It's A Wonderful Midlife Crisis (Good To The Last Death #1) - Robyn Peterman Page 0,106

won’t be mad. I need to know.”

“Naawwwooo.”

I heaved a sigh of relief and tried to formulate a plan. For what? I didn’t know. My brain raced a mile a minute and Steve grew more transparent with each second that passed.

“There’s been a mistake,” I whispered to Steve. “What’s happening is wrong. I’m going to stop it.”

“Daaaauusayy. Sooorahy,” Steve whispered. “Laaavaue yooooah alllwauyas.”

“I love you always too,” I told him. “Always.”

I was here to help the dead move on. As far as I knew, they couldn’t do it unless I aided them. The sheer backup of ghosts a few weeks ago was proof of that. Not one of my squatters had gone on without my assistance.

If I left the room, would the darkness not be able to take him? I couldn’t leave him. Not one single thing in this world could pull me away from Steve right now. The house could be on fire and I wouldn’t move.

Could I refuse to let him leave?

“You can’t have him,” I ground out through clenched teeth as the mist grew more menacing and thicker.

Shit.

Could I quit my job and end this horrifying madness? If there was no one to lead the dead, the dead couldn’t go anywhere. It was worth a shot.

“I quit,” I shouted. “I quit. I will no longer help the dead. Do you hear me?” I screamed, having no clue who I was shouting at. God? Satan? I didn’t care. If anyone would listen, that worked for me.

Maybe my lack of belief was going to come back and bite me. Was there a higher power involved? If there was, could they, or it, even hear me?

The mist began to dissipate a little and my confidence increased.

“I do not accept the role of Death Counselor. Never again will I help anyone cross over. I QUIT.”

An eerie howl that sent shivers all through my body came from the floor and the walls. The deadly cloud of gray-black mist began to retreat, leaving sparkling charred-black crystals behind.

My relief was a physical ache that tore through my body like a searing-hot knife. Steve was still here and the mist had evaporated. I had no clue what the repercussions of what I’d just done would be, but I didn’t care. I’d die before I’d let Steve go where he didn’t belong.

“It’s gone,” I whispered, falling back on the bed and biting down on my bottom lip so I didn’t sob.

Steve still looked hideous. Not one of the squatters had ever improved as far as decay went. I had no idea if Steve would be stuck in the state he was in now.

Turning to him, it took every bit of effort in my body to smile and make it look genuine. I was a bad liar and wore my emotions on my face, but I was grateful he was still here. That part was real. I just hoped my expression showed it.

“It’s over,” I told him. “You’re not going anywhere. And someday when I die, we can see the world like we always wanted to.”

“Daaaauusayy. Sooorahy,” he choked out.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” I said. “Someday we’ll go haunt houses and scare people we didn’t like.”

Steve tried to smile, but since most of his jaw was missing it was macabre and heartbreaking.

The squatters gathered in my bedroom even though it was an off-limits area for them. I didn’t care. Their presence was reassuring.

One by one, they touched my head and disappeared.

I closed my eyes and prayed to an entity I didn’t believe in that they would find another way to leave this Earth. I hoped with everything I had that they would find someone who would let them watch reality TV and glue detached body parts back on. However, it was no longer my problem.

The thought made me positively ill.

I’d done what I’d had to do at the expense of others. That wasn’t how I rolled. I was nice. I was polite. But there was no other way. Steve’s afterlife was on the line. I could only hope that the ghosts realized this and would forgive me.

“It’s just me and you now, babe,” I whispered as tears for the dead rolled down my cheeks.

“Daaaauusayy. Geeeodahun.”

“What?” I asked as I felt my blood run cold through my veins. “Say that again.”

Misunderstanding Steve right now could end in tragedy.

“Daaaauusayy. Geeeodahun. Yausssss,” he said.

“Yes what?” I asked, growing light-headed and wanting to die alongside Steve.

His lips continued to move, but no words came out. He became frantic as a myriad