved on so quickly"
"It ament's likes thats" he argued.
"It seems like that to me" she countered.
"That ament's fairs, Delilah!" He exclaimed. "He was stabbeds and lockeds ups in a basements. I'ms the onlys persons he feels safes withs" He looked at her with pleading, blue eyes. Delilah held her head in her hands.
"You're the only person that understands what I'm going through right now"
"Ands I stills understands. I wills always be rights heres" He reached out to touch her, but she turned away.
"Whatever, Skwisgaar. Do want you want. Just.. just get out of my room"
"Delilah, I-"
"Get out!" She cut him off. Skwisgaar stood and croseed the room to the door. He hesitated as if he was about to say something, then thought better of it and left. She immediately uncorked a merlot and chugged it.