Page 10 of Vexed

CHAPTER TEN

Lily

“Yes, Hannah. I’m packing the last of my stuff as we speak,” She has been calling me nonstop the entire morning. I’m not complaining, I miss that little shit. I enjoyed my visit and seeing my mom, but two weeks is more than enough. It’s time to get back to my own life.

“The longer you stay on the phone, the longer it’s going to take me to get out of here,” I say with a chuckle, clutching the phone between my ear and shoulder as I try to fit the last of my clothes in my bag.

“Yeah, yeah alright. I’ll see you in a bit and please, drive safe.”

After finally saying our goodbyes, I toss my phone onto my bed and make my way to the kitchen to grab a quick glass of water before hitting the road.

“I can’t believe you already have to head back.

” My mom says from behind me, wrapping her fragile arms around my shoulders.

She has accomplished a lot this past two weeks.

Finally letting go of Dad’s stuff, made friends, and going out again.

I can finally leave here and not be worried about her.

I haven’t been able to do that in years.

“Well, you know what they say—time flies when you’re having fun.” She chuckles before leaving the kitchen only to return with almost all my bags in her hands. Shaking my head, I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly. “Love you, Mom.”

“Love you too, honey. Be safe.” Smiling at her, I pick up my bags and head out the door to my car, but as I set them in the trunk, this odd feeling has my stomach turning.

My head automatically snaps in the direction of the playground and my eyes widen as I see him standing there, larger than life, staring at me. I gulp hard, trying to tear my gaze away, but I can’t. I keep my eyes locked on him.

I wonder if I should wave at him. Would that be weird? After that strange night when he practically broke into my house, I hadn’t seen him at all. That was almost a week ago. Maybe he got the message that I wanted nothing to do with him. But why is he here again? And why is he just staring at me?

Just as I go to lift my hand and wave anyway, he turns and disappears from my view, behind a tree. I frown as I stare a few seconds longer, but he doesn’t show himself again.

“Well, goodbye… I guess.” I murmured to myself, opening the car door.

Just as I settle into my car, Mom comes rushing out with what looks like books in her hand.

“Lily, wait. Here, I found these while cleaning out Dad’s stuff and I thought you might want to keep them,” she says, handing me my childhood diaries. I haven’t seen these in years. A smile creeps onto my face as I take them from her and rub my fingers over the covers.

“Thanks, Mom, I almost forgot about these.” She gives me a smile and a last peck on the cheek before I back the car out of the driveway and start my few hours drive home.

The drive back is calm. No insane traffic on the roads, just a smooth ride so if I’m lucky and the rest of the drive is this quiet, I might be there before it gets dark. Well, I hope so.

It starts to get dark earlier in the evenings now that we’re entering fall. The October air is slowly turning colder and the trees’ once vibrant green leaves are shades of brown and orange now, covering most of the ground along the roads.

When fall comes, there’s only one thing everyone is looking forward to—Halloween. Hannah has been yapping about Halloween and costumes for weeks now. I’m still not sure what we’re going as since she keeps changing her mind every two seconds.

We’ll probably discuss it and finally decide on something once I’m back.

There is a Halloween carnival that the local university near us is hosting in a couple of days and I’m pretty excited to go.

I love Halloween and everything spooky and terrifying.

Most things that scare people, usually just excite me more than anything else.

As I drive on the quiet road, something on the side of the road catches my attention. Someone standing next to the road. Dressed in all black. I strain my eyes trying to get a clearer look.

Vex.

What the hell? Why is he standing next to the road? Better yet, how did he get here?

I slow down a little as I get closer to where he’s standing. Yep. It’s him alright. I pass him, but I pull over to the side and stop completely.

Shutting off the engine, I swing my door open and slide out of the car. The cool air makes me shiver and I hug myself.

“What the hell are you doing out here?” I slightly yell at him. Slowly, he starts walking towards me. It feels like I’m shrinking—or he’s getting bigger, I can’t tell. His presence is intimidating with each step he takes until he comes to a halt before me.

“You don’t think I’ll let you leave without saying goodbye, do you?” He says, flashing a smile. My eyes are immediately drawn to the sharp canines in his mouth.

“Really? Like the day you left me without saying goodbye?“ His smile fades as he lowers his head, staring at the ground.

Yeah, that’s what I thought. He can’t expect me to just forget about it. At that point in my life, he was one of the most important people in my life. He was my only friend. And when he left, it felt like my heart was being ripped out.

“You were my only friend too, Lily.” He suddenly says and my heart stops. Did I say that out loud?

“No, you didn’t.” He says again.

“Wha—what the hell is going on?”

“I’m not who—what you think I am.” He says and I frown. What the hell is that supposed to mean? But before I can say anything he beats me to it.

“I wanted to tell you so many times, but I couldn’t. Not only am I not allowed to, but I was also afraid that it would scare you off.”

“Tell me what?” His eyes search mine, but he doesn’t say anything. My heart is pounding in my chest as I wait for him to tell me. I’m not sure what to expect him to say.

“Tell me what, Vex?” I say a bit harsher and he sighs.

“I—I’m the angel of death, Lily.”

Is he joking?

I just stare at him, unsure of what to say other than he is fucking insane. He searched my eyes like he was waiting for me to say ‘Wow, that’s amazing’, fucking psycho.

After a few minutes, I blow out a breath and take a step back from him and he frowns, “Well, okay then, I’m gonna go… and good luck with, um, that .“ I need to get out of here. This is fucking crazy. He is fucking crazy.

As I turn to head back to my car, I hear a loud swoosh sound, and a black crow lands right in front of me. I stop in my tracks, my chest heaving and I whip around to see he’s no longer there.

My breath caught in my throat. This wasn’t possible. This wasn’t happening. Vex, the man I’d shared secrets and laughter with since childhood, was... death? A surge of dizziness washed over me, and I clutched the car keys in my hand.

“Vex” I croaked, the word barely a whisper lost in the rustling leaves. The crow tilted its head, its gaze unwavering. Then, it let out a single, resonant caw that seemed to vibrate through my very bones.

Suddenly, memories flashed through my mind, snippets of conversations, peculiar remarks that had seemed innocent at the time but now took on a sinister new meaning.

Vex always knew when someone was going to die. He’d always been drawn to graveyards, finding a strange peace among the headstones. He’d even made morbid jokes about ‘reaping what you sow’ with an unsettling glint in his eye.

Were those not jokes at all? A cold dread seeped into my soul, replacing the lingering warmth of the afternoon sun. Was this some elaborate prank? Some twisted game? But something deep down, something primal, told me this was no joke.

The air crackled with an energy I couldn’t explain, a weight that pressed down on me, silencing the birdsong in the nearby branches.

I take a step back as a cloud of smoke forms around him, swirling around and up into the air, getting larger until Vex steps out. My eyes widen as I stare at him. The crow is no longer there.

“Don’t be afraid, Lily,” he said, his voice softer now, almost pleading. “I haven’t changed. I’m still me.”

But he had changed. He couldn’t possibly be the same Vex I knew. He was something else, something terrifying, something that belonged in fairy tales and nightmares.

Just as he takes a step towards me, I dash past him and jump into my car. It roars to life and I speed off as fast as I can. My chest heaves as I take deep breaths while my heart beats like a drum in my ears.

Am I dreaming again? I have been having weird dreams lately. This must be one of them, right? Right? The Grim Reaper doesn’t exist. It’s only a myth. Please tell me this is a dream.

“Thank God you’re back!” Hannah shouts as she pulls me in for a tight hug. “Your fucking boyfriend was driving me insane.” She says rolling her eyes before taking one of my bags out of the trunk.

I only chuckle as I walk behind her into our apartment.

I’ve had a pretty fucking weird day, so I’m not in the chatty mood.

I almost crashed my car…twice, because I kept replaying the incident with Vex in my head over and over again.

There is no way that any of what I saw was real.

But then again, how do you explain that?

She slightly kicks the front door open and I follow her in, placing my bags in my room. One thing I hate more than packing is unpacking. If she doesn’t kick me in the butt or help me, my suitcase will stay unopened for weeks and I’ll complain about all the stuff I need that is still in there.

“So, how’s your mom doing?” She asks as she plops down on my bed.

“Good, she’s doing better than ever. She’s finally going out more and meeting new people, so that’s a win.” She gives me a wide smile and opens her mouth to say something but before she can, there’s a knock on our door.

She sighs and rolls off the bed, swinging the door open reveling Jason. He is on the Varsity football team. Same team as Austin. The Meadow Hills Howlers. They’re quiet the duo on the field.