Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“You shouldn’t be able to hear me,” she whispered softly. “If you can, then you’re nearly dead already.”
Gary pulled Veronica into his arms and hugged her tightly.
Almost dead already? Fuck! How long had he been in the freezer?
“Oh…shit,” he muttered as he struggled to not lose his cool. Stay calm and look for the hints. He could do this.
No, he couldn’t. His body was here instead of there. There wasn’t anybody for him to reveal the hints to. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Again, he couldn’t help but worry about what this would do to Ryder.
“Did they get Ron out in time?” he asked.
Both Veronica and Gary nodded. “With time to spare,” Gary said. “He was flirting shamelessly with your boyfriend’s partner. Jeremy…I think?”
Remi smiled. “Yeah, Jeremy. He’s a good guy.”
Remi looked down at his hands and noticed they were turning a funny color of blue. He immediately started shaking them, trying to keep the blood flowing as long as possible. “So…it’s just us, huh? I hope you guys are into threesomes if this is eternity,” Remi teased as he started walking circles around the room. Move! He had to keep moving.
Gary growled at the mention of a threesome.
“Just kidding, Gary,” Remi amended. “I’m gay; neither of you are going to do it for me, either. It’s okay. We’ll be great friends.”
He wanted Ryder. Bullshit was flowing straight out of his mouth, but he was afraid if he didn’t try to make jokes, he would break down and start crying like a kindergartener. He didn’t mind crying but couldn’t stand the thoughts of Eric seeing it, and he felt confident that the man was watching. Somehow or someway, the bastard was watching him suffer. Just in case, he lifted his hand and gave him the middle finger salute.
His entire body felt sluggish. Dying sucked.
Remi looked at Veronica. “Why the rat? They said you were terrified of rats…and that was how Eric killed you…with rats.” He shrugged. “It just seems like a strange afterlife pet, ya know?”
Veronica’s smile was sad. “This is Petra. She loves me. Things…change after you die. Petra would do anything to protect me.” Suddenly, like she just remembered something, she said, “Thank you for saving my stray cat! Gary and I would feed her. I…I was worried after we…you know…died. I was afraid nobody would take care of her.” Veronica’s nose crinkled. “She’s not much of a looker.”
“She’s a bitch,” Remi clarified. “Well, she was a bitch. She’s starting to like me, I think.” Shit, he wouldn’t ever get to see Gilley again. “I couldn’t believe I was able to catch her in that trap. I was worried she’d never fall for it.”
“Duh…she didn’t. I had to help her along a bit,” Veronica said. “I knew you were trying to save her.”
“Oh…well…so much for patting myself on the back,” Remi said. “Either way, Ryder will take care of her. She really likes him.”
“I’m sorry I got you mixed up in all this, Remington,” Veronica said. “This is all my fault. I was following my sister the night she went to see the psychic, and my soul immediately recognized that you could help.” She looked down. “I wish I’d never done it now. You’re going to die because of me.”
“Maybe,” Remi answered. “Maybe not. The thing is; Jason, Kris, and Ron all lived because of you. I’m glad you did it.” He frowned. “Whatever it was you did.”
He kept pacing the room, wondering what, if anything, he could do. He paced until his feet felt like they were about to break off, like little chunks of ice. It was that pain…that reminder…that told him what he needed to do.
What he had to do.
As painful as it was and as deadly as he knew it would be to his physical body, he had to see Ryder one more time. He knew how badly it would hurt to not be able to touch him, to feel the warmth of his lover’s flesh touching his, but he still had to look at him one last time. He needed to make sure he would always remember every detail of the man he loved.
He looked at Veronica and Gary and said, “There’s something I need to do.”
“We kinda figured that,” Veronica answered sadly. “You realize that if you reach the point of relaxation where your soul can visit others…you probably won’t wake back up? I…we…think freezing is like that.” She looked around. “This is what he had planned for Melissa. The bastard thought it would be funny, like with Jason.” She reached down and squeezed Gary’s hand. “I hope your man finds Joshua’s father and kills him. Slowly. I hope he kills him slowly—the same as he planned for all of us.”
“Yeah…he will,” Remi answered. In his heart, he knew Ryder wouldn’t stop until Eric paid for what he’d done. “Okay, then; I’m gonna just, uh, lay down for a bit,” he said as he dropped to the floor. He wasn’t even sure he could make his body comfortable enough for astral projection. The second he hit the floor, though, he knew he’d be able to. His entire body felt so lethargic. He was…dying. Weird. He would have thought dying would have been so much more dramatic, like his body would put up a huge fight to try and survive.