Page 19

It’s almost midday and she’s still out, but Felix told me that it was normal and not to worry so much, which is easier said than done.

My phone luckily still worked, and Felix and I got a plan together. Everything is set and ready to go. The only thing I didn’t account for was the fact that I had booked an appointment with Adelina for Taylor when she was still in the hospital, and she’s now standing at the front door. Shit.

“What do you mean the session is off, is everything okay?”

I hold the door as close as I can hoping that Mara won’t pop up out of nowhere.

“She got sick overnight and I’ve been so tired taking care of her, I forgot to call.”

Adelina frowns while rubbing the back of her neck.

“Well, I hope she’s better soon. Else we can just plan a new appointment?”

she asks me, and I’m relieved she’s not pushing on the matter. I agree and plan a new date. I can see Felix coming up behind her, confusion on his face.

“What’s going on?”

he asks us. His hair is dishevelled like he hasn’t slept the whole evening. He is also holding a plastic bag which I’m guessing contains all the stuff we need to make this work.

“I had forgotten to cancel Taylor's psychology appointment. Thank you for bringing the soup for Taylor.”

He stares at me and lets out a sarcastic laugh.

“Yeah, no problem, I love being your maid,”

he retorts. If Adelina wasn’t here right now, I would’ve smacked the back of his head for being such a pain in my ass.

“I guess I’ll just g—”

Her eyes widen.

“Wait who was that?”

Adelina steps closer, trying to look into the house. I move in between her and the door, not letting her through.

“I think it’s best if you go. She's sick and needs rest, I’ll see you in three weeks.”

Felix walks past her and I quickly slam the door closed. He goes still, and I follow his line of sight, seeing Mara standing there. Shit did she see her. I really cannot have that added to all of this.

A vile smile plays on Mara’s face, like it knows what it’s doing.

There's a silent pause for a while, and then I can hear Felix clearing his throat; he always does this when he feels uncomfortable. I can understand him, since the last time he had an interaction like this, he lost his sister, his aunt, and almost his wife.

Mara turns away and walks to the living room like we didn’t just have a standoff.

I don’t want to follow it, but I need it out of my house, so I walk after it with Felix. It’s sitting on the couch, eyeing the bag Felix is holding, but not saying anything. Not that it has since it got here. I do think it’s playing us. I mean it was able to talk to her as a ghost, but now that it has an actual body with real vocal cords it can’t speak. I might not be Sherlock, but I’m not that dumb either. So what is it playing at?

Felix doesn’t move away and keeps staring at it like he knows something I don’t yet, or maybe he’s just challenging it? I want to ask him, but then Taylor walks in, still wearing her nightdress. Her hair is slightly messy, which makes me start thinking of the times it was like this because of me. I can feel my pants starting to tighten and I shift trying not to get any attention on it. This is really not the time to be sporting a boner.

“Hi, Felix I didn’t know you were going to be here again,”

she says while side-eyeing me. To be fair, if I had told her yesterday, she would have forgotten about it anyway, as it’s a side effect from the tea.

“He just showed up.”

I shrug at her, I know it’s not a very good lie, but what else can I say? ‘He came to help me kill your already-dead-friend’? Yeah, that would’ve gone well.

Felix smiles up at her like he doesn’t notice the annoyance in her tone. He’s good at that, ignoring other people's feelings.

“Came to bring a surprise for Ryan,”

he says, winking at her. Taylor seems rather annoyed at his display, so I walk in between them before they start going at each other too now, grabbing the bag and Felix’s arm. I drag him into the kitchen.

“What the hell was that?”

I whisper-shout at him. He laughs and leans down against the counter.

“Just gracing your wife dearest with my sparkling personality,”

he retorts. If I didn’t need his help so badly, I would’ve smacked him for that. Though I can always do it once we're done and I no longer need his help.

Keeping the annoyance at bay I open the bag to see what’s inside. There’s salt, garlic, some whitish, see-through and black crystals, white and black candles, and some old rusty dagger. Don’t tell me this is what’s going to solve this whole mess. Does he seriously think we can kill an undead-demon-thing with salt and garlic? It’s not a goddamn vampire.

“Is this a joke?”

I ask him, slightly angry. Okay, I’m more than slightly angry now, but I gotta keep my head cool for the time being.

“We have to trap it in a salt circle first, the protective candles and crystals will be around it to make sure it can’t escape, and as for the knife, it’s the one I used at my aunt's home. I don’t know if it will work here but it might do something.”

I frown at him. He’s explained almost everything but two things.

“What about the garlic? And what will we actually do once it’s trapped?”

I guess the protective circle might work, if not we’ll be very fucked though.

“The garlic is so our scent is masked, and it will only notice Taylor, but not us. And we are going to get that thing out of her body into this vial. He holds up a tiny pot with a cork on it. Is he joking? This isn’t really going to trap it, is it? Right?

I stare at him, hoping that at some point he say.

“just kidding”, but it’s not coming, and the worries I thought I had before just unfolded.

“Are you serious right now? Like for real, for real?”

Felix looks at me like I just insulted him and grabs the bag out of my hands.

“If you don’t want my help, you can just figure it out on your own.”

Well, what do I have to lose? Except for, of course, my or Taylor’s life. I can’t believe I’m actually going to agree to this.

“No, I guess we can do your weird garlic trap plan.”

Felix smiles at that.

“Well then, make them go somewhere else so I can make the house ready.”

I raise my eyebrows at him in bewilderment. Where the fuck am I supposed to take my crazy possessed wife and her walking-dead-friend? I can’t just go and take them shopping.

“Where could I possibly take them?”

“You’ll figure it out.”

He blatantly states. Well fuck, that’s just really bloody helpful. He doesn’t say more in answer and just points at the door. I guess we'll go out for a walk in the forest then.