He shakes his head, then smirks. “Doesn’t matter, he’s fucking fun to take the piss out of. That trade was worth having him around to torture.”
He’s doing it again.
I nod, not about to call him out when he just shared something so heavy with me.
“Your turn, Blondie. What sacrifice did you make for Curls?”
Sienna…
I smile slightly.I promised that when I die, I won’t enter the higher realm. Instead, I’ll reside inthe underworld.
I’ll never get to be with my father again or Grandpapa. I won’t get to live with the rest of my family. Instead, I’ll walk the halls of Hades’ Kingdom forever. I look down, but this time my tears betray me, and I close my eyes, wishing them away.
Don’t cry. Do not cry.
I press my lips together, glad for once that I didn’t have to speak those words because I would have sounded so pitiful.
Strong hands cup my face. His thumbs brush away my tears with surprising gentleness, and I open my eyes to meet the milky white ones before me. He offers me a half-smile, one that feels oddly genuine.
“Guess what, Blondie?” His voice is rough, but there’s an almost teasing softness to it. “You won’t be alone. We’ll be stuck with each other for eternity, ‘cause that’s exactly where I’m headed, too. Besides, we’ll need Heaven in Hell, right?”
It’s not funny. It shouldn’t be funny. And yet, the way he says it, so utterly resigned, yet trying to make me laugh, pulls a smile from me. My chest aches, but a small, silent laugh escapes me.
For a moment, in the reminder of death itself, somehow, Theo Westwood makes it feel less terrifying.
A Slice of Bliss
Theo
The rest of our journey passed in silence. She’s given up her afterlife for Sienna. The haughty Little Miss Perfect has given up a lot. She didn’t need to guarantee our safe return, but she did it anyway. I don’t even fucking know what to make of that.
There are definitely more layers to her, and she’s handling a lot despite all the shit she’s going through. It’s impressive. Annoyingly impressive.
I rest my elbow on her shoulder, glancing sideways at her.
“So,” I start in a casual tone. “When we get back to Earth, assuming we don’t, you know, explode, burn, or die when we do, cause our parents are going to fucking lose it, I was thinking we should call a truce.”
She looks at me, eyebrow arched.Meaning?she writes.
I smirk. “Meaning, wanna be my mate?”
Her eyes widen like saucers, and I can’t help but laugh. “Relax, Blondie. I meanmatemate, as in friend, not soul-bonding in case that’s what you got in your head.”
She rolls her eyes.Obviously not. You’re not my type, remember?
“And you’re not mine. Now that we’ve got that cleared up, what do you think? We make a pretty solid team when we’re not trying to kill each other. Might as well make it official.”
I know I’m amazing, but what do you bring to the table that I should even consider you a friend?she writes with an extra flair to her letters.
“Well, you mean aside from my devastatingly brilliant charm and perfect looks?”
She rolls her eyes.Whatever. But fine, Westwood. Truce on the condition you use the word friend, not mate,she writes.
I chuckle. “Sure thing,mate.”
She glares at me as I turn towards her, not caring that I’m right at the edge of our floating pad. “Now that we’re mates, I’ve been wanting to do this for way too long.”
Before she can question me, I reach over and tug both her juicy cheeks with a satisfied smirk. That feels damn satisfying. “You’ve got some cute fat cheeks there, Blondie.”
