The Real Story of Heaven and Hell

I laid in bed listening to the sound of Jimmy’s soft snoring. As he had been the past two nights he was in bed with us. Part of me wondered how he had managed to accomplish the feat while the other part didn’t care. What did it matter? Why did anything matter?

I fought the tears that sprung to my eyes. I had been fighting my break down all day. Lil had been one bad joke away from committing homicide. I had stayed by her side, breaking into song even, when needed to make her smile.

Now that it was silent I felt my resolve weakening. From where I was laying I could see Lil’s toe shoes. How was it that those were left untouched but my mother’s gold cross necklace was lost forever?! It wasn’t fair! None of this was fair!

A sob escaped my throat as a traitorous tear leaked down my cheek. I held my breath when Lil moved. I thought I had woken her, but I hadn’t. She rolled towards Jimmy as if drawn to him. My heart twisted as I watched them snuggle together. I couldn’t handle this, not now. Slowly I climbed silently out of the bed, no plan in mind except to get away.

As I walked around the house I realized it was just like me, empty. Okay it wasn’t really empty but no one was up so it seemed like it. I wondered down the hall stopping outside Zacky’s room. The door was cracked open so I could see that he was in his bed sound asleep.

With a sigh of regret I moved down the hallway. The soft sound of a guitar drifted to my ears. It sounded so haunted, so sad, so lonely. It was like a musical representation of the pain that was currently living inside me. I followed it somewhat hesitantly.

It led me to a closed door at the end of the hallway. I stood there just listening to the song, crying as it touched something inside me. I lifted my hand knocking softly. The music came to an abrupt halt. I didn’t dare breathe in the silence that followed.

Suddenly the door opened and I came face to face with the demon that had the face of a God. I watched as the look on his face went from anger to worry. “Is everything okay?”

One question.

One simple question was all it took for the flood gates to fail. I shook my head no as the sobs I had been holding in all day were ripped from my chest. Brian folded me into his arms and pulled me into his room. I clung to him as if my life depended on it.

He stood there, just holding me as I soaked his plain white tee with my tears. He gently moved me over to his bed, sitting down and pulling me into his lap. After many long moments my sobs quieted to sniffles.

When I finally lifted my head off his chest I was shocked at what I saw. His deep brown eyes were filled with a warm kindness. “Feel better?”

“A little.” I sniffed. “Thanks.” I wiped away the tears from my eyes and gave him a small smile.

“No problem.” He said with a real smile on his face. Good lord he was cute when he smiled like that.

I saw a black guitar leaning against the end of his bed. “You play really well.”

I watched the ‘huh’ look turn into one of understanding as he followed my gaze. I expected him to be smug, instead he shrugged. “If you say so.”

I smiled up at him. “I do.”

He was looking at me like he was unsure of my sincerity. I guess the world he came from people weren’t nice for no reason a lot, what a sad thought. I frowned and he touched the corner of it hesitantly. “Can I ask you a question?”

I nodded.

“Would you hit a guy if he kissed you without asking?”

I looked down at my hands and mumbled. “Like that would happen.”

He put a finger under my chin lifting it until I was looking at him. His chocolate eyes had darkened ever so slightly. “There’s a first time for everything Ser.”

I couldn’t breathe as his face came closer to mine. This was it. I was finally going to have my first kiss. I closed my eyes as butterflies took off in my stomach. His lips were both soft and firm as they pressed against mine.

When he tried to deepen the kiss I pulled back unsure. Unsure of him, of myself, of the reason I was feeling the way I was. “I…uhhh…should go.” I started to climb off his bed put he grabbed a hold of my arm, stilling me.

“I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”

He sounded hurt and embarrassed; I hated myself for doing that to him. “Don’t be. It’s just…I’m not normal.”

A deep chuckle left his perfect lips. “Babe you’re talking to a demon.”

“Oh…yeah…right.” What kind of response was I suppose to have to that? I had never kissed a guy before let alone a sinfully hot demon like Brian. I was afraid that I would be horrible at it and he would hate it. “I should uhhhh still go.”

“Wait. Before you go I want to give you something.” He got off the bed and walked over to his dresser. When he came back over he had a small velvet bag in his hand. “I found something that belongs to you earlier.”

I was frowning slightly as he grabbed a hold of my hand and opened it. A small gold cross landed in the palm of my hand. Tears welled in my eyes as I realized exactly what it was, my mom’s cross. I squeezed it in my palm as I looked up at him. “How?”

Brian shrugged. “I found it when we were trying to see if we could salvage for you girls. I didn’t realize it was yours until today.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Brian…I.” I shook my head trying to figure out what I wanted to say. How I could properly express my thanks. Words just didn’t seem to be good enough. I didn’t realize what I was doing until my lips were on his.

He was still for all of a millisecond before he responded in kind. I wrapped my arms around his neck while his strong arms wrapped around my waist. He deepened the kiss and this time I didn’t pull away. Instead I mirrored his actions, my tongue mimicking his.

I felt his hand burry itself in my hair tilting my head further so he could fully devour my mouth. I was panting when he pulled back from me. Brian’s eyes were so dark they almost looked black now and they were filled with the same look I had seen the other night, dark and hungry.

“I…uhhh…should go.” I turned and all but ran out of his room. My heart was pounding in my ears when I got back to our room. I opened the door slowly; Lil and Jimmy were snuggled together like a couple. I couldn’t join them, it felt like an intrusion.

I went out to the couch, deciding that would be my bed for the night. I lay there staring at the small gold cross for like a half hour. I didn’t want to sleep here; it was cold, and empty, lonely. I got up and slowly made my way back to the room I had fled from.

I stood outside of Brian’s door chewing on my bottom lip. Finally I knocked so softly I was sure even he wouldn’t hear it.

“Come in.” The deep tenor of his voice went right through me.

I slowly walked into his room feeling much like I was entering the lion’s den.

“Shut the door.”

My heart raced as I did what he asked. The room was pitched into complete darkness and I froze. A soft light came from a lamp beside his bed. Without asking he pulled back the black satin sheets for me. “Come on, crawl in.”

I crawled under the cool satin sheets. As soon as I was in the bed the light went off. I cuddled into him because I needed the contact. Did I mention that I hate the dark? “Thanks.” I whispered as he wrapped his arms around me.

“My bed is always available for you.” I couldn’t see him but I could hear the smug male tone in his voice that let me know he was grinning.

I tried not to think about the fact that Brian was only wearing boxers, harder said than done let me tell you. Especially since I was currently using his chest for a pillow. What I did find, is that when I focused on his heartbeat, I finally started to feel tired. Before I knew it, the steady rhythm had lulled me to sleep.

Which is where I still was when Lil found me the next morning.

YEAH.

You heard me.

Queue demon rage…