Devil's Soul

Chapter 41 (you don't want to know how fast we drove to get here)

Desmond got us back in the wee hours of Monday morning by driving at ludicrous speeds, which were only interrupted when I took over the wheel so he could nap and when Sasha had to pee, which was quite often. I was exhausted when we finally pulled up in front of my apartment, and I had never been so happy to see the shabby structure in my life. I just wanted to climb into my bed and not think about anything for a long time. I nudged Sasha awake, and he followed me out of the car like a zombie.

"I'll get out here, too," Rumpels announced.

When we were both out of the car, somehow we ended up facing each other, standing ten feet apart. We would be going opposite ways, now, and I think both of us sensed a need for some sort of farewell. We stood in silence, looking at each other from beneath our drooping eyelids. Our relationship was founded on such strange events that no words seemed to be appropriate to sum it up. The silence seemed to speak for us the best. We were at a mutual loss for words, and I think, through that, we gained an understanding of each other. We didn't know each other, but, at least, in this moment, we understood each other.

Still, we wouldn't have been able to move on until someone broke the silence. "Well...goodbye," I finally said. I turned toward my apartment, eager to escape the awkward atmosphere that was just now catching up to us.

"Wait," he said.

I stopped but didn't turn around. I thought he would just say, "goodbye," as well.

"What are you?" he asked, instead.

I looked back at him over my shoulder and met his bewildered expression with a tired smile. "What are you?" I retorted.

He didn't say anything, so I led Sasha inside.

I showed Sasha to the couch and dumped a pile of blankets on top of him.

As I settled into my own, familiar bed, it occurred to me that I probably should have said goodbye to Desmond too. Before falling asleep, I resolved myself to make up for it, later, by thanking him for everything that he's done for me.

The only reason I knew I had fallen asleep was because the sun was suddenly shining through my windows when I opened my eyes. School. I had to go to school.

I groaned and rolled over to smother my face in my pillow, determined to ignore my responsible side. Unfortunately, my responsible side was good at surprise attacks, and I was hit with a surge of heroic determination to get out of bed. I found myself standing, before I fully realized what had happened. I eyed my bed, wondering if my responsible side would notice if I climbed back in. Probably.

I got dressed, and, judging by the amount of effort that took, I figured I could skip doing my hair and makeup today. Then I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, on the way out of my bedroom, and I amended that I could skip doing my hair and makeup before breakfast. I at least needed to get a cup of coffee in me before I could attempt anything complicated, like brushing my hair. Of course, breakfast meant facing my mom, and maybe that would also be complicated. It was probably a more urgent matter than tending to my hair, though. Talking to my mom, I mean.

I'd called her (and my friends) as soon as I'd gotten my phone back, of course. I'd been planning on telling her that I'd gone on a weekend trip with Abhinav and Chung, except apparently they had shown up at my apartment, looking for me after I'd disappeared before their eyes. They hadn't gone looking for me right away, but they became worried when it seemed like I wasn't going to emerge for our Friday night celebrations that I'd been so enthusiastic about. My mother hadn't been particularly pleased to hear the news that her daughter was unaccounted for, so the guys improvised and told her I was probably just with Desmond. By the time I called my mom to let her know where I was, she already knew I was on a weekend getaway with my boyfriend. Wonderful.