help?”
“Yeah.” She kept staring at me. “Look,” I said, pointing to my face, “my father did this to me, and he’s gonna do worse if he finds me, and Joshua is the only one that can protect me. So tell me where he lives.” I wondered if I’d have to wait until dark for the other ghosts to come out so I could ask them. A few of them had chatted with me on my previous visits and they’d know I was telling the truth. That would be easier, but there was a nervous itch under my skin, the fear that Satan could show up any second. What if he was looking for me cemetery by cemetery and this was one of the first places he checked? All the sore spots on my body throbbed at the memory of the beating the day before.
She gave me an address, and after some coaxing she even gave me directions. Now I just had to get up the courage to leave the relative safety of the cemetery. Joshua didn’t live too far away, but once I stepped outside the boundary, Satan would be able to find me if he was looking at that moment. So like a coward, I ran (more like limped) all the way to his house. It was downhill, so I had that to be thankful for.
Joshua must have known I was coming because he opened the front door just as I tripped on his front step. “Hi,” I said, after catching myself.
“Hi, Alexander,” he said, studying me. “What happened to you?”
“The devil,” I told him with a little laugh. “I uh… have something really weird to ask you.”
“What is it?”
Might as well just come out with it. “Can I stay with you for a few days?”
“You… want to stay with me?”
“Satan’s out there looking for me and he could find me any second.” I felt so exposed standing here on his front steps, imagining my father popping up to drag me back home. “He beat the shit out of me yesterday and he’s gonna do it again when he finds me. I can’t deal with another beating right now, it’s just too much.” Fuck. I felt the burning threat of tears at the back of my eyes. “The other gods won’t get involved and no one else can keep me safe. This is the only place I can go.”
Would he make me beg? Would he humiliate me? Would he turn me away? Joshua looked at me for a long moment, his expression troubled. Mew-Mew went up and rubbed against his legs. Please, help him. Joshua looked down at Mew-Mew, frowning in confusion. He knelt down and gently petted my cat. Mew-Mew blinked up at him.
Joshua looked back at me. “Come inside, Alexander.”
Chapter 5
Relief washed over me, so strong it made me a little dizzy. I limped the rest of the way up the stairs and he held the door open for me.
Mew-Mew trotted in with us. I meant to ask him if it was okay for me to bring my cat, but I guess it was okay since he didn’t say anything. He led me into the living room and offered me a seat. He sat on the couch. His house was nice, but not fancy. That was fine with me; I had more than enough of the fancy shit at home, so it had bad associations for me. I sat in the offered chair and Mew-Mew hopped into my lap.
I was about to say something, just to break the silence, when Joshua said, “You performed a miracle on your cat.”
“Huh?” It took me a second to figure out what he was talking about. “Oh, you mean bringing him back to life?”
Joshua nodded. “How did you do that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. He got hit by a car, and I loved him too much to let him die. I just thought about not letting him die, and I felt where his soul was and I just… put it back. I put his body back together too. I don’t know how I did that either; I just knew where everything fit.” I scratched Mew-Mew under the chin while he purred. An ache squeezed my heart as I thought about how I’d almost lost him.
Joshua leaned closer. “You said you loved him. Do you mean that?”
I frowned. “Of course I do. He’s my best friend.”
Joshua shook his head. “I didn’t think that was possible, for you to love something.”
I
“Yeah.” She kept staring at me. “Look,” I said, pointing to my face, “my father did this to me, and he’s gonna do worse if he finds me, and Joshua is the only one that can protect me. So tell me where he lives.” I wondered if I’d have to wait until dark for the other ghosts to come out so I could ask them. A few of them had chatted with me on my previous visits and they’d know I was telling the truth. That would be easier, but there was a nervous itch under my skin, the fear that Satan could show up any second. What if he was looking for me cemetery by cemetery and this was one of the first places he checked? All the sore spots on my body throbbed at the memory of the beating the day before.
She gave me an address, and after some coaxing she even gave me directions. Now I just had to get up the courage to leave the relative safety of the cemetery. Joshua didn’t live too far away, but once I stepped outside the boundary, Satan would be able to find me if he was looking at that moment. So like a coward, I ran (more like limped) all the way to his house. It was downhill, so I had that to be thankful for.
Joshua must have known I was coming because he opened the front door just as I tripped on his front step. “Hi,” I said, after catching myself.
“Hi, Alexander,” he said, studying me. “What happened to you?”
“The devil,” I told him with a little laugh. “I uh… have something really weird to ask you.”
“What is it?”
Might as well just come out with it. “Can I stay with you for a few days?”
“You… want to stay with me?”
“Satan’s out there looking for me and he could find me any second.” I felt so exposed standing here on his front steps, imagining my father popping up to drag me back home. “He beat the shit out of me yesterday and he’s gonna do it again when he finds me. I can’t deal with another beating right now, it’s just too much.” Fuck. I felt the burning threat of tears at the back of my eyes. “The other gods won’t get involved and no one else can keep me safe. This is the only place I can go.”
Would he make me beg? Would he humiliate me? Would he turn me away? Joshua looked at me for a long moment, his expression troubled. Mew-Mew went up and rubbed against his legs. Please, help him. Joshua looked down at Mew-Mew, frowning in confusion. He knelt down and gently petted my cat. Mew-Mew blinked up at him.
Joshua looked back at me. “Come inside, Alexander.”
Chapter 5
Relief washed over me, so strong it made me a little dizzy. I limped the rest of the way up the stairs and he held the door open for me.
Mew-Mew trotted in with us. I meant to ask him if it was okay for me to bring my cat, but I guess it was okay since he didn’t say anything. He led me into the living room and offered me a seat. He sat on the couch. His house was nice, but not fancy. That was fine with me; I had more than enough of the fancy shit at home, so it had bad associations for me. I sat in the offered chair and Mew-Mew hopped into my lap.
I was about to say something, just to break the silence, when Joshua said, “You performed a miracle on your cat.”
“Huh?” It took me a second to figure out what he was talking about. “Oh, you mean bringing him back to life?”
Joshua nodded. “How did you do that?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. He got hit by a car, and I loved him too much to let him die. I just thought about not letting him die, and I felt where his soul was and I just… put it back. I put his body back together too. I don’t know how I did that either; I just knew where everything fit.” I scratched Mew-Mew under the chin while he purred. An ache squeezed my heart as I thought about how I’d almost lost him.
Joshua leaned closer. “You said you loved him. Do you mean that?”
I frowned. “Of course I do. He’s my best friend.”
Joshua shook his head. “I didn’t think that was possible, for you to love something.”
I
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