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Annoth

“Uncle Teddy! You’re here!” the young girl cries, launching herself into Theo’s arms from an impressive distance. He spins her around, then pulls her into a tight hug.

“Hey, Tabs,” he murmurs. “I’m here.”

Two women approach us, both of whom I recognize from the photographs in Theo’s apartment.

His mother, Bethany, with her straight brown hair streaked through with gray and face the same shape as Theo’s.

They share a smile too. Molly is tiny—shorter than I imagined her to be—but looks fierce.

Her brown hair is shorter now than in most of her photographs, hanging in loose curls to her chin, and she wears a spectacular frown.

Two identical little girls with messy, dark blonde pigtails bounce over to us as well, followed by a tall, broad-chested man with neat silver hair and a deeply-lined face.

I am not easily intimidated, but John Keating seems like the type of man who could see straight through me, and I tense up.

Ben squeezes my arm. I want to take his hand, but I remember that we are supposed to be only friends and not lovers.

“The prodigal son returns,” says Molly, pulling Theo into a one-armed hug while she tries to wrangle one of the small girls with the other hand.

“You look like you’ve been sleeping on the streets, Teddy, honestly,” says Theo’s mother, reaching up to touch his hair.

“Oh, he looks fine,” says John quietly. I notice he only shakes Theo’ s hand, rather than embracing, and imagine this might be what Theo meant by ‘old-school’.

“Tired, though, and underfed,” Bethany continues. “Do not tell me that my son stopped cooking and sleeping as soon as his girlfriend left.”

“Beth,” says John, giving a small shake of his head. She shrugs and wraps her arms around Theo.

“I’m fine, Mom,” he assures her. “Just…working through it on my own, you know?”

“Got a new job yet?” John asks, and Molly smacks his arm. I like her already.

“Daddy! Give him a break!”

“Nah, I haven’t found one yet,” Theo tells his father, swinging one of the little girls up into his arms and flipping her upside down.

“Figured I’d take some time and see what it feels like to be you: retired and bored.

” John smiles at this and picks up the other girl, flipping her too until both children are giggling madly.

“Teddy,” says Molly with a pointed look at me and Ben. I can tell he is anxious about introducing us, and Ben grips my arm again, reminding me to smile and act human.

Theo runs a hand anxiously through his hair.

“Ah, yeah. Family, this is Ben. I had to get a roommate after Ros moved out, and he was also nice enough to give me a ride today so I wouldn’t miss Tabby’s game.

” John takes a step forward and puts his hand out.

Without hesitation, Ben shakes it and gives him a winning smile.

“Ben de la Cruz. It’s so nice to meet the people Theo’s always talking about,” he says in a much more formal voice than he normally uses. “This is my good friend, Annika. She’s here from Sweden checking out the university for grad school.”

“Hello,” I say quietly.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet both of you,” Bethany says, putting her hand out too.

Ben takes it and actually kisses it, causing her to turn an impressive shade of scarlet.

John merely raises an eyebrow. Uncertain if this is standard human behavior or not, I just continue to smile sweetly at everyone.

“I’ve gotta go play now, Uncle Teddy!” Tabby cheers. “Are you and your friends gonna watch the whole game?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he tells her. “Go kick some ass!”

“Theodore!” Bethany snaps, but then she turns her attention back to me and Ben. “So, how do you and Teddy know each other?”

“Mutual friends,” Ben tells her. “My old roommate finally got married, so I had to move, and Theo’s friends hooked us up.”

“How convenient!” Bethany says as we all walk back toward the field. “And what do you do for work, Ben?” Theo becomes tense as he waits for the answer. We did not discuss this part of our ruse, but as usual, Ben has a story ready.

“I work with nonprofits and youth camps doing some counseling, and some sports coaching,” he says. The ease with which he lies appears to unsettle Theo, who clears his throat and looks away.

“Oh, how wonderful!” Bethany exclaims. “And Annika, what are you planning to study here?” My body trembles slightly, but I stick to the script Ben gave me earlier when we were in the gas station.

“Languages,” I tell her in my false accent.

“I hope to teach English back at home someday.” That answer satisfies Bethany, who chatters to both of us for a while about her own teaching job while Theo moves over to talk to his sister.

Ben takes the lead on the conversation, allowing me some respite, and I try to figure out what is happening on the field.

Most of the children do not appear particularly skilled at the game, but they are enjoying it, laughing and joking with their teammates and even their opponents.

I look around at the families gathered on the sidelines and see people of all shapes, sizes, and colors, talking together and enjoying each other’s company.

Parents assist one another with their children, older siblings supervise younger ones, people share food and drinks with neighbors, or help elderly family members find a shady place to sit.

Across the field, two girls throw a stick for a large golden dog, who licks their faces and bowls them over in its enthusiasm.

I turn my face up toward the mid-morning sun and close my eyes, listening to the happy, excited voices, and the calls of the birds in the trees. I do not even notice that my breathing has changed until Ben pulls me away slightly, and we walk back toward the car.

“I cannot go too far from Theo,” I remind him.

“I know, don’t worry, but you seemed upset,” Ben says softly. “Everything alright?” He steers me behind the restroom building and I lean against the wall.

“I cannot do this,” I tell him, my voice shaking.

“Why? What is it?”

“Everything…” I murmur, “everything I have ever been taught. Everything I have ever known…it was a lie.”

“Everything about humans?”

“Humans, and your world, and sin!” I say, then try to lower my voice. “This place is wonderful, Ben! These people are wonderful! You are wonderful! And I…I cannot understand it! If everything here is so… good , then why…why do I even exist? Why does my world exist? What am I?”

To my surprise and annoyance, Ben lets out a soft chuckle and puts his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into him. I rest my head against his neck and breathe in his scent.

“Annie, mi amor , this isn’t what the real world is like,” he says gently.

“This is clean, safe, suburban, middle-class America. I…I’m not sure how I can really explain it, but this…

this isn’t reality. The world really can be as awful and dark as they told you, and humans are the ones who make it that way.

I’m sure most of the souls you tormented with flaming whips or whatever probably deserved it. ”

I sigh loudly and bury my face into the spot between his neck and shoulder, wrapping my arms around his back. “And what about you?”

“Oh, no, I really am this wonderful all the time,” he laughs, pulling away and grinning, then kissing me lightly on the nose. “And if it prevents you from having some sort of demonic existential crisis, I’ll show you all the true crime channels when we get home, alright?”

“Thank you,” I murmur. “How do you think Theo is feeling? He seems to be doing better.”

“He just needs to face it head-on,” Ben says. “Get through it, and then the three of us can sit down and…try to figure out what the fuck is going on here.”

“What if…what if I do not want to go back…to the Seventh Tower?” I say quietly. “What if I want to stay here? With you?”

“Well,” Ben says, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, “I did promise myself to you, body and soul, if we can get you and Theo separated.”

“And if we cannot?”

“I’m not sure.”

“If I do not complete my mission, I could be recalled,” I whisper, and my body floods with something that might be fear.

“I won’t let that happen,” Ben murmurs, “and if they do take you, I’ll come down there and get you back. I’m keeping you, Annie, come Hell or high water.”

“What does that mean?” I ask with a laugh, but before he can explain, his phone makes a noise and he pulls it from his pocket.

“Theo’s asking why we threw him to the wolves and vanished,” he chuckles. “Better go rescue him. Come on, sweet Annie.” He kisses my hand and leads me back toward the soccer field. Theo watches us and I sense an increase in his anxiety through our connection.

“What’s going on?” he asks Ben quietly while his family is distracted by the game.

“Annie was just having her own little panic attack over how nice and perfect your family is,” Ben explains with a grin. “I told her we’d make up for it by letting her watch Dateline or Snapped when we get home. ”

“Not Snapped ,” Theo says vehemently, looking alarmed. I smile at him and his expression softens, then Ben puts his hand on Theo’s shoulder.

“She’s actually doing well, and your family is great, osito .

Very wholesome. Although I’m almost positive your dad has killed people with his bare hands.

” Theo laughs at this and begins quietly telling Ben a story about his parents.

I cannot help thinking about what Ben said, that he would come after me if I were recalled.

It is nonsense, of course, but the fact that he said it—the fact that he might care for me enough to face all the unknown horrors of Hell—I do not know how I could deserve it, or him.

Shortly, Theo’s two nephews, Thomas and Tucker, appear on the sidelines with their own soccer ball.

Once we have all been introduced, Ben challenges them to a game, and they take him to an empty field nearby, where he removes his leather jacket and attempts to defend the goal against their attacks.

The twin girls, Trinity and Taryn, decide they would like to play too, and Ben quickly becomes overwhelmed by the little tyrants, but he never stops smiling.

A small bloom of warmth expands in my chest as I watch the four of them run him down and knock him into the grass, then pile on top, screeching like imps.

“I do not think they are playing by the same rules,” I tell Theo, nodding to the field where Tabitha is still playing.

“They definitely aren’t,” he chuckles.

“What exactly are the rules? I would like to learn.”

“Uh…well, you can’t touch the ball with your hands, and you can’t…intentionally hurt people. There’s more, but I can’t remember everything.”

“And the losing team is sacrificed?”

“What?” Theo laughs, even though my question is serious. “ Sacrificed?”

I furrow my brow, trying to tell if he is mocking me, but it seems he is not, and I let out a loud sigh. “I was told…many things that are not true about humanity, about your world.”

“Is that why you’re trying something new?

” he asks quietly. “Because you realized that we aren’t all deserving of eternal torment and Hellfire?

” I look up at him, and the strange heat of our connection jumps between our bodies.

At least, I imagined it was our connection, but now I realize that it is similar to what I feel with Ben, and my confusion only deepens.

“Perhaps,” I murmur. “Perhaps I am still…working things out, and I do not wish to do anything that could make me regretful. I am told it is not a pleasant sensation.”

He watches me closely for a moment, then looks back to where Ben is playing with the children and says, “‘Hell is yourself, and the only redemption is when a person puts himself aside to feel deeply for another person’.”

“Is this a quote from your…holy scriptures?” I ask with a grimace.

“No,” Theo snorts. “It’s Tennessee Williams. He uh…he was a writer.”

“You will have to explain it to me later,” I say, since his mother is calling us back over to the sidelines of Tabitha’s game, which is nearly over.

“I will,” Theo promises.