Chapter Twenty-One
Avery
EZ, the hell hounds, and I walked, but I had no idea how far or how long because I had no concept of time or distance. There was light, but not sunshine to gauge what time of day it was. I was with EZ and two of the biggest canines I’d ever seen in my life, so I wasn’t worried about being harmed.
I hoped, though, that Holden and my parents weren’t too worried about me and that nothing happened to me while I was gone. It sounded weird when I thought about it—nothing happening to me. I wasn’t with me, so I had no idea what was happening.
As we approached a shadow, the dogs began growling and pulling at their leashes.
“It’s about damn time.” Happy’s voice sounded in my head again.
“Happy’s here,” I whispered to EZ.
“Can you run fast?” The dogs were straining against his grip.
I nodded. “I’ll do my best to keep up.”
EZ pulled them closer to him and knelt. He spoke to them quietly in an odd language before reaching to unclasp the leashes. They stayed next to him without the tether, seeming to wait for his orders.
“Hal, no! I told you I’m not going! Help!” Happy sounded scared, which I wasn’t used to hearing.
“Now!” I shouted.
“Go!” The dogs turned and ran at EZ’s instruction, reminding me of the time Kyle and I went to the greyhound races in Fort Myers, Florida, during spring break. When EZ’s hounds stretched out to run, they had to be at least ten feet long.
I tried to follow, but those supernatural beings seemed to have mastered the laws of physics by running faster than I’d ever seen. I, however, was running blind at a too-slow pace.
Suddenly, someone or something grabbed my throat and body-slammed me onto something hard, or so it sounded. Thankfully, it didn’t hurt. “Not your fight.” A mask of some sort was put over my eyes. Now I couldn’t see anything.
An instant—or maybe a year—later, the mask was gone and I could open my eyes. There stood Holly Rose.
“What happened?”
She smiled. “EZ—or rather, Hellfire—apprehended Hal, and he’s gone. I don’t know how much I should—”
“Uh, EZ gave me the Cliff-notes version. Who grabbed me?”
Happy’s worried expression morphed into the biggest smile.
“Me! Turns out I’m as strong as the other spirits!
I haven’t tried anything to test my strength or speed, but as I told you more than once, I will do anything to keep my heart around for those I love.
You happen to be the vessel where it beats and loves, so I gotta look out for you. ”
I grinned. “So, uh, we found you, I guess.” She was truly one of a kind. I was lucky to have a part of her with me as long as I drew a breath. I hoped her brother felt the same way.
“You? I think Hellfire found me.” Happy giggled.
“Yes, but he sniffed me to get your scent since I have your heart. Then, he took off. I think I’m partly a hero here, along with Hellfire.” We laughed at my stupid statement.
Happy wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me.
“I love you, and I know my brother loves you. He’s very worried about you, so get back there before he loses his mind.
I won’t be around to bother you anymore.
I’m moving to the between so I can rebirth.
I wanna do this again, ya know. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to run into you and Holden. ”
She kissed my cheek and pulled back. “Please, take care of him. He gets cranky when he’s worried. I’m afraid he’s going to tear into your mom because he’s scared to death that he’s going to lose you. Has your mother always been this way?”
I laughed. “Which way? Bitchy? Overbearing? Self-righteous? Over-protective? I think it sort of happened when we found out I was going to die if I didn’t get a heart transplant. Did you see your parents after you died?”
I didn’t know Holden and Holly’s parents. I had yet to meet them, though I hoped I could someday. If Holly and Holden were raised by them, they would have to be incredible people.
“Well, Betsy loves you. She’s going to give Holden a run for his money, though. B-T-W, you gotta tell him you have my heart, doll. He’s going to find out very soon, so be ready. I’ll try to give you a hand if I’m allowed, but it’s gonna be up to you to bring it home.”
Happy took my hand and we began walking.
..somewhere. “Just so you know, you’ll be fine.
No permanent damage to you, so no worries.
EZ did it because he needed you with him to find me, and it was the easiest way for that to happen so you could go back to live the rest of your life.
Sorry, not sorry. It was time for me to decide about my eternity, and seeing you again helped a lot.
I know you’ll take good care of my family, especially Holy, and—”
“Holy? His nickname is Holy and your nickname is Happy?” I couldn’t stop the laugh, even if I wanted to. Thankfully, she laughed with me.
“Bring that out during frisky time. He hates that nickname. I gave it to him when I was little—after Daddy started calling me Happy instead of Holly. Anyway, you’ll feel like crap for a few days. Let Holden take care of you. It’s the only way he’ll accept that you are okay.”
“Okay. Anything else?” I touched her shoulder.
“His ribs are ticklish and his feet are worse. He laughs like a little girl when he gets going. Make him laugh more. Hell, see if you can get a laugh out of Mom and Dad. They haven’t laughed in seven years.” She kissed my cheek.
“That’s a tall order, but I’ll do what I can. If my mom would have ever been able to have another child, I hope she’d have been like you.” We hugged again and then a weird, deafening beep filled my ears.
“And Steve said, ‘Hey, you fuckers. I’m not afraid to ask her out, but if I do and she says yes, then y’all are payin’.’ I almost shot soda out of my nose. Anyway, that was my day.
“I saw Brooke and Kyle leaving just now. Brooke said your parents left earlier. I hope everything is going well with your business.
“Ossie misses you. I had to put your shoes on the shelf in my closet because he wanted to chew on them. I don’t know how many pairs of shoes you have, so I let him sniff them every now and again because I know how sad he is that you’re not around.
He gets mad when I take them away, and he pisses in my boots.
You need to come back to me so I’m not putting my feet into wet work boots every morning, sweetheart. ”
Soft lips grazed my hand, sending a tingling sensation up my arm to my chest. I opened my eyes and turned to my left, seeing my hand between both of Holden’s. He was in an ugly chair next to my bed, talking to me like it was any other day... What day was it?
“Baby.” My voice was hoarse and my throat hurt. I had an IV in one arm and a blood pressure cuff on the other. My index finger had a clip on it that monitored something, but seeing Holden’s watery blue eyes as his gaze met mine had my own eyes tearing up.
“Sweetheart! You’re back. I was so afraid I’d lost you.” The sound of his voice sent a warm sensation through my chest as if my heart recognized him.
“Can I have something to drink?” I wasn’t sure if I’d been intubated like when I had my transplant. My throat hurt the same way that it had when I awoke from that surgery.
“Let me go ask. I think you can have ice chips, but I don’t know for sure. I’ll be right back.” Holden kissed my forehead.
He started to walk away, but I grabbed his wrist to stop him. “I love you, Holy.”
The beautiful man’s eyes lit up. “God, Avery, I love you too. I need to call your friends so they can call your parents. They just left.”
I let go of his hand as he hustled out of the room, and I sighed. “I’ll miss you, Happy.”
I meant it with all my heart. The happiness I anticipated in my future... I owed it all to Holly Rose.