Chapter 31-1

It was a little after midnight when I turned the SUV down the road to my aunt Sophia's house. I was beyond exhausted, my ass was sore, and I just wanted to get out of the car to finally, finally be able to see Hadley for myself. In reality it had only been about two days since I'd last seen her, but it felt as if it had been much longer than that. I'd had to do some smoothing over before I was actually able to leave the city for Albany. Like getting the information from the four international flight tickets that had been mysteriously placed on my kitchen counter to my mother, and visting my aunt Karin and Carlo to ensure them that everything was fine, and that my business had taken me out of the city for a few days. Business. I felt incredibly guilty about lying to them. But what choice did I have? They wouldn't even believe the truth if I told them. There was no point in upsetting the apple cart any further. Lauren had finally been released from the hospital, my mother and my little sisters were coming home, and I was on the way to be with my wife. All was supposedly right with the world. At the very least, the drive gave me time to reflect over everything that had happened. There was no doubt in my mind that I would spend hours laying awake at night, every night, staring up at the ceiling and wondering why Lucrezia had done what she did, why Death had even bothered in the first place. Why things were the way that they had come to be. Destiny seemed like too stupid of a word. The same with fate. But after everything that had happened, was it really so difficult to believe that sometimes things simply just happened the way they did? I was anxious to tell Hadley everything. She'd known Death and had been apart of that world longer than I had. I hoped she would be able to shed some small light on what had happened. I'd called Sophia when I'd left the city to tell her that I was on the way to Albany, but I'd asked her not to tell Hadley. I was afraid that if I heard her voice, I'd lose it. I needed to see her for myself, to have her in my arms, and not just hear her voice over the phone. That way I could be sure she was okay and not hurt. I stomped a little too forcefully on the breaks when I pulled the car round into my aunt's driveway and killed the engine. The windows were all dark, but I knew there had to be at least one person awake. Sophia had known I was coming. I stepped quietly up the porch, to the front door, and raised a hand to knock gently. A few seconds later, the door swung open and Sophia was standing in the doorway, looking out at me with slightly sleep dazed eyes. "Archer?" "Hi, zia," I said. "I'm sorry it's so late." "No, no, come in." She ushered me inside and then threw her arms around me in a tight hug. "I'm glad you're here. Is everything okay now?" My family was much smarter than I gave them credit for. I wasn't that good of an actor, and neither was Hadley. Of course they'd known something was wrong. "Yeah," I said. "Everything's fine. It's going to stay fine." I felt a huge wave of relief washing over me at finally being able to say those words and knowing that they were the truth, and not a lie. I wanted the rest of my life to be like that. "Good," Sophia said, leaning back to place a hand against my cheek. "Glad to hear it." "Where's Hadley?" I was surprised I'd managed to last that long without bursting. "In the living room," Sophia said. "She's been having trouble sleeping because of the baby, so she's watching William's Spongebob videos." "That's my girl." I left Sophia in the foyer and made my way to the living room. Sure enough, Hadley was curled up on the couch underneath a thick afghan, eyes a little glazed over as she watched Spongebob's adventures with his idiotic friend Patrick on the TV. I hovered by the couch for a few seconds, hoping she would notice me because I didn't know what I could possibly say to her that would make this okay. It became a lost cause, though, when I realized her attention was firmly riveted by that damn yellow sponge. "You know, sometimes I wish you'd look at me like the way you look at Spongebob and Patrick." It didn't exactly register with Hadley right away that I was speaking, standing not five feet away from her, but she let out a quiet squeak when she finally did see me and tried to heave herself up off the couch. "No, don't get up." I quickly moved to sit down beside her on the couch, reaching out for her. "Just stay." Hadley leaned against my side, resting her head on my shoulder, lacing her fingers tightly through mine. I kept my arms around her, pressing my cheek against her hair. She looked the same. Felt the same. Even smelled the same, like cinnamon and vanilla. Except it was all different now. She was the first to break silence. "Are you okay?" Her voice was muffled by my shoulder. "I thought..." "Well, there's your problem," I said. "Stop thinking. I'm fine. Are you fine?" Hadley gave a small laugh, and it sounded like her real laugh, and I liked hearing it. "I've been on pins and needles for almost three days, wondering if you would ever come back to me. But other than that, you know, I've been good." I pressed a kiss against her hair, hiding a smile. When in doubt, the best defense was always sarcasm. "And the baby?" Hadley sighed, and I saw her eyes slide shut. Hopefully now she would be able to sleep. "Wonderful," she said. "Particularly active at the moment." Or maybe not. "Because you're here, probably." "My bad." The episode of Spongebob playing on the TV had finished and the next one had started before either of us spoke again. "Is it over?" I could barely hear Hadley she was speaking so quietly. "Yeah," I said. "It's over." I felt her relax against me, but she might have given a little sob. "And Death?" "I don't know." Hadley pulled away from me to give me a frown. "What do you mean you don't know?" "Exactly that," I said. "I don't know. He's fine. I mean, I made it out alive because of him. I'm just not sure when we'll see him again." If we ever saw him again, to be exact. He hadn't been too clear on that subject. "Oh," Hadley said softly. "Okay. I actually...don't know how I feel about that, really."