Chapter 14

My eyelids fluttered open as they got over the shock of light seeping through the creamy yellow curtains. It took me a minute to realise I was in my bedroom. That must have been how Ryvre felt when she passed out and woke up in my bed. A traitorous voice whispered, but you didn’t pass out...

‘Oh. I’m dead!’ I shot up faster than the speed of electricity and then regretted it a beat later, when someone in my head thought it’d be funny to through bricks at my mind, or try to escape my head. ‘Surely, you can’t get headaches being dead?’ I quizzed aloud. It was my typical luck that I’d get a headache whilst being dead. I laid back down, trying to get rid of it.

Suddenly, I heard someone’s gentle voice outside my door. Well, I thought to myself, this is it. I’m going to heaven now... or hell. Depends if I’ve been a good girl or not. My door creaked open and I saw it was Rosita holding her little newborn.

‘Now, Robin,’ Rosita whispered as she crept further into my room, ‘this is Electra. She’s amazing; she saved all our friends and family from some very bad people.’ She sat on the end of my bed.

‘Wow, I am dead.’ I said to myself.

Rosita yelped and tried not to frighten the baby. ‘Oh, my God, don’t do that! I’m glad you’re awake,’ she released a deep breath that she’d sucked up, ‘but you could have done something to let me realise it.’

‘You were engrossed in the baby. And besides, since when do you consider me amazing?’ I raised my eyebrows.

‘Next time,’ she said ignoring my question, ‘yawn or turn over or stir... something!’

‘Why is my guardian angel an image of Rosita and Robin?’ I asked her, ‘if I’m dead and you’re taking to my final destination – which is where exactly? – then shouldn’t you take the form of... I don’t know my twin-soul or something?’ That reminded me of Sam.

‘What?’ She said with many forms of disbelief. ‘Electra, you’re not dead.’

‘Yes, I am.’ I said matter-of-factly, ‘and I’m cool with it, really. I sacrificed my life for my loved ones – surely I’d go to heaven for that, by the way?’ She wouldn’t answer if I was going to heaven or hell.

‘Electra,’ she enunciated each word, ‘you...  Are.... Not... Dead. Got it, stupid?’ She rolled her eyes.

‘Wait...’ I considered it for a moment and came to a conclusion, ‘my guardian angel wouldn’t look like Rosita... and they wouldn’t tell me I’m not dead... Am I really alive?’

Rosita looked away out of annoyance and when she looked back she leant forward and smiled. The she pinched me! ‘Ouch! What was that for?’

‘To prove to you that you are not dead,’ she raised her eyebrows.

‘That only works for dreams!’ I protested.

‘Gotta work for dead people, too,’ she shrugged and suppressed a smile, showing she secretly enjoyed it. ‘Quit being a baby and come downstairs for some food and drinks – you’ve been out for two and a half days.’

‘No way,’ I was surprised that I hadn’t woken up to urinate, ‘I’d better go to the toilet now!’ I ran out of my bedroom and relieved my bladder.

After checking my hair, I went downstairs and walked into the kitchen made myself some spaghetti on toast and a cup of tea and took it into the dining room and sat down with everyone staring at me from the living room. I shoved a forkful into my mouth, ignoring their vacant stares. After I swallowed, I forced myself to suppress a smile, and said, ‘what are you all staring at?’

Hugh cleared his throat and spoke for everyone, ‘you.’

‘Yeah,’ I said in between forkfuls, ‘I got that. Next question: why are you all staring at me?’ No reply. ‘It’s not like I’m dead.’

‘Oh, but you did think that upstairs,’ Rosita said as she walked into the room with a baby monitor instead of the baby itself.

‘Hey, give me a break. I’d been out for nearly three days, my brain needs to catch up.’  I had finished my plate by the time anyone spoke to me like a normal person. After I drained my tea, I asked, ‘has anyone seen Sam?’

‘Yeah,’ Ace said, looking at me like I was wild, mystical creature from outer space, ‘he’s at the shop. I guess, he’s trying to catch up on the workload.’

‘Okay,’ I sighed, ‘I’m going to have a shower and pop by the shop.’ I said as I put my washing up in the sink and walked past them towards the stairs.

‘Don’t you think,’ Taran pointed out, ‘you, know, maybe you should wait until you’re feeling more fit for getting back to normal?’

‘Hey,’ I snapped at him, cheerfully, ‘I save your butt. Don’t go being a pain in mine. ‘Plus... I’m not going there to do work. I’m going there to... see Sam.’ I blushed.

‘You can’t keep her back from her twin-soul,’ Ryvre announced and the look of surprise and pleasure spread across everyone’s faces, ‘you couldn’t do that to me when I needed rest.’ She looked at everyone and then at Ace. Then she said, looking at me with a knowing smile, ‘so, you sure as hell can’t hold Electra back from going to Sam.’

No one tried to stop me before I jumped in the shower. I let all my sleep-sweat pour off of me and let the shower gel give my body a clean scent. The coconut shampoo brought my hair to life. I blow-dried it afterwards and left it to be natural – not straight; not curly – but still more on the straight side. I then put on a soft pink – verging on purple – top with quarter length sleeves, with a pair of quarter length jeans and my converses. I put on my makeup; grabbed my keys and was downstairs before you could say my name.

I was in such a happy mood, I could have run to the shop but I still felt a little drained of energy. As I sat on the bus, I googled what films were showing at our local cinema and checked the times and the prices. Sam and I needed another date. I couldn’t set one up like last time as its last minute but surely a simple date to the cinema was okay?

The shop door was locked, so I used my key and stepped inside. It was nice to hear the little bell ring above the shop door. There was banging coming from a room that wasn’t there before – Sam’s doing probably.

‘Sorry, we’re closed!’ Sam shouted as he stumbled around, trying to exit the room, ‘damn! I thought I’d locked the door. Excuse me, miss, we’re...’ he trailed off as he saw me.

‘Yes,’ I smiled at him, ‘I know we’re closed. But being the owner, I do have some privileges.’ He wouldn’t smile. I said, seriously, ‘hi, Sam.’

‘Hi, Electra,’ he responded in the same tone as mine, ‘are you sure you’re okay to be up and here?’

‘I’m fine and my family are cool with it.’ I shrugged. ‘I’m not here to do work. I’m here to ask you... if... you would like to... go on a date with me. I thought the cinema as its last minute but you only have the choice of Blended and Godzilla and Edge of Tomorrow and-’

‘I don’t want to see any of them.’ Sam said, flatly.

‘Oh-Kay...’ I widened my eyes and then said, ‘well there’s always the Postman Pat Movie?’ He didn’t laugh. He didn’t even smile. ‘I know I lied to you...’

‘About being an angel.’ Sam finished for me, ‘yeah, I get why you’d lie about that. But you found out that I’m your twin-soul but you couldn’t tell me. And then you put your life in danger without telling me that I’m your twin.’

‘Would it have made a difference if I had told you?’ I asked. He opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off, ‘you would have been more protective and not let me risk myself like that. Also, the black-souls could have gotten hold of that information and used it against us. When Scotia possessed me, I used all my strength to hide that piece of key information.’

‘Actually, Electra,’ Sam said sadly, ‘I wouldn’t have let you risk yourself at all, had I know that it could have ended up killing you.’ He frowned and turned away from me.

‘Well, I’ve got to go draw some money out but if you want go on that date with me,’ I told him even though he was walking back into the room that he’d come from, ‘I’ll be waiting outside the cinema at three; my treat. If you don’t show then... whatever’s between us is finished.’ It hurt my throat to say it. But I had to.

Slamming the shop door, I had a feeling like he wasn’t going to show. But I tried to stay as positive as I could.