34- It Led to a Promise.

Quayleigh slowly opened her eyes, shifting onto her stomach as she turned to face Tau.

"Morning," he whispered.

"Morning." She smiled before rubbing her face down against her pillow. "What time is it?"

"A little after noon."

"Perfect. I don't want to get up yet."

"Go back to sleep if you want," he said, stroking his hand up and down her back.

Shifting her body once more, she had completely turned over. "And miss out on spending precious time with you? Never," she remarked closing her eyes and curling closer to him.

He was warm, his skin was soft, and he smelled inviting. She felt him kiss the top of her head, as his hands pressed against her back urging her to draw closer.

"So, are you going to tell me where you went last night?" she asked, snuggling into him.

"If I knew, I would," he replied as he tightened his hold on her. "Uroxuz woke me, and I felt the familiar pull. I didn't want to leave you, but I couldn't stop myself. I had to go."

"It was your job, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but it gave me a chance to speak with him. He was the one who told me how it was possible for you to see me."

"I'm grateful, but it's a terrifying thought that you left here, and someone died because of it."

"They didn't die because I left here, I left because they were to die."

"I don't think the police will ever see it that way."

She giggled as he swept his nose up against her forehead, whispering, "As long as you see it that way, nothing else matters to me."

Sweeping her hand over the top of his head, she looked up into his hope-filled eyes, "Of course, Tau. It's your job. If you didn't do it, what would happen?"

"If a soul doesn't get gathered, they go mad. They lose all that they were and become what they are told. It's nearly impossible for us to get to a soul after the veil has repaired itself. Now that I'm here though, Uroxuz can gather them."

"Uroxuz, that's your scythe?"

Tau nodded. "It shouldn't be possible for mortal hands to hold him, but he allows it because he knows who I am."

"But if I were to touch him?"

"It would hurt. I barely touched you and you were in agony," he said, his eyes filling with remorse. "My heart felt as if it had shattered. I didn't know how to help you."

Seeing how upset he was growing, his eyes dampening, his volume increasing, she placed her hand against his cheek. "It's okay Tau. Apparently, I was just as frightened as you, but it's over now. I can still see slightly better than before," she remarked as she closed her good eye and looked around, "It's less static, but all shadows. Nothing of what was here earlier remains." Opening her eye, she smiled as he relaxed. "I'll never forget you though. You really are spectacular."

His cheeks turned red as he looked away. "You like me better as I was?"

She sighed and rolled onto her back. "That is such an unfair question. It isn't that I prefer you one way or the other. As you were, I can only imagine what it would be like to be with you. To stand at your side. To be in your presence. To hold your hand," she said as she took his hand in hers. Running her fingers up and down the length of his hand, she set it onto the center of her chest, holding it there. "But as you are, I get to be with you. I get to hold all of you. We can be in a relationship. When people look at us, they will only wonder why a guy like you is with someone who looks like me, but they'll never think I'm the crazy one for being with you. I'm sorry. That sounds overtly selfish when I say it out loud. I guess what I mean to say is that this is easier. Everyone will only ever see two people, and they will judge us based on that. It's easier if I'm the only monster they see. Besides, for a human, you do have this really adorable thing going for you."

"Adorable is not a word I ever expected to hear when being described," he said as he sat up, supporting himself with his elbow.

"What? No way! Between the ringlets, the way you folded back your ears, tilted your nose down, and raised your brows, giving me those sad puppy dog eyes; Adorable. It's the only word to describe it. This though," she remarked, waving her hand over him, "this is all about your personality. Who you are hasn't changed. You're still Tauluthet, just in different packaging. You have this innocent curiosity about you. It's endearing and sweet. You're gentle and kind. Even when you're acting jealous, it doesn't come across as possessive or malicious. It's not coming from a place of anger or bitterness, but a place of… I don't want to say ignorance, but from a lack of understanding. You're reacting but you don't necessarily know why. If that makes sense. It's like you feel the need to protect me and haven't quite grasped that I'm safe in some situations. Like with Shane. He's not a threat to either of us or our relationship."

"I didn't realize the dynamic when I first met him."

"That's sort of my point," she said as she looked up at him, dancing her hand across the top of his.

"Yechiel is different though. I don't like the way he looks at you. It makes me uncomfortable."

"I understand that, but that's why I need you to trust me. Know that regardless of how anyone, Yechiel included, ever looks at me or treats me, I will never return their advances. I'm yours until you no longer want me. And I'll stay yours as long as you don't betray me or hurt me. Purposely."

"Thank you for that." He smiled as he laid back down beside her and rested his hand against hers. "Do you still trust me, even after what happened last night?"

"Yeah, I do. It's why I let you stay. It's why I let you see me like this."

Shifting his hand to the left, she pressed his fingertips against the scar on the side of her breast. "This is where the knife pierced my lung. It made it hard to breath." Moving his hand upwards towards her collar bone, she felt his fingers gently stroke the next scar. "He nearly killed me with this one. He had been aiming for my heart but missed when I tried to roll away."

"It's deep. I can feel the indent on your bones," he whispered as he sat up. "May I?" He motioned to the edge of the bed sheet.

She nodded giving him a faint, "Uh huh."

Grabbing the edge of the sheet, he moved it down in a slow, almost cautious manner. It seemed to Quayleigh that he was giving her time to change her mind or to say 'stop' if it became to trying for her. With the bulk of the sheet now resting against her waist, she watched his eyes wander over the scars on her stomach and chest.

"Any one of these could have been fatal," he commented as he gently probed at her scars. "I will never understand what drives humans to be so terrible to each other." He scoffed at himself as he placed his hand over his face, "I suppose I'm starting to learn, but it must sound so strange coming from a reaper. I've seen all sorts of death. Acts of the lunatic. Murders of passion, obsession, and accident. The deliberate, and the ordered. It's the random that confounds me. The ones for which there are no reasons. What happened to you, this had no real purpose, only excuses. Ezra was sick, but not deranged. Even as I come to understand the emotions of humans, I can't grasp this."

"Don't bother. You'll only stress yourself out trying to understand why it happened. If it wasn't for the knife in his hand, he only would have beaten me. If the knife hadn't been on the counter, my mother would still be alive. If she hadn't been high, she wouldn't have left it on the counter in the first place. If she hadn't said 'no' to him, he wouldn't have gotten angry. The 'what if's' will drive you mad if you think too much about them. We can't change the past. We can only accept the outcomes and because of a series of unpredictable events, I met you, and Death, and I learned magic. And now here you are, trapped in a human body, examining the aftermath of the day we met. I don't mind them when I think about it that way. I only keep them hidden because I can never explain that to anyone else but you."

"You're the only survivor I've ever met. Is it alright if I cherish them as you do?"

"I don't mind, but do you even remember that day?"

"Surprisingly enough, I do. It's unusual for Death to join us. Usually, we must ask for his assistance, but that day, he arrived at the tear and was waiting for me. It was larger than normal and was still growing. I suppose he knew there was going to be a problem with the way it felt. Angry spirits give off a hostile feeling. It's like static against our bones. Very unpleasant. The only feeling more disturbing is the slimy one."

"You're going to have to explain that more," she said with a quirked brow as he made a face like had just eaten something vile.

"Well, when we get near a tear in the veil the air around them can feel different. If they feel like running your hand through water, they're usually someone whose died in an unexpectant way: an accident of some sort. The souls are confused. They don't always know they are dead, but at least they tend to be calm. If they're thicker, heavier feeling, like mud; like you could grab it, and then it seeps through your fingers, those are the ones that I don't like. I know the soul will be distressed and usually trying to escape or hide. I suppose it's only natural wanting to get away from a necrophiliac. The poor souls are always in such a state of disgust that they make the air around them so thick it's like wading through a bog. It's always a terrible mess. And it takes days to clean the pools out once they've gone."

"Yeah, I can completely understand that. I feel gross just having listened to that. Thanks Tau. I deeply regret having asked for a further explanation. That was horrendously disturbing."

"That's exactly how I felt having to wade through the tears. Knowing full well I'm going to have to try and calm down a soul while in the same…"

"Please do not finish that sentence." She giggled, covering her eyes and rubbing her brow. "That's so disturbing."

"If you think that's bad, there was this one time…"

"NO! No, no, no, no! Stop! No more! I don't want to know!" She squirmed, holding her hands out towards him causing him to laugh.

"Okay, I'll stop. For now."

"Our times almost up," she said as she took a glance over at the clock. "Come and lay down with me until I have to get ready for work."

Stretching out beside her, they turned to face each other.

"The sound of your delight is contagious," he remarked with a bright smile as he reached out and swept her hair back over her ear. "I'll never grow tired of hearing it."

"That's sweet of you to say."

"I couldn't have imagined that being here with you could have been like this. Regardless of how it happened, I'm glad it did. I know it can't last forever. Eventually, I'll have to returned to the land of the dead, but I want to enjoy every minute I get to spend with you. I want you to be happy, Quayleigh."

"And you make me happy. I going to be devastated when the time comes for you to leave, but I'll be happy knowing that you'll be waiting for me on the other side. I'm still holding out hope that I'll be able to stay with you for a while there. Maybe have you show me around, meet your friends, take me on a date at those cleansing pools you keep raving about. And even if it's only for one night, I'd like to sleep next to you before you send me off."

"Even if you don't remember what you just said, I'll make sure it happens."

"You promise?"

"I give you my word," he replied as he pressed his brow against hers.

"That's awesome!" she exclaimed as she grappled herself to him. "Something to look forward to. No matter how I die, I know I'm going to have one last perfect day and night with you, my dear reaper, Tauluthet."