Never Say Die- Chapter 10

 

Chapter 10

 

 

            The flight went relatively quickly considering the company and entertainment provided and by ten thirty in the morning we were on the ground and stepping off the plane into McCarran airport. All of us quickly shed our jackets as we began sweating in them almost immediately. It was a gorgeous day, 85 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, I couldn't wait to get out of my jeans and into some shorts.

            After grabbing our luggage we went outside to get a taxi, I noticed lines of limousines waiting to whisk people away and thought it would be more fun than piling on a shuttle with a bunch of people we didn't know or squeezing into a taxi.

            So I went to the nearest limousine rental booth and slapped my black American Express card on the counter, the woman behind it recognized the card, only given to the most elite customers, and quickly processed the rental fee. Within minutes the three of us were relaxing in comfort as the stretch hummer pulled away from the curb and headed for The Luxor hotel.

The line to check in was ridiculously long for the time of day, check-in wasn't even until three in the afternoon and there were so many people waiting already. I wondered if we'd have to have them store our baggage until later but then paid attention as other guests walked away from the counter with room keys in hand.

            After about forty five minutes of winding through the maze of people waiting to check in, we had finally arrived at the front of the line, received our room information and were headed toward the elevator with room keys in hand. When we arrived on the fifteenth floor we found that a lot of others in the group were also on the same floor, checking out each other’s rooms and getting settled in their own.

            Rhys, Flan and I were sharing a two bedroom suite complete with its own living room and we were all pleased with it when I opened the door. We put our stuff down in our respective rooms and I was quick to change into shorts and a tank top as Rhys pulled on a pair of shorts himself. Flan met us back in the living room after changing into a skort that was just short enough in all the right places, showing off her fabulous legs. I swelled with pride that she’d finally broken away from her norm but before I could gush over it, there were more important matters at hand.

            “You guys down for Hooters wings?” Rhys asked and Flan and I grinned at each other excitedly and nodded. We both appreciated good wings and Hooters was definitely one of our favorite wing joints.

            We walked about half a mile to get to the local Hooters hotel and restaurant, stood in line for about half and hour and were finally seated at a high table that overlooked the pool. Once we had stuffed ourselves with about a dozen hot wings each, Flan and I decided to go lounge by the pool at our own hotel for a while and Rhys was going to hang out with some of the guys and maybe do some sightseeing.

            The pool was fairly deserted considering the heat, not many were people in it and even fewer were lounging around it but that was fine with me. Flan and I got settled into our lounge chairs with sunglasses and bottled water we'd picked up at their twenty four hour store.

            “This was a great idea Say, what a way to unwind.” I smiled over at her as she covered herself with sunscreen.

            “We should do this more often, just us. Or maybe one of these days you'll find yourself a boyfriend and we can double.”

            She smiled sheepishly, “Actually, I'd be more likely to find myself a girlfriend before a boyfriend.”

            I raised an eyebrow at her in surprise, “Look at you holding out on me, I didn't know you were into girls.”

            She grinned back at me, “Now you know.”

            “I guess you really don't know people until you get to know them.” I said and she looked confused but didn't say anything as we settled back into our chairs to soak up the sun.

            After about an hour and a half Flan suddenly sat bolt upright, taking in a deep, gasping breath. I sprang from my seat, “What's wrong?” I demanded.

            “It's Rhys, we need to get upstairs now!” She looked panicked as she jumped up and ran toward the door of the hotel. We sprinted through the lobby and the casino dodging people on our way to the right elevator, once we were inside it seemed to take forever to get to our floor.

            Flan took my hand, “Now Saydie you are going to need to keep your cool, I know it's not going to be easy but I can't let you out of this elevator unless you promise me you're not going to go all demon on his a*s.”

            “Demon on his....wait this has something to do with Malcolm doesn't it?” I was suddenly enraged as she nodded.

            “Promise me Saydie you're not going to lose it in a hotel in the middle of Las Vegas.” she said very specifically as if to remind me of where I was.

            I nodded, “I will do everything I can to protect Rhys without turning.”

            She looked unsure and I thought I heard her mumble something along the lines of, “You might want to turn on him once you see what he's doing...” as the doors opened and I sprinted out toward our room. I had the plastic key card out of my pocket and in the door in less than a second, nearly pulling it off of the hinges as I threw it open.

            There was a gasp behind me as I turned on the light to find Rhys in a chair off to the side of the living room, bare chested with Veronica dressed in only her bra and panties straddling him and their lips locked together. Does this b***h ever give up? I thought as he looked at me with an evil smile and his eyes glowing red. His hands were on her hips and I got the feeling that we'd arrived just in time to prevent something that I may not have been able to forgive, demon influence or not.

            Faster than I'd ever moved before, I crossed the room to grab her by her hair and pull her off of him, she slammed into the couch across the room and one look into her eyes told me that she was acting completely of her own will.

I'd had enough.

            My eyes went red as my temper flared, I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to keep myself under control, “I told you that I'd kill you if you ever touched him again.” I raged at her.

            “Except that you'd never actually do it.” She replied maliciously and my anger flared even more as I took a step toward her.

            “Saydie you promised...” Flan warned me.

            “You didn't tell me that he'd be in here with her Flan!” I managed to choke out without turning to look at her, taking another step toward Veronica.

            “I know I didn't and this is why, you need to calm down before you do something you’ll regret.”

I knew she was right and I took a deep breath, turning away from Veronica to go deal with Rhys instead.

            Seeming to take my moment to calm myself as weakness, Veronica decided to push her luck even further, “I told you he wanted to be with me.” she said nastily and that was all I needed to lose my temper. In less than a millisecond I whirled back around to face her, my fist clenched tight just before it came in contact with her nose. Blood started to pour from her face and she and Flan both stared at me in disbelief.

            I stood there staring at her not sure I believed what I'd just done, had I really just hit her? I'd never punched anyone before, but since I'd met Rhys all of my emotions seemed to be harder to control and for the first time I was actually bothered by it.

            Finally I calmed down enough to speak, “Get out of here Veronica, don't make me tell you again.” The threat in my voice wasn't concealed at all. She nodded, grabbed her clothes and hurried from the room without even putting them on.

            I turned to Rhys and he was still grinning at me with blazing red eyes, sitting in his chair like he was king of the world.

            “What's wrong baby? Afraid of a little competition?” he moved his hips in a movement that looked like he was having sex with someone sitting on top of him, with his hands on an invisible waist. My stomach churned for a moment and it took everything I had not to punch him too.

            “You think you can mess with me with no repercussions? That you can influence my boyfriend and make him sleep with other women to break us up?” I said savagely, then my voice changed, I sounded more like a demon, more powerful.

            “Are you forgetting who I am Malcolm? Whose life do you think you're messing with exactly?” I demanded and Flan touched my arm, reminding me to calm down before I went over the edge.

            “Who's being influenced? This is all me baby, come and get me.” he replied evilly and Flan grabbed me as I stepped forward, absolutely livid. But then I stopped short as a determined look came across his face for a moment and he said hoarsely, “Saydie, help me.” Then the look was gone and replaced once again by the evil sneer.

            I took a step back, “Flan he's fighting it.” I said in amazement, forgetting for a moment that Rhys was possessed by a demon that I despised.

            “Yes, yes he's fighting it now make it stop before he can't fight anymore!” She urged insistently and I came back to my senses.

I stepped closer until I was nearly face to face with him, putting one hand on either arm of his chair. I felt my eyes turn red and tasted the venom on my tongue as I crouched so that I was at eye level with him.

            My mind whirled, grasping for the right words, and my heart raced as I spoke very softly but clearly through my clenched teeth.

            “As the descendant of the demon Lucifer, the almighty ruler of hell, I demand that you leave this man and never return.” For a moment Rhys began to shake uncontrollably and his eyes rolled back into his head as I reached for his hand, then without warning, his eyes went blank before closing and his head fell to his chest.

            Flan and I both stepped back and watched in horror as the demon spirit left Rhys's body and faded into nothingness.

            “Oh God!” I exclaimed as I moved to Rhys's side and knelt in front of him, when he'd said it was all him Malcolm had been referring to himself.

            “Flan, put every spell on him that you can think of to prevent this from happening again.” I directed her without taking my eyes off of him. I gently tapped his face with my open hand.

            “Rhys? Rhys baby please wake up.” he didn't move and I was starting to panic.

            “Maybe we should just give him a minute.” Flan suggested, “Possession can be physically exhausting for a human.”

            “So you think he was possessed too? Do you think it worked? Is it over?” I asked frantically, desperate for answers.

            “If that wasn't a possession then I give up the witch-hood but yes I think it worked and I'm pretty sure it’s over.” she replied looking grim. “Good job Say. Your first exorcism.” She didn't say it in a praising way, more like she was disappointed and I looked up at her.

            “Don't feel bad for not seeing this sooner, none of this is your fault.” I said firmly, she nodded but it wasn't very convincing.

            I returned my thoughts to the situation at hand, What the hell am I supposed to tell him just happened? I suddenly thought causing me to panic even more and Flan came to put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

            “Just try to calm down Saydie, this isn't your fault either, we'll figure it out together.” She said kindly and I tried to appreciate the sentiment but found that now I couldn't, I was too stressed out about what had just happened.

            Maybe he won't remember, I thought hopefully before guilt and anger washed over me again.

            “Why does this have to happen to me? Why can't I just have a normal freaking life?” I shouted at nobody and brought my fist down on Rhys's knee in anger, suddenly his eyes flew open and he reached for his leg as a string of profanities came out of his mouth at the pain.

            “Oh my God, Rhys I'm so sorry!” I exclaimed torn with emotion. Still angry about the episode with Malcolm, feeling terrible that I'd hurt him so badly but relieved that he was awake now.

            “What the hell Saydie?” He asked, clearly confused and in immense pain.

            “I'm so sorry, I didn't realize...” I trailed off, I had hit him with more than human force, he was lucky I hadn't broken his leg and now the guilt was catching up with me.

He started to take in his surroundings, there was blood on the floor from Veronica's nose as she'd hurried from the room and she'd forgotten her flip flops next to his chair.

            “What the hell happened here?” his gaze stopped on the shoes and he stared at them, I could almost see the wheels in his head turning as he tried to remember what had happened.

            “Why don't you tell me?” I suggested, figuring it would be easier to wind my own story around what he remembered.

            “I remember Veronica coming to the door, she asked if she could come in and talk, I thought she wanted to make amends for how she's been acting...” he trailed off, “Oh God Saydie...” I could see it all coming back to him as a flush of embarrassment spread across his face and he hung his head in shame. But he didn't seem to realize that he hadn't been acting of his own will and took it all on himself, I felt so bad knowing that I had to go on with it, at least for a while.

            It wasn’t hard putting disappointment in my voice. “When we came up from the pool you were in this chair and she was straddling your lap kissing you.”

            He didn't even look like he wanted to deny it, “Saydie I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened, I don't want Veronica, I don't even know how that happened. I'm just so sorry.” He hung his head again and looked at the floor.

            I turned away from him so that he wouldn't see the tears that were forming in my eyes, “Flan can I talk to you in the other room for a minute?” I asked as I walked toward her room without another look at Rhys.

            “Of course.” She began to follow me and I heard her tell Rhys, “You stay put.”

She came through the door and locked it behind her as I sat on the bed, everything seemed to catch up with me, the tears burned my eyes, spilling over onto my face, running down my cheeks to land on my shirt and suddenly all I could do was cry. I laid down and cried with deep, gut wrenching sobs, holding the pillow over my face so Rhys couldn't hear me.

            I began to question if I could really do this, if it was worth it for both of us despite and because of the fact that he didn't know what he was up against. The odds we faced were ridiculous and I didn't even know if he could ever accept me for what I was. I loved him so much that I didn't think I could leave him, but was it going to be worth it to stay? Would love, no matter how deep, how strong or how eternal it was, really be enough?

            I felt the bed move and heard the sound of springs squeaking as she climbed on it with me and then wrapped an arm around me.

            “I know it's hard right now but he's worth it Saydie I promise. You got yourself a winner.” She squeezed me gently in a one armed, backwards hug.

            “What have you seen Flan?” I rolled over to face her wary of the answer, but I had to know.

            She sighed, “That the two of you are made for each other, so like I said, I know it's not easy but it will be worth it in the end I promise.”

            “I really don't know if I can keep doing this. It's mentally straining, constantly having to worry about whether or not Malcolm is going to interfere or what trick Veronica is going to pull next.”

            “Well I think you showed Veronica that you mean business and she'll probably keep her distance for a while.”

            “Any chance you can keep her from being influenced too?” I asked hopefully.

            “I'm already on it.” she smiled at me, “From now on if she pulls any more crap you'll know that it actually deserves a punch in the face.” I had to grin back at her, she was the best.

            “You rock Flan.”

            “Well I try.” she gave me a superior look and I couldn't hold back the laugh. I reached over and gave her a real hug.

            “Thanks.” I said and she nodded in response.

            “What do we do about them though? I can't let Rhys blame himself for this.” I asked sadly.

            “I'll take care of it, we need to get them in the same room again though. What do you want the story to be?”

            I looked at her thoughtfully as I sat up, wiping the tears from my face. “We should probably tell them something close to the original story, there has to be some explanation for why I broke Veronica's nose.” she smiled at me.

            “That's very true.” I couldn't help smiling back.

            “What if we walked in on their little 'chat' just as Veronica was trying to kiss him and I pulled her off and punched her?” I suggested, it was pretty lame compared to what had really happened but still believable considering I had a handful of witnesses who were present for my previous warning for her to stay away from him.

            “That could probably work, now we just have to figure out how to get her back in here.” she said thoughtfully.

            “That's easy, make Rhys invite her back.” I replied.

            “You think that she'll just come waltzing back in here after you broke her nose?”

            “If she thinks that I'm not here she might but we need to hurry before she tells anyone a different story.” Flan nodded.

            “You're right, let's go.” she said unlocking and opening the door. Rhys looked up as we came back into the room; he had a tortured expression on his face and radiated shame as I came closer to him.

            “I need you to do something for me, if you do it without question and follow my instructions exactly I'll be able to forgive you and we can move on from this, okay?” I said hopefully and he just nodded silently looking perplexed but willing to do anything I asked.

            “I want you to call Veronica and invite her back, tell her I'm not here or any other lie you have to in order to get her back in this room before she goes to the hospital, we're going to sit down and put an end to this once and for all.” I said firmly and once again he only nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket.

            “Veronica, it's me, look I really need to talk to you about what happened can you come back for just a minute?” I was surprised that he sounded so calm as he paused for her response.    “No, she's not here, Flan took her to blow off some steam.” another pause, “Okay I'll see you in a few.” he looked up at me as he stuffed the phone back in his pocket. “She's coming.” I nodded and patted his arm.

            “Thank you, we'll get this taken care of and everything will be fine.” I leaned down to kiss his forehead and he gave me a weak smile.

            “Saydie, I really am sorry, I don't know what happened-” I interrupted him before he could go any further.

            “I know, you don't have to explain yourself, I just want to move past this and get on with our lives.”

            “How can you be so calm about all of this?” He asked, looking me over skeptically.

            “Because I know you didn't mean to do it and we're going to take care of it.” I replied and he stood to stand in front of me.

            “Saydie I think you're in shock or something, you're just not right about this.” he looked so worried.

            “Would you prefer that I go all hellfire and brimstone on you?” I asked, not being able to resist the joke and fighting back a smile.

            “If it makes you feel better, then yes.” He replied seriously.

            “Just trust me I'm fine.” I said and heard footsteps coming down the hall, Flan grabbed my arm and pulled me into her bedroom and nodded to Rhys to go open the door.

            “What are you going to do?” I whispered to her.

            “I'll wait until they sit down and then put them in a kind of trance, alter their memory and then send her on her way.” she whispered back as we listened for their voices.

            When we were sure that Veronica was in the room I saw Flan's lips move but didn't hear her saying anything for about five minutes, “Okay we can go out now.” she said and pulled open the door.

            When I stepped out into the room Rhys and Veronica were sitting across from each other at the table, they both looked up at us blankly as we entered. The bruising was spreading quickly across Veronica's face and she looked like she had two black eyes forming. I felt sick as I looked at her for a moment but then reminded myself of what she had done willingly where Rhys had been out of control of his actions.

            I turned to Flan, “Okay now what?” she held up a hand to silence me, again her lips were moving but no sound came out. Rhys and Veronica continued to stare at us with blank faces while we all waited for Flan to finish whatever she was doing.

            Finally, she actually spoke, “Veronica, you called Rhys under the false pretense of wanting to talk to him, you encouraged him to allow you to come to his room because you knew that Saydie was down at the pool with Flannigan.” I hadn't been expecting her to talk about herself like she wasn't there but I didn't interrupt. “When you arrived Rhys kindly let you in and went to sit so that the two of you could talk, you took advantage of his position to sit in his lap and attempt to kiss him but he started to push you away just before you could.

            “Saydie and Flannigan came in the door and caught you in the act at the same moment and because she'd warned you before to stay away from Rhys before, Saydie took your actions as a betrayal which caused her to lose her temper. She pulled you off of his lap by your hair and punched you in the face breaking your nose.” She stopped and then turned to Rhys, I thought it sounded pretty good so far, I hadn't expected all of the detail either.

            “Rhys, Veronica called you asking if she could come to your room and talk, you agreed wanting to be nice about it but had every intention of telling her to back off and leave you and Saydie alone. When she arrived you let her in and went to sit in this chair.” She motioned to the chair he'd been sitting in. “You were confused when she suddenly came toward you and sat in your lap, when she tried to kiss you, you began to push her away and protest just as Saydie and Flannigan came into the room. Saydie arrived just in time to see you try to push Veronica away and lost her temper with Veronica, pulling her by her hair to get her out of your lap before punching her in the face and breaking her nose.” She stopped and looked at them both for a moment. “Do you understand what happened here?” she asked them and they both nodded blankly.

            “Veronica, you fled the room with blood flowing from your nose leaving marks on the carpet. You went back to your room to get information on where the closest hospital is and find someone to take you.” She turned back to Rhys again.

            “Rhys, you have nothing to feel guilty about, Saydie left the room to calm herself after she hit Veronica and after I have gone in the room to talk to her I will come out and you will be free to go in and comfort her.” he nodded blankly again.

            “Veronica, go to your room and find someone to take you to the hospital.” she said and Veronica stood up in her trance and left the room without a word. I looked at Flan curiously,      “It'll kick in as soon as she gets back to her room.” she assured me. “Now we need to go into the other room so Rhys can snap out of it, it doesn't work right if you don't follow events that you've placed in their heads.” I nodded and headed back into the bedroom leaving Rhys still sitting with the vacant expression on his face.

            After we'd gone in the room and closed the door I turned to her, “Thanks again Flan, you really came through this time, I don't know what I would have done if he'd had to live with the guilt of what Malcolm made him do.” I would never be more grateful to her than I was now. Disaster averted.
            “You're welcome, I'm glad I could help. Now how about we go check out this city after he snaps out of it? We only have 5 days.”

            I laughed, “Alright let me change and we'll go.” she stood up and left as I went over to my suitcase to figure out what I wanted to wear while anxiously awaiting his entrance. I decided to start by just unpacking all of my clothes and hanging them in the closet or putting them in drawers.

            When I was finally done I stood in a pair of shorts and my bra trying to pick a shirt and heard the door open again. “I'm almost done Flan.” Having forgotten for a moment that he was supposed to come into the room to talk, I turned around to find that it was Rhys behind me, a contemplative look on his face, staring as if I was something he couldn't figure out.

            “You're so beautiful, I just can't get over it.” he finally said and I blushed, turning back to the closet to pick a shirt, not knowing what to say. Then I felt him behind me, he wrapped his arms around my waist and started kissing my neck. “I'm so in love with you, you know that right?” he murmured into my shoulder and I nodded still not trusting myself to speak.

            “Saydie no matter what happens I'm never going to leave you, I can't, you're too much a part of me.” It was like he knew exactly what I was feeling as he pulled me around to face him and pressed his lips to mine.

            “You don't know how much it hurts me to see you so upset, it's like my own heart is breaking. I will make sure that Veronica doesn't interfere anymore.”

            “It's not just her Rhys, you'd never understand...” I stopped, realizing that I'd said more than I should have and looked down at the floor.

            He took my chin in his hand and lifted my face to look in my eyes, “What wouldn't I understand Saydie?”

            I sighed, “I'm just not like other girls.”

            “I knew that when I met you, that’s why I love you.” he smiled at me. Yes, but would you still love me if you knew why I'm not like other girls?

            “Now that I know you're a brawler it might take some getting used to,” he teased and winked at me putting a hand on either side of my face and running his fingers into my hair as he looked me directly in the eyes. “But I love you Saydie, exactly the way you are, I'll take the good with the bad.” and as I smiled up at him I prayed that he could still take the bad once he found out what it was.