Page 53 of Cursed by Death

Fox followed me out of the house. Of course, he did because he was supposed to follow me everywhere. The poor man.

I paused on the porch and sucked in a huge lungful of air. I caught sight of the dead man and choked on it.

I couldn’t catch my breath.

“I think you’re having a panic attack,” Fox informed me as he gently took hold of my elbow and led me down the porch steps.

I allowed him to guide me to the car and I didn’t even protest when he pushed me down until I was sitting in the front passenger seat and he closed the door.

He got in the driver’s seat and I still didn’t say anything to him. We drove off without saying anything to the others and, even though I knew it wasn’t right, I didn’t have it in me to care.

Maybe Fox was right and I was having some sort of panic attack. I didn’t know because I had never had one before. But I didn’t really think that was it.

I knew.

I wasn’t panicking. I was filled with a sense of dread and foreboding.

And something far, far worse than that.

Something that made me feel absolutely sick to my stomach and I knew I wouldn’t be the same again after this.

I was filled with disgust and loathing.

That smell that had been in the room with the dead demon, the lingering stench of hellfire… it had been the strongest smell in the room, the strongest smell in the entire house. Stronger than the filth and garbage downstairs. Stronger than the initial stench of death upstairs.

It was a scent I was familiar with, even after all these years. I would forever recognize it.

Because I’d spent my childhood surrounded by it mixed in with the sweet fragrance of my mother’s perfume. She’d always smelled of vanilla and freshly baked sugar cookies.

It was my father who’d been in that house, I was absolutely certain of it.

He’d killed the man who had murdered Thomas.

I just didn’t understand why.

But I would figure it out. And the easiest way I could think to do that would be to talk to the man himself.

Chapter 28

Fox called Rally on the way back to my house. I couldn’t hear what Rally said but I heard Fox’s entire side of the conversation. He told the Prince everything that happened and didn’t once exaggerate a single thing or input his own opinions, which I appreciated. He simply stated facts. It was another mark in Fox’s favor, and it was a serious one.

I kept my eyes closed the entire ride but I figured he knew I wasn’t sleeping. There was no way I could sleep after that revelation. I would more than likely have extreme nightmares and I wanted to avoid that.

That was partially why I usually ended up drinking so much before I fell asleep every night. The alcohol always knocked me right out. If I dreamed in that state I never remembered it.

When I was sober the nightmares were always horrific and kept me locked in the past. For, that was what the nightmares always were, different versions of past experiences that always left me wanting to die.

Fox parked the car in front of the house and followed me up to the front door, like the good little guard he’d been trained to be.

“You should take my car and go home, Fox. I’m going to lock myself inside the house and probably just get drunk. I’d really like to be left alone to do that. Please. Tell Rally that I promise not to go anywhere for the rest of the night and you can come back tomorrow, okay. But for tonight, I just need to be left alone.”

As I spoke I avoided making eye contact with him. I didn’t want to see what he thought of me, what he thought of what I was, or of the cowardice I was showing at that moment.

I didn’t think I’d be able to look myself in the eye in a mirror so I wouldn’t expect anyone else to be able to look at me either.

“I’ll call my Prince and see what he says. But, first, look at me, Ruby.”

I shook my head and I just wanted him to go away because I didn’t want to end up crying. I’d somehow managed to keep it in so far. “Just go away, Fox. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you in my house right now. And don’t you dare let yourself in because you know the code now. That wouldn’t be fair to me.”

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