"Are you hungry?" Ray asks as he leads me down the stairs. Okay, so something really weird is going on here. The whole surrounding looks like an abandoned haunted building that Ray found, even the room I was imprisoned in was crawling in sadness. And every step we take down just moves us to another level. It's like playing a video game where we have to defeat the opponent before going to the advance and more complex level.
The living room is completely different from the room I stayed in. I don't know if Ray deliberately made that room like that because it's like the living room and that room exist in two different places. While the room I just came out from looked like a place no one has been in years, the other part of the house is normal and clean, almost as if he forgot the room was a part of the building.
"Yeah, I could eat," I murmur at the same time my stomach rumble, making those annoying little sounds I hate.
I will eat and then work on my plans. Someone put a bounty on my head and I don't know who or how to get to them. I know my initial plan is to find the person and then go look for Roman but I don't think that'll be possible. The person went to great lengths to put a seven hundred million bounty on me and still stays hidden.
In my opinion, I think he or she is hiding in plane sight. Karai probably told them that she got me and claimed the money. Going after the person isn't an option now. If they are still after me, then I will wait for them because I have no way of finding the person behind everything. And in the meantime I'll finish what I started. Find Roman's body. I know I told Ray that we'll find the person behind all of this but I can't unless someone else come after me. So it's better I just do both at the same time.
I don't know what Ray's deal is with the person. And the only reason why I haven't been pestering him with questions is because he said it's personal, and I'll respect that for now. At least now I have an ally, even though I don't trust him. He's still here and it's more than I can say for some other people in my life. I know I want to spend some time alone but my friends never really gave me a choice. So yeah, I'm free for the first time since I started going to The Vale.
I've been missing out on school and I don't know what that means for my future. I never really cared for my education but I can't not go to school. The money my parents left me is much and my trust fund is huge but what the hell am I going to do for the rest of my life? I certainly can't spend the rest of my life hunting people.
I'm still sixteen, I still have time.
"What do you want?" He enters the kitchen as he asks. I haven't seen the outside of this place but I'm curious about it.
"Tell him you want some blueberry pancakes."
I yelp. "Fuck!"
"Hey, what's up?" Ray asking, not turning away from the pantry.
I shake my head and quickly put some words together before leaving the kitchen. "I'll be right back. See ya!"
Placing my hands on his shoulder, I push him out of the kitchen, he stumbles before regaining his footing. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Why would you sneak on me like that?" My glare pin him to one spot. I know he's a spirit but he has no right to be appearing out of nowhere. It was funny when I thought he was just a mirage.
"I miss you too, Cammy Glammy," He says, winking at me. Cammy Glammy?
I cross my arms above my chest and narrow my eyes at him. "What are you here?"
He pulls the collar of his jacket and smirks. "What do you mean what am I doing here? I'm your subconscious baby," He tells me before walking towards me. I know I'm convinced that he isn't Roman because he would never call me baby. He wraps his arm around my neck, pulling me closer to him. "You and I are bound for life."
"The hell we are!" I raise my leg up and step on his feet before pushing him off me. "Get the hell off me, you sick joke."
"Aggressive." He mutters before sliding down the floor to sit. "Come on, Cami. Talk to me, what's going on?"
Isn't there a switch button? Where I can just click on and get rid of him forever. The first time he appeared after what happened on Christmas, I thought it was my way of dealing with his death because in a way he died saving me. So I never questioned his existence and when I begin to question it, I realize there's some many things I've missed and I need to unravel.
Someone created a fake Roman for me and I don't know who. All I know is that the person knows me and knows what he meant to me. Which is exactly why I need to find the real Roman, his body anyway. And to ask myself the question, what exactly did he mean to me? We weren't even that close and there was that situation with your five seconds kids.
"Can I ask you something?" I ask and he nods, looking serious all of a sudden, reminds me of the first time I saw him. I thought I was losing my mind, seeing him in front of me and then he appeared again and again until he became a thing. "What are you?"
"Roman Benedict."
I shake my head. "That's not the answer I want and you know it. Now, let's try again, shall we. What. Are. You?"
He takes a deep breath before getting on his feet. "Like I've been saying since Christmas, this is all you, I am your subconscious and–"
"Jessica created you," I whisper and the look on his face only confirms it.
"Now you see that you and I are forever." He says with a mocking smirk.
I shake my head and walk towards him. "Stop saying you and I, there is no you and I." I warn gently before pushing him against the wall. "What is it going to take to get rid of you?" I ask him. "Your face annoys me and your presence is infuriated."
"You weren't singing that tune when I snuggle you to sleep that night in The Vale, remember that night you had your first episode."
Yeah I remember that night, I fucking remember it like it happened yesterday but Jessica wasn't even in The Vale then. How the fuck did she even know?
"You're betraying his memories by being here. I–"
"Food is ready." Ray says from the doorway, cutting me off. He stops, eyeing me suspiciously. "What are you going?"
My eyes moves to my front to see that as usual he's gone. I sigh and step away from the wall. "We are not done with this conversation." I whisper before facing Ray. "Nothing, I was just umm..." I clear my throat. "Admiring the wall. Did they really build the house with stone?"
"No, it's a wallpaper," He answers before going back inside the kitchen.
"Well, that's convenient." I mutter before following him. "Look, we are going to be working together and we don't trust each other, but I've told things about me, you know things about me but I don't know anything about you except that you kidnapped me and make a knife out of a fire ball."
He chuckles before helping me with the tray of noodles and salad. That looks mouth watering. "Come on, we're eating in the living room, in case you haven't noticed, the house is under construction." He tells me.
I noticed it all right.
"I'm an occultic detective," He replies.
That seems fitting. "What do you need the seven hundred million if you're a detective?"
He shrugs as we settle on the floor with our food, he passes me the fork before uncapping a bottle water. "It's a lot money, I can't say no to that."
"Sensible. How do you know about me?"
"Your Grandma was on Earth and I knew her."
My eyes widen. "You knew Laura-El wow!" I have neven met the woman before and Ray knows her. Wait a sec. "How should I know that you're telling the truth?"
"You don't." He takes a fork full of noodles. "She went by Laura when she was on Earth, it wasn't long before she left but the time she spent here was enough for the whole world to know how powerful she was." He says before taking a bite.
"So... Why are you helping me?"
"Eat your food before it gets cold, you won't like it if it does."
"I don't even like noodles," I huff.
"Then eat your salad, it's healthy for you."
I scoff. "Okay, one question and I'll eat. Why are you helping me?"
I shrug. "I once knew a man that was caught on the wrong side of the line, and his death took someone from me. That wrong side of the line is your family. I've been watching your whole family since Laura return to Di Hipsodat. Her son came, but he wasn't as brutal as the Mom, infact he was a pussy, no offense, I know he was your father. Your Mother got caught on the wrong side again, your family side and look what they did to them, to you. So I made a promise to protect you."
"You made a promise to whom?" I ask him.
He ignores me and continue eating. "When you said you knew someone that got caught on the wrong side, are you saying that the person was in love with the death queen?"
"How do you think you got the name Stark? Surely you don't think it's Dihipian."
"Wait, what–"
"Stop talking." Ray drops his plate on the tray and place his index finger on his mouth, telling me to shush.
I'm instantly alert. "What is it?" I ask in a low tone. "What's going on?"
"I hear a heartbeat, I hear–" Someone yank the door open before Ray can finish his sentence.
"What the hell?"
I hear a growl behind me, it comes from Ray. I look at him to see him glaring at Damian, who is also wearing the same look. They know each other.
"Hey, did you find her?" I tense when I hear the sound of her voice.
I stand up on my feet, ignoring Damian and Ray's protest as I rush to Jessica, pinning her against the wall with my hand around her neck. "Camille!" I hear Damian behind.
"What are you doing?" Ray asks.
I pull her forward before slamming her back against wall. "You fucking bitch! What did you do to me?!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" She asks, hands finding the one wrapped around her neck, using her nail to claw my hand.
"The fake Roman you created."
Her face flash with surprise like she doesn't know what I'm talking about. "What?" She breathe out.
"Don't play coy. The fake Christmas!"
She shakes her head. "I didn't. Can you let go, please?"
"Fucking talk."
"Cami–" I cut Damian off.
"You, shut the hell up! No one is talking to you."
"Just let her go," He says.
I release my hold around her neck, and she falls on the floor. Damian is quick to rush to her side, holding her in his arms as she tries to regulate her breathing.
"Now talk." My voice is as harsh and cold as before. My mind can't see pass Damian's arms around her.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she replies without looking at me.
I sigh and place my hand on my hip. "You created a fake Roman for me last semester and he has been appearing since until," I tell her.
"I didn't create a fake Roman. What I did was play with your mind? You were lonely and I wanted to get you excited, so I gave you the spell. You created a playground but you picked the storyline and the characters. It's all you, all I did was help you like I've always done but you never appreciate anything I do especially since you came back. If this is what I get for trying I–"
"Don't even go there right now. I didn't ask you for shit and in fact, I'm done here. Thanks for ruining lunch, assholes!" I turn my heels and walk out the door.