Collide Invisible Lips (KELLIC)

Chapter 10

It had been a few days since the incident with the border, and Vic had hardly left my side. Despite my heartfelt promise to him, he seemed afraid that I would break up with him or just stop caring about him at any given moment without any warning whatsoever.

I suppose given his history with relationships, I could understand that fear.

Jaime hadn't carried out his thinly veiled threat, and I'd concluded that he was simply all talk. He couldn't do any damage to me when I was already dead no matter how much he wanted to. Jaime just liked to have control over people, whether it be through love or paranoia. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Have you found anything new?" Matty asked. The family had gone out for the afternoon, so Vic and I were spending some time on their computers researching religions and legends about the afterlife and angels.

"Not really. Most religions don't have a real purgatory like this, it's all either reincarnation or Heaven and Hell," I replied.

"There are tons of ghost stories, but most of them have less to do with an afterlife type of middle ground and more to do with unfinished business or whatever," Vic told him. Matty shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't really know what to tell you guys. I've been trying to figure out how this place works for almost a century, and Kellin... Kellin is a whole other mystery. The angel theory is probably going to be the best we can figure," Matty explained.

"Unless he's a demon." Jaime's voice came from the doorway, startling me slightly. We all looked up at him in surprise.

"Excuse you?" Vic snapped immediately. Jaime stepped into the office without a heartbeat of hesitation.

"You heard me. If you're willing to entertain the possibility that Kellin is a fallen angel, you have to accept that he could just as easily be a risen demon," Jaime stated, shooting me a glare. Vic's expression was a frightening mask of anger and resentment.

"Don't talk about him that way," Vic said through tightly gritted teeth. Jaime put his hands up in exaggerated innocence, a slight smirk on his mouth.

"Hey, I'm just making sure we explore all our options," he defended a little too mockingly. Vic curled his lip, and I put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

"I don't think that's as probable. I would think it'd be a lot easier to piss off God then whatever Devil is down there. Besides, why would the Devil let someone he doesn't like ascend to purgatory? That doesn't make much sense," Matty piped up, seemingly oblivious to the heavy tension in the room.

"Maybe. Just thought I'd offer a suggestion," Jaime concluded, looking directly at Vic. He had a boldness in his gaze that worried me. Vic clenched his fists tightly as Jaime left the room.

"I think I ought to go upstairs," Vic muttered after an awkward moment of silence, fuming as he stormed out of the office. Matty and I remained, not saying much of anything for a minute.

"Are they fighting or something?" Matty finally asked me. I shrugged, knowing it definitely wasn't my place to explain the history there.

"Something like that," I responded vaguely. Matty just nodded. He looked about to say something, and based on the expression in his eyes, I wasn't sure if it was something I wanted to hear.

"I noticed something odd on your Wikipedia page," Matty finally told me. I raised my eyebrows.

"Well, what is it?" He hesitated again before answering.

"Your Wikipedia page doesn't have a death date." I expected him to further explain himself, but he didn't.

"So, what, you think I'm not dead?" I asked in confusion. Matty vigorously shook his head.