Page 34 of Fatally Yours

Shortly after my request, we pulled up to a dingy motel.

August put the car in park and led us inside.

The stretch between home and Pine Bluff was littered with different places like this.

When we walked in, the man behind the counter gave us a puzzled look, and I shoved my hands in my pockets and kept my gaze anywhere but towards him.

I was sure seeing such a strange-looking couple at this hour was unusual.

August muttered something about how we were on our way to visit relatives with his usual charismatic charm. I stayed silent as the attendant eyed us, but ultimately, he made no comments and gave us a key to one of the few rooms they had.

Now we were lying in bed, our hands entwined, staring up at the rotating ceiling fan. My eyes followed the whirling blades. Its repetition did nothing to quell my swirling thoughts, only making things worse as I thought about everything ripped away from me and the person who caused it all.

“Where are we going to stay after we kill Randy?” I muttered, fixing my gaze on the ceiling. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn to me with a mischievous smirk.

“I thought you said you needed a break from thinking.” After what seemed like forever, I tore my gaze away.

“I can’t sleep if I have something on my mind, you know that,” I said, squeezing his hand. “So tell me, what are we doing after we kill him?”

“We’re killing him now? Before it was just confront ,” he grinned.

Despite his jovial expression, I couldn’t find the same joy.

Discussing death was never a pleasant conversation, and yet, the emotion I usually would have felt evaded me.

Positive, negative, there was nothing. This was just as automatic as breathing used to be.

It was necessary to return some semblance of the happiness we once had.

“Yes. We’re killing him.” My profound tone made him snicker. “But after. I want to know what happens after.” He brushed his thumb over my knuckles, sending a heat to my chest. Somehow, my cold, dead heart still felt for him, even if I couldn’t find the same humanity for others who wronged us.

“It’s not hard to disappear, especially down here. We could find a place off the books and do odd jobs. It might be rough for a bit, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

“Yeah…”

“Or we could just rob people and be on the run.” I gave him a pointed look as his devilish smile faded. “But I know you want a normal life. Well, as normal as we’re going to get when we’re dead.” A sigh slipped from my lips.

“I never thought I would hear those words in my life.”

“Well, that’s still technically true,” he said with a grin.

I couldn’t help but return the gesture as I smacked him on the arm playfully, feeling myself go back to normalcy, no matter how brief it would be.

Once we were on the road and at the mercy of the highway, I wasn’t sure I could maintain my positivity.

I had to take what I could get while I could.

Then, hopefully, once this was over, I could return to that. We could go back to that.

“And once we’re comfortable again, I’ll ask you to marry me,” he continued.

As much as that should’ve made me happy, it didn’t.

A somber feeling settled in my mind. What came after marriage?

Children. And I was dead. I couldn’t have children.

Tears formed in the corners of my eyes as I tried my hardest to swallow the lump in my throat.

“What’s haunting you?” he questioned, his face pinching with concern.

“I wanted kids… with you…” As soon as I spoke, he looked away. It was the most guilty I had ever seen him in both life and death. His actions would follow him for eternity. I continued, even if it wrenched the very soul from my body to do so.

“You’d be a wonderful dad. You’d be a pain in the ass, but I’d love you, regardless. And the kids would love you…” My voice wavered. “And you’d sing them to sleep with your music, even if it was a little morbid. Then we would grow old together and die happy.” His guilty gaze fell on me.

“Did you not die happy?”

“I felt a lot of emotions when I died,” I said. He sighed and sat up, running his hand through his disheveled hair. My lip trembled as I looked up at him, watching as he took my hands in his and pulled me into a sitting position.

“Natasha, I’m sorry.” He couldn’t even look me in the eye.

“I shouldn’t have done that. It’s my fault you can’t live that dream.

I was selfish and impulsive, and I’ll regret taking that away from you for the rest of my days, even if I live forever.

” Looking into his mismatched gaze, I gulped down another wave of emotion.

“I forgive you,” I whispered. And it was the truth.

There was no way that either of us could move past this if I didn’t.

And even if I couldn’t, I still loved him, even after he hurt me.

Even after he killed me and ripped my dream away.

In reality, my vision of the future was taken away the moment he was struck by that car.

It wasn’t his fault we couldn’t have what we wanted.

This was all set in motion that fateful day.

After that, everything else was out of our control. He continued.

“You shouldn’t. You should hate me. ”

“I don’t. I can’t . Even if I say it, I don’t mean it,” I said. August took in a hollow breath and released my hands, standing up. My brow furrowed as I watched him dig around in the pocket of his frayed jeans.

What is he doing?

“Maybe I shouldn’t wait until we’re comfortable,” he said, taking something out and balling it in his fist. My stomach fluttered with the flurry of a million writhing insects hungry for my undead flesh.

I had a feeling I knew what would happen, and I swore I felt my cool skin dampen with sweat.

Cruel hands of excitement were wrapping around my throat as I felt myself choke on my emotions.

“August…”

“Don’t freak out, okay?” he said. “Please, don’t freak out.

” My hands went to my face, covering my mouth with my palms as he got down on one knee, holding the object in his pale hand.

The prickle of tears I was holding back previously overflowed, and I felt their warmth stream down my cheeks.

Despite everything, I still thought it was strange that I could cry, but I supposed it was better than holding everything inside and letting it rot me.

He unfurled his fist and revealed what he was hiding from me.

My heart soared with glee as I took in the reality of the situation.

In his palm was a gold ring with a gleaming red gem pressed in the middle.

Sure, it wasn’t traditional, but what about our relationship was?

We were dead—the least of our worries was the type of ring he got me, and even so, it was perfect.

I couldn’t have asked for something more beautiful.

“W-where did you get that?” I gasped, struggling to keep my voice steady.

“I found it at Officer Wilson’s house,” he said. “When I saw it, I knew it would be yours.” He pulled my hand gently from my mouth, holding it in his as I sat along the edge of the bed, trying and failing not to burst into sobs. That was all I ever wanted in life, death, and more.

“Natasha, my earth, my home, my temple, my dead girl, my cemetery baby, my beautiful lady of the stars…” There was a soft ringing in my ears, almost like my body had returned from the dead, and my blood was rushing through my veins again.

I never thought I would have this anytime soon in li fe, especially not in death.

I just didn’t think it would happen like this, but I couldn’t have asked for a better moment.

“Will you be my wife? Now, forever, until death do us part, and beyond…” he said. A whimper echoed from my throat as I let out a sob, returning my hands to my face as I wiped away tears.

“Yes, I will,” I croaked. Despite the overwhelming emotion, beneath my hands, I couldn’t stop myself from grinning.

August smiled as he pried my palm from my face as I continued to cry.

He slipped the ring on, and it sparkled in the light, glittering like a heartbeat.

Afterward, he got to his feet and pulled me into an embrace.

“Until death do us part,” I echoed. “And beyond.” He held me close, stroking my hair until my blissful tears dried.

My chest still buzzed with emotion as I pulled his lips close to me, forcing his mouth on mine.

His fingers threaded through my hair, and my lips parted from his as I let out a stifled cry, and lightning shot through my torso.

“There’s something else we need to do,” he said.

His voice was breathy as his mouth brushed the conch of my ear, sending a jolt down my spine and to my hips.

“We need to redo that night, my love. No death, no violence, no murder. Only us, reunited again.” Quickly, I nodded.

That was a great idea. A clean slate, a new life.

That was what we needed to wipe away the sins of our past and move forward as one.

Without a sound, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body against him, picking me up and placing me atop the bed.

I kept my legs around his waist, and he leaned in and put his lips to mine.

A storm of emotions flared through me again as I felt his cool form against me.

His hands slipped down my body and beneath my shirt, seeking out my breasts as he breathed against my lips.

“I’ve waited an eternity for this,” he said, stripping me of my shirt.

“And I would wait a million more just to have you with me again.” I felt my eyes water as he returned his mouth to mine, thinking about that fateful night and how this memory would replace those horrors.

I had grown to accept it, but substituting it with something else would be much better.