Sunny Side Of Hell

CHAPTER 7

Thea couldn't sleep that night, visions of the soul kept her up. Every time she would fall asleep she would wake up 20 minutes later from a nightmare. No matter what she tried she just couldn't sleep. At around 3 am she decided to get up and get a glass of water from the kitchen. She untangled herself from the sweaty sheets and crawled out of bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping Cobra who was flat on his back, legs in the air and snoring loudly. She walked down the stairs, skipping the third one down because it squeaked. As soon as her feet hit the floor a voice rang out.

"What are you still doing up," Luce asked his voice rough from sleep.

"I was just grabbing a glass of water," Thea said her voice soft.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No..."

"Why not?"

"I keeping thinking about that soul."

"Oh," Luce said, frowning. He sat up from the couch and motioned her over to him. She walked over and he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Thea laid her head on his chest. "Can I tell you a story?"

"Sure."

"I once knew a little boy," Luce started his voice soft and comforting. "His name was Miguel and he was one of the kindest little boys I've ever known. His dad was a good friend of mine back on Earth. Well, one day Miguel got sick. It wasn't the kind of curable sick, he had cancer and it was bad. The doctors tried everything they could, but he was just too sick. His dad begged me to do something, but there was nothing God or I could do. Then one afternoon Miguel died. It was sad but peaceful. He-"

"Luce," Thea said tears in her eyes, "why are you telling me this? It's too sad."

"You'll see in a minute," he said before continuing. "He soon came to Purgatory and was sent to Heaven. He was happy there. He missed his dad, but there was so much for him to do. He loved to run on the clouds and chase birds that got too high. The longer he spent in Heaven the brighter he got. You see, in Hell, the longer a soul spends here the more destroyed it gets. Then, eventually, it will disintegrate into dust and go back to the Earth and be born again. The souls that are in Heaven do something similar,  except the longer they are there the brighter they get until the become to bright and the light within them explodes, sending them back to Earth. Souls are meant to be on Earth, not in Heaven or Hell, so eventually they will return."

At this point in the story Thea was almost asleep. The sound of Luce's heartbeat and voice quickly lulled her into a relaxed state. Luce was done with his story, but holding Thea like this had never happened before and he wanted just a few more minutes. Soon Thea was fast asleep in his arms. Luce thought that he should put her to bed so he stood up, still holding her and walked into his bedroom. Cobra had gotten up not soon after Thea left and had relocated to his bed near the door. Luce walked over to the bed and gently set Thea down on the bed, or at least tried to. Thea clung onto him like her life depended on it. Luce tried to detangle himself from her but there was no use.

"Please stay," Thea whispered quietly.

"Ok," Luce said lowering his body onto the bed, Thea still in his arms, and maneuvering their bodies under the covers. This is how the two stayed until the morning.

***

In a strange twist of events, Thea was the first to awake the next morning. She quickly blinked her eyes, clearing the sleep from them. It was then that she realized that there was an unusual weight across her waist. She looked over and was slightly shocked to see Luce tightly wrapped around her. Thea searched her memories and quickly remembered last night and why Luce was in her, or was it his, bed. Thea was stunned by the beauty of the man asleep in front of her. All the stresses of his life seemed to melt away from his face and had a slight smile on his face. Thea couldn't believe that this man was hers. Her life before Washington was one that was filled with the opposite of luck, so it was hard for her to believe that she was this lucky. Thea was still staring at Luce when he woke up.

"Hello Beautiful," Luce said his voice slightly husky from sleep. Thea blushed and smiled at him, suddenly shy.

The two of them got up. Thea got dressed for the day while Luce made breakfast. Soon the two of them were seated at the table, happily eating the delicious French Toast Luce made with Cobra sitting by their feet hoping someone would drop him a scrap. Luce was buzzing with nervous energy. His leg was bouncing restlessly underneath the table and he wasn't really eating rather pushing his food around his plate. They were talking about a book the two of them read, but Thea could tell that he wasn't really paying attention. Luce suddenly looked up from his plate of food and right at Thea. Thea gave him a look of confusion.

"Is there something on my face," she asked, for surely that must be why he was giving her such a strange look. Luce just shook his head.

"No," he said, even his voice sounding nervous. "I have something to ask you."

"Ok," Thea said getting nervous herself.

"Will you go on a date with me?"

"Of course," Thea said laughing softly to herself. "I would love to."

Luce seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Ok," he said with a big grin on his face. "Tonight I will take you on one of the world famous Lucifer dates."

Thea just smiled at him.