Page 14 of Paranormal Love From an Immortal Thug
Khalid reached over and brushed a curl out of my face with a thumb. “But today what?”
I exhaled. “Today feels… different.”
He gave a little half-smile. “That’s ‘cause you finally let somebody show up for you. Please you. Even if it’s just for a lil’ bit.”
That hit me harder than I expected. I stared at him, chest heavy, the weight of his words pressing on me in a way no stroke could. Khalid was right. Midnight was inevitable. And then?He’d go back underground. I shifted onto my back, staring at the ceiling. My mind was racing now, fighting against the ache in my body and the wine in my veins.
“Wednesday,” he said softly.
“Yeah?”
“You thinkin’ too hard, ma. Don’t ruin the vibe.”
I smiled a little but didn’t stop staring upward. “What if there was a way…”
He raised an eyebrow. “What you talkin’ ‘bout?”
I sat up slowly, a thought was sparking in my head now, bright and dangerous. “If a spell can bring you back from the dead,” I said, turning to look at him, “then maybe there’s a spell out there tokeepyou here.”
Khalid lay back on his elbows, watching me with a mix of curiosity and that lazy, hood-demon grin. “You serious?”
“I’m just saying,” I murmured. “Maybe there’s something. Some… loophole. Something nobody ever tried.”
His smirk softened a little. “You gon’ make a nigga believe in hope, pretty girl.”
I looked at him, heart pounding. “Or at least in me.”
The room went still again, the TV flickering across both our faces. For the first time since he appeared, I wasn’t just thinking about surviving the moment. I was thinking about changing the ending. Khalid held me close and told me to get some rest, so I closed my eyes with my mind still racing, wondering what if.
???
Ia c t u a l l yd i dget some sleep. Hell, more sleep than I’d ever gotten. The sun was dipped low, lighting up my room with that orange and purple hue from the sky. Reaching for my phone, I saw that it was damn near six in the evening.
I looked over to see Khalid stretched out beside me like temptation wrapped in tattoos and second chances. My breath hitched. The damn thought sitting heavy in the middle of my chest was that when that damn clock struck midnight, he’d be gone. Buried again. Erased like this never happened. Fuck that. I crept out of bed to retrieve my laptop and then returned, ready to get to work.
“Okay…” I whispered, pushing it open on the bed and typing fast as hell. “Spell to keep a spirit in human form… binding ritual… demon resurrection loopholes…” I paused. “Why the fuck do I sound like a whole witch bitch all of a sudden?”
Khalid chuckled behind me, voice thick with sleep and smoke. “You don’t sound like a witch. You sound like a woman who finally got some good dick from a good nigga and don’t wanna lose it.”
I turned my head slowly to look at him over my shoulder. Ol’ fine ass. “And you’re just gonna lie there while I try to keep you from getting sucked back into the grave?” I asked, squinting at him.
He smirked, sitting up against the pillows. “You tryna keep me here, right? That’s your mission now, baby.”
I rolled my eyes. “Wow. Real helpful.”
“You ain’t askin’ the right shit.”
I closed the laptop and faced him, crossing my legs. “Okay then. Help me out. What exactly brought you back? I know the spell, but…”
“Your blood. Your energy. The universe.”
I felt a chill crawl up my spine. “So if that brought you back… then maybe if I recreate the ritual, it can anchor you here somehow.”
“Or bind me in this world and fuck everything up.” I stared at him. He stared back for a moment, and then he grinned. “But I’m down if you are.”
“I just don’t want you to vanish,” I whispered.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Then let’s fuck up some rootwork rules, baby.”
