Dead Skin

Chapter 5

After Reese had his little vamper tantrum, I went upstairs and interrupted Sam and Eloise's impromptu rodeo—a sight I will never unsee.

How the hell was I supposed to know she'd have him hog-tied to their coffin, ass naked with his drill—never mind.

Her tits were exposed, mid-bounce, in reverse cowgirl when I barged in. "Zet! What the fuck! Little privacy here?"

At her shrieking, Sam spit out the giant wad of gum she must have shoved into his mouth as a makeshift gag and laughed. "Settle down, hot cakes." Turning to me, he said, "Lizzie, snap a photo, will you? I'd like a memento of this."

Eloise hopped up and rushed around, shielding her breasts while snatching up her discarded clothes and squirming into them. All the while, tripping as she did so.

I, on the other hand, felt a semblance of dry heaving start at the bottom of my throat upon seeing Sam's erect penis suspended in mid-air. I cringed and clutched somewhere between my chest and neck, looking away.

Sam only laughed harder. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you two have never had a little girl-on-girl."

He wasn't wrong in a way. This definitely wasn't my first time seeing her tits flop around for no real reason. But it was definitely my first time witnessing her in some scene portraying a very warped and strangely erotic version of afterlife porn.

Is that even a thing?

Should it be?

"Wait, wasn't she the one that was supposed to be punished?" I asked, recalling their earlier exchange with Sam's pitiful threats.

"Well, you see, initially, I had her—"

"Sam!" Eloise cried, then shook her head. A silent plea not to disclose whatever had taken place before this.

"You know what, it's probably better for us all if I don't know," I said, scrunching my face like I had suddenly become the manager here.

Sam looked down. "I'm still very hard," he declared, as if we couldn't tell. "This is all making me oddly aroused."

"You're always aroused," Eloise said, throwing a gray T-shirt over his junk, which was now looking like an actual elephant in the room. Then, once her sneakers were on, she grabbed my hand and started to lead me out of the room.

I shook my hand from her grip and grimaced as we made our way to the still-open door. "I swear to Lucifer, if you just got Sam's semen—"

"Hey, aren't you going to untie me first?" Sam called after us, his last words muffled by the slam of the door.

Eloise leaned against it, closed her eyes, and as she opened them and looked at me, we both burst out laughing. "I fucking hate him," she said, but her words were marred with giggles.

"No. You love him," I corrected her.

"Never bring this up," she said, pointing at me before she stepped away from the door. I could still see the remnants of a smile in her eyes.

I fell in step beside her and after a tsk I said, "I don't know. Eternity's a pretty long time to make a promise like that." Immediately, I regretted the words, knowing they'd only fuel her opposition to marrying him. Backpedaling, I said, "I didn't mean—"

"I know what you meant," she said. "And I don't want to talk about it, on both counts."

With that, the discussion was over, and I simply nodded.

"So, are you gonna tell me why you ran up here like that or do I need to do the old twist and pull?" she asked.

I stared down the hall before we reached the elevator, then let her in first and hit the button for the ground floor. I shrugged, not even knowing where to start or if I should. If I told her the way Reese had behaved, I'd never hear the end of it—and with Eloise's nagging, forever would feel a hell of a lot longer. So, instead of answering, I pulled a bitch move. "Did Sam mention anything to you?"

She gestured her hand. "About...?"

"...Anything?" I said.

Never, in the history of ever, has Eloise ever made anything easy for me when it comes to my feelings and trying to bury them.

The sound dinged above our heads and the elevator door opened, saving my ass for another second or two.

Eloise motioned for me to go ahead. "You're gonna have to specify, sweet cheeks. Sam talks a lot. I know that much, you are aware of."

Even though my back was now to her, I didn't miss the subtle clue she'd thrown my way. A scrap. I nodded to myself.

So, he is keeping something from me.

I slowed my steps to wait for her and shot her a look.

There were humans in the lobby, on there way here or there. They didn't quite stare at us the way they used to. The passing of the initial thirst had made blending in a bit easier.

Now, we just sort of slipped into our surroundings. A pale shade of death amongst the dying. A whisper in the night that none of them could truly hear.

But I couldn't say I always felt like the hunter, the thing to fear.

Not when there were things hunting us.