Tainted Happiness {Formerly Returned} (Book 4) (Completed)

Chapter 12

Melanie POV

*************

"Who is that?" Mary panicked, clinging to Dick for dear life.

"That is the man responsible for all of this." I said, pulling out a stake even though I knew it would do no good.

I took a deep breath and clung to my last speck of sanity like it was my lifeline. Dave hesitated to come out when he saw that I wasn't alone, but brought three of his good friends. I planted my feel shoulder's width apart and dug the heels of Rosa's favorite stiletto boots slightly into the damp dirt ground before I spoke.

"You better get out here. Don't hesitate just because I brought three of your friends. I think they deserve to know that you caused all of this." I spat.

"You know who this is?" Warren said, shocked.

"And so do the three of you. He just looks and acts a little different than he did when you saw him last. This whole mess is his fault, and not just for Kait's condition. He killed my husband, too." I said coldly.

"I don't know anyone with gold, purple, tan, and red eyes." Mary answered.

"His eyes weren't originally like that. They became like that after he died and turned into this vampire-demon-zombie thing." I explained, rolling my eyes.

"He's certainly taking long enough to come out of the hallway." Dick added.

"Get out here! I'm not afraid of you and neither are they!" I yelled to Dave.

"They're going to kill me." He replied.

"They don't know how to kill you! No one knows how to kill you! Trust me, if anyone did, you'd be long dead by now if I had anything to do with it." I shouted.

"Are you sure you're not her? You're certainly acting like her right now." Dave said, walking forward ever so slightly.

"No, I'm not Kait. There's only one Kait and because of you, we might never get her back. Somehow she always got her best work accomplished by acting like this. If it works for her, who knows it might work for me, too. We'll find out in a bit." I belted.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Why do you deserve to know?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"I think I know who this is now." Mary whispered, coming to a stunning realization.

"See? Now one person has ID'd you. You can come all the way out now so the other two can figure it out as well." I hissed.

"Dave? What happened to you?" Warren stammered.

"Kait tried to kill him when she was Strigoi and he came back to life as this." I said.

"Kait was Strigoi?! Like a real Strigoi?!" Warren bellowed.

"Yes, she was, 'was' being the keyword here. She'll soon be dead if he doesn't come with me." I insisted.

"Why would I risk my life by coming with you?" Dave asked.

"Because for once I'm giving you the opportunity to fix your mistake. Blow it, and you can bet your ass that I'll find a way to kill you and that I'll kill you myself." I answered.

"First I think he needs to shower." Mary commented.

"Somehow I don't think a shower will do too much good, but I have to agree with you. It's worth a try." I stated.

"How is he going to get to the shower house?" Dick asked.

"Not in Kait's truck. If one of you two wants to ride back in the truck, he can go with the other in the golf cart or he can walk like the rest of humanity." I answered.

"I hope you guys know that I can easily walk. It's no big deal." Dave said.

"Then it's settled. The zombie-demon-vampire walks." I said. "Just try not to attract too much attention. Judging from some of your past actions, that might be difficult for you. You're lucky I'm giving you a third chance. Don't blow it."

"I won't. If you trust me enough, I might even explain a little bit about what I am and how I've noticed I've been acting." Dave offered.

"After you help me to get your ex-wife back from the Spirit World and into her own body again." I said. "No sooner than that will I even debate on being able to trust you."

"How do I get into this 'Spirit World'?" He asked.

"I have yet to find that out. Now start walking to Dick and Mary's trailer so we can get you bathed." I demanded.

"Jeez, I get that you hate me, but is there really a need to be pushy?" He griped.

"Yes. We have slightly less than a month to figure out how to get you into the Spirit World to save Rosa. Now start walking or I'm tying you to the trailer hitch and dragging you to the trailer!" I shouted.

"Do we get the same treatment if we don't start walking?" Warren joked.

"No, you'll get left here to find your own way back. You three were just to help me find this place and for backup in case things got out of hand." I said, walking out to the entrance of the caves.

"She acts the same way Kait does when she needs to get something done." Mary observed.

"And Kait gets that from me and her father. I guess being bondmates for so long has caused Melanie to start thinking and acting like Kait." Warren replied.

"Are you guys coming, or are you just going to stand there and talk about me?" I yelled back to them.

I couldn't believe that they had the nerve to talk about me like that thinking that I couldn't hear them. Yeah, I was acting like Rosa, but somehow I had a feeling that while in the Otherworld, Rosa was acting like I normally would in times like this, being a crying, snotty mess. I had to be the strong one that everyone looked up to, just like Rosa normally was. If she wasn't there physically, she'd at least be there spiritually. I just hoped that I could figure out how to get Dave into the Spirit World before it was too late.