Her words jabbed deep into my middle, knocking my breath out. I braced a hand on the tile and gagged. A replacement? How could she say that? I’d loved Morik. Then her words sunk in.
“You know.” The statement escaped in a horrified whisper. Now I’d lose my friend too.
“Your mom had your Aunt Danielle tell me,” she said quietly from the other side of the curtain. “She’s really awesome. Your whole family is.”
I slowly rinsed my hair, not actually shampooing it. Gross or not, I just didn’t care enough to expend the energy needed for a full wash.
“I want to help you Tessa. Please.”
Tears blended with the water and I had a difficult time swallowing past the lump in my throat. A true friendship. Just like I’d seen in my vision with Brad. I should have known it wouldn’t depend on marrying her brother. It was just the kind of person Beatriz was. Kind and caring… in a scary, cold way.
“I don’t know how you can,” I admitted turning off the water.
She handed a towel through the curtain giving me privacy. “First we need to verify he’s actually dead,” she said practically.
“Watching a bullet pierce him isn’t enough?” My voice broke.
“No,” she said brusquely. “It’s not. And it shouldn’t be for you either. He’s not human. Sure, he can be hurt, but what if the same rules don’t apply to him. Maybe he can’t die.”
“I wish that were true,” I said sadly stepping from the shower wrapped in the towel.
“You didn’t wash,” she accused.
I ignored her. “He told me he could cease to exist. That’s pretty much how I would define death.”
She followed me to the bedroom waiting just outside the door while I dressed. The bed tempted me, but I didn’t doubt Beatriz would pull me from it by the hair again. I called her in as I flipped the blankets over the mattress and sat down on its edge.
“What about your mark? It’s still there.” She sat next to me and gave me a cheeky grin. “I peeked.”
I rolled my eyes, but answered her. “I don’t know what that means. Morik didn’t seem to know much about the link other than it tied us together more than my choice would.”
“Then I think we should count it as a good sign,” she said firmly.
I didn’t have the energy to argue with her.
“If he is still alive,” she pushed, “you wouldn’t want him popping in and seeing you like this. You lost weight and look… well, sick. Let’s get you something to eat.”
She stood decisively and waved me to the door. With a mulish scowl, I stood and led the way to the kitchen. A smoky sweet aroma tickled my nose and my memory. Bacon. Nostalgia swamped me and tears rimmed my eyes.
Beatriz grabbed my hand and held it in both her own. “Trust me,” she whispered. “I will pull you through this.” Her steely tone indicated her level of determination.
Everyone sat at the kitchen table. All, except Aunt Danielle, held a cup of coffee. Their worried expressions changed at the sight of me. Mom started crying. Gran stood with a watery smile saying she’d fix me a plate. Aunt Danielle winked at Beatriz.
I sat in Gran’s vacated chair. Aunt Danielle glided to her usual chair so Beatriz could sit with me at the table. No one said anything, but I could see they all wanted to.
After nibbling halfway through a slice of toast, I set my barely touched plate to the side. Mom’s crying had quieted to sniffles and she cleared her throat for the second time obviously working up the courage to break the silence.
“Tessa,” she said with soft hesitancy. I looked up at her. “Stephen has a nephew we’d like you to meet.”
She quieted. I didn’t try to hide my look of horror. “I’ve already killed one. Isn’t that enough?” A tear slipped down my cheek.
“I don’t think know is the time for this talk,” Beatriz piped up. The steel was back. “We need to run. I promised Mona we’d stop in.”
Beatriz tugged me to my feet. Following her like an obedient puppy, I put on my things at the door. Gran cleaned up my plate and I felt a pang of guilt. What had I done to them for the past… “What day is it?” I asked Beatriz.
“Saturday.” She didn’t look at me, just pushed me out the door into the snow.
A whole week. I couldn’t really remember eating or anything. I frowned.
She led me to a car and held the door for me. “Buckle up,” she ordered slamming it closed. She joined me a moment later behind the wheel. “It’s my mom’s car so we need to behave.”
I didn’t think I had the energy to misbehave, but nodded anyway.
A few minutes later, she parked in front of the Coffee Shop. It hurt to look at it. I thought of all the times Morik helped me with deliveries and waited for me at a table.
Beatriz didn’t give me a chance to balk. She pulled me from the car and dragged me inside.