Misty

Most exes leave you alone because the relationship fizzles or ends horribly. What I mean by ending horribly is you don't have one shred of nice things to say about them.

Case in point. Nash's mistake, Trina. We can't call her an ex since they didn't have a relationship. Not if you count Trina holding Nash captive in a storage closet at school and taking his purity. Bad visual. Shudders!

Perhaps that wasn't the best example.

I can't speak for the cousins since they haven't dated anyone except the girls. They're not talking if they have, and I didn't ask. Diego has been with Marissa forever, so he doesn't count. That leaves Aiden and Eden.

Let's start with Aiden. He had a girlfriend who was a bit jealous due to her condition. Their relationship ended when she passed away. Okay, we can't use Aiden as an example since his relationship ended abruptly. That leaves Eden.

Eden dated her scum of an ex for five long years. Four years too long if you ask me since the bastard cheated on her for four years. But I digress. Eden dropped her scummy ex like a hot potato. Then, her ex attacked her after she obliterated his career. You would think that would be the end of Eden's interaction with her ex when the Feds hauled his ass to jail. Nope, this Yahoo escaped captivity and showed up on campus.

But the schmuck grew a brain and keeps eluding capture since there's no proof he's on campus. Without evidence, the police can't arrest the weasel.

This brings us to our current situation, where we are trying to figure out how Eden's ex managed a jailbreak and eluded the cops. Survey says: the schmuck has a demon helping him.

This doesn't help matters when Uncle Raymond and Aunt Gloria show up on campus to check on Eden. Since they don't know about our true identity, we had to keep Nash from losing his shit.

"I'm fine," Eden told her dad.

The rest of us lounged around the living room like the good little troublemakers that we were. We had to keep Nash from causing an electrical surge. How do you explain to your aunt and uncle your souls have returned from the afterlife with parlor tricks?

"I don't like the idea of that snake loose," Uncle Raymond said.

"Wayne can't get near me without alerting the cops of his presence. If he does, it won't bode well for him," Eden reassured her dad.

Yeah, okay.

"Eden, we don't want anything to happen to you," Aunt Gloria said.

"It won't, Mom. Aiden won't let it happen," Eden said.

Someone knocked on the front door, interrupting our entertainment. Nash would let me answer the door because he didn't want to risk my safety. He forgets I have my locket to protect me from the schmuck.

Nash returned with his dad and my dad. Now wait a damn minute. What are our fathers doing here?

"Why are you here?" I asked my dad.

My dad rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It's good to see you, too, Misty."

"I didn't mean it like that." I waved my dad off, got up, and hugged him before stepping back. "What are you doing here?"

"Raymond called me and said Eden's ex had escaped police custody. That didn't sit well with me."

Great. I had to reassure my dad before he lost his shit.

*******
Valentino

While Eden and Mags reassured the parental units, Dad and I headed into the kitchen. I grabbed two cups and brewed coffee for us. Dad took his black while I added creamer and sugar to mine.

"You need to get West, Raymond, and Gloria out of here," I told my dad.

"What's going on, Tino?" Dad asked.

"We think a demon attached itself to Eden's ex. Raymond and Gloria will get hurt if they come into contact with Eden's ex."

My dad ran his hand through his hair. "Can you assure me that you will take care of it?"

I arched my brow and sipped my coffee.

"Never mind." Dad shook his head and drank his coffee.

A few minutes later, West walked into the kitchen. Dad filled him in on the current situation, making West realize it was a terrible idea for Raymond and Gloria to come here. No shit.

It took a lot of coaxing to get Raymond and Gloria to leave. My dad and West gave me a single nod before following suit.

*******
Misty

We averted one crisis before all hell broke loose. How do you explain to two people you have a psychotic demon hell-bent on destroying you? They would think we lost our damn minds.

"Are we planning on having any more surprise visitors before dealing with Eden's jackass of an ex?" Nixon asked.

"I hope not. It'll make life much more difficult for us," Nash said, sitting on the couch.

"What are we doing with Eden's ex? We can let him roam freely," Nathan said.

"We'll need to lure him into a trap," Nixon reasoned.

"We'll need bait," Noah mentioned.

The cousins looked at Eden as Aiden raised his brow to challenge their plan. If people thought the Gray brothers were something, they haven't dealt with a Harper. You have a mixture of crazy and calculating tempers thrown together.

"You forget we derived from Nash and Maggie's crazy offspring. Using someone's significant other as bait won't bode well for us," Nolan reminded them.

"When did you become the voice of reason?" Noah asked Nolan.

"When I ended up with Gray and Harper DNA." Nolan shrugged.

"We could use Eden as bait if she has a partner-in-crime," Diego suggested.

Everyone looked at me. How the hell did I get picked as tribute in this crazy scheme?

*******
Nash put Nixon in charge of the plan to lure Eden's stupid ex to Nash while he focused on more important things, like me. I lay on the couch with my legs draped over Nash's lap while he played with the promise ring on my finger.

"Mags, I don't like the idea of you helping Eden by acting like bait for her ex."

"I don't like the idea either. It's not my idea of a good time to have my cousin's ex trying to get revenge. Then again, what else is new with us?"

"I hoped to spend time with you without a demon interfering."

"Hope springs eternal." I gave him a cheeky grin.

Nash rolled his eyes. "I'm serious. Next month, we're turning nineteen."

"No rest for the wicked then?"

Nash raised his brow.

"Nash, all we need to do is finish this year and pray like hell that next year goes much smoother."

"That's if we can catch a break." He sighed.

I sat up and slipped my hand into Nash's. "We will. One day, we will say we knew this demon when."

Nash rolled his eyes at my sense of humor. It's not my fault a stupid demon wanted to cause problems for us. I blame that on Hell not keeping track of its minions.

********
Aiden

If I knew Nash, he wouldn't let anything happen to Maggie or Eden. I can say the same for Wayne when he encounters Nash. If Wayne thought I was terrible, I was nothing compared to Nash. I learned from my previous life when I developed a crush on Maggie. Stupid, I know.

This time was different for all of us. We had different bodies and parents, and let's not forget the confusion added to the mix.

"Do you think your cousins will devise a plan so Wayne doesn't get his hands on me?" Eden asked, sitting beside me on the bed.

"I doubt Wayne will breathe after Nash gets through with him. He doesn't take kindly to a jackass trying to hurt his family."

"Is that who sent the cupcake after Wayne attacked me?"

I nodded. "It was the only way for Nash to communicate without anyone suspecting what he had planned."

"Nash is a lot different from our precious life."

"That's because Nash learned what was important. It's easy to act like an ass when no one questions you. It's different when you have a legitimate reason."

"His deafness."

I nodded. "Nash wasn't deaf in his previous life. He didn't understand the concept of imperfection. This time, he does. But he also doesn't let his insecurity fuel him."

"Someone tells me that Nash wants to prove why he's different this time."

"I hope so for his and Maggie's sake."

While it might seem like fun and games dealing with this demon, we had a lot riding on it. If the demon succeeded, we would lose. If we succeeded, Nash and Maggie would receive their reward.

Whatever their reward was, it would surprise everyone.