Dead Like Him

I glanced between Harry and Colton, neither one speaking for a moment. I knew they must have been talking – or something like it as both their eyes were furiously locked in with one another’s and occasionally one or the other would give a small, barely visible nod.

“Super smell, telepathy, able to grab energy and take it into you – is there anything you guys can’t do?” I asked, watching those two break contact to glance at me.

“Teleport, fly, move things with our minds – anything a super hero can do, we can’t. We do supernatural, not fiction.” Colton shrugged but his frown deepened as he voiced his next words to Harry. “To be honest, I find that a bit harsh. I don’t agree with it but she’s your charge – just don’t forget that she was you not so long ago, less trouble even to be honest. You not only had part of your memory wiped the first day, I believe the elders spent twelve hours with you up a tree before they sent you and the rest of your group here to the states and that was only because you were crying and begging the elders to let them come with you– “Colton went on to blab as Harry looked at Isabella without a shred of embarrassment.

“You call making a deal with a death maker less trouble than what I did, Colton? I still want to know why you tagged along in the first place, considering you were originally British.”

Colton smirked then, having got off topic.

“What can I say, Hazza? I saw your big beautiful green eyes and I couldn’t imagine my undead life anymore complete then to tag along and annoy the living crap out of you.”

Harry rolled his eyes.

“Grave makers and reapers aren’t friends – how you got stuck on my team, I will never know.”

Colton shrugged.

“We all need an outside source, Harry. Consider it a miracle, curse or annoyance. I’ve help you out of situations and you help me, call it what you will.”

“Hazza?” I asked Harry, the name struck me as weird.

“His nickname, something his friends call him.” Colton chuckled but slowly came back to the problem at hand. “Calla, all jokes aside here –“He started up again, only for Harry to interrupt.

“No one’s joking, this day has been a disaster. I don’t even know where to start,” Harry sighed, reaching over and taking my hand gently within his, rubbing at the soft flesh over my knuckles. “So I’ll start here.”

He didn’t say anything, just seemed to concentrate on rubbing my knuckles. At first it felt like a gesture of comfort but as they began to tingle and my head began to swim, I realized that Harry was doing something to me. I tried to look at Colton but everything was swimming.

“Harry? What –what…” I trailed off unable to think, unable to move. I was paralyzed.

“Don’t fight me, Calla.” Harry said simply, looking at Colton who had sat back in the booth and folded his arms over his chest.

I fell back, my back hunched against the soft padding behind me and my head felt waterlogged. I was ill by the time Harry pulled his hand from mine.

“What did you do to me?” I demanded, putting my hand to my head and closing my eyes to stop the room from spinning.

Harry reached out and took the picture I had taken, glancing at it before handing it to Colton. “Put this back inside the house before they wonder what happened to it. She’s not going to need it and they won’t remember she ever existed.” Harry ordered as Colton sighed and stood up again from the booth, taking the picture. I was too dazed to argue and simply said nothing.

“You’re a real buzzkill sometimes, mate. I hope you know that.” Colton said before going to leave the diner and do what was asked.

Harry waited until Colton was out of sight before switching seats so he was sitting next to me. His stardust and lemon drop scent was overpowering, I don’t know why everything was going so haywire but I knew that he did something to me…I just didn’t know what.

“Harry, please? What did you do to me?” I begged him as he simply sat there, his fingers beginning to gently comb through my hair, as if to soothe me.

“What I had to.” He whispered, sounding almost sad.

“I just want to know.” I begged, tears dropping from my eyes.

There was a short pause, almost as if he were trying to think how to word it.

“I erased your existence. Technically, Calla Death doesn’t exist and never existed. Your body has been put in the custody of the grave makers and they will take care of proper arrangements for you. My group is out there, erasing all the memories you ever made. Your mom, your brother, friends, relatives, the old lady you walked passed and said hello to. They will not remember. I did this because, if you made a deal with a grave maker under false promise, who else are you going to put in danger, Calla? This was for the best. I’m being far more merciful then what I was shown my first day.” Harry explained, his voice soft but there wasn’t any regret there. It was simple fact to him, a punishment he deemed fitting.

“You –you.” I stammered, my eyes going to his. He just stared, there was no remorse.

“I did what was best for this group and what was best for you, love. Believe me, it was not something I decided on lightly.” Harry explained, his other hand wiping my tears away.

“I want to exist, they’re my family! My friends!” I yelled, as Harry’s hand continued its unaffected path through my hair.

“They still are and always will be but they won’t remember. Not until they die, not until they’ve passed to the other side.” Harry replied, his breath pulling in slow. I felt his presence focused on me and realized how it must feel to be breathed in and studied.

“You smell like honeysuckle and sea breeze.” He answered my unvoiced question.

I felt soothed by his presence, he was doing something else and I didn’t know what – I didn’t know how but I realized I became less upset as the moments went by.

“What are you doing?” I whispered, my voice losing fight but a small part of me was still afraid of Harry and what he could do to me if he wanted. Especially with…with –what was I talking about again?

He smiled, the same one he always did.

“You should smile and not look so sad when you’re doing it.” I laughed, my mood lightening considerably. I couldn’t place it, it was like the sadness just disappeared.

He lightened his eyes a little so that they sparkled, showing me his teeth.

I chuckled again as he took his hand back and kissed the temple of my forehead, sliding out of the booth and holding his hand out.

“Come on, Calla, it’s been a long day. You’ll be staying at my place until we can get you settled somewhere more permanent.”

I held my hand out to meet his and let him guide me from the booth, happily following him from the diner, whatever sad mood I had been in was completely forgotten.

What I didn’t know was that Harry had erased everything he had told me and then manipulated my mood. If I had known that, I probably would have been pissed but sometimes it’s just nice to feel happy.

Notes

lol yeah, Calla is gonna be pissed when she learns what Harry did...you can imagine the trouble that will ensue. lol that will possibly have Harry pulling his hair out before trying to strangle Calla..