Wow. Deja vu.
Only Wilder had an odd look on his face, and he’d stopped talking. He was staring at us weirdly. I wondered if he’d heard something about the sheriff, and then I remembered that Paul was going to be fine.
“Oh, hey, you guys?” I called out, turning a bit on the couch. “The sheriff is fine. You can, like, call off the Scooby Gang or whatever.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over at us.
The phone rang. Dexter answered it, and apparently Jude was on the other end. There was some chatter as Jude told Dexter (who told everyone else) that some guy had pulled a knife on the sheriff, but he’d avoided getting stabbed, and the guy had actually ended up hitting his head and suffering an aneurismor something. Paul had performed CPR (because of course he had—he would totally try to save someone who was trying to kill him), but Jude didn’t think the guy was gonna make it. Apparently EMTs hadn’t gotten there yet.
Which made sense, since that all just happened. Or was still happening? Whatever. I gave a mental shrug. I turned to look at Corbin, who gave me a soft peck on the lips.
“Love you, little reaper,” he whispered.
“Love you, too,” I whispered back.
Wilder, who had walked over to respond to Jude on the phone, came back. He looked at both of us. “You went somewhere, even though you didn’t,” he finally said.
Corbin nodded his head, then he said, “Sebbie is tired, and we’re going to head home.”
Aww. Warm Fuzzies. He’d called my place home. I turned and smiled at him again, then I yawned. Huh. I did feel kind of tired, actually.
Wilder asked, “Has the danger passed?”
“Oh, yeah,” I said without thought. “Paul is totally fine. No worries there.”
Wilder nodded once, walking back to talk to the others. I got some more warm fuzzies thinking about how much he trusted me. How much they all trusted me. Scooby Gang or whatever this crew was, they were mine now, and that was pretty freaking awesome.
Corbin sort of pushed me up and got up behind me, calling out to everyone that we were heading out. I think Corbin thought that would be it, because he started walking toward the door.
Silly man. That was not a proper bestie goodbye. Of course, I had to give everyone hugs, joke with Q about coffee, and tease Toby about this all ending up in a book. Josh hugged me long and hard, and I hugged him back, grateful to have him in my life. Aiden got a hug, too, although I had no clue what to do withFluffy-slash-Atlas. It felt weird to hug a dog, but I didn’t want him to feel left out, so I finally settled on a loose hug around his neck and a pat to his massive shoulders.
I mean, the dog—or Atlas, whatever—was huge. How had I never wondered what kind of breed he was?
Life was just full of mysteries.
Corbin and I eventually made it out of the house, and he drove us back to my place. He kept looking over at me, putting a hand on my knee, and rubbing my arm. I felt like he was worried about me, but I wasn’t quite sure why. He didn’t say anything on the ride back, and I was content to sit and relax, letting my mind stay pleasantly blank as I looked out the window.
I really was tired.
We made it home, and Corbin let us both in. He dragged me straight to the bedroom, pulling off my clothes and pushing me onto the bed.
“Just need skin contact,” he murmured, pulling off his own clothes and following me. When we were settled into a nice cuddle position with me laying on his chest, the covers over us, he asked me, “What do you remember?”
It was like his words were a switch in my brain, because suddenly Ididremember. “Oh,” I said. “We saved the sheriff.” I looked up at him. “I’m not sure how, though.”
“Yes, for me, too,” he admitted. “I don’t remember much of it. Little pieces. I remember you told me that we wouldn’t remember.”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “I think when you break the laws of the universe, it’s probably better not to think too much about it.”
Corbin chuckled, pulling me tightly against him and kissing the top of my head. “You did a good thing, little reaper. You know that, right? You did a good thing, and I’m really proud of you.”
I smiled and cuddled against his chest. I hadn’t known I’d needed to hear those words, but I had. I really didn’t remember the details. I couldn’t tell youhowwe’d saved the sheriff. I just knew that we had, and that someone else would be waiting at the river. A sort of trade. It wasn’t something I should really be doing—it kind of was breaking the laws of the universe, or at least bending them quite a bit—but Corbin’s assurance that I’d done a good thing made me feel settled.
“I guess I have to deal with that other soul,” I muttered.
Corbin shook his head against me. “No, baby.Wehave to go deal with that other soul. You don't ever have to do it alone again. I’ll always come with you.”
Joy filled me at that, and the task ahead didn’t seem daunting at all anymore. Yes, of course Corbin would come with me. I’d known that. But hearing him take responsibility for what had to be done—it was… nice. I wasn’t the only one responsible anymore.
