'Til Death - Chris Motionless Love Story

Chapter Eight - How are They Gonna Know? They're Gonna Know.

SALEM'S POV
The moment we pulled up to the funeral home I could tell Chris was just about ready to crash and burn. He was worn from driving all night, but I knew he was far too stubborn to admit defeat and go rest, so we went right in. The moment I stepped foot into my old stomping grounds I was bombarded by all of my coworkers.

"Salem, we are so incredibly glad you are here. We just don't think we could do this without you." Chelsie said as she gripped me. She was the embalmer that trained me on everything I knew. If she couldn't do it, I knew it was difficult.

"Well, I brought some reinforcements," I gestures to Chris, "this is Chris, he owns the funeral home I'm working at in Scranton." Chelsie shook his hand, and looked him up and down like he was snack. I looked away, scared to catch a glint in Chris' eyes that he had with me since day one. Their handshake was a little longer than most should be. Was I getting jealous? I tried to brush it off and went to make some coffee as they carried small talk, then my old boss, and funeral home owner, came walking in.

"There she is, my sweet Salem!" He exclaimed, pulling me into a bear hug from behind. He kissed the top of my head, expressing a loud 'mwah' sound as he did so. I giggled a little and grabbed my coffee cup off of the Keurig. "We miss you so much! I do trust that Chris is treating you well in Scranton? Paying you well, too?" Oh, you have no clue, Pete. No clue.

"Yes, I'm really loving it there. It's a little slower paced, but definitely a good change." I let him know. He smiled and passed me the coffee creamer, and as I grabbed it I caught a glimpse of Chris. His eyes were narrowed, and practically shooting daggers at Pete. The fuck was his problem? I shrugged it off, and dumped the creamer into my coffee.

"Well, let's go get started!" Pete exclaimed. I nodded and followed him down the familiar hallway, Chris following us closely. The moment we reached the prep room door I froze. Chris placed his hand on the small of my back and I shifted away. Pete turned to face us as a soft and remorseful smile came across his face. He took my hands in his and squeezed tightly. "Salem, no one is blaming you. I promise you that. In fact, his mom begged me to get you to come back out to do this. Are you ready to go in?" I fought back a few tears, then nodded. I truly wanted to get it over with. Pete opened the door, and there he lay on that cold metal table. His face was okay for the most part, but his left eye was practically sunken in. It was destroyed. Inside, I wanted to scream some more. I wanted to cry, and shake him, ask him why he did this. On the outside, I shut off all of my emotions, grabbed everything I needed, and slipped on a lab coat to get started. Chris and Pete stood in front of the closed door, arms crossed as the watched me.

"What?" I finally asked, grabbing the wax kit from the cabinet.

"Salem-" Chris started. I turned to face him.

"I'm fine. Just... just let me do this."

"Pete, will you give us a few minutes?" Chris asked, not even turning to face him. His eyes were fixated on me. Pete nodded and walked out, leaving me, Chris, and my ex boyfriends corpse in the prep room. "Salem, I know you're not okay."

"And I know that you were undressing Chelsie with your eyes," Chris looked appalled that I had even suggested such a thing, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were pointing out the obvious?" Chris stormed over to me, and pinned me against the counter.

"I want you, and only you, Salem. Don't you get that? You are the most intoxicating person in my life. You are a mess of gorgeous chaos, and I want every bit of it." Woah. Our moment was interrupted by Pete walking in.

"Is everything okay?" He asked as he walked in. Chris turned around immediately.

"Yes, she just needed some support." Chris lied. He was confessing things to me in front of my deceased ex. Pete stayed in, and began helping out on the reconstruction, so our conversation couldn't continue. Instead, we shot stabs at each other as we all worked.

"So, Chris, how's Salems performance?" I thought Chris was going to choke on his own spit, and a blush came across his face.

"Salem is just... amazing. I mean, truly impeccable." Chris complimented. I stayed focus on what I was doing, trying not to mess up the wax as they both watched.

"Well, when you get sick of her just send her on back to us. We miss her a lot." I thought Chris was going to jump out of his skin.

"Oh, I highly doubt I will ever get tired of Salem's... antics. She keeps me on my toes in my old age for sure." Now I thought I was going to jump out of my skin. It was as if he was putting our dirty little secret on display.

"She will often do that."

"Oh, you have no idea what I've been put through with her. She's a challenge for sure." I nonchalantly kicked Chris in the shin, and he forced a smile through the pain then chuckled. "She's a pain in my ass for sure, but I make sure to keep her in her place." It was impossible to focus with these two bozos discussing over the corpse of my ex.

"Okay, can y'all please take this conversation elsewhere? I'm really trying to focus, and y'all are making it very difficult." I stated as I straightened and cracked my back. Chris and Pete threw their hands up in defeat, and made their way out of the room without another word to carry on their conversation.
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CHRIS' POV
I sat across from Pete in his rather large office. It was very Texan, with several Texas stars hanging on the wall and a cow hide rug splayed out on the floor. Then again, Pete himself was very Texan. He was cowboy boots and cowboy hats with his western suits. He leaned back in his dark brown leather desk chair, and crossed his arms.

"Chris, how are you actually doing since the passing of Li-"

"I'm fine. Really, I am. It's just hard. I never imagined I'd be running a funeral home. You know, hanging up that rocker life and serving families. But I know that's what she would have wanted. That business was her baby."

"Does she know?"

"Does who know?"

"Does Salem know? Look, Chris, it's very evident that something is going on between you two. I think of Salem as one of my own, and I don't want to see her get hurt." Pete was now leaning over the desk, and giving me a father stare, "Chris, you don't know Salem like I do." Was that a challenge, and was I actually getting offended over this? Of course I know her! At least, I think I do. I mean, her coming here had been in the talks for months before it actually happened. It was countless Skype calls and phone calls and emails. It was over the course of that time that she really captured my attention.

"Everyone sees the way you look at her, your eyes gave it away the moment you came in that door. Just... be easy on her, Chris. Please." I'd never dare admit it, but truth was I fell in love with her soul before I even got to feel her skin. I knew I was in trouble far before she physically walked through that door. I caught fire the moment our eyes caught, and I wasn't sure who was the fuel and who was the spark. "She was sent for you. I believe that."

"Pete, you know I don't believe any of that shit."

"But I do, and I think Salem was sent to you by Lil-" there was a knock at the door, then it cracked open, stopping the conversation. It was Salem. I shot up out of my seat and walked over to her. She looked drained, but still as beautiful as ever. Her hair was in a messy bun, her eyes had bags under them, and they were slightly puffy, proof that she had been crying. The moment I pulled her into my arms the screams started again. Screams that I was far too familiar with. Screams of hurt, betrayal, guilt, everything. Her tears soaked my shirt as I rubbed her back softly, kissing the top of her head. How do I even go about helping her get past this when I, myself, am still stuck in the past?