After paying for our meal Death and I left the restaurant. By now, it had gotten dark outside so I attempted to look at the stars before realizing there weren’t any. It was just a dark mass above our heads.
Death must have seen the confusion on my face because he told me, “We’re not in the mortal realm anymore, Lilly. There are no stars, no moon, and no sun. Rain doesn’t fall and there are no seasons.”
“How does it get dark out if there’s no sun?”
He shrugged, “Beats me.”
I could understand what he meant. There wasn’t any wind, except for the slight breeze that would ruffle my hair anytime he warped us to a new place. The outside temperature was just right as well, you didn’t need to wear a jacket but you could without feeling too hot. This was limbo.
“So, where to next?” I asked. I didn’t like the smirk that slowly spread across his lips before he raised his right hand and I immediately knew what would be coming next.
I wasn’t ready to throw up the burger I just ate so I grabbed onto his arm to pull it down again, at which he tried to get me to let go of it. He pulled his arm back, causing me to bump into his chest.
I tried to ignore the rock-hard muscles underneath as best as I could but his other arm snaked around my waist, trapping me against him. He bent his head down to whisper in my ear, “I don’t actually need my arms to do it.”
His voice sounded a lot lower than before and the vibrations in his chest rumbled through my body, going down until they reached my core. Quickly, I pushed him off me and stepped back.
“Please don’t,” I said. My voice came out wobbly and my face had turned red as a beet. “Can we just walk, please?”
I tried to plead with my eyes as well and I was just about to give up when he spoke, “Fine.”
So we walked.
We didn’t talk, but the silence wasn’t awkward. Death’s large presence beside me was surprisingly soothing and helped keep my mind on track. Despite the fact I’d been feeling fine this whole time I felt as if I would break if I let myself. So I didn’t.
I forced myself to forget the bad things and focused on what laid ahead. He had promised me he would return me to to the land of the living as soon as we’d figured out what had happened.
“Hey, Death?”
I could see I dragged him from his thoughts as well since it took time a second to respond by looking back at me.
“When I go back, will I remember this? Will I remember you?”
He shook his head and looked away, “No, you won’t.”
I didn’t know why that hit me so hard. I’d only known this guy for a day and I was already saddened by the thought of leaving him. Even if he did annoy me for the most part.
“What are your plans for when you get back?” he asked me.
I had thought about it a little bit when I waited for him at the morgue, but I didn’t have a definitive plan yet. “I think I’ll go to my parents and tell them my death was faked and I had to be in the witness protection program first,” I said, causing him to laugh.
His laugh was a deep and gravelly one, the kind that gave you no choice but to join him.
“And then I’ll find another job. Life’s too short to do something you don’t like, apparently.”
“Don’t people literally say that all the time, though?”
“Yeah, but people say all kinds of shit all the time so I never really thought about it.”
“That’s fair,” he replied. “So what are you going to do, then?”
I shrugged, “I’ll see.”
He nodded and we fell back in that same comfortable silence as before until he stopped at an apartment building. I suddenly realized I had no place to stay and I didn’t know if he’d even let me sleep at his place.
Fuck it, I thought, he’s the one that’s keeping me here so he’s going to be the one that provides for me.
He opened the door and stepped through, making me follow. When we reached the elevator I noticed there weren’t any floor numbers on the buttons. This didn’t seem to be an issue for him as he just pressed one and the doors closed.
When we reached what I assumed to be the right floor we got out and walked to the door of his apartment. To my surprise, it wasn’t locked. And neither had the door downstairs been.
“Don’t you lock your door?” I asked him as we walked inside before closing it behind me. There weren’t even any locks on it.
“Stealing when you’re in limbo guarantees you a one-way ticket to hell so it’s not really a good idea.”
Right, I’d forgotten the fact that people came here to get judged.
I looked around his apartment and suddenly remembered he only had one bedroom. I shifted my eyes towards the couch and I knew it wasn’t the kind that was comfortable to sleep on.
Death caught my line of sight and smirked before leaning towards me, “You could also sleep on the floor if you want to.”
I scowled back at him. “I’m going to sleep in your bed.”
I knew it was bad manners to claim his bed as a guest but he should’ve thought this thing through better when he started it.
“That’s fine too, I like spooning,” he said with a hungry glint in his eyes, one I didn’t trust.
“I’m not going to sleep with you. In your bed, I mean,” I said before realizing that was even worse. “You can sleep on the couch.”
The glint in his eye didn’t disappear as he looked straight at me, as if he was trying to see into my soul. Which he probably could. “You can’t kick me out of my bed.”
“I can.”
“Nope, not happening. And we both know you can’t stop me from sleeping in my bed, so either you join me or you take the couch. I promise I’ll keep you nice and warm,” he said while winking at me.
I didn’t have to think too hard about it. “I’ll take the couch,” I replied dejectedly while eyeing the black leather piece of furniture.
His smirk didn’t go away as he just shrugged, “Alright, your funeral. I’ll go get your pillow and blankets, then.”
I sat down on the piece in question and tried not to cringe, it was rock hard.
After a few seconds, Death returned and threw everything on the couch, including the navy-blue shirt and red shorts. I raised an eyebrow, “No see-through nightgown this time?”
He leaned back on his heels while smiling at me, “I thought you liked these more. But if you want to wear the nightgown I don’t mind, they gave me quite a nice view. Wouldn’t mind seeing it again.”
“You’re awful,” I said. I was too tired to get mad at him right now but I’d get him tomorrow, I promised myself.
“If you need anything, keep it to yourself and don’t wake me,” he said while turning to go to his bedroom. “Oh, and I do want to warn you it can get a little cold in here during the night. But again, don’t wake me up. Night-night,” he said while blowing a kiss just before he closed his door.
I scowled at his door for a few moments longer in the hopes he’d somehow feel it before grabbing the clothes. I put them on while keeping an eye on his door but thankfully he didn’t come out again. I settled myself on the couch and sighed. I hoped I was tired enough to fall asleep.
And I was, until I woke up a few hours later with clattering teeth. When he said it would get cold in here he wasn’t exaggerating. It was fucking freezing in here. I wrapped the blanket around my body and pulled my legs up. But it wasn’t enough.
It was still dark out, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep. I debated on staying awake for the rest of the night but I already felt bad and knew it wasn’t an option. With a huff, I threw off the blankets to get up, but I immediately regretted it. So I bent down to grab it and put it around me as I started walking around the apartment.
After a thorough search, I had to accept that there wasn’t a thermostat in here. Leaving me only one option; to join Death.
I really didn’t want to, I already got weird feelings whenever he touched me and I dreaded whatever I was going to feel when I slept next to him. But I also knew I needed all the sleep I could get if I was going to have to spend another day with him.
So, I snuck over to his room as quietly as I could. I cracked open his door and peeked inside to find him sleeping peacefully on his back. The blankets only covered him up to his waist, leaving his beautifully muscled chest bare. I allowed myself to ogle the guy for a few more seconds until I got inside fully, silently closing the door behind me.
Of course he couldn’t feel the cold, I thought, he would’ve had a heating system in place if he could.
I peeled open the covers on the other side of the bed and slid in, instantly feeling better. I was glad he didn’t wake up or else I’d have to deal with another one of his remarks. I instinctively moved a little bit closer to him, careful not to touch him. His body absolutely radiated heat and I envied him for it. He was his own heater.
I sighed and allowed myself to relax since I was finally warm again and it only took me a few seconds to drift back to the dreamless sleep that awaited me.
