In The Shadow of Death

“Have I mentioned I hate being blindfolded?” I told Jimmy. He’d tied a bandanna over my eyes and put me in the car. He hasn’t told me where we’re going.
“Oh come on. You probably think it’s kinky.” He laughed. “And we’re here anyway.” I let him lead me out of the car. He untied the bandanna finally.
We were standing in front of a dark house. It had a big weeping willow in the front and the house itself was painted dark green.
“Is this..?” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
“It’s ours.” His face spread into a big grin as he saw the excited look on my face. “Come on.” He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door before sweeping me up into his arms bridal style.
“Gotta carry you over the threshold.” He kissed my nose before setting me down inside our new home.
The front door opened into a small entryway with a little table I knew would be covered in mail and keys within the next day. Off to the left there was a large living room. It had a stone fireplace on one side and a comfy looking couch. There were a couple armchairs scattered in the room.
We took a quick tour through the house. The kitchen was awesome, even though I didn’t cook much. It was bigger than the one in my grandfather’s house, painted a bright cheery yellow. Before we went upstairs we went outside to see the backyard.
It had a big lawn and a bunch of trees, not to mention a big lavender bush.
“Come see upstairs.” Jimmy pulled me back into the house and up the stairs. There were two bedrooms but I didn’t really pay attention the smaller one.
The master bedroom was painted a deep burgundy color with one cream colored wall. The bed had a puffy red comforter on it and there were dark wood nightstands that matched the headboard on both sides.
The bathroom made me gasp. There was a huge claw foot bathtub, big enough that three people could have fit in comfortably.
“You did all this for me?” I asked, turning in Jimmy’s arms to face him. “How’d you afford all this?”
“You and Sera both have massive trust funds. This whole house and all the furniture barely scraped the surface.” He leaned down to give me a kiss.
“I think this surprise deserves a reward.” I said slyly, running past him toward the bed.
--
It was nice to wake up in our house, in our bed, without having to worry about someone busting in or hearing us.
The only problem was Sera was probably freaking out. In this past month she’d been getting more memories back and one of the ones she remembers clearest is our dependence on each other.
I mentioned it to Jimmy and he just smiled. “Brian bought the house next door just for that reason.”
“Are you serious?” I couldn’t help laughing. Brian sure knew how to make my sister happy. I shuddered as a memory of one night I’d walked past their room and heard some sounds I so didn’t need to hear. They could probably say the same thing about Jimmy and me.
“Hey Jimbo?” I was sitting at our kitchen table, a cup of coffee in my hands.
“Yeah?”
“Will you take me to see if I can still go to school?”
“Of course love. Go shower and breakfast will be ready when your done.” I gave him a quick peck on the lips before showering, pulling my damp hair into a ponytail and putting on jeans and a t-shirt.
As he promised, breakfast was ready for me when I came back down. He got ready while I was eating and we drove to the campus.
NYU wanted me for the dance program there but I picked this school because Sera was getting a free ride to it. I got a scholarship as well and I was hoping I hadn’t lost it in my two month absence.
After a quick trip to the administration office, I discovered I hadn’t lost my scholarship. The secretary actually asked me if I was feeling better after the mono. I said yes, unsure of what else to say. She even praised me for getting all of my course work done while I was sick.
“Your mom called them and told them you and Sera had mono. I thought you knew.” Jimmy told me as we walked out. I shook my head.
“Okay. Time to climb the Hill of Death.” I bent down and touched my toes quickly.
“What?” I pointed up at the friggin mountain in front of us.
“The dance studio is on top of that. I think they put it there to make us exercise even more.” I took one final breath and started up the hill. Jimmy was out of breath halfway up the hill. I wasn’t out of breath for another ten yards.
“We made it!” I wheezed, leaning against the door. “Praise Jesus.” I was about to open the door when I looked up and mumbled, “Sorry.”
Sometimes I forget Jesus actually exists.
I was barely in the door when I was smothered by a bunch of excited dancers.
“I missed you!” Bei Huang, known to most of the company as Baby, squealed.
“I missed you guys too.” I could see Olivia, more commonly known as Billie Joe or just Billie for her obsession with Green Day and Kiva, who must have torn herself away from Zacky to come to class.
“Who’s he?” Billy asked, pointing at Jimmy.
“Oh, babe, come here. Jimmy, this is Bei Huang, Olivia Armstrong and Kiva Biglin.” I introduced them. “AKA, Baby, Billie Joe and K-Pop. Guys, this is my boyfriend Jimmy.”
“Hurt her and we’ll find you with a crowbar.” Billie said smoothly.
“I’m pretty sure Lil could beat me up.” Jimmy laughed.
“Knowing our Lillypop, I wouldn’t put it past her.” I winced when Kiva said my nickname.
“Lillypop?” He couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice.
“In my defense, I was supremely drunk.” I sighed. “We gotta go get changed. I’ll call you when I get out.” I stood up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss and the girls wolf-whistled at me.
“He’s hot.” Billie remarked while we were changing into our dance clothes. “And he seems to really have a thing for you.”
“We’ve been through a lot together.” I had to choose my words carefully. The only one here who knew the extent to how much Jimmy and I had been through together was Kiva.
I stepped out of the changing room, the familiar feeling of the floor on my feet calming me.
“Welcome back Lil.” Liza Tedford, the dance teacher smiled when she saw me. “Feeling better after the mono?”
“Much better. I’m so sorry about Fallen.” I had only been able to perform on opening night.
“You can’t help getting sick. Go warm up with the others. We’re starting a new routine today.” I grinned and went through the stretches.
I relished in the feeling of being back in the dance studio. One wall was of mirrors and the other had big windows looking out onto the Hill of Death. The girls had probably seen me slogging up the hill.
Liza showed us the choreography for the first six eight-counts and then started the music. The song was “Party Poison” by My Chemical Romance. It looked like we were having a dance party at some points and it was one of the most fun dances we’ve ever done.
I was exhausted by the end of the rehearsal, when the sun was starting to set over the Hill of Death.
“Lil, do you want a ride home?” Baby asked as she was about to leave.
“Is your car parked in the lot up here?” I asked, closing my locker.
“Well duh. I’m not hiking all the fucking way back down to my car.”
“I’ll call Jimmy and tell him you’re giving me a ride.” I dialed his number and stepped away from everyone.
“Hey babe. You want me to come get you?” I could sit and listen to him talk for hours. I love his voice.
“Bei’s gonna give me a ride home. Thankfully her car is parked close to the studio. I feel like someone beat me up.” I rolled my shoulders and winced.
“See you in a bit. I love you.”
“Love you too.” I hung up and followed Baby out to her car. We chattered about dance and our impending graduation. I’d knocked all my general education classes out in the first two years so I only had dance classes.
Did I really care about graduating college anymore? I thought back to my life this past two months.
I’d discovered I was the daughter of the Devil, fallen in love with an angel, gone to hell and faced down the demons to save said angel, survived a lamia bite, fought on the End of Days along side angels and demons, killed Lucifer, died myself and returned to life.
A college degree seemed pitiful next to that.
“You moved out of your grandfather’s house?” Baby asked when I gave her the address.
“My grandfather died actually.” I said quietly. I still missed the man who’d raised us, even though he wasn’t our real grandfather. “He had a heart attack.” It was a less painful way to think of the way he died.
“I’m sorry doll. And then you and Sera got mono on top of that.” She shook her head. “Well, I’m here if you need me. Love ya.”
“Love ya.” I got out of the car and dragged my aching body into the house.
“Jimmy?” I called.
“Up here.” He called back. I followed the sound of his voice and found him in our bathroom, filling the gargantuan tub with water and bubbles.
“Taking a bubble bath Jimbo? Want some chocolates and candles to go with?” I teased.
“This is for you silly. You told me you were sore, so some hot water and my magic massage will do you some good.”
“I swear you aren’t real sometimes.” I stripped and sank into the deliciously warm water. Jimmy sat behind me on the edge of the tub and started to rub my shoulders.
“God damn. You were right about the magic part.” If I’d been standing up I would have dissolved into a puddle right then. I leaned back and let his kneading hands lull me into a drowsy stupor.
Images flashed across my eyelids, almost too fast to decipher. I can’t explain how I pieced them together and made a coherent idea.
“Oh shit.” I muttered. “Jimmy, I think we have a problem.”
“What’s wrong?” He immediately went into guardian mode.
“Hand me the phone and I’ll tell you for sure.” I dialed Sera’s cell phone number.