Haunted Devotion

32.

Asleep on Nolan's–Linus' chest, I dream of a memory I didn't know I could dream of.

Centuries ago (Dream)

"You're such a wuss! Just jump!" A boy tells the other as they are at some type of bridge looking down at a running lake.

The one at the edge moves closer by an inch, worried they might hit a rock or something in the water.

"Leave him alone guys, he just learned how to swim like a month ago."

A face I wasn't expecting to see says while folding their arms protectively.

"Fine. Suit yourself!" Other kids jumped in and started swimming around while the other two stood back and made their way to the bottom naturally.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, the older one smiles, "We can get ice cream instead of hanging around these crazies."

The other boy nods, "Yeah sounds better."

Both leave with towels swung over their shoulders making it to a small ice cream parlor with red counter swivel chairs and a checkerboard layout throughout the whole shop.

"Go sit, I'll put something on the jukebox," Messing the smaller one's hair, the older one gets a quarter out picking a song and catching a glimpse at a waitress.

Her hair was long, silky, dipped in pure darkness as the color was a raven black.

As she bent down to pick up a discarded cone, he watched as she had looked to the side to catch him staring.

"Did your parents not teach you it's impolite to stare?" She asks him as she throws the cone away and fixing her apron.

Chuckling shyly, he says, "If it's something as beautiful as you I don't think I could not stare."

The younger boy turns to see the girl and shakes his head as his older half brother flirts with her shamelessly.

"Linus," The older one says, holding his hand out, "Dev," The girl says smiling, shaking his hand.

"Over there is my younger half brother Nolan. Only by two years actually."

The girl waves, "Hi Nolan," Smiling she turns back to Linus excusing herself going back behind the ice cream counter.

End of dream

Waking with a shortness of breath, Nolan wakes asking if I'm okay.

"I had a memory dream. Linus and you were in it. I was in it as an ice cream waitress. But at the same time it wasn't me. Anyways, you two were half brothers. You were younger by two years."

Moving my hair out of my face he rubs my arm, "Core memories are resurfacing since your soul did play hopscotch in and out of your body."

Looking into his eyes, I caught a small reflection of the real Linus hiding inside.

"Did you ever wonder why possessing Linus came naturally with no issues? I mean you fell through the ground. A crumbling one in a death limbo with creatures that were after us. Then you reappear with nothing wrong? How is that possible Nolan?"

"We're not normal. None of this is normal love. So the impossible is possible."

I relaxed more, laying back down on his chest drawing circles with my finger along his arm.

My phone goes off with a message from Yerlin in morse code and coordinates starting to get the hang of real technology instead of using a pager.

"Work," I say leaning over grabbing it to see the message more kissing his lips.

Kissing my back as I sit up more, I smile knowing he wants me to stay.

"I can't, I really have to go but," I turn around kissing his lips again, "Come over later and I'll actually try and cook for you this time," Smiling more when he nods kissing me two more times before I got dressed, he lays back down watching me slide into my clothes slowly on purpose.

"Don't...don't do that or I'll make you late," He says huskily with passion rising in his eyes.

Giving him a look I scoffed happily, "Fine...fine."

Putting on my shoes, I head out and drive home to see Gerald with a parental look on his face.

"Did you get Linus out? Is everything alright? Are you alright?"

For once I hugged Gerald, appreciative of caring like he does.

"Calm down, everything is fine. Yerlin did text me. I have a case I need to freshen up and head over to."

Gerald hugs back then straightens his posture fixing his tie being used to dressing formal instead of casual during my work hours.

"Want me to drive you?"

Shaking my head I start to want to live life more freely even if my psychotic witch of a mother is dying to suck my soul for herself.

"I got it," I waved off, then went to shower.

Once I was out, I dried off putting on a corseted top with a white button up with black high waisted shorts to go under and knee high boots.

Grabbing the car keys, I head to the location, only being shown a cemetery.

"This can't be right?" Looking again it's exactly where it says I need to be and I get out looking around.

Crunching sounds are heard each step I make as I go deeper into the eerie space with wicked tombstones planted everywhere.

"Gerald might be a good father but a bad witch," Rowen says sitting on a tombstone filing her nails, "Maybe that's why I kept him as a slave and not an apprentice,"I stopped walking, seeing her clearly as she jumped off the tombstone and marching my way, "It's easy to change coordinates and get you where I want you, you know? I'm not as naive as you think." Backing away getting ready to run back to the car for my relic, she snaps her fingers and has me frozen in place. 

"You're not finding a way out so easily this time," Taking the nail filer and orchestrating it near my throat, she yanks my hair, having my head pulled towards her as she lowers her mouth to my ear saying, "Nolan won't save you...not even your precious father," A deep swift movement and I felt my own blood trickle down my white shirt, her humming in joy and words that sounded like a bad translation of french mixed with latin.

"Now you'll have no body to return to. Your soul will be forever mine."

Releasing my hair and snapping her finger to unfreeze me, I fall to the ground on my side trying to hold my neck that's pouring out my own blood at this point.

"Pathetic," She cleans the sharp nail filer on her dress sleeve and waited until my heart starts to slow down to bring out some ancient tool to entrap my soul in, "At least I could say you did the right thing by me as your mother," She kneels down, "You're helping me live an immortalized life for stealing the youth I once I had by giving birth to you."

Closing my eyes slowly, I mumbled out something now only being faced with darkness and nothing else.