Unfinished Business

CHAPTER 26: THE END (OR, RATHER, A BEGINNING)

I sat there in the aftermath of what happened-- no longer kneeling but, rather, on my ass, legs out in front of me. I couldn't stop staring at the space Blanche and Cassie had just walked into. It was empty, but it felt as though it shouldn't have been. It felt like things weren't over, not quite. I wasn't sure that I had seen what just happened in front of me clearly. It had to have happened, though.

Willa flopped down next to me and let out a long, loud sigh. "Well, that was a doozy. Are you ready to move on?"

"Uh... I don't know. Let me check." I pulled out the little token. I hadn't looked at it since Belladonna handed it to me on my first day as an undead. It still hadn't changed. It was the same as it was before. "I guess not."

This didn't make any sense to me. I did what I was supposed to do. I killed what killed me. I even went back to say goodbye to my family. What remained to be done? WHat had I missed? I genuinely couldn't think of anything. My mind was completely devoid of answers.

Willa furrowed her brows. "Huh. Weird. What next, then?"

"No, no-- you did your part. You did what you said you would and what you wanted to. Listen, Willa. You're a great person. You're a wonderful person, actually. You're so kind, and you're so good to my brother, and you stand up for everyone you know and you genuinely care for people with no expectation of anything but love and respect in return. And, even then, you're still willing to help out serial bitches like me."

"I'm not sure serial bitch is a phrase anyone uses."

"Willa, will you just let me get this out, please?"

"Fine, but if you're going to ask me to leave again--"

"You have no clue what I'm going to say." Still, that was exactly what I had intended. I wasn't sure how she saw and understood my intentions so easily. I bit my lip to keep a tidal wave of emotion from spilling out of me, then continued, "But there's no way in hell I'm going to let you put yourself in even more danger just to help me. No way. Uh-uh. If I need help, well..."

"Oh, you definitely need help."

"Willa, listen to me. You're not listening to me."

"I'm definitely listening to you. You're holding an ax and you're shaking-- are you sure you don't want to take a breath? Calm down?"

"I don't want to take a breath."

"Suit yourself."

"You're not letting me finish. Let me finish, Willa. I need to say this or I'm never going to get it out. I'm not sure why I've been given the chance to, like, be here, in a way that I can talk to those I left behind-- those who are probably fine without me, let's be honest, which is fine because nobody ever knew me, not even me. But that's not the point--"

"What is the point, Eve? You're kind of going off the rails here in a way that's really concerning. I'm not sure I've ever heard you talk this much in your life." 

"You've clearly never heard my Ronald reagan haterants." 

"I guess I haven't?" 

"The point is-- Well, the point is, you deserve to be able to move on from what happened here. You deserve to have a long and happy life, and to graduate and go to college and become the cheerleader and lawyer you always said you wanted to be, and to marry some guy who isn't my brother."

"You can't keep me from marrying your brother, silly." 

"Dude, you're too young for-- I'm getting off track. Do you understand what I'm telling you? I'm not going to keep dragging you into my bullshit, even if I have to do all of this over again. I'm not going to let you get as weird and fucked-up as I am. I am not going to let you die in a pumpkin patch. Get it?"