A/N: I know, I know.....don't blame me, blame fanfiction.com! I couldn't post for the last three months because of those idiots....*so mad*.....
Rebirth—Chapter 7
The place was almost impossibly big. It hadn't looked too big from the outside, but once you got inside, it was incredible. Dome City, it was called, and according to Jesse, who was kind of like our guide, it was the last human city left. A stronghold for humans, demons, and angels alike. Only one requirement to live here: hate Paul.
"So you may want to turn around, Angel," Jesse said so only I could hear.
"Jesse…if I'm not mistaken, you think I love Paul, or something," I said back to him.
Jesse gave me a "duh" look.
"Well, Jesse, you know—hey, stop calling me "Angel", anyway! I have a name, and it's Suze!"
Jesse gave an exasperated sigh and walked faster, pulling away from me. Hmm…maybe I should have finished my thought before yelling at him about calling me Angel all the time. My thought probably wouldn't have made him too happy, anyway. That I didn't love Paul, but I believed there was some good in him, somewhere.
But really, who wants to be called "Angel" all the time? And he doesn't exactly use the word lovingly. He spits it out, like it's a bad thing.
Rose, still holding my hand, looked up at me and said, "Mommy, he thinks you love Father more than you love him."
I looked down at her. She was way to smart for someone her age.
"Rose, I want you to stop reading my mind," I told her, and her face immediately darkened. "These aren't things you should know about, Rose. You shouldn't know what goes on between two people who are…well, between two people—"
"Who are in love," Rose said with a meaningful look.
WAY too smart. Except that Jesse wasn't in love with me, he hated me.
"No he doesn't," Rose whispered, her gaze flitting nervously toward Jesse, who was talking to Bonnie about something (she seemed to be having trouble speaking…I wonder why). Then she leaned towards me, like she was revealing something nobody should know. "He loves you very much, Mommy. He just doesn't want to believe it. He's mad at you. He keeps lying to himself, and thinking that he hates you. But he loves you so much, Mommy…"
My heart gave a nervous flutter. Was it true?
"…so much, it hurts him inside."
I looked quickly up at Jesse. Bonnie was inching away from him slowly, twittering nervously. "Is that so?" I heard her say, a little too loudly. Jesse didn't seem to even notice her nervousness. He went on talking. I heard the words "castle" and "The Plan", and figured he was talking about that S*hit organization. Or S.H.I.T. Whatever.
I looked back at Rose. She was smiling a little.
"Ok, Rose," I said, making my voice as angry as I could when concerning her, "you will not read my mind anymore. Or Jesse's. Do you understand? It's not nice. You're…violating our privacy."
Instead of getting upset, Rose seemed kind of satisfied. She looked back ahead, that little smile still tugging at her lips. "Yes, Mommy."
The city was very pretty. Much nicer than Hell Mountain. Cleaner. Not so many clubs and *orgies happening all over the place, so Rose started asking me questions about you-know-what. Not so much crime. Just a clean, bustling city. Not that there weren't clubs and stuff. Everything was just much quieter. Much more appropriate for Rose. I liked it just because of that.
But, like I said before, it was also very pretty. The buildings were made of that weird glass-like material that composed the dome. The thing with the dome, was that from the outside, it was able to camouflage to look just like the desert, almost invisible, while from the inside, you could totally see the perfect sky, full of beautiful stars. Which was why it was still standing. Paul hadn't found it yet.
Since the buildings were made of the same material, you couldn't see from into them…but from the inside, every wall facing the outside was a window. At least, that was the way Jesse had described it earlier. It sounded awesome, if you were high up.
Another thing about this city is that it had plant life. Gardens! Trees! Grass! Lush foliage! It was a beautiful sight. The dome was a controlled environment. Meaning, it was always comfortably warm, never too sticky and humid, and it rained artificially once a day for ten minutes, in order to keep the plants well watered.
The sidewalks weren't too crowded right now, you know, considering that it was almost midnight. And most people here seemed to be on normal sleeping schedules. Good.
Ahead of us, there was a ringing sound. It was so strangely familiar, but I didn't realize…
"A telephone!" I said, running up to where I heard it. On Jesse. The ringing was coming from somewhere on Jesse. "You have a telephone?"
Jesse gave me a weird look and turned away from me, pulling out a…
"A cell phone!" I said, and I laughed. It was so long since I had seen a phone. You have no idea how beautiful it was.
Jesse waved me into silence, then said into the phone, "Yeah, I'm coming back early. I have some guests who need a place to stay." He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Yes, some guests." Then he gave me a sidelong glance, and a small smile graced his lips. "Nope…it's a surprise. But get everyone down in the lobby. I want everyone to see them."
Then he hung up. Cutting somebody off, who's furious screaming I had heard from three feet away.
"Who was that?" I said.
Jesse didn't even look at me as he said, "You'll see…oh. We're here."
He stopped in front of…the biggest building I've ever seen in my life. Me, Rose, and Bonnie all did the same thing…crane our neck all the way back, staring in disbelief at the thing. So big, I almost fell from the feeling of vertigo it gave me. Suddenly I felt very tiny. At it's very top, so high it would have been impossible to read if it weren't so big, was a sign that said, "SHIT HEADQUARTERS: THE DARK KING WILL FALL".
This was starting to sound like a city of fanatics. I mean, everything was about Paul. The whole dome was like a shrine to Paul's death. It was starting to get slightly creepy, even if the city seemed so perfect.
Jesse was already at the front doors, which seemed so small compared to the building it was almost funny, waiting impatiently with his arms crossed. As we walked towards him, our eyes locked. Rose and Bonnie were still staring at the building, but I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from his. His gaze was…hypnotizing. My insides were squishing around inside my body…you know, that feeling you get when you meet the eyes of a guy you like. Except when that happens, you look away quickly and compose yourself. This…I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. He was like a magnet, pulling me to him. The closer I got to him, the more I felt like some kind of puppet. Until we all stopped about a foot in front of him.
Then Jesse gave me a knowing smile, and his eyes seemed to tell me that he had gained some kind of victory over me. I looked away finally, knowing he sort of had. Just by looking at me, he had totally disconcerted me. I suddenly felt nervous. I wanted to get away from his strong presence.
But of course, I couldn't just take off running down the street. That would be weird.
Even though Jesse was still kind of looking at me, I wouldn't let him catch my eyes again. I stared pointedly at the door. He pulled the doors open for us, and held them as we filed in. I let Rose and Bonnie go in before me, and as I passed Jesse to go in, I felt his fingers slide lightly over my arm, leaving a tingling sensation and make me noticeably pick up my pace. I heard Jesse's dark chuckle right behind me, and I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming in frustration.
Why did he have to be impossibly hot? I mean, this fact only made it harder for me to acknowledge that he was a total *asshole. At least, he had become one in the last seven years. And I was sick of having compassion for him because of what Paul did to him. He obviously had no compassion for me.
**But he loves you so much, Mommy…so much, it hurts him inside.**
Could he? Could he really?
Then Jesse breezed passed me like I wasn't there, knocking my shoulder as he went. And a darker, much less welcome voice echoed in my head.
**The Queen of Light will fall to the Darkness in her Heart.**
What the hell did that mean, anyway?
I didn't really have to time to think too much about it, though, since at that moment, a very familiar voice suddenly gasped out, "S-Suze!"
I looked up to see that we were in a big room, dimly lit by lamps hung on the wall, and comfortably warm. In the middle, there was a man…he looked very familiar…in fact, he could almost be…
"Doc?" I suddenly said. Was it him? "I mean—David? Is that…you?"
Then the guy's face broke into a very familiar goofy grin, and I noticed his sticky-outy ears, and I felt my face spread into a huge smile.
"Ohmygod—that IS you!"
What ensued was like some kind of clique soap-opera family reunion. You know—running to each other, hugging, laughing, crying, the works. My moment
was, of course, shattered by none other than Jesse.
"I thought I said I wanted everyone to be here," he said grumpily, arms crossed and looking not one bit touched by what was happening.
"Yeah, about that," Doc said, his voice strong and manly, no longer the lovable squeak I remembered. "They sent me here to get your "guests". They're all waiting in the meeting room."
"Who else?" I said, ridiculously happy. "Dopey and Sleepy? Er—I mean, Brad and Jake? Are they there? Mom and Andy?"
Doc had been nodding as he smiled, right until I said, "Mom and Andy". Then he froze and suddenly looked sad. "No," he said. "Mom and Dad are…well, they're gone."
An uncomfortable silence settled over the room.
Oh, not that I felt like bawling my eyes out or anything. I had thought they were dead for a while. But the thing was, I had also thought that Sleepy, Dopey and Doc were also dead. So, this was more like finding out they were back from the dead or something. Not like knowing they had been alive, and suddenly going through the shock of finding out Mom and Andy weren't.
So I smiled stiffly, and said, "Well…at least you guys are here."
Rose came up next to me, and said in a cute inquisitive voice, "Who's this, Mommy?"
Doc looked at her in shock. "Mommy…?" Then it suddenly dawned on him, and he bent down to be eye level with her. That huge grin on his face again. "I'm your Uncle David," he said, touching her nose with his finger.
"Pleased to meet you, Uncle David," Rose said, curtseying respectfully.
"You have some more uncles waiting for you upstairs," Doc told her. "They'll be happy to see you."
Rose smiled brightly. "Goody! Mommy told me all about you three. Dopey, Doc and Sleepy. You're Doc, right?"
Doc gave her a very confused look. "Um…"
"He's your Uncle David, Rose," I said, punching her a little on the back. She coughed and straightened.
"Uh, yeah…um, Uncle David," she said sternly.
"Let's go to the meeting room," Jesse said suddenly. He had been leaning casually against a pillar, watching the scene unfold with no expression on his face whatsoever. You'd think he would find it cute, but noooo. Jesse's too tough for nice family reunions.
He was the same way when we finally opened the doors to the meeting room, and I looked inside and saw them. So shocked was I that I practically shouted, "Holy s*hit!"
That was when everyone looked at me. Dopey and Sleepy, both looking older, but basically the same faces I remembered. Father D, who seemed to have been in the middle of a lecture, froze with his mouth open. Looking just as handsome as ever. Adam, and Cee Cee, who dropped a notebook she had been holding the moment she saw me. Seated between them, was a little boy, who looked maybe a year or two younger than Rose.
The room looked like a scene in a movie where someone had pushed the 'pause' button.
Cee Cee was the first to recover. I saw her close her eyes, and just go in this very small voice, "Suze…?"
"Who is she, Mom?" the little boy piped up, fidgeting nervously, obviously not liking the silence that had settled over the room. "Is she an agent or somethin'?"
Rose poked her head out from behind me, hearing a voice that sounded like someone her age. She caught sight of the boy, and waved shyly. The kid ignored her completely, glaring at me.
"Get outta here, you ugly agent!" he demanded. He sounded like a royal brat.
Then Cee Cee's face broke into a tentative smile, and she walked over to me. She leaned in close, like she was making sure it was me. Once my authenticity was verified, she threw her arms around me.
"Oh, Suze!" she wailed, and I felt myself going red in the face. "It's been so long! Too long!"
Then everyone got up and walked towards us, except the kid, who was still yelling something about "agents".
"Um, everyone," I said, once Cee Cee, who had tears in her eyes, had let go. "This is my daughter, Rose."
Rose slowly stepped forward. She looked around nervously, then curtseyed. "Pleased to meet you all," she said.
Then the room exploded. Or, it seemed like it. Everyone just started talking at the same time. Some of them remarking how adorable Rose was, some telling me how much they missed me. It was incredible. Dopey seemed to have gotten much smarter than I remembered, but Sleepy still had that half-asleep look. Adam kept repeating how he just knew I would find a way out, and Cee Cee just looked at me and Rose with tears in her eyes. Father Dom was quiet, smiling at the whole scene like the good priest that he was.
That was when I noticed that something was different about him. Father Dom, I mean. Something not quite right…
"Father D!" I said suddenly, pulling out of the tangled crowd of people. "You—you have wings!"
He did…two, perfectly white wings, just like mine.
The room went quiet.
"Why, yes, Susannah," he said kindly, his blue eyes sparkling. "I was a mediator too, remember?"
Father Dom was an angel. Like me. Well, it made a heck of a lot more sense that Susannah Simon being an angel.
"Yeah, well…it just never clicked in my head, I guess…"
Father Dom put both of his hands on my shoulders. I looked into his eyes, and he had so much love in them it almost made me back away nervously.
"Susannah," he said. "It's good to have you back with us."
"Thanks, Father D," I said.
"Mommy," Rose said, looking very confused. "There's so many people here…which ones are my uncles?"
"Me," Sleepy said, stepping forward and grinning proudly, making him look much more awake than usual. "I'm Jake, and this is Brad."
"UNCLE Brad," Dopey corrected with a grimace that made him look more like his old self.
Rose smiled pleasantly. "Pleased to meet you, Uncle Jake and Uncle Brad," she said on a curtsey.
Ugh…I'd have to teach her to just say hi. Damn princess etiquette lessons.
Cee Cee was getting even more tears I her eyes now. "Oh…oh, she's so adorable…"
"She looks like her mother," Adam said, beaming down at Rose.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Cee Cee said suddenly. Then, in this really, really, REALLY loud annoying voice, she shouted, "JOEY!"
"I'm right here, Mom," the little boy said, pushing his way past Adam and Cee Cee. "You don't have to be so loud." He held out his hand to me. "I'm Joey. You're not an agent, right?"
I took his hand, and he gave me a surprisingly hard shake. "What's an agent?" I said cluelessly.
"Good," he said, dropping my hand.
I looked up from Joey, to Cee Cee and Adam, who both had the same look on their faces. The looks of two proud parents.
"He's your son?" I said, completely floored.
"Excellent observation," came Jesse's sarcastic remark, which I expertly ignored.
"Pleased to meet you, Joey," Rose said on yet another curtsey. "I'm Rose, the crown princess."
Joey eyed her with contempt. "You look funny."
Rose's eyes snapped open in shock. "Huh?"
"And I hate princesses."
With that parting remark, Joey turned away from her, sticking his nose in the air snobbily. Rose blinked, then looked up at me. She was hurt. So many people had said worse things to her, and she was hurt by this kid's innocent remarks.
As Cee Cee and Adam began scolding their son for being so mean, I leaned down to Rose and whispered, "I think he likes you."
Rose's eyes shined with hope. "Do you really think so?"
"Of course he does. It's in his eyes."
"Good…" Rose said with a giggle. "Cause nobody messes with Princess Rose and lives to tell the tale."
"Who is that woman behind you, Suze?" Cee Cee said suddenly.
"Hmmm?" I looked behind me, and there was Bonnie, shuffling her feet and looking around nervously.
"Oh, this is Bonnie, she's my—"
"Slave…" came a voice in my head. I glanced over at Jesse, who was smirking at me in a way that made a tingle run down my spine.
"—my…my friend. Traveling buddy."
"Nice to meet you all," Bonnie said, her smile visibly quivering.
"Don't be so shy, Bonnie," I said.
Or, at least I tried to say that. You see, I had only gotten out the "Don't be…" before a very embarrassing thing happened.
My stomach growled. Loud.
Then I remembered I hadn't eaten a thing since breakfast that morning.
"Hungry?" Adam said with a lopsided grin.
"Um, yeah," I said.
"Me too!" Rose piped up. "I want cow liver and caviar!"
Everyone, including me, stared at her like she was crazy. Joey went, "Ewww…"
Rose blushed. "Um—uh—or I could have a—um—steamed eel?"
"That—that was palace food, Rose," I stammered out. "This is the real world. So we're going to have real food."
Rose looked at me, completely confused. "But—that food tasted real enough…"
"Well, we're going to introduce you to the wonders of pizza, now."
Rose blinked. "Um—pi…sa?"
"I love pisa!" Rose chirped happily.
"It's called pizza," Joey said in a very frustrated sounding voice. "PIZ-ZA."
"Pisa," Rose said with a smile.
"What an airhead," Joey muttered, leaving Rose once again crestfallen.
"Be nice, Joey," Cee Cee said sharply.
I tell you, from what I've seen so far of Cee Cee's mothering skills, it was a wonder the poor kid wasn't a stuffy prude. She expected everything to be perfect, always…I suspected that Adam was the one who kept Joey sane.
Cee Cee was leading Rose and I down what looked like the hallway of a hotel—a very expensive hotel—towards our room. Free room, of course.
The S.H.I.T. headquarters building was just as big on the inside as it looked from the outside. Seriously…it had somewhere around four hundred floors. FOUR HUNDRED! It was mind-boggling. It was that big because it housed its major members, and was the place where leaders from around the world met to discuss tactics, plans, etc. I really only had a vague idea of the function of the place. I just knew it was really big, and really high class.
Cee Cee stopped in front of a door. "This is your room, Suze." She opened the door, flicked on a light switch somewhere, and stepped aside so me and Rose could go in.
It wasn't a room. It was a full-fledged suite. Enormous. Cavernous. The walls tastefully painted a light peach color, the white carpet at our feet very, very soft. I felt like I could fall asleep on the floor. The whole place was immaculate. The furniture was perfect. There was an adjoining dining-room/kitchen, and two doors leading to two bedrooms. And then there was the wall facing the outside.
It was just like Jesse had said. The whole wall was a huge, massive window. I walked up to the wall and looked out. It was absolutely amazing. We were so high up it was actually hard to see the ground. But the sky…oh, the sky. It was like we were in outer space…almost the entire glorious view was the black sky, stars dotted throughout, and the huge red moon. I almost felt like I was flying.
"Wow," Rose whispered, and I realized she was right next to me, her nose pushed up against the glass.
"Hey, Suze," Cee Cee said. I looked back at her. She had a weird smile on her face. I knew what it was when she pointed to the door right across from ours, and said, "That's Jesse's room. You know, just in case you ever feel the need to go visit him, or anything…"
"Um, thanks," I said.
"And just so you know, the rooms are soundproof…" She winked at me, then said, "Get some sleep, you look awful."
I nodded numbly, and watched Cee Cee leave, tugging Joey along by the arm. I stared after them for a minute, then looked back out the window, at the stars.
"Is this where we'll live, now, Mommy?" Rose said.
"Yeah…this is our home, for now," I said as I watched a comet slice the sky.
I wish it could be like the old times between me and Jesse…that old love that overcame all those obstacles…
"It's a good home," Rose said. She ran across the room, and jumped onto the couch. I laughed as she sank right into it, like it was made of jelly. When I sat beside her, I saw that it practically was. It couldn't be good for your back to sleep here.
"Cozy," I remarked.
"Yuppers!" Rose said, and she curled up at my side.
Everything seemed so perfect. Impossibly perfect. I mean, after seven years, everything turned around so quickly, my head spun. Suddenly Jesse was alive. Suddenly I was free. Suddenly I was in this city, where all my friends and my stepbrothers were still alive. How did it all happen so fast?
I sighed, closed my eyes, and let my head fall back. My hand was absently stroking Rose's head. Despite everything, I felt acutely miserable. And I knew exactly why.
Jesse.
And…ok, I guess part of it was Paul, too. I mean, what was he even doing there, on the rooftop of Roger's Place? Why were they fighting there, of all places? And…Paul would have killed Jesse. He had no hesitations to stomping on Jesse's head like that. No hesitations whatsoever.
Oh, thank God I saved Jesse's beautiful head. I might have been hanging out with a ghost boyfriend again if I hadn't thrown myself over him like that.
Well…not boyfriend. Even as a ghost, he would still hate me.
Rose suddenly sat up. She looked really upset.
"What is it, Rose?"
"It's…it's…my lucky ribbon. I think I lost it."
"Lucky…ribbon?" I had no idea she even had a lucky ribbon.
"Y-yeah…" she looked down at the ground. "I…um…I think Jesse has it."
"Jesse?" I said, blinking. "Why—why would Jesse have your lucky ribbon?"
She glanced at me, then looked back down at the floor. "Um…you know, during the flight over here…I think I gave it to him to hold, so it wouldn't fall down or something…"
"Oh," I yawned. "Well, I'm dead tired…we'll get it in the morning…"
The look on Rose's face bordered on panic. "No! No, you have to get it tonight! Now!"
"Um…why? You don't need it."
"Yes…yes I do. It…it keeps away the nightmares. And—and I'll be unlucky without it."
"Rose, I'm not going to—"
"Please, Mommy?" Uh oh. Puppy-dog eyes. "Pleeease? He's right across the hall. You can just ask him if he has it…"
A feeling of dread came over me at the thought of going over to Jesse's room, at this hour. Actually, of going to his room at any hour. Of having to talk to him.
"Rose, I really think—"
"Really quick, Mommy. Just go and ask him…"
For some reason, I was getting the feeling that she had ulterior motives. I mean, I never even heard of this lucky ribbon of hers. But the look on her face was too much. I stood up with a sigh. "Ok then, Rose…let's go and ask him, then."
"No!" Rose said suddenly.
I eyed her. "Ok, what's wrong with you?"
"No…I-I mean…you go. By yourself. I'm too tired. I'm going to bed, right now."
"Rose, you never go to bed by yourself." Now I knew something was up.
"Oh, but Mommy…" Her eyes suddenly closed half-way, and she fell over on the couch. "So much happened today…I can barely stand…"
She was lying. She was up to something.
"Ok, I'll go ask him, Rose," I said, walking to the door. "But, I'm telling you…if I come back here and find some kind of mess…boy, you'll be in trouble…"
Rose smiled brightly at me. "Don't worry, Mommy!"
I gave her one last warning look, and shut the door behind me.
Mommy is so gullible, I thought, stretching out on the soft couch. Smiling to myself. I don't even have a lucky ribbon.
I had to do it. I had to send her to his room. Because I know what she wants, and what he wants, even if they don't. And I want them to be happy.
I shut my eyes. "Good luck, Mommy," I whispered as I drifted into sleep.
I was right outside his door. Nervous as hell. I shouldn't be nervous. I was only going to ask him if he had Rose's lucky ribbon. Why was this so hard?
What if he took one look at me, and slammed the door in my face, or something?
If he did that, I would knock again. And when he opened the door again, I would bust in and kick his butt.
Yeah. Good plan.
I lifted my hand, swallowed and muttered a quick prayer, and knocked on the door. And waited. Nobody came. I knocked again, louder this time. Would I be rejected without the door even opening? I was just about to bang on the door a third time, when it flew open, revealing Jesse. Only wearing a towel, which was wrapped loosely around his hips. Dripping wet, his hair slightly spiky from a recent shower. Looking furious.
"Woman," he said in a thunderous roar, "I told you to LEAVE ME—" Then he caught himself, and seemed to notice me for the first time.
"I—um—uh—" I took a few small steps backwards, trying not to be too obvious about it. "Uh—I—you—"
"Oh, Susannah," he said in a surprised sounding voice. "I thought you were someone else."
I swallowed. Did he realize that he was standing in front of me, beads of water cascading down his incredible, nearly naked body?
"Oh—no, just little old me," I said, my voice incredibly squeaky.
Jesse looked me over once, still wearing my leather mini and tank top from before. His gaze stopped at my face.
Ok, see here's the thing…I knew it was rude and all, and I knew Jesse was looking at my FACE, all expectant…but I was having trouble taking my eyes off his BODY. His abs were more incredible than I remembered…no, that wasn't just a rusty memory, they really WERE more incredible. It was unspeakably embarrassing, and I knew he was totally aware of where I was looking. I mean, how could he not see where I was looking? And how could I not look where I was looking? This was the single most embarrassing moment of my life. I can say that confidently. It was beyond embarrassing. It was into the realms of awkward stupidity, at least on my part.
And even while it was awkwardly stupid, and I knew it, I still couldn't look away. I raised my eyes to his chest…oh, gods, what a chest…
Then one of his muscles flexed. Not self-consciously or anything. Jesse actually made the muscle flex. He was so confident about his body, it was infuriating.
WHY IS JESSE SO DAMN PERFECT?????
Well, when the muscles flexed, I kind of jumped back, totally startled. I realized then that as I had been looking, Jesse had leaned against the doorframe. Then I met Jesse's eyes. And it was the same problem as his body. Couldn't tear my eyes away.
"Enjoying the view, querida?" he said, with a lazy grin.
"Um, I wanted to know if—" I turned that sentence on purpose into a cough. Why? Because my voice had been so squeaky, it almost sounded like I was wheezing.
Then Jesse stepped aside, and said the silkiest, sexiest voice I had ever heard, "Would you like to come in, Susannah?"
Just like that. My name was like butter on his tongue. I was melting in the hallway.
I giggled nervously, and said in a voice that at least sounded human, "Um, actually, I just wanted to, um, know, if—"
"Don't be silly, now," Jesse said with a suggestive-looking smile (at this point, anything looked suggestive), and he reached out, grabbed me around the waist, and pulled me into his room.
A/N: I didn't like that chapter too much, but I'm just happy to finally be able to post again. So please REVIEW.
TTFN
Rebirth—Chapter 7
The place was almost impossibly big. It hadn't looked too big from the outside, but once you got inside, it was incredible. Dome City, it was called, and according to Jesse, who was kind of like our guide, it was the last human city left. A stronghold for humans, demons, and angels alike. Only one requirement to live here: hate Paul.
"So you may want to turn around, Angel," Jesse said so only I could hear.
"Jesse…if I'm not mistaken, you think I love Paul, or something," I said back to him.
Jesse gave me a "duh" look.
"Well, Jesse, you know—hey, stop calling me "Angel", anyway! I have a name, and it's Suze!"
Jesse gave an exasperated sigh and walked faster, pulling away from me. Hmm…maybe I should have finished my thought before yelling at him about calling me Angel all the time. My thought probably wouldn't have made him too happy, anyway. That I didn't love Paul, but I believed there was some good in him, somewhere.
But really, who wants to be called "Angel" all the time? And he doesn't exactly use the word lovingly. He spits it out, like it's a bad thing.
Rose, still holding my hand, looked up at me and said, "Mommy, he thinks you love Father more than you love him."
I looked down at her. She was way to smart for someone her age.
"Rose, I want you to stop reading my mind," I told her, and her face immediately darkened. "These aren't things you should know about, Rose. You shouldn't know what goes on between two people who are…well, between two people—"
"Who are in love," Rose said with a meaningful look.
WAY too smart. Except that Jesse wasn't in love with me, he hated me.
"No he doesn't," Rose whispered, her gaze flitting nervously toward Jesse, who was talking to Bonnie about something (she seemed to be having trouble speaking…I wonder why). Then she leaned towards me, like she was revealing something nobody should know. "He loves you very much, Mommy. He just doesn't want to believe it. He's mad at you. He keeps lying to himself, and thinking that he hates you. But he loves you so much, Mommy…"
My heart gave a nervous flutter. Was it true?
"…so much, it hurts him inside."
I looked quickly up at Jesse. Bonnie was inching away from him slowly, twittering nervously. "Is that so?" I heard her say, a little too loudly. Jesse didn't seem to even notice her nervousness. He went on talking. I heard the words "castle" and "The Plan", and figured he was talking about that S*hit organization. Or S.H.I.T. Whatever.
I looked back at Rose. She was smiling a little.
"Ok, Rose," I said, making my voice as angry as I could when concerning her, "you will not read my mind anymore. Or Jesse's. Do you understand? It's not nice. You're…violating our privacy."
Instead of getting upset, Rose seemed kind of satisfied. She looked back ahead, that little smile still tugging at her lips. "Yes, Mommy."
The city was very pretty. Much nicer than Hell Mountain. Cleaner. Not so many clubs and *orgies happening all over the place, so Rose started asking me questions about you-know-what. Not so much crime. Just a clean, bustling city. Not that there weren't clubs and stuff. Everything was just much quieter. Much more appropriate for Rose. I liked it just because of that.
But, like I said before, it was also very pretty. The buildings were made of that weird glass-like material that composed the dome. The thing with the dome, was that from the outside, it was able to camouflage to look just like the desert, almost invisible, while from the inside, you could totally see the perfect sky, full of beautiful stars. Which was why it was still standing. Paul hadn't found it yet.
Since the buildings were made of the same material, you couldn't see from into them…but from the inside, every wall facing the outside was a window. At least, that was the way Jesse had described it earlier. It sounded awesome, if you were high up.
Another thing about this city is that it had plant life. Gardens! Trees! Grass! Lush foliage! It was a beautiful sight. The dome was a controlled environment. Meaning, it was always comfortably warm, never too sticky and humid, and it rained artificially once a day for ten minutes, in order to keep the plants well watered.
The sidewalks weren't too crowded right now, you know, considering that it was almost midnight. And most people here seemed to be on normal sleeping schedules. Good.
Ahead of us, there was a ringing sound. It was so strangely familiar, but I didn't realize…
"A telephone!" I said, running up to where I heard it. On Jesse. The ringing was coming from somewhere on Jesse. "You have a telephone?"
Jesse gave me a weird look and turned away from me, pulling out a…
"A cell phone!" I said, and I laughed. It was so long since I had seen a phone. You have no idea how beautiful it was.
Jesse waved me into silence, then said into the phone, "Yeah, I'm coming back early. I have some guests who need a place to stay." He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Yes, some guests." Then he gave me a sidelong glance, and a small smile graced his lips. "Nope…it's a surprise. But get everyone down in the lobby. I want everyone to see them."
Then he hung up. Cutting somebody off, who's furious screaming I had heard from three feet away.
"Who was that?" I said.
Jesse didn't even look at me as he said, "You'll see…oh. We're here."
He stopped in front of…the biggest building I've ever seen in my life. Me, Rose, and Bonnie all did the same thing…crane our neck all the way back, staring in disbelief at the thing. So big, I almost fell from the feeling of vertigo it gave me. Suddenly I felt very tiny. At it's very top, so high it would have been impossible to read if it weren't so big, was a sign that said, "SHIT HEADQUARTERS: THE DARK KING WILL FALL".
This was starting to sound like a city of fanatics. I mean, everything was about Paul. The whole dome was like a shrine to Paul's death. It was starting to get slightly creepy, even if the city seemed so perfect.
Jesse was already at the front doors, which seemed so small compared to the building it was almost funny, waiting impatiently with his arms crossed. As we walked towards him, our eyes locked. Rose and Bonnie were still staring at the building, but I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from his. His gaze was…hypnotizing. My insides were squishing around inside my body…you know, that feeling you get when you meet the eyes of a guy you like. Except when that happens, you look away quickly and compose yourself. This…I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. He was like a magnet, pulling me to him. The closer I got to him, the more I felt like some kind of puppet. Until we all stopped about a foot in front of him.
Then Jesse gave me a knowing smile, and his eyes seemed to tell me that he had gained some kind of victory over me. I looked away finally, knowing he sort of had. Just by looking at me, he had totally disconcerted me. I suddenly felt nervous. I wanted to get away from his strong presence.
But of course, I couldn't just take off running down the street. That would be weird.
Even though Jesse was still kind of looking at me, I wouldn't let him catch my eyes again. I stared pointedly at the door. He pulled the doors open for us, and held them as we filed in. I let Rose and Bonnie go in before me, and as I passed Jesse to go in, I felt his fingers slide lightly over my arm, leaving a tingling sensation and make me noticeably pick up my pace. I heard Jesse's dark chuckle right behind me, and I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming in frustration.
Why did he have to be impossibly hot? I mean, this fact only made it harder for me to acknowledge that he was a total *asshole. At least, he had become one in the last seven years. And I was sick of having compassion for him because of what Paul did to him. He obviously had no compassion for me.
**But he loves you so much, Mommy…so much, it hurts him inside.**
Could he? Could he really?
Then Jesse breezed passed me like I wasn't there, knocking my shoulder as he went. And a darker, much less welcome voice echoed in my head.
**The Queen of Light will fall to the Darkness in her Heart.**
What the hell did that mean, anyway?
I didn't really have to time to think too much about it, though, since at that moment, a very familiar voice suddenly gasped out, "S-Suze!"
I looked up to see that we were in a big room, dimly lit by lamps hung on the wall, and comfortably warm. In the middle, there was a man…he looked very familiar…in fact, he could almost be…
"Doc?" I suddenly said. Was it him? "I mean—David? Is that…you?"
Then the guy's face broke into a very familiar goofy grin, and I noticed his sticky-outy ears, and I felt my face spread into a huge smile.
"Ohmygod—that IS you!"
What ensued was like some kind of clique soap-opera family reunion. You know—running to each other, hugging, laughing, crying, the works. My moment
was, of course, shattered by none other than Jesse.
"I thought I said I wanted everyone to be here," he said grumpily, arms crossed and looking not one bit touched by what was happening.
"Yeah, about that," Doc said, his voice strong and manly, no longer the lovable squeak I remembered. "They sent me here to get your "guests". They're all waiting in the meeting room."
"Who else?" I said, ridiculously happy. "Dopey and Sleepy? Er—I mean, Brad and Jake? Are they there? Mom and Andy?"
Doc had been nodding as he smiled, right until I said, "Mom and Andy". Then he froze and suddenly looked sad. "No," he said. "Mom and Dad are…well, they're gone."
An uncomfortable silence settled over the room.
Oh, not that I felt like bawling my eyes out or anything. I had thought they were dead for a while. But the thing was, I had also thought that Sleepy, Dopey and Doc were also dead. So, this was more like finding out they were back from the dead or something. Not like knowing they had been alive, and suddenly going through the shock of finding out Mom and Andy weren't.
So I smiled stiffly, and said, "Well…at least you guys are here."
Rose came up next to me, and said in a cute inquisitive voice, "Who's this, Mommy?"
Doc looked at her in shock. "Mommy…?" Then it suddenly dawned on him, and he bent down to be eye level with her. That huge grin on his face again. "I'm your Uncle David," he said, touching her nose with his finger.
"Pleased to meet you, Uncle David," Rose said, curtseying respectfully.
"You have some more uncles waiting for you upstairs," Doc told her. "They'll be happy to see you."
Rose smiled brightly. "Goody! Mommy told me all about you three. Dopey, Doc and Sleepy. You're Doc, right?"
Doc gave her a very confused look. "Um…"
"He's your Uncle David, Rose," I said, punching her a little on the back. She coughed and straightened.
"Uh, yeah…um, Uncle David," she said sternly.
"Let's go to the meeting room," Jesse said suddenly. He had been leaning casually against a pillar, watching the scene unfold with no expression on his face whatsoever. You'd think he would find it cute, but noooo. Jesse's too tough for nice family reunions.
He was the same way when we finally opened the doors to the meeting room, and I looked inside and saw them. So shocked was I that I practically shouted, "Holy s*hit!"
That was when everyone looked at me. Dopey and Sleepy, both looking older, but basically the same faces I remembered. Father D, who seemed to have been in the middle of a lecture, froze with his mouth open. Looking just as handsome as ever. Adam, and Cee Cee, who dropped a notebook she had been holding the moment she saw me. Seated between them, was a little boy, who looked maybe a year or two younger than Rose.
The room looked like a scene in a movie where someone had pushed the 'pause' button.
Cee Cee was the first to recover. I saw her close her eyes, and just go in this very small voice, "Suze…?"
"Who is she, Mom?" the little boy piped up, fidgeting nervously, obviously not liking the silence that had settled over the room. "Is she an agent or somethin'?"
Rose poked her head out from behind me, hearing a voice that sounded like someone her age. She caught sight of the boy, and waved shyly. The kid ignored her completely, glaring at me.
"Get outta here, you ugly agent!" he demanded. He sounded like a royal brat.
Then Cee Cee's face broke into a tentative smile, and she walked over to me. She leaned in close, like she was making sure it was me. Once my authenticity was verified, she threw her arms around me.
"Oh, Suze!" she wailed, and I felt myself going red in the face. "It's been so long! Too long!"
Then everyone got up and walked towards us, except the kid, who was still yelling something about "agents".
"Um, everyone," I said, once Cee Cee, who had tears in her eyes, had let go. "This is my daughter, Rose."
Rose slowly stepped forward. She looked around nervously, then curtseyed. "Pleased to meet you all," she said.
Then the room exploded. Or, it seemed like it. Everyone just started talking at the same time. Some of them remarking how adorable Rose was, some telling me how much they missed me. It was incredible. Dopey seemed to have gotten much smarter than I remembered, but Sleepy still had that half-asleep look. Adam kept repeating how he just knew I would find a way out, and Cee Cee just looked at me and Rose with tears in her eyes. Father Dom was quiet, smiling at the whole scene like the good priest that he was.
That was when I noticed that something was different about him. Father Dom, I mean. Something not quite right…
"Father D!" I said suddenly, pulling out of the tangled crowd of people. "You—you have wings!"
He did…two, perfectly white wings, just like mine.
The room went quiet.
"Why, yes, Susannah," he said kindly, his blue eyes sparkling. "I was a mediator too, remember?"
Father Dom was an angel. Like me. Well, it made a heck of a lot more sense that Susannah Simon being an angel.
"Yeah, well…it just never clicked in my head, I guess…"
Father Dom put both of his hands on my shoulders. I looked into his eyes, and he had so much love in them it almost made me back away nervously.
"Susannah," he said. "It's good to have you back with us."
"Thanks, Father D," I said.
"Mommy," Rose said, looking very confused. "There's so many people here…which ones are my uncles?"
"Me," Sleepy said, stepping forward and grinning proudly, making him look much more awake than usual. "I'm Jake, and this is Brad."
"UNCLE Brad," Dopey corrected with a grimace that made him look more like his old self.
Rose smiled pleasantly. "Pleased to meet you, Uncle Jake and Uncle Brad," she said on a curtsey.
Ugh…I'd have to teach her to just say hi. Damn princess etiquette lessons.
Cee Cee was getting even more tears I her eyes now. "Oh…oh, she's so adorable…"
"She looks like her mother," Adam said, beaming down at Rose.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Cee Cee said suddenly. Then, in this really, really, REALLY loud annoying voice, she shouted, "JOEY!"
"I'm right here, Mom," the little boy said, pushing his way past Adam and Cee Cee. "You don't have to be so loud." He held out his hand to me. "I'm Joey. You're not an agent, right?"
I took his hand, and he gave me a surprisingly hard shake. "What's an agent?" I said cluelessly.
"Good," he said, dropping my hand.
I looked up from Joey, to Cee Cee and Adam, who both had the same look on their faces. The looks of two proud parents.
"He's your son?" I said, completely floored.
"Excellent observation," came Jesse's sarcastic remark, which I expertly ignored.
"Pleased to meet you, Joey," Rose said on yet another curtsey. "I'm Rose, the crown princess."
Joey eyed her with contempt. "You look funny."
Rose's eyes snapped open in shock. "Huh?"
"And I hate princesses."
With that parting remark, Joey turned away from her, sticking his nose in the air snobbily. Rose blinked, then looked up at me. She was hurt. So many people had said worse things to her, and she was hurt by this kid's innocent remarks.
As Cee Cee and Adam began scolding their son for being so mean, I leaned down to Rose and whispered, "I think he likes you."
Rose's eyes shined with hope. "Do you really think so?"
"Of course he does. It's in his eyes."
"Good…" Rose said with a giggle. "Cause nobody messes with Princess Rose and lives to tell the tale."
"Who is that woman behind you, Suze?" Cee Cee said suddenly.
"Hmmm?" I looked behind me, and there was Bonnie, shuffling her feet and looking around nervously.
"Oh, this is Bonnie, she's my—"
"Slave…" came a voice in my head. I glanced over at Jesse, who was smirking at me in a way that made a tingle run down my spine.
"—my…my friend. Traveling buddy."
"Nice to meet you all," Bonnie said, her smile visibly quivering.
"Don't be so shy, Bonnie," I said.
Or, at least I tried to say that. You see, I had only gotten out the "Don't be…" before a very embarrassing thing happened.
My stomach growled. Loud.
Then I remembered I hadn't eaten a thing since breakfast that morning.
"Hungry?" Adam said with a lopsided grin.
"Um, yeah," I said.
"Me too!" Rose piped up. "I want cow liver and caviar!"
Everyone, including me, stared at her like she was crazy. Joey went, "Ewww…"
Rose blushed. "Um—uh—or I could have a—um—steamed eel?"
"That—that was palace food, Rose," I stammered out. "This is the real world. So we're going to have real food."
Rose looked at me, completely confused. "But—that food tasted real enough…"
"Well, we're going to introduce you to the wonders of pizza, now."
Rose blinked. "Um—pi…sa?"
"I love pisa!" Rose chirped happily.
"It's called pizza," Joey said in a very frustrated sounding voice. "PIZ-ZA."
"Pisa," Rose said with a smile.
"What an airhead," Joey muttered, leaving Rose once again crestfallen.
"Be nice, Joey," Cee Cee said sharply.
I tell you, from what I've seen so far of Cee Cee's mothering skills, it was a wonder the poor kid wasn't a stuffy prude. She expected everything to be perfect, always…I suspected that Adam was the one who kept Joey sane.
Cee Cee was leading Rose and I down what looked like the hallway of a hotel—a very expensive hotel—towards our room. Free room, of course.
The S.H.I.T. headquarters building was just as big on the inside as it looked from the outside. Seriously…it had somewhere around four hundred floors. FOUR HUNDRED! It was mind-boggling. It was that big because it housed its major members, and was the place where leaders from around the world met to discuss tactics, plans, etc. I really only had a vague idea of the function of the place. I just knew it was really big, and really high class.
Cee Cee stopped in front of a door. "This is your room, Suze." She opened the door, flicked on a light switch somewhere, and stepped aside so me and Rose could go in.
It wasn't a room. It was a full-fledged suite. Enormous. Cavernous. The walls tastefully painted a light peach color, the white carpet at our feet very, very soft. I felt like I could fall asleep on the floor. The whole place was immaculate. The furniture was perfect. There was an adjoining dining-room/kitchen, and two doors leading to two bedrooms. And then there was the wall facing the outside.
It was just like Jesse had said. The whole wall was a huge, massive window. I walked up to the wall and looked out. It was absolutely amazing. We were so high up it was actually hard to see the ground. But the sky…oh, the sky. It was like we were in outer space…almost the entire glorious view was the black sky, stars dotted throughout, and the huge red moon. I almost felt like I was flying.
"Wow," Rose whispered, and I realized she was right next to me, her nose pushed up against the glass.
"Hey, Suze," Cee Cee said. I looked back at her. She had a weird smile on her face. I knew what it was when she pointed to the door right across from ours, and said, "That's Jesse's room. You know, just in case you ever feel the need to go visit him, or anything…"
"Um, thanks," I said.
"And just so you know, the rooms are soundproof…" She winked at me, then said, "Get some sleep, you look awful."
I nodded numbly, and watched Cee Cee leave, tugging Joey along by the arm. I stared after them for a minute, then looked back out the window, at the stars.
"Is this where we'll live, now, Mommy?" Rose said.
"Yeah…this is our home, for now," I said as I watched a comet slice the sky.
I wish it could be like the old times between me and Jesse…that old love that overcame all those obstacles…
"It's a good home," Rose said. She ran across the room, and jumped onto the couch. I laughed as she sank right into it, like it was made of jelly. When I sat beside her, I saw that it practically was. It couldn't be good for your back to sleep here.
"Cozy," I remarked.
"Yuppers!" Rose said, and she curled up at my side.
Everything seemed so perfect. Impossibly perfect. I mean, after seven years, everything turned around so quickly, my head spun. Suddenly Jesse was alive. Suddenly I was free. Suddenly I was in this city, where all my friends and my stepbrothers were still alive. How did it all happen so fast?
I sighed, closed my eyes, and let my head fall back. My hand was absently stroking Rose's head. Despite everything, I felt acutely miserable. And I knew exactly why.
Jesse.
And…ok, I guess part of it was Paul, too. I mean, what was he even doing there, on the rooftop of Roger's Place? Why were they fighting there, of all places? And…Paul would have killed Jesse. He had no hesitations to stomping on Jesse's head like that. No hesitations whatsoever.
Oh, thank God I saved Jesse's beautiful head. I might have been hanging out with a ghost boyfriend again if I hadn't thrown myself over him like that.
Well…not boyfriend. Even as a ghost, he would still hate me.
Rose suddenly sat up. She looked really upset.
"What is it, Rose?"
"It's…it's…my lucky ribbon. I think I lost it."
"Lucky…ribbon?" I had no idea she even had a lucky ribbon.
"Y-yeah…" she looked down at the ground. "I…um…I think Jesse has it."
"Jesse?" I said, blinking. "Why—why would Jesse have your lucky ribbon?"
She glanced at me, then looked back down at the floor. "Um…you know, during the flight over here…I think I gave it to him to hold, so it wouldn't fall down or something…"
"Oh," I yawned. "Well, I'm dead tired…we'll get it in the morning…"
The look on Rose's face bordered on panic. "No! No, you have to get it tonight! Now!"
"Um…why? You don't need it."
"Yes…yes I do. It…it keeps away the nightmares. And—and I'll be unlucky without it."
"Rose, I'm not going to—"
"Please, Mommy?" Uh oh. Puppy-dog eyes. "Pleeease? He's right across the hall. You can just ask him if he has it…"
A feeling of dread came over me at the thought of going over to Jesse's room, at this hour. Actually, of going to his room at any hour. Of having to talk to him.
"Rose, I really think—"
"Really quick, Mommy. Just go and ask him…"
For some reason, I was getting the feeling that she had ulterior motives. I mean, I never even heard of this lucky ribbon of hers. But the look on her face was too much. I stood up with a sigh. "Ok then, Rose…let's go and ask him, then."
"No!" Rose said suddenly.
I eyed her. "Ok, what's wrong with you?"
"No…I-I mean…you go. By yourself. I'm too tired. I'm going to bed, right now."
"Rose, you never go to bed by yourself." Now I knew something was up.
"Oh, but Mommy…" Her eyes suddenly closed half-way, and she fell over on the couch. "So much happened today…I can barely stand…"
She was lying. She was up to something.
"Ok, I'll go ask him, Rose," I said, walking to the door. "But, I'm telling you…if I come back here and find some kind of mess…boy, you'll be in trouble…"
Rose smiled brightly at me. "Don't worry, Mommy!"
I gave her one last warning look, and shut the door behind me.
Mommy is so gullible, I thought, stretching out on the soft couch. Smiling to myself. I don't even have a lucky ribbon.
I had to do it. I had to send her to his room. Because I know what she wants, and what he wants, even if they don't. And I want them to be happy.
I shut my eyes. "Good luck, Mommy," I whispered as I drifted into sleep.
I was right outside his door. Nervous as hell. I shouldn't be nervous. I was only going to ask him if he had Rose's lucky ribbon. Why was this so hard?
What if he took one look at me, and slammed the door in my face, or something?
If he did that, I would knock again. And when he opened the door again, I would bust in and kick his butt.
Yeah. Good plan.
I lifted my hand, swallowed and muttered a quick prayer, and knocked on the door. And waited. Nobody came. I knocked again, louder this time. Would I be rejected without the door even opening? I was just about to bang on the door a third time, when it flew open, revealing Jesse. Only wearing a towel, which was wrapped loosely around his hips. Dripping wet, his hair slightly spiky from a recent shower. Looking furious.
"Woman," he said in a thunderous roar, "I told you to LEAVE ME—" Then he caught himself, and seemed to notice me for the first time.
"I—um—uh—" I took a few small steps backwards, trying not to be too obvious about it. "Uh—I—you—"
"Oh, Susannah," he said in a surprised sounding voice. "I thought you were someone else."
I swallowed. Did he realize that he was standing in front of me, beads of water cascading down his incredible, nearly naked body?
"Oh—no, just little old me," I said, my voice incredibly squeaky.
Jesse looked me over once, still wearing my leather mini and tank top from before. His gaze stopped at my face.
Ok, see here's the thing…I knew it was rude and all, and I knew Jesse was looking at my FACE, all expectant…but I was having trouble taking my eyes off his BODY. His abs were more incredible than I remembered…no, that wasn't just a rusty memory, they really WERE more incredible. It was unspeakably embarrassing, and I knew he was totally aware of where I was looking. I mean, how could he not see where I was looking? And how could I not look where I was looking? This was the single most embarrassing moment of my life. I can say that confidently. It was beyond embarrassing. It was into the realms of awkward stupidity, at least on my part.
And even while it was awkwardly stupid, and I knew it, I still couldn't look away. I raised my eyes to his chest…oh, gods, what a chest…
Then one of his muscles flexed. Not self-consciously or anything. Jesse actually made the muscle flex. He was so confident about his body, it was infuriating.
WHY IS JESSE SO DAMN PERFECT?????
Well, when the muscles flexed, I kind of jumped back, totally startled. I realized then that as I had been looking, Jesse had leaned against the doorframe. Then I met Jesse's eyes. And it was the same problem as his body. Couldn't tear my eyes away.
"Enjoying the view, querida?" he said, with a lazy grin.
"Um, I wanted to know if—" I turned that sentence on purpose into a cough. Why? Because my voice had been so squeaky, it almost sounded like I was wheezing.
Then Jesse stepped aside, and said the silkiest, sexiest voice I had ever heard, "Would you like to come in, Susannah?"
Just like that. My name was like butter on his tongue. I was melting in the hallway.
I giggled nervously, and said in a voice that at least sounded human, "Um, actually, I just wanted to, um, know, if—"
"Don't be silly, now," Jesse said with a suggestive-looking smile (at this point, anything looked suggestive), and he reached out, grabbed me around the waist, and pulled me into his room.
A/N: I didn't like that chapter too much, but I'm just happy to finally be able to post again. So please REVIEW.
TTFN