A/N: I'm going to be quite fast replying for a while now, I'm on a roll, so
please, don't forget to review!
Last time:
. . . and yanked the Ghost Hunter's Knife from him, arching my arm threateningly.
'Bye, bye, buster,' I snarled through gritted teeth, but . . .
**************************************************************************** ********
. . . but I felt a hand seize my wrist and pull me off. I fell back and grazed my shoulder. The Ghost Hunter's Knife clattered to the stone cold floor.
Lucifer sat up, his hair looking distinctly ruffled. His eyes were wide with shock and . . . uh, glee. I don't know why, I mean, I'd just been about to stab him. You'd think he'd have the decency to be scared or something!
I turned to see who'd pulled me off, and surprise, surprise, it was Jesse. I glared at him. 'What'd you do that for?' I demanded.
'Well, I think you're being selfish, Susannah,' he said, and my mouth dropped open in disbelief. He had to be JOKING. 'How am I going to get back to earth if you go and kick the deliverer into non-existence?'
I choked on a laugh. 'Me, selfish?! What about you?! I have to STAY here with this numb nut because of you! You're the one who's selfish, you bastard!' I screamed, leapt up and began pounding on his chest with my fists in a fit of unrepeatable rage. I felt like my gut was boiling over like a volcano, and my head was on fire. I completely lashed out, and I'm glad to say, it was a good forty seconds before Jesse did manage to subdue me, and not a mere two. So he had me by the wrists, and he pulled me really close to his face.
But when I saw his eyes, I began to regret flying off the handle. His eyes were black again, and seriously, if there was ever a time where my Jesse had looked murderous, it was now. All the other times were cheesecake compared to this. His perfectly tanned face was etched with the most dangerous significance I'd ever seen. His lips were white and curling with silent fury. His nostrils were flared, and his eyes . . . Oh, his eyes were something out of a nightmare. His hair seemed to fortify this threat. It was worse than being stabbed by him, raped by him, seeing that he didn't love me.
He hated me.
I know I've been saying how I've been coming to realise the reality of the curse on my Jesse, but it was only then that it took it's catastrophic toll. And it hurt me more than I can say. It ripped me to pieces. It chewed me up and spat me out again.
I was broken.
I tore my eyes away from his, and with another heart-swallowing thump, I saw that Paul was seriously, badly, critically hurt.
I looked back at Jesse, opening my mouth to say something, but he pushed me back, into the waiting arms of Lucifer. He locked me in an iron hold, as I thrashed and screamed for release.
Jesse marched up to Lucifer, and my heart skipped a beat as he extended his hand. 'NO! JESSE, PLEASE! DON'T! THIS ISN'T YOU, YOU'RE CURSED! DON'T DO THIS!!!' I shrieked, my desperation spewing from my acute tones.
I choked on my own spit . . .
Lucifer shook it, and the deal was done.
I was not my own.
I now belonged to the Keeper of Souls.
I stopped thrashing. There was nothing I could do. It wasn't like me to just give up, but I could see the futility of arguing.
'No!' roared Paul, and staggered over, his health increasing by the second, 'Suze!' Jesse rolled his eyes and pummeled his stomach. Paul doubled over.
'Slater, shut up. Do not speak to her,' Jesse growled.
Lucifer felt it was safe to release me, and did so. I sank to the floor, the same word repeating on my lips in denial. 'No.'
Paul, however, wasn't about to give up. Jesse and dematerialized, with promises that they would be back soon and Paul, who was still standing, whispered to me, 'Come on, Suze. It's not like you to let go without a fight. We can get out of this, don't quit now!' His eyes were alive with spirit.
'Paul,' I said, shaking my head up at him. I laughed. I mean, seriously, it was funny how he was so blind to the reality of things, 'I'm stuck here. There's nothing we can do.'
'Suze!' he snapped, and seized my hand, 'It's not going to end like this! You weren't meant to play love-slave to some dude from hell, you were meant to be with-'
'Jesse,' I finished, before he could say another idealistic candidate, 'I was meant to be with Jesse, but you screwed it up. You screwed up my life, Paul.' Again, I laughed. Why were my eyes so wet? 'You screwed up any opportunity I could have had. This isn't anyone's fault but yours, because you were greedy, and- and selfish, and . . .' I broke off. I was crying. Really crying. My tears were globules of corrosive acid, trailing rapidly down my face. Paul pulled me up and into him. I forgot that this was all his fault, and just cried. Cried out the aching that was implanted in my forlorn heart. His arms wrapped around me, and everything just seemed . . . right. I don't know how to explain it, but for a single, idyllic moment, I thought that there might just be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. And, before I could lose my faith, Paul pushed me away slightly so he was looking at my eyes, and said, 'Suze, we're going to get out of here. Nothing's definite until you've been Deleted or something, and even then, I'm sure God negotiates.' I snorted. Wasn't that a line of one of those Drew Barrymore movies?
His eyes were riveted on me. 'You in?'
I took a moment, then answered, 'Yeah, but what do we do?'
Again, I could feel the despair flooding in, but Paul shook me. 'Suze! Stop it! Keep your mind off that, and we just have to think of something . . .'
'Like?'
'Well, we could maybe exorcise them-'
'Paul! I told you, you're not touching Jesse! We're going to break his curse, and that's final! No exorcising Jesse. Lucifer, I don't give a damn about, but Jesse . . .' I trailed off as I saw something in Paul's eyes. It looked like . . . guilt.
'Paul?' I asked slowly, 'What is it? Why are you looking like that?'
Paul's eyes snapped to the floor. 'Like what?' he mumbled, and his grip on my shoulders relaxed. 'I'm just, uh, scared,' he said. Oh, happy day. My fearless saviour was fearful.
'So,' I continued for him to break the awkward silence, 'How are we going to exorcise Lucifer? Couldn't we just stab him with the Ghost Hunter's Knife?'
'No,' Paul replied, 'He, unlike us, is alive. So that cuts out exorcisms too.'
'Oh.'
I looked over at the blade lying innocently on the floor and picked it up carefully, placing it on the seat of the throne. Suddenly, I had an idea . . .
I told Paul.
'No!' he said after I'd revealed my plan, 'No way!'
'Why not?' I asked, he wont suspect a thing.'
'Yeah, but leaving you in a room alone with him? I might not get here in time.'
'Well, it won't be hard,' I said, 'I mean, I can just be pretending to make the most of a bad situation, and then I'll stab-'
'No,' said Paul firmly. Now I was pissed.
'You got a better idea?' I asked, 'And, I don't exactly have to do it like that. I mean, not as sexily as I said, anyway.' Paul's mouth was set in a grim line.
'Okay,' he said, 'But if you need help, you have to call me, okay?'
'Fine,' I said happily, and got the Knife from the throne, slipping it back into my skirt pocket, 'But remember, you won't remember who he is, only I will, because if I stab him with-'
'I know,' he said. 'Okay, they'll be coming back soon. I think Lucifer went to show him what's happening in the real world at the moment. You know, that while we're here, time goes five times as slow-'
'So, since we've been here for-'
'Thirty-six hours,' interrupted Paul smartly, 'If I'm correct in saying that the time is eleven o'clock, then only-'
'-two hours and fifteen minutes have past?' I asked eagerly.
'Yes, so they might not have found our bodies just yet . . .' he said, blinking in surprise, 'I thought you sucked at Maths, Suze.'
Before I could take offense, I saw Lucifer and Jesse rematerialize again. I quickly dropped to the floor, and went back to looking helpless again. Paul turned away rapidly. Lucifer smoothed down his blond hair coolly, looking over at me with a kind of hunger in his eyes. I felt like slapping him nattily, but I had to follow through with the plan. Jesse was looking at Paul suspiciously, and so I took the opportunity to say to Lucifer, 'Can I have a word?'
He blinked, and replied, 'I'm sure that would be possible.'
'Now?' I persisted. Again, he looked knocked for six, but his expression changed to one of sinister complacency. He smirked, 'Well, if you insist, babe.'
Babe?! EW!
Before my disgust could surface on my face, I tried to make my eyes look all secretive and sexy. 'I do insist,' I said, 'can we go somewhere private for a second?'
He looked like Christmas had come early. 'Sure,' he said slightly eagerly. Inwardly, I was vomiting, but outwardly, I let him slip his arm around my waist, and he was guiding me to one of those sarcophagus pillars. I raised my eyebrows as he opened it. I mean, I thought that they were just there for, I dunno, decoration, but no, this one, at least, was a door. It lead to . . .
- Oh, God -
. . . A majestic bedroom. What did he think I was going to tell him?!
Oh well, I had to play along. I let out a giggle, which made his fingers wander from my stomach a little, but I couldn't pull out yet. From the outside, you never would have known that this room was here. I mean, it defied all the rules of space, but I guess that in this hellish world, rules of space weren't relevant.
Seriously, this room was a lot like Paul's had been. Not his bedroom from earth, no the one where Jesse had . . . you know. Except, his colour scheme was red and black. It was very effective, and pretty freaky. I didn't want to, but I went and sat on the edge of the vast bed. I really had thought that, when I said I wanted a private word, he'd send Paul and Jesse away, not lead me to a freakin' private parlour!
Slightly nervous, and not knowing what I was supposed to say, I opened my mouth to talk, but in a swift movement, he'd pushed me on my back! ARGH! Rah! Gerroff! Shoo! He leant over me and began kissing me, working up my top. I tried to respond realistically, but inside, I was screaming in nausea. Well, I shouldn't go that far. Okay, this guy was hot, I'll give him that, but I SO don't go for the sleazy types. Anyway, I just had to wait a bit longer-
Hey! Okay, now he was getting WEIRD. He'd moved me up so that our legs weren't dangling over the side. His cunning face flashed a grin at me, and he went on kissing me. I dug my hand beneath me and fished out the Ghost Hunter's Knife. And, with all the strength I could muster, I plunged the neck into his throat.
Yeah, his throat. I know, yuck, but whatever.
He died pretty quickly, I have to say. And it sure was no picnic having a dead dude laying on top of you. I shoved him off, and waited . . .
Suddenly, something yanked me back by my hair.
'You little bitch!' he said. Okay, this time, (thank goodness,) he wasn't turned on. Now he was just pissed.
'Hey, when you took me you were biting off way more than you could chew, bud,' I snarled, and jumped away from him, holding the Knife firmly. He was advancing on me menacingly. I backed against the wall. Now, I was starting to get scared again . . .
'Susannah,' he said, a sly smile flickering across his lips, 'Come on, be a good girl, hand over the Knife.'
'Hell no,' was my response.
All traces of his smile vanished. 'Give it here, or you'll wish that you'd never been born,' he shouted, his head jerking in rage. He took another slow step toward me.
'Yeah, I'm half wishing that I'd never died at the moment,' I snapped. With that, he leapt at me, and seized my neck. His powerful hand began constricting. I kept the Knife away from him.
'Give it to me!' he roared, spit flying from his mouth. He was strangling me.
'I'll give it to you,' I choked, and with absolutely no remorse, I plunged the Knife into his stomach the way I'd seen Jesse to do . . . well, I don't remember . . .
'NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!' he roared, and then, there was an detonation of fine, golden mist.
He was gone.
Phew!
I slid down the wall, gasping for breath. Then, after a minute, I stood up, and carefully slipped the Ghost Hunter's Knife under Lucifer's pillow. I didn't want there to be any more stabbing between Jesse Paul and myself if I could help it. funnily enough, even Lucifer's corpse had disappeared when I'd stabbed his ghost. I left the dead demon's room.
'Suze?'
I shut the door of the sarcophagus, and looked around. Paul was standing there, glaring at Jesse. Jesse was looking coldly at Paul, a sneer on his face.
'Uh, am I missing something?' I asked slowly.
Jesse's eyes snapped to me, and he said, 'I don't know who you just stabbed with the Ghost Hunter's Knife, Susannah. All I know is that you've destroyed my chances of getting back to life.'
'Oh, well poor you,' I said sarcastically. Jesse lunged at me, but Paul blocked him. 'Da Silva!' he barked, 'Cool it, dude! We have to figure out what we're going to do.'
'I know what I'm going to do,' Jesse grunted, struggling against Paul to get to me, 'I'm going to rip her to shreds!'
'God, Hector, get some anger management,' I snapped, using his real name to annoy him. It worked. 'Okay, so Paul, now is a good time to tell me how to break the curse.'
Paul's eyes widened in alarm.
My heart thudded. 'Paul . . . Please tell me that it's possible,' I said shakily.
Paul let Jesse go, who was staring strangely at the two of us. He ran his fingers through his curly brown hair, and said, 'Well, Suze, that was kind of a . . .'
'A what?' I demanded.
'A lie,' he finished, and to my dread, I saw a stronger look in his eye. It was . . . as though he was through being Mr. Nice-Guy or something. All the blood drained from my face . . .
**************************************************************************** ****
That'll about do it. What do you think? REPLY, you gorgeous people! Paul's slipping back over to the dark side again, where he bloody well belongs!
Last time:
. . . and yanked the Ghost Hunter's Knife from him, arching my arm threateningly.
'Bye, bye, buster,' I snarled through gritted teeth, but . . .
**************************************************************************** ********
. . . but I felt a hand seize my wrist and pull me off. I fell back and grazed my shoulder. The Ghost Hunter's Knife clattered to the stone cold floor.
Lucifer sat up, his hair looking distinctly ruffled. His eyes were wide with shock and . . . uh, glee. I don't know why, I mean, I'd just been about to stab him. You'd think he'd have the decency to be scared or something!
I turned to see who'd pulled me off, and surprise, surprise, it was Jesse. I glared at him. 'What'd you do that for?' I demanded.
'Well, I think you're being selfish, Susannah,' he said, and my mouth dropped open in disbelief. He had to be JOKING. 'How am I going to get back to earth if you go and kick the deliverer into non-existence?'
I choked on a laugh. 'Me, selfish?! What about you?! I have to STAY here with this numb nut because of you! You're the one who's selfish, you bastard!' I screamed, leapt up and began pounding on his chest with my fists in a fit of unrepeatable rage. I felt like my gut was boiling over like a volcano, and my head was on fire. I completely lashed out, and I'm glad to say, it was a good forty seconds before Jesse did manage to subdue me, and not a mere two. So he had me by the wrists, and he pulled me really close to his face.
But when I saw his eyes, I began to regret flying off the handle. His eyes were black again, and seriously, if there was ever a time where my Jesse had looked murderous, it was now. All the other times were cheesecake compared to this. His perfectly tanned face was etched with the most dangerous significance I'd ever seen. His lips were white and curling with silent fury. His nostrils were flared, and his eyes . . . Oh, his eyes were something out of a nightmare. His hair seemed to fortify this threat. It was worse than being stabbed by him, raped by him, seeing that he didn't love me.
He hated me.
I know I've been saying how I've been coming to realise the reality of the curse on my Jesse, but it was only then that it took it's catastrophic toll. And it hurt me more than I can say. It ripped me to pieces. It chewed me up and spat me out again.
I was broken.
I tore my eyes away from his, and with another heart-swallowing thump, I saw that Paul was seriously, badly, critically hurt.
I looked back at Jesse, opening my mouth to say something, but he pushed me back, into the waiting arms of Lucifer. He locked me in an iron hold, as I thrashed and screamed for release.
Jesse marched up to Lucifer, and my heart skipped a beat as he extended his hand. 'NO! JESSE, PLEASE! DON'T! THIS ISN'T YOU, YOU'RE CURSED! DON'T DO THIS!!!' I shrieked, my desperation spewing from my acute tones.
I choked on my own spit . . .
Lucifer shook it, and the deal was done.
I was not my own.
I now belonged to the Keeper of Souls.
I stopped thrashing. There was nothing I could do. It wasn't like me to just give up, but I could see the futility of arguing.
'No!' roared Paul, and staggered over, his health increasing by the second, 'Suze!' Jesse rolled his eyes and pummeled his stomach. Paul doubled over.
'Slater, shut up. Do not speak to her,' Jesse growled.
Lucifer felt it was safe to release me, and did so. I sank to the floor, the same word repeating on my lips in denial. 'No.'
Paul, however, wasn't about to give up. Jesse and dematerialized, with promises that they would be back soon and Paul, who was still standing, whispered to me, 'Come on, Suze. It's not like you to let go without a fight. We can get out of this, don't quit now!' His eyes were alive with spirit.
'Paul,' I said, shaking my head up at him. I laughed. I mean, seriously, it was funny how he was so blind to the reality of things, 'I'm stuck here. There's nothing we can do.'
'Suze!' he snapped, and seized my hand, 'It's not going to end like this! You weren't meant to play love-slave to some dude from hell, you were meant to be with-'
'Jesse,' I finished, before he could say another idealistic candidate, 'I was meant to be with Jesse, but you screwed it up. You screwed up my life, Paul.' Again, I laughed. Why were my eyes so wet? 'You screwed up any opportunity I could have had. This isn't anyone's fault but yours, because you were greedy, and- and selfish, and . . .' I broke off. I was crying. Really crying. My tears were globules of corrosive acid, trailing rapidly down my face. Paul pulled me up and into him. I forgot that this was all his fault, and just cried. Cried out the aching that was implanted in my forlorn heart. His arms wrapped around me, and everything just seemed . . . right. I don't know how to explain it, but for a single, idyllic moment, I thought that there might just be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. And, before I could lose my faith, Paul pushed me away slightly so he was looking at my eyes, and said, 'Suze, we're going to get out of here. Nothing's definite until you've been Deleted or something, and even then, I'm sure God negotiates.' I snorted. Wasn't that a line of one of those Drew Barrymore movies?
His eyes were riveted on me. 'You in?'
I took a moment, then answered, 'Yeah, but what do we do?'
Again, I could feel the despair flooding in, but Paul shook me. 'Suze! Stop it! Keep your mind off that, and we just have to think of something . . .'
'Like?'
'Well, we could maybe exorcise them-'
'Paul! I told you, you're not touching Jesse! We're going to break his curse, and that's final! No exorcising Jesse. Lucifer, I don't give a damn about, but Jesse . . .' I trailed off as I saw something in Paul's eyes. It looked like . . . guilt.
'Paul?' I asked slowly, 'What is it? Why are you looking like that?'
Paul's eyes snapped to the floor. 'Like what?' he mumbled, and his grip on my shoulders relaxed. 'I'm just, uh, scared,' he said. Oh, happy day. My fearless saviour was fearful.
'So,' I continued for him to break the awkward silence, 'How are we going to exorcise Lucifer? Couldn't we just stab him with the Ghost Hunter's Knife?'
'No,' Paul replied, 'He, unlike us, is alive. So that cuts out exorcisms too.'
'Oh.'
I looked over at the blade lying innocently on the floor and picked it up carefully, placing it on the seat of the throne. Suddenly, I had an idea . . .
I told Paul.
'No!' he said after I'd revealed my plan, 'No way!'
'Why not?' I asked, he wont suspect a thing.'
'Yeah, but leaving you in a room alone with him? I might not get here in time.'
'Well, it won't be hard,' I said, 'I mean, I can just be pretending to make the most of a bad situation, and then I'll stab-'
'No,' said Paul firmly. Now I was pissed.
'You got a better idea?' I asked, 'And, I don't exactly have to do it like that. I mean, not as sexily as I said, anyway.' Paul's mouth was set in a grim line.
'Okay,' he said, 'But if you need help, you have to call me, okay?'
'Fine,' I said happily, and got the Knife from the throne, slipping it back into my skirt pocket, 'But remember, you won't remember who he is, only I will, because if I stab him with-'
'I know,' he said. 'Okay, they'll be coming back soon. I think Lucifer went to show him what's happening in the real world at the moment. You know, that while we're here, time goes five times as slow-'
'So, since we've been here for-'
'Thirty-six hours,' interrupted Paul smartly, 'If I'm correct in saying that the time is eleven o'clock, then only-'
'-two hours and fifteen minutes have past?' I asked eagerly.
'Yes, so they might not have found our bodies just yet . . .' he said, blinking in surprise, 'I thought you sucked at Maths, Suze.'
Before I could take offense, I saw Lucifer and Jesse rematerialize again. I quickly dropped to the floor, and went back to looking helpless again. Paul turned away rapidly. Lucifer smoothed down his blond hair coolly, looking over at me with a kind of hunger in his eyes. I felt like slapping him nattily, but I had to follow through with the plan. Jesse was looking at Paul suspiciously, and so I took the opportunity to say to Lucifer, 'Can I have a word?'
He blinked, and replied, 'I'm sure that would be possible.'
'Now?' I persisted. Again, he looked knocked for six, but his expression changed to one of sinister complacency. He smirked, 'Well, if you insist, babe.'
Babe?! EW!
Before my disgust could surface on my face, I tried to make my eyes look all secretive and sexy. 'I do insist,' I said, 'can we go somewhere private for a second?'
He looked like Christmas had come early. 'Sure,' he said slightly eagerly. Inwardly, I was vomiting, but outwardly, I let him slip his arm around my waist, and he was guiding me to one of those sarcophagus pillars. I raised my eyebrows as he opened it. I mean, I thought that they were just there for, I dunno, decoration, but no, this one, at least, was a door. It lead to . . .
- Oh, God -
. . . A majestic bedroom. What did he think I was going to tell him?!
Oh well, I had to play along. I let out a giggle, which made his fingers wander from my stomach a little, but I couldn't pull out yet. From the outside, you never would have known that this room was here. I mean, it defied all the rules of space, but I guess that in this hellish world, rules of space weren't relevant.
Seriously, this room was a lot like Paul's had been. Not his bedroom from earth, no the one where Jesse had . . . you know. Except, his colour scheme was red and black. It was very effective, and pretty freaky. I didn't want to, but I went and sat on the edge of the vast bed. I really had thought that, when I said I wanted a private word, he'd send Paul and Jesse away, not lead me to a freakin' private parlour!
Slightly nervous, and not knowing what I was supposed to say, I opened my mouth to talk, but in a swift movement, he'd pushed me on my back! ARGH! Rah! Gerroff! Shoo! He leant over me and began kissing me, working up my top. I tried to respond realistically, but inside, I was screaming in nausea. Well, I shouldn't go that far. Okay, this guy was hot, I'll give him that, but I SO don't go for the sleazy types. Anyway, I just had to wait a bit longer-
Hey! Okay, now he was getting WEIRD. He'd moved me up so that our legs weren't dangling over the side. His cunning face flashed a grin at me, and he went on kissing me. I dug my hand beneath me and fished out the Ghost Hunter's Knife. And, with all the strength I could muster, I plunged the neck into his throat.
Yeah, his throat. I know, yuck, but whatever.
He died pretty quickly, I have to say. And it sure was no picnic having a dead dude laying on top of you. I shoved him off, and waited . . .
Suddenly, something yanked me back by my hair.
'You little bitch!' he said. Okay, this time, (thank goodness,) he wasn't turned on. Now he was just pissed.
'Hey, when you took me you were biting off way more than you could chew, bud,' I snarled, and jumped away from him, holding the Knife firmly. He was advancing on me menacingly. I backed against the wall. Now, I was starting to get scared again . . .
'Susannah,' he said, a sly smile flickering across his lips, 'Come on, be a good girl, hand over the Knife.'
'Hell no,' was my response.
All traces of his smile vanished. 'Give it here, or you'll wish that you'd never been born,' he shouted, his head jerking in rage. He took another slow step toward me.
'Yeah, I'm half wishing that I'd never died at the moment,' I snapped. With that, he leapt at me, and seized my neck. His powerful hand began constricting. I kept the Knife away from him.
'Give it to me!' he roared, spit flying from his mouth. He was strangling me.
'I'll give it to you,' I choked, and with absolutely no remorse, I plunged the Knife into his stomach the way I'd seen Jesse to do . . . well, I don't remember . . .
'NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!' he roared, and then, there was an detonation of fine, golden mist.
He was gone.
Phew!
I slid down the wall, gasping for breath. Then, after a minute, I stood up, and carefully slipped the Ghost Hunter's Knife under Lucifer's pillow. I didn't want there to be any more stabbing between Jesse Paul and myself if I could help it. funnily enough, even Lucifer's corpse had disappeared when I'd stabbed his ghost. I left the dead demon's room.
'Suze?'
I shut the door of the sarcophagus, and looked around. Paul was standing there, glaring at Jesse. Jesse was looking coldly at Paul, a sneer on his face.
'Uh, am I missing something?' I asked slowly.
Jesse's eyes snapped to me, and he said, 'I don't know who you just stabbed with the Ghost Hunter's Knife, Susannah. All I know is that you've destroyed my chances of getting back to life.'
'Oh, well poor you,' I said sarcastically. Jesse lunged at me, but Paul blocked him. 'Da Silva!' he barked, 'Cool it, dude! We have to figure out what we're going to do.'
'I know what I'm going to do,' Jesse grunted, struggling against Paul to get to me, 'I'm going to rip her to shreds!'
'God, Hector, get some anger management,' I snapped, using his real name to annoy him. It worked. 'Okay, so Paul, now is a good time to tell me how to break the curse.'
Paul's eyes widened in alarm.
My heart thudded. 'Paul . . . Please tell me that it's possible,' I said shakily.
Paul let Jesse go, who was staring strangely at the two of us. He ran his fingers through his curly brown hair, and said, 'Well, Suze, that was kind of a . . .'
'A what?' I demanded.
'A lie,' he finished, and to my dread, I saw a stronger look in his eye. It was . . . as though he was through being Mr. Nice-Guy or something. All the blood drained from my face . . .
**************************************************************************** ****
That'll about do it. What do you think? REPLY, you gorgeous people! Paul's slipping back over to the dark side again, where he bloody well belongs!