Part 57

Part 57
Things at home were tense. Adara and I barely spoke, and when we did, it was in monosyllables and only when we had to talk to each other. I was still furious with her but we were both equally stubborn and refused to give an inch.

She hadn’t yet told me the full story and my patience was wearing thin. The Alpha force in me refused to stand down, and the downside was, Adara ignored me as much as I was ignoring her.

In the mornings, I’d take Christian to school and go to work. I immersed myself in my assignments and poured all my energy into work and meetings. In the afternoons, I’d pick Christian up and come back to the hotel without stopping at home.

We would train with Malachi, and some days without him, depending on his own schedule. We would both shower in the hotel’s gym and go home for dinner. After a few days, even Christian picked up on the tenseness at home.

“Why are you mad at Adara?”

I was lying next to Christian on his bed and we’d just finished his second story of the night. “Sometimes grownups disagree.”

“I know, but maybe if you gave her a flower, you’ll both stop being mad.” I smiled at his innocence. I doubted that our fight could be solved with a flower.

“When you’re all grown up you’ll understand it better.”

“Are you going to fight forever?” He scrunched up his nose while looking at me.

“No, we won’t fight forever.” I brushed the hair from his forehead and kissed him goodnight.

Christian looked down briefly, then frowned as he gazed straight into my eyes. “Kiran?”

“Yes?”

“Are you my new dad now?”

His question threw me for a few seconds as I looked at him. “I’ll be whatever you need me to be.”

He seemed to think about this for a few seconds before he smiled. “Okay. I love you, Kiran.”

“Goodnight, little man, I love you, too.”

My routine with Christian hadn’t changed since that night I spoke to Adara about how Christian felt. I still did everything for him and I wouldn’t change anything about our relationship. I did love him, like a father loved a son.

The first week of our stand-off, I slept on the couch downstairs but I soon decided that it was bullshit. Tonight, I was going to sleep in my own bed whether Adara liked it or not, I was done being the bad guy here.

My phone vibrated in my pocket just as I closed Christian’s door and I inadvertently smiled when James' name flashed on the screen. “Aren’t you supposed to be studying?”

“Hello to you too, brother. You guys kiss and make up yet?”

I smiled at James' question. “No, and I don’t see it happening anytime soon either.”

“I told you, the best part of fighting is making up afterwards, just grab her and rip her clothes off. She won’t be mad if you do a good job!” James said, and I could hear Shoran shouting at him in the background.

“Can you honestly say that if the roles were reversed, you wouldn’t be losing your shit right now?”

“I get it, brother, but you can’t fight forever. She made a huge ass mistake, doesn’t mean you can punish her for the rest of her life.” James was right, I knew he was, but I wasn’t ready to forgive her yet.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Just grab her and bend her over the kitchen table or something …”

“I’m putting the phone down now.” I ended the call as James laughed, and a chill crept up my spine as I heard his distinct laughter coming from the kitchen.

He was downstairs. I got up and walked slowly down the stairs to the kitchen where I saw him. I wasn’t particularly pleased with his visit. I was five the first time he had done this. It wasn’t wise to ignore him and I walked towards him where he was sitting at the counter.

Death smiled at me as I walked into the kitchen where he sat by the counter. “Mind if I have some coffee while we do this?”

He slowly nodded his head as I walked past him. “Of course, what kind of friend would I be if I said no?”

“We’re not friends.”

“Well, in that case, you might want to stock up on some tissues.” His giggle seemed foreign to my ears and out of place as his eyes lit up.

“Haven’t you taken enough from me?”

“Not yet, Kiran. You all have to die sometime.”

“Who are you planning to take this time? The first time we sat in this kitchen together you took my grandfather, then you took my mother.” My soul felt heavy as I realized that I would lose someone close to me very soon.

“Let’s make it interesting … you can pick this time.” He laughed at his own sick joke and I felt nauseated.

“You’re a bastard.”

“You’re no fun.” Death pouted his lips at me and then a small smile appeared on his lips. “I want you, Kiran. Your time on Midgard is almost up.”

I looked at him in disbelief. I wasn’t ready to go. I had my whole life ahead of me. The smile didn’t reach his eyes, and for a moment, I swore that I saw sadness there, but that couldn’t be right. “I’m not ready.”

“That doesn’t matter. I am so looking forward to some alone time with you.” I wondered briefly if I was dreaming.

“What about them?” Death was no idiot, he knew exactly that the them I was referring to was my family.

“Oh, they’ll be sad for a while. Malachi will mourn your death until it’s his time to die. Christian will remember you for a while, then grow up, and over time, you will fade from his memories. He will think fondly of you when he looks at your pictures but you won’t have any lasting effect on him. James will break but he’ll survive you.”

“What about Adara?”

“Adara will be broken for a bit longer, but she’s young and beautiful. She won’t be alone for long. She’ll remarry and have children and live a full life.” I knew he was just taunting me now. “Just not with you, Kiran.” That last part was said maliciously, and I could taste the bitterness of his words in my mouth.

“How am I going to die and when?”

“It’s quite a painful death that awaits you, Kiran. Unfortunately, how people die isn’t up to me. Your old friend, Adrian Peters, is going to kill you.” I detected a hint of joy in his voice and I shivered from the darkness that was Death.

“When?” I repeated my question. You couldn’t cheat death, no matter what. Once you were marked to die, you would. I hated that Adrian Peters would be the one to end me.

“Soon.” His laughter filled my ears again and the sudden realization hit me that I was going to die at the age of twenty.

“How soon is soon?” I needed to know how much time I had left.

“Where’s the fun in giving you that answer? We could always make a trade, you know. I’ll think of someone acceptable … or not.” He turned and looked towards the stairs. “You still have time to make some things right.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but Death disappeared, and I sat looking at the spot where he’d just been; my heart felt heavy in my chest.

It was only just past 9 pm and I walked upstairs to our bedroom and I closed the door behind me quietly. Adara walked out of the bathroom, ignoring me, and headed straight for the closet. She pulled her night dress over her head and turned towards our bed.

I was right behind her and I placed my hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at me. Her face was an expressionless mask. “Can we talk?”

“So talk then.” Her voice wasn’t friendly and I couldn’t really blame her.

“I don’t like it when we fight.”

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. “We? You’re the only one fighting.” She was angry and her eyes now showed her irritation with me.

“I know, and I’m sorry. I lost my temper because Juniper ruined your life, then when you mentioned Adrian, I just lost it. He killed half our pack, and you know we all want him dead. I want him dead.”

“I already apologized for that. You decided to stay angry and I’m not even sure if it was him.” Her voice was a little calmer now and I took a deep breath to calm myself because my anger was stirring again at the mention of his name.

“It is Adrian. It’s too much of a coincidence that Juniper showed up out of the blue, giving you that necklace and you seeing her with that man. It’s him, Adara, he’s back in town.” I couldn’t tell her what Death had told me, that Adrian would kill me.

“What are you going to do?”

“There’s nothing I can do but wait for him to make his move. He won’t be where people think he’ll be.”

I lay down on the bed and Adara joined me. We just lay there for a long time, holding hands and I kept thinking about Death’s words. I didn’t want to die with Adara still mad at me. She’d feel guilty and I didn’t want that.

Adara had fallen asleep a while ago but I still lay there, thinking about everything. It wouldn’t help to change my routine, Adrian would still find me. It was destined to be. After a few hours, Adara turned towards me, and placed her hand on my chest.

“What’s going on with you?” Her question was filled with worry and I smiled as I turned my head towards her.

“I just miss you.”

Adara smiled at me and in her eyes I saw her love. She had no idea what I really meant when I said that. I meant that I would miss her. She kissed me then and I pulled her on top of me.

“I miss you too, Kiran.”