Chapter 42
forty-two
. . .
“So, the vasectomy,” I prompt. We’re back on the floor after cleaning up and each taking our turn in the bathroom, sharing the one square pillow.
My leg is hitched over his, and the blanket has been pulled down from the couch to cover us.
Unfortunately, I have to work this afternoon, otherwise, I would spend the rest of the day in this exact position.
Kit’s hand absently traces over my bare back. “I got it when I was twenty. I knew I was going to die, and I didn’t want any accidents. I didn’t want to be the reason some kid existed without a father.”
“That’s really great of you.”
He shrugs. “It’s reversible.”
I tap my fingers on his chest. “So, what’s the plan now? You said you wanted to go back to California? To your family. Izan. Jenna.”
His brow furrows tightly at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. “I don’t know about Jenna.” He rolls us over so he is on top of me, all of his weight resting on me, which I quite like. “Why the hell would I go see an ex from a million years ago when the woman I’m in love with is right here?”
My heart lurches. I’m not surprised, not really, but hearing it aloud… “You’re in love with me?”
“I thought that was obvious.”
I lose his eye. “You said you were trying to go to California. I figured seeing me was a lucky coincidence. You figured you’d get some then move on to the people you actually want to reunite with.”
He grabs my chin lightly as he regards me with squinted eyes. “I have literally been in your mind, so I know there is no way you are this dense.”
He rolls off of me and sits up. I sit up, too, pulling the blanket up around my chest, not wanting to feel even more vulnerable than I currently do.
His hands cup my cheeks. “Sweetness, I want to visit California. Let my family and Izan know I’m alive.
But I came back for you. I was at the train station because I was trying to get to you.
You being there was a lucky coincidence, but because it meant I got to kiss you that much sooner.
” He repeats what I said with scorn, “Figured I’d get some.
Come on.” He pulls me so close our noses are almost touching.
“I’m not leaving you, Lace. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I whisper, feeling appropriately admonished.
“Good.” He kisses me softly. “If you brought me back from the literal depths of Hell and weren’t in love with me, that would be the mixed signal of all mixed signals.”
I laugh. “Well, let me give you something that definitely isn’t a mixed signal.”
Now in my previously discarded T-shirt, I slide onto the couch next to Kit with two mugs of the coffee I was brewing earlier in my hands. The coffee tastes like stale diner coffee that has been on the warmer too long (because it has been), but neither of us care.
“Thank you,” Kit says, kissing my cheek. He takes a sip of the coffee and grimaces, but continues to drink it.
“I like that mole on your thigh,” I say back. It’s a small, brown spot on his upper leg that I couldn’t help but press my mouth to as soon as I saw it. I’m sad I can’t see it anymore now that he’s wearing boxer briefs.
“I could tell.” He gives me a cheeky grin. “Listen, baby, I have a lot to apologize for.”
I shake my head. “No, you don’t need—”
“I do. God, where do I start? I am not going to apologize for possessing you, because that kept you alive, but I do apologize for staying for as long as I did. There were other ways to keep you safe, and you found them without my help. I should have helped you find those ways.”
“You’ve already apologized for that,” I say, my hand on his cheek, turning those navy-blue eyes to me. “I forgive you.”
“No, but I also shouldn’t have taken you to the club and got us that drunk.
Or taken you to the haunted old mill with the vengeful spirit.
Or, god. The bee! I almost got you killed.
” He covers his face with his hand. “I was, fuck, everything we did, I was just trying to impress you. Show you a good time. Such a dumbass.”
I laugh lightly, pulling his hand down from his face.
“Kitten, I’m not saying you made the best decisions or that I am happy with what you did, but we both walked out of this alive.
You’re human. You went to Hell and added me, my sister, and yourself to the list. We’re safe.
It’s okay. I love you, and we have so much more to deal with than the things you’re sorry for. ”
He brings his lips to mine again. “Okay, well if you ever want to yell at me about all the things I did wrong, you’re welcome to.
” He sighs and sinks into the couch. “So, how exactly are we going to get me declared not dead and deal with the fact that my parents received a payout from my life insurance?”
I suck my teeth. “We need to do some research.” I crane my head to see the clock on my oven.
“Shit. I actually have to go to work. My shift starts at eleven.” I turn back to him.
“Will you be fine on your own? You can make a list of everything we need to do and everything you need to buy. Like a phone and whatever else.” I stand to go put on real clothing but pivot back again.
“Or you can come with me to work? We have tables and comfy chairs. You don’t have to, though, if you’re tired or want some alone time or whatever. ”
He grins. “Perfect idea. I’ll come with.”
Kit gets dressed in one of the new pairs of jeans and a T-shirt I bought him and accompanies me to work.
I set him up at a table near the back of the store with snacks and water.
Food, water, and sleep are things that don’t even seem to be on his mind, so I’m finding I need to remind him to engage with these necessities until it clicks for him that he does need them for survival.
Matthias doesn’t get in for his shift until two, so I spend the next three hours anxiously glancing at the clock waiting for him and wandering by Kit to peek over his shoulder at what he’s researching on my laptop or doodling in the margins of his notebook, or to press a kiss to his head.
I am ridiculously in love.
The store gets busy, so I miss Matthias’s entry.
He pops up behind me unexpectedly. “Okay, I need you to tell me everything about your meeting, because I care about you and your success. But first, I need to tell you that there is a very attractive man at one of the tables researching how to be declared legally alive after being declared legally dead. I sincerely hope he’s writing a book. ”
I bite my lip to poorly conceal a grin. “He’s not writing a book. That’s Kit.”
Matthias’s eyebrows scrunch. “That’s Kit? Wait, wait, wait. You mean the…” He looks around and whispers, “The demon?”
I nod enthusiastically. “Except he’s not a demon anymore. Our spell worked.”
His eyes open wide, head swinging to glance back to where Kit is stationed, chewing on the cap of his pen. “It worked? Like, for real?”
“Apparently on our second try.”
He laughs manically as he continues to stare at Kit. “I am good.” He swings his head back to me. “What if it worked on every try and there are just a bunch of identical Kits wandering around now?”
“He has one soul, just like everyone else, and it’s in him.” I point at Kit.
“Too bad.” Matthias hums. “Is that what he looked like as a human, because, you lucky, lucky girl.”
“Oh, shush,” I say, pleased by this reaction.
“But yes. He’s very handsome.” I grab him by the arm to drag him over to Kit.
I tell him how the meeting went along the way.
“I haven’t heard anything more yet, but they did say it would be like a month before I did, so I’m not worried. Anxious, but not worried.”
Matthias grins. “Well, I am incredibly proud of you, my fellow spooky friend.”
I walk around the table behind Kit and rest my hands on his shoulders. “Kit, you remember Matthias.”
“Of course.” Kit stands and reaches out a hand for him to shake. “I owe you my thanks. I ended up in the UK, but I owe you and your coven my thanks.”
Matthias’s head cocks to the side at that, so Kit gives him a brief rundown of what happened. He then looks to me and says, “Apparently, being declared legally alive is rather difficult after being declared legally dead. Lots of documents and legal matters and lawyers and blech.”
I frown in disapproval. It’ll be difficult for a dead man to build a life.
Matthias hums. “So, you’ve been dead for ten years?”
Kit nods.
“Hmm, well, an easier, more mystical route to go would be a spell.”
“What kind of spell?” Kit and I ask together.
“One to alter official documents. It’s a simple one. People usually use it for aging themselves up or down on birth certificates and licenses or tax evasion, but it could work for this, too. I could rework it a bit so it could function on a larger scale.”
I pull out a chair next to Kit’s to take a seat. “How so?”
Matthias takes a seat, too. Customers be damned.
“Well, for starters, we get rid of any copy of your death certificate, erase obits, goodbye tributes on social media, anything that marks you as dead. Then we would create a legal reason for you to have been off the grid for ten years. Work visa or something. You did say you were in England, and there will be a record of you flying back to the US.” Matthias reaches across the table to slide Kit’s notebook over to him, flipping to a blank page and scribbling something down.
“And I assume you’re planning to stay in Connecticut? ”
“I’ll be wherever Lacy is.”
My fingers trail up and down his back, offering a soft gesture to communicate that I’ll be wherever he is, too.
Matthias continues writing, crossing something out, then writing it again. “Then there’s less chance of your running into anyone you know, former coworkers, employers, girlfriends, whatever.”
Kit hums. “That would work. You’ll help us out?”
“Of course.” He lays the pen down, sliding the notebook back to me.