Loving Death

Chapter 15

My face was met with the harsh coldness of the floor. I groaned in pain, wondering why my body felt so heavy and drained.

With great effort, I placed my hands on the cold pavement and boosted myself up as I tried to stand up. My eyes were so droopy as if I was heavily sedated.

Oh hell no.

Did Death just sedate me? So he could dig up info without my consent?

"Oh he better be ready when I see him. Angel of death my ass, I'm going to be-" I grumbled to myself but my rant was cut off by a familiar manly chuckle.

I snapped my head so fast to the source and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Death! What the hell!" I shouted angrily but the moment I saw him my anger dissolved into confusion.

"You... you're not Death" I said, my finger slowly lowering. As much as this wasn't the situation where I should think of manners, it was still impolite to point at a person. 

He was sitting at a brick wall, staring at me in amusement.

"Oh? How sure are you darling?" He asked, his tone playful. "You've never seen his face. Or have you?"

"I.. uh... I'm just sure you're not him" I said, trying to be brave. I knew he wasn't Death. Their features were oddly similar and the dangerous aura they emit was almost the same. Although Death's was much more vile and intense than his was.

And he was blonde.

I watched him jump off the wall, dusting his pants in the process. Unlike Death, he was dressed in clothes that are not black. In fact, he seemed to look like the stylish type. He was wearing blue long sleeves folded up to his elbows and black dress pants that were of course, paired with expensive looking leather shoes.

Other than that, he also looked leaner, Death was bulkier and has facial hair whereas this man, doesn't. And I don't know why, but even though they looked similar, I found Death oddly more handsome and frankly, way hotter than this guy.

"Are you done ogling me?" He suddenly asked, a familiar smirk gracing his features.

I snapped out of it and I couldn't help the heat that crawled up to my cheeks. I took a tentative step back because I didn't know if he was a threat or not. And from the looks of it, we were the only ones here.

"I was not!" I lied.

"Whatever floats your boat darling" he chuckled. "So, after inspecting me, are you sure I'm not Death?" He asked.

"I'm positive. The moment I saw you I knew. You're to prim and proper to be Death. Almost the opposite of him, even though you look alike.. almost like twi-"

"Holy Crackers! You're twins! You're Death's brother" I shrieked.

A sudden memory popped up as I remembered reading about them. Death had a twin brother, the god of sleep, Hypnos.

"You.. you're Hypnos?" I asked him.

He smiled brightly. "Wow, the rumors were true, you really are..." he trailed.

I waited for him to complete his sentence but I wished I didn't the moment he answered.

"A nerd" he said as he bellowed in laughter.

"Har har" I rolled my eyes at him. "Call me what you want. If being a nerd helps me with college loans then so be it"

While he was recovering from his laughter, I scanned my surroundings. I knew we weren't at the archives anymore. But I was also confident that this wasn't Earth.

"Where are we?" I asked mostly to myself.

"We're inside you" he answered, suddenly beside me, a little too close for my liking.

"Excuse me?" I asked confused with his answer.

Instead of answering me, he snickered and placed his heavy hand on my shoulder and bent down to my level.

"Has my brother already corrupted you that much?" He asked, trying to contain his laughter but the moment his words registered and I understood what he was implying, my cheeks heated up and I was so sure my whole face was red.

"Th- that's not what I meant! That's gross!" I belted.

"Omg. I was kidding kid" he wheezed as he tried to stop laughing.

I rolled my eyes at his childish antics and stomped forward. Even though he looked like the preppy version of Death, they were both childish.

I continued to walk, my steps echoing through the area. I surveyed my surroundings and it felt strangely familiar.

"Wait up! I'm only joking" he said catching up to me. I didn't know where I was going, but my feet seemed to be familiar with the place because it just felt right. Almost to the point that it felt like home.

Hypnos must have mistaken my silence as anger because he suddenly jogged ahead of me and blocked my path. "Look, I apologize, that joke was out of line" he said, taking tentative steps towards me.

"Who are you really? And why am I here?" I asked instead.

"Um... about that" he said scratching the back of his neck.

I rose my brow questioningly as I waited for him to answer.

"Please know, that I am not a bad guy. I'm not here to cause problems so please just hear me out" he begged.

I crossed my arms together and squinted my eyes at him. "Alright, I'm listening" I said trying to look intimidating. It's worth a try anyway.

"Okay, good" he said taking in a deep breath then chucking to himself. "oh gods. I waited centuries for someone willing to listen and now I don't know where to start" he said running his hand through his blonde hair.

Something flashed through his eyes when he said those words. I admit, I knew the feeling of not being heard.

"We've already established that I'm S-, I mean Death's twin brother. I'm sure you know we go by many names and Hypnos is just one of the hundreds people call me. Family and friends just call me Francesco or France for short" he said smiling, extending his hand out.

I warily shook his hand and withdrew it a little to quickly.

"Trust me Evie, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help" he stated, his eyes begging mine to believe.

"With all that's been going on... it's not that easy to trust" I said, instantly feeling guilty at his expression. He looked like a sad puppy. And I just kicked that puppy.

"Fair enough" he said instead, renewed determination suddenly gracing his face. "I'll earn that trust instead, if it means you'll fully believe me"