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I didn’t know if that was accurate, but I couldn’t help think it’d do him some good. If I had a demon inside of me at any point in my life, I’d live at church to make damn sure it never came back. “You need to go at least weekly, if not more, and do some charitable work to make your soul good.”
He said nothing more, almost like a zombie, he exited the house. I couldn’t really blame him. Having a demon overtake your body had t
o leave you more than confused. I hoped that he’d come up with a good reason for why he’d forgotten days of his life instead of driving himself crazy, and more so, that he remembered what I said to him after a good night’s rest.
With the house empty, I dropped to the ground, inhaled the pleasant aroma of the spices burning as the smoke filled the air to cleanse the space.
I raised my hand to the necklace, still so warm beneath my touch. I had no idea what was on the other side, or what awaited me when I got there, but in this moment, I had the real sense I wasn’t as alone as I thought.
Tears formed in my eyes and I allowed myself the moment to shed them. Cry for what I’d been through. For the moments that I seemed to have no control over my life. For how dark the world could be. And for Kipp.
Who knew how much time had passed while I released the emotions consuming me. But enough that I suspected Max might have been losing his mind.
I wiped the tears from my face, reached into the bag, took out the radio, and clicked the side to initiate it. “Max. I’m done.”
A beep followed. “Hang tight.”
I heard the squeal of tires a mere second later before Max ran up the front stairs. “Tess,” he shouted.
“In here,” I called, not bothering to move.
He stormed into the room, searching the space quickly before his gaze landed on mine. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” I wasn’t physically injured, but inside was a whole different story. “I need you to do something for me.”
He took the final steps to close in on me. His posture filled with tension. “Anything.”
In all this mess, even after crying in hysterics, my soul demanded something. No matter how strange it was I couldn’t stop from asking for what I needed most. “Can I have a hug because…”
Before I could even finish, Max had me in his arms and held me tight enough that breathing became difficult. And it was exactly what I needed. To be…loved. To experience warmth in the midst of all the coldness that had invaded my life.
In his arms, I was safe, without danger, free from worries, and for now I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
Apparently, Max held a similar attitude, because he didn’t let go. Didn’t bother with words that would be useless now, he simply held me exactly like I needed.
Not until long moments passed did he finally pull away, but kept me in his arms, and smiled. “Job well done, Tess.”
“Pfft…it was easy.” I laughed quietly, and Max chuckled along with me. The weight that rode my chest when I arrived at the house faded. It was a welcomed relief. “Let me tell you this, though, I take back what I said earlier.”
“You take what back?”
He stared at me so worriedly, genuinely concerned, and it did feel nice because even though Kipp was gone, I had Max, Zach, Caley, Eddie, and Gretchen who stood strong next to me. “I’d much rather deal with crazy-assed murderers than ever deal with anything like this again.”
The tension in his features eased, slightly. “Let’s hope that’s the last demon who resides in Memphis.”
“Ain’t that truth.” I drew in a deep breath, moved away from Max’s hold, and grabbed my bag. “All right, let’s get out of this stinkin’ house.” He kept his arm around me, as if he thought I’d fall over, and headed toward the door.
I didn’t feel weak, but I didn’t mind him holding me. “Oh, and by the way, I found out why Lizbeth died.” He stared down at me with a curious brow, so I added. “The demon had her.”
He stopped dead in his tracks, dropped his arm from my waist, and I kept on walking, ready to get the hell out of here. “Yeah, I know, shocking.”
I waved him forward, but stayed focused on the door. “I’ve got something else to do, so I’ll tell you on the way. Really, I’m done with this house and this demon business.”
When Max didn’t follow me, I peeked over my shoulder to find him unmoving, mouth agape. “Are you coming?”
He shook his head, clearly to snap himself into the present. “Do I even want to hear what you have to tell me?”
“Probably not,” I retorted. “But you’re going to. If I have to deal with this shit then so do you.”
