I point to the door. “Whatever awaits you in the afterlife is through that door.”
“Even if it’s bad?” He had several more questions. I could read them between his words.
“Even if it’s bad,” I repeated.
“So what happens? I open the door and walk through. Or do you just shove me through if it turns out I’m destined for hell?” Elliot shuddered again. “My grandma on my dad’s side of the family was a religious nutjob. Like, fire-and-brimstone kind of shit. I’d visit her for a week every summer. One week was enough.” He shook his head and shuddered. “If hell is anything like what her preacher yelled about, then no thanks. That shit isn’t for me.”
I chuckled. “I have no idea if hell even exists.” What I did know was that sometimes people saw what they feared when the door opened. A dark shadow would emerge from the door and grab them, pulling them inside. Sometimes hounds would come out, nipping at them and herding them through the door. “You’re not the type who’s typically destined for hell.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just know.” How would he feel if he knew I knew everything about him? I couldn’t tell what his feelings were or what the future held, but I knew his past. I knew the life he had led. It was like a memory that didn’t belong to me, something borrowed and filed away for when I needed it later.
“So, if hell isn’t on the other side, what is?” That was the million-dollar question, one I didn’t have an answer to.
“What would you like to see?”
Elliot’s chin wobbled. “My mom.”
“Then you’ll see her.” It was an incentive I shouldn’t have offered him, but I couldn’t deny him the truth. “Others have seen their loved ones, too. Some see a beach or a forest. It all depends on what your heart desires.”
“My mom, then. And blueberry cheesecake. My heart has always desired those two things.”
I chuckled.
“Come with me, and we’ll eat all the cheesecake we want.” Elliot smiled. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door.
I stopped.
He turned to meet my gaze.
“If you go through the door, you leave everything behind, including me.”
A crease formed between his eyebrows, and he stuck out his bottom lip. “I’ll die. Is that what you mean?”
“Yes.”
“What if I stay with you?”
“You’ll never die. Your body will never grow old. But your life will change almost immediately.” Because it would include me. I wouldn’t say it. At least not yet. I wasn’t sure how to bring up the Bureau hunting him, but that would change his life, too.
“How will it change?”
“That’s a very complicated question. One that requires more time than we have.”
Elliot seemed to consider his choice. He didn’t linger on the weight of each decision for long. “I still need to see the Grand Canyon. And I still want to fall in love. And become a successful carpenter.”
“You’re choosing to go back?” I wanted to make sure he was sure.
“Yeah. Yes. I want to go back. My mom would want me to live.” That she would. Staying in the living realm would change everything. But none of it was Elliot’s fault. He shouldn’t have to pay the consequences. I would do everything in my power to make sure he didn’t.
I held out my hand.
When Elliot took it, we walked back through the mist and into the darkness, then landed back at the restaurant.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” Elliot leaned in and hugged me. I was so startled, I didn’t hug him back right away. “I’m going to remember all this, right?”
