Unkillable (Monsters Series #1) (Wattys2014)

Chapter 23: Death's Door

The reception was a small, personal celebration. It was only Jesse, Beth, Avalis, Britter, Elizabeth, Xanthe, and I. We ate, we sang, we drank, and everything else. Jesse even claimed my drunken rendition of “Hallelujah” was the most hauntingly beautiful thing he had ever heard.

At twelve, Jesse and I were walking back to our living quarters, Jesse dragging me, when I was shot in the hip. The searing pain caused me to fall to the floor. Jesse took me in his arms and carried me, just as I carried him a long while ago, to the hospital center.

Everything was blackness. I saw nothing, though my eyes were open. I could hear, though.

I heard Jesse sob at my side as Alonzo tended to me, though I didn’t really need it. What I had neglected to mention to him was that ever since the ceremony, I could hear his thoughts.

Let’s see, Jesse thought, if Angel dies, there will be no meaning in my life whatsoever. I could live with that...for a time. When I can’t take it any longer, I will just beg my father to kill me.

Oh, c’mon! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He knew I couldn’t die...as of yet.

His tears slid to my wound. I felt the life come back to every inch of my body. When I could finally move my hand, I stroked his soft, almost-white blonde hair that grew to about his shoulders. His sparkling eyes looked up to mine.

“What’s wrong, ma vie?” I asked worriedly, though I knew the answer.

Jesse jumped from his seat suddenly and kissed my mouth hard. I laced my fingers into his hair and pulled him closer. I breathed him in; I could feel his relief as my heart quickened and boomed in my chest.

It took a long while before we noticed Avalis standing at the doorway casually. Jesse pulled away reluctantly, and I continued to hold his hands. I examined Jesse’s ring with the carvings that were once complete gibberish, but I now see what they truly mean. I didn’t know how the ring knew how I felt about my Jesse, but it did nonetheless.

“Having fun with your Colonel of Love, Jess?” Alonzo said jokingly.

Jesse and I rolled our eyes. I spent many moments just examining Jesse’s beauty. His skin was fair but with a sunny glow radiating from him. His platinum blonde hair that grazed the top of his shoulders was like a field of fresh wheat. His large, curious black eyes sparkled like stars in a clear night sky, framed with thick lashes. His pale pink mouth made my heart race as it curled into a gentle, toothy smile. The faint flush in his cheeks that I loved creeped into his beautiful face.

“You knew I wasn’t going to die, Jesse.” I said.

“Yes, but it still scares me!” Jesse ranted in response, “What if something went wrong, and you couldn’t heal? What if you really did die? Then I’d have to take care of Beth all by myself, and...”

I put one finger on Jesse’s soft, beautiful lips. I caressed it as he closed his eyes contently. Jesse took my hand and placed it on his cheek.

“Listen to me, ma vie.” I whispered passionately, “”I would never leave you without a fight, Jesse. Never!”

I held Jesse in my arms tightly. I stroked Jesse’s soft hair. My heart was beating with his, the heart he had started again.

I was dead before I met Jesse. I was just wandering among the living, not truly belonging anywhere. When I adopted Beth, life got a little brighter, but my heart was silent, still, and nearly useless. Then, a miracle came to me from the other side of the Border; a beautiful, unique boy with sparkling blue eyes came into my life like a meteor, a shining star that led my way. Right when I first saw my Jesse, my life, ma vie, my heart finally started beating again after a long, three-hundred-year hiatus. Now that he’s in my life, there’s now a song in my heart and joy in my life.

“Father!!!!” Beth screamed, “Papa!!!!”

Beth ran into the room with an excited, slightly deranged look in her eye. She was bouncing off the walls, and she left nothing but destruction in her path. She was screaming and screaming so loud I could feel my eardrums burst; there was a chocolate ring around her mouth. Elizabeth trailed behind with a guilty expression on her face.

“You gave her chocolate, didn’t you?” I screamed over the sound of glass breaking.

“I’m sorry.” Elizabeth said just as loudly, “I didn’t know she would act like this.”

“It’s alright.” I responded, “I know how to calm her.”

I caught her in my arms as she was running toward the wall. I held her tight as she screamed and squirmed in my arms. I stuck my thumb into just the right pressure point, and she was fast asleep.

“How’d you do that?” Elizabeth asked loudly, needless due to the commotion coming to a close.

“I know her.” I responded, “Let’s get her upstairs, Jess.”

I carried Beth in my arms as I went across the hall to her room. I set her down on her plush pale pink bed and tucked her under the covers. I gently kissed her goodnight.