“Of course.”
“Okay. Then I’ll go lie down.”
“And I’ll get the ear plugs,” Eliza huffs, rolling her eyes so far back it’s impressive. I’m not in the mood for sex, but if anyone can change that, it’s Lucas.
“Are you hungry?” Lucas asks, pulling me to him again. Being pressed up against his chest brings an instant sense of comfort, and for a split second, I actually believe everything is going to be alright.
“A little.”
“What do you want? I’ll have Monica bring it over for you.”
“Tacos, maybe. I’ll know for sure after I nap.” I slip my hands under Lucas’s shirt, comforted further by the coolness of his skin. “Normally, I’d say there’s no way I’d be able to lie down and fall asleep after everything that happened, but this baby is stealing all my energy. I’m almost thankful,” I add, looking forward to passing out and not having to deal with my emotions for an hour or so.
Granted, that’s only if I don’t have a nightmare.
“You went through an emotional trauma,” Lucas starts, lacing his fingers between mine. “Even though your sister is fine, seeing someone you care about almost die isn’t something that you can easily get over.”
“I know.”
“It’s okay to be upset,” he goes on, and I know he’s trying to open a conversation about how not okay I am. I don’t have time for that, though, and if I let myself go down that emotional path, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get off.
Abby is fine. Roger is gone. And Lucifer has busted out of Hell. I need to focus on one issue at a time or I’m going to come undone.
“I know,” I repeat. “But I’m okay. Tried, but okay.” I look up and smile. “I promise.”
“I swear you got bigger since the last time I saw you!” I coo, picking up Penny. The sun set only minutes ago, and Lucas and I just walked through Abby’s front door. She’s on-call but still home and answered the door with a smile on her face. Seeing her step aside and welcome us in loosened the knot in my stomach—just a bit.
If Easton hadn’t said anything about the spell not fully working, I wouldn’t be worried. I’ve never doubted my magic before, but it’s not like I’ve exactly followed up with anyone on how long the memory alterations have lasted. And I’ve never covered up anything of this caliber.
Abby almost died. The fear, the pain, the blood loss…it was all real. I cleaned up enough blood to know she had to be feeling a little woozy the rest of the afternoon. Maybe she wrote it off as being tired or stressed, or not eating properly. Something totally normal, since most people wouldn’t attribute feeling run down with maybe I got shot and healed by the devil.
“She’s in a growth spurt every other day,” Abby laughs. Penny smiles and babbles at me, and then leans out of my arms, reaching for Scarlet.
“Do you mind if she comes in?” I ask Abby, setting Penny down so she can love on Scarlet. We’re standing right where Roger’s body was, and the thought makes me sick. I grimace, wrinkling my nose as I wait for the nausea to pass.
“Not at all, though the more Penny plays with her, the more she’s going to want to get a dog of her own.”
I laugh. “Scarlet isn’t a real dog, remember.”
“Oh, I’ll never forget what she actually looks like. Same with your familiars. Are you ever going to get a normal pet?”
“Normal is boring.”
“Familiars and hellhounds suit you,” Abby says with a wink. Phil walks through the house, greeting both Lucas and me with a big smile.
“I hear a congrats is in order,” he starts, holding out his hand for Lucas to shake.
“I told him,” Abby rushes out. “You’re not mad, are you?”
“Of course not!” I rush out, too eager to agree with and please Abby. It’s not like I’m feeling guilty or anything… “I’m kind of over keeping secrets. It’s not much fun and I’m starting to lose track of them at this point.” Except I’m looking at you and all I can see is the blood pouring from the bullet wound in your stomach.
“I would too,” Abby says.
“Whatcha driving today?” Phil asks Lucas, who slowly turns, sniffing the air for blood.
“A ’69 Chevelle.”
“Ahhhh, I was hoping that beauty was yours!”
“It is nice,” I note, crouching down to pet Scarlet, watching her interact with Penny. She’s so gentle and careful with her. Phil asks Lucas more about the car and is impressed that Lucas has been the only owner. I run my hand over Scarlet’s head and stand. “Ugh.”
“Still feeling nauseous?” Abby asks, and I nod. “I’ll get you another Zofran and I’ll write you a prescription. You can fill it at your pharmacy in Thorne Hill.”
“I’ve never gotten a prescription before,” I admit.
“That is so weird,” Abby laughs. “Do you have insurance?”
“I do, mostly in case I get hurt demon-hunting. Though the only times I’ve broken a bone or needed stitches, I was still at the Academy and the school nurse took care of me.”
“With magic?”
“My broken arm was in a cast for a few weeks, but yes, magic helps speed up the healing process.”
Abby waves for me to follow her into the kitchen so she can get her prescription pad. I reach behind me and take Lucas’s hand. He needs to check the kitchen for traces of blood too. He meets my eyes a few seconds after we’ve been in here and gives me a tiny nod.
It’s clean in here too.
Abby quickly writes out the prescription and hands it to me. I hug her goodbye, Penny cries when Abby picks her up, reaching her little arms out for my hellhound, and Phil walks out with us to check out the car.
“Finally,” I say with a heavy sigh when we pull out of the parking spot. “I just want to go home.” Lucas puts his hand on my thigh and Scarlet curls up in my lap.
“Do you want to stop for food on the way?” Lucas asks.
“Yeah, French fries sound good right now. I’ll watch Star Wars with you while I eat.”
“And then you’ll put your Princess Leia outfit on?”
“Hah. I forgot about that.”
He turns his head to me and wiggles his eyebrows. "I didn’t.”
“Assuming I don’t puke after eating the fries, I’ll dress up for you.”
“Sexy, Callie.”
I bite my lip and give him a coy smile. “Right? I’m going to rock your world, as long as I don’t throw up.”
Lucas laughs and intertwines our fingers. We make it a few miles in silence before he pulls his hand out of mine, merging onto the highway.
“We need to talk about something,” he starts, flicking his eyes from the fast-passing traffic to me.
“Okay?”
“You killed two humans. Ruth and then Roger. While I’m no stranger to it, that’s a first for you.”
“But is it?” I ask slowly, mind going back to my days imprisoned at the laboratory. Dr. Howard would lock me in a room with someone that scared me, forcing me to use my powers to protect myself. I never knew what happened to the people after I left the room. Most were unconscious or bleeding.