Page 12 of Made to Be

“Are you... alright, Victor?” he asked me gently, expression soft.

I practically melted.

“Totally. Right as rain.” I cleared my throat, feeling my cheeks grow even warmer with that unexpected flush. So, as per usual, I deflected, “What I want to know is how you’re feeling. Any strange side effects? Any weird cravings for brains?”

He didn’t appear convinced but also didn’t object when I changed the subject. He even huffed withwhat I swore was amusement at my lame attempt at a joke.

“I feel,” he flexed his hands in front of him, “heavy.” He then proceeded to poke at his buff chest and muscled abdomen.

I chuckled a laugh, “Yeah big boy, you’re heavy alright. Trust me. But, other than that.”

He seemed to think seriously for several seconds before deciding on what to say, then, “I feel alive.”

I gave him a beaming smile, “That was the goal.” Then my grin wavered as I nervously tapped my finger on the table. “Well, there is one thing you, uh, kind of need to know.” His eyes blinked slowly but no longer discordantly – progress – as he waited patiently for me to explain. I wondered if his eager obedience was a natural trait or if it was a side effect of coming back from the dead.

“Okay, so, here’s the thing. What I did to bring you back was...” I couldn’t exactly tell him it wasillegal, what if he thought I was crazy? I needed him to like me, not make him think I was some deranged criminal or mage-gone-mad. “Well, let’s just say we can’t tell anyone that I brought you back to life, okay? I’ll get into,” I cleared my throat, “a lot of trouble if anyone finds out.”

He nodded then I proceeded to down coffee like my life depended on it. Which, I mean… it did. Okay, maybe that was a touch dramatic. But I was a criminal now, damnit. I was basically running on fumes and needed to remain alert if I wanted to get us home in one piece from what I had already planned for the day.

I looked back at Cam to catch him watching me set my“I Give the Best Boo Jobs”coffee mug with its cartoon ghost on it down. I felt bad about taking him out dressed like that, but I really needed to get him some stuff. Like his own clothes, toiletries, any foods he liked... I couldn’t very well go by myself and leave him on his own yet. What if something had gone wrong with the resurrection spell and he, like... exploded or something? I had a fixation on things exploding, but with good reason.

Or... What if he wandered off and someone found him. I was more worried about what they would do to him than what he would do to them, though. This guy was a freaking puppy.

A giant puppy who looked like he could kick some serious ass with his muscles, tattoos, piercings, and scars. Decision made, I smiled up at him causing him to tilt his head in that curious way of his as I cheerfully announced, “We’re going shopping!”

CHAPTER 3:

All unattended corpses must be claimed

at the Lost and Found.

TO SAY THAT WE turned heads as we perused the mall complex was an understatement.

I had done my best to make sure Cam wasn’t walking around looking like an unmade bed. I’d even styled his hair, combing the longer strands to the side and fixing it with some hair cream I had stashed in the bathroom closet.

Even in my largest hoodie and those plain black sweatpants, Cam was a walking snack. All towering height and muscley build and a quiet broodiness about him that I already knew was really just because he was shy. And although his skin was still rather pale, the waxen coloring had faded so that he merely looked like someone who should probably be taking some Vitamin D supplements. And with his still milky dead eyes, I had let him borrow my favorite pair of sunglasses: gold-rimmed Ray Ban Aviators. Ones I didn’t get to wear very often because I hated contacts.

Even in sweats he looked... ridiculously hot. It was frankly unfair how attractive he was just hours after being resurrected from the literal dead and wearing undersized lounge clothes. He was, however, barefoot. Well, Ihadmanaged to stuff his feet into black wool socks.

Of course, none of my shoes would fit this guy. So, the first stop we made was to one of the many shoe depot stores.

Before getting too deep into our first adventure, I’d sent Alice a quick text informing her with as little detail as possible that the spell had worked and everything was okay but that I had some things to take care of. If I didn’t, I feared she would show up at my house to defend my honor or something.

She had responded with: “OH MY GAWD THAT’S SO AWESOME!! GET SOME BITCH!!!” In all caps. Followed by several heart emojis. Then a line of eggplants…? Finishing with the smiley face with his tongue sticking out.

My phone pinged with a final message stating, “Call me when you’re all sorted, I ‘wanna meet this dude!” followed by a middle finger.

Chuckling, I tucked it away in my pocket and grabbed Cam to lead him into the nearest shop.

The chime above the door tinkled and, because it was mid-morning on a Wednesday, the store was blissfully empty. The cashier gave us a pleasant greeting and I waved in awkward politeness beforedisappearing down an aisle, Cam right at my side. Although, I didn’t miss the strange look she cast towards us, particularly at Cam wearing his sunglasses indoors like a wannabe popstar. Well, at least she didn’t seem to notice his lack of shoes.

Cam took in the vast array of shoes on display lining both sides and looked at me with a cute, puzzled expression.

I gestured to the shelves. “Pick a few that you like. We’ll try them on to get your right size. Just hope they have them big enough for you.”

My gaze flickered down to his socked feet and he shifted on them shyly. I watched as he glanced to my own feet and began searching for something on the shelves with intent. When he finally found what he was looking for, he had stopped before a floor-to-ceiling row of Converse sneakers. His hand reached out, and he proudly showed me the classic gray high-tops. That exactly matched my own.

“You like these?” I asked and his reply was a simple nod. I couldn’t help the smile that twitched at the corners of my mouth.