Happily Ever Afterlife

Chapter Four

"Enjoy your little show?" Ash snarled when I walked into his living room. My parents both sat on the couch, looking awkward and uncomfortable.

Clearly, they'd been having a lot of fun without me.

"No," I said softly. "I didn't. But I needed to see it, Ash."

He glared at me and said nothing.

"That girl you saved?" I thrust my arm out, as if I could possibly be pointing in the direction of the mountain he'd been killed on. "She's my charge, Ash. I have to know her story or I won't be able to protect her."

Ash's eyes widened and he turned from me to Death, who I hadn't even realized stood next to me. In my defense, he was dark and blended really well. "What?" Ash whispered.

"She's the doctor's daughter. And that's why he could hear me when I could never hear you. So can you let go of the whole anger issue now?" I crossed my arms over my chest and popped a hip. "It's getting old."

His eyes softened, just a bit.

"That's not the only reason..." Death started. When I looked at him, he quickly turned the red, glowing eyes away, refusing to meet my gaze. And then he played with his robes and twisted his scepter.

"Death?" Ash growled. I wondered if he ever just said things in a normal, not like-he-was-about-to-blow-things-up kind of voice.

More importantly, though, Death was avoiding the question. Not the most Death-like thing I could have pictured. "The doctor could hear Winter and she could never hear you because he literally held her life in his hands."

"And I didn't?" Ash growled. Still. I raised an eyebrow.

"You fought to protect her life," Death sighed. "You never held it in your hands and watched her soul slip through your fingers."

Good explanation. I'd buy that. But there was something else, something he wasn't telling us. I narrowed my eyes. "That's not what made you all fidgety. What's up, Death?"

Yep. There's a sentence I never thought I'd say.

"First, you must sign a contract. And then training. The rest will be revealed in due time. Are you in, Winter?"

I looked over at my parents, who nodded encouragingly. "What about them?" I asked.

"They've already signed their contracts," Ash sighed. "So I guess that means you're staying?"

I nodded. "Contract me, Death." No one laughed at my little joke, although my mom gave me a pity smile.

That's what I've amounted to. Pity smiles. Sad, sad day.

A shiny gold contract appeared in front of me. It sparkled in the light, but the pen that came with it weighed more than any barbell I'd ever lifted. "What the heck?"

"It's to make sure you realize this decision is a heavy one." Death looked pretty proud of himself for that little pun. No one laughed, either.

My mom did give him a pity smile.

Ha.

I tightened my fingers around the pen and lifted it, my hand shaking embarrassingly. But I was determined to do this. It wasn't about staying with Ash anymore. I had felt something with that little girl. Something akin to what I imagine mothers feel with their babies. I was meant to protect her.

But yeah, Ash helped the decision, too.

As if he realized I was thinking about him, he spoke up. "Winter? A word?"

From the dark look on his face, I was fairly positive he wanted more than just one word. Swallowing hard, I dropped the pen

He came across the room, because he'd been standing as far as possible from all of us, and took my hand.

It was the same as it had been all those years ago. Warmth spread from our touch and washed through me, and I didn't realize how cold I was until he chased it away. For the thousandth time, I wondered what happened to that boy I knew—the one that actually smiled occasionally and didn't lash out at everything close to him.

He didn't seem to notice, though, as he pulled me away from the others and into another room. His house looked like it had been built in the 1970s, which was weird because the others in the town were all super modern. There were pictures on the walls that I just caught glimpses of before we moved on, and I realized they were of his family. And then it hit me—this was his house. From before, when he'd been alive. The house he'd shared with his parents.

My heart broke a little more. Was being a guardian always this painful?

Once safely in the kitchen and out of earshot of everyone else, he turned to me but didn't let go of my hand. "Don't do this," he said quietly. "Please, don't do this. You don't realize how hard it is. I'm—I'm not worth this, Winter."

I met his eyes, shocked by the pain there. His thumbs stroked the backs of my hand, but he didn't seem to realize it. "Ash, I—I never got over you—"

His chin dropped to his chest and his eyes fell closed in defeat. "I know." Of course he knew. He'd been there the whole time. He'd watched me date other guys, watched me cry at night because no one could make me forget him, probably even watched me search the internet for magic potions that could erase his memory. That was embarrassing.

"—But you aren't why I'm doing this."

His head jerked up and his eyes flew open. "What?"

My entire body trembled and I didn't know if it was because of his nearness, what I was about to do, or what I'd just seen. "It was about you. At first. But that girl, Ash. She—she needs me."

He nodded slowly, because he understood. He'd stayed for the same reason. Because I needed him. "You're sure about this?" There was so much vulnerability in his voice.

I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest so loudly I thought it would drown out my words. "It would be easier if you'd stop hating me so much."

He shook his head, his lips quirking sadly. "I could never hate you, Winter. I just—I failed you. You're here because I failed. How can you not understand that?"

"I'm here because it was my time, Ash. I have no doubt you fought like hell to keep me there, but sometimes, it's just over." I sucked in a breath, trying to calm... everything. My whole self was in chaos. "I need to sign that contract. And then I need you to train me. Can you do that?"

He searched my face, and I felt like he was reading my very soul. Something changed in his eyes, then, and he seemed to come to an internal decision because he finally nodded. "Okay. I'll train you. Sign the contract, and we'll get you settled. Training starts first thing in the morning."

For the first time since I'd arrived, Ash smiled at me. "And don't think I'm going easy on you just because of us, Winter. I'm a tough coach. You better be ready."

I grinned, despite my shaking like a small dog in a hurricane. He said us like we were a thing. Small victories! When I realized I hadn't answered yet, I nodded. "Yes sir. Death? I'm ready to sign that contract."

He appeared next to me, my parents following behind. Again, the contract unraveled out of thin air, like he was some sort of witchy conjurer, and the pen next to it.

This time, though, when I picked it up, the pen weighed nothing at all. Without hesitation, I signed my soul away to Death.