CHAPTER TWENTY

I let out a bubble of laughter when his eyes opened. I knew, then, that he had also remembered. We were finally as we should be, but why were we still here? Every time I woke up after dying, I'd be in the cottage, sitting in front of a warm fire. It wasn't the worst thing to see upon the death and it had the most comfortable bed there. I just didn't know exactly what that place was or why I was there.

There was never anyone else around, but eventually, he'd come and we were able to be content, until the next time we were separated.

I looked at the man sitting beside me. Were his intentions pure or was he still playing games with us? I used to be so frightened of him and then, I grew annoyed that he had us running around in circles and disrupting our happiness, but was it really his fault that nothing ever ended right?

He had looked so sad as he tried to explain his situation. Every part of me was screaming that this was just another layer of deception, but lately, I found myself beginning to trust him. He had seemed so genuine – so desperate.

"Edward…" I never found out his real name, so this would do. "I promise that you won't have to keep watching in the sidelines, anymore. He seems to be alright with the three of us together and if he changes his mind after waking up, I'll talk to him. I can convince him to let you in."

He sighed, looking down at the other man who was still trying to get away from the grips of the Sandman.

I kissed Rory's forehead and as I moved back, his eyes focused on me. "Madi…" The way he said my name made my heart flutter. It was different. It was more. He was more. He was still Rory, but he was also the man who hadn't been Rory. No matter who he was, I loved him.

He reached up, resting his hand on my cheek. "My Madi…"

The tears welled up in my eyes. A sob escaped, but for once, it was for happiness. "I love you…" I kissed him as deeply as I could.

No matter what he had done to me, it didn't matter anymore. There had been so much more of him that I loved unconditionally. It was also not the first time we had hurt each other and it surely wasn't going to be the last, but nothing was going to tear us apart.

"How are you feeling?" I murmured, running my hand through his hand.

He sighed. "Good. I'm feeling very good."

Indeed. After I regained my memories, death was just a second home. It was something that had always been there and not necessarily unpleasant.

His eyes went over to Edward who was quietly observing everything with slightly narrowed eyes. The red glint was slowly spreading through his iris, giving him the eerie aura that I was so used to. "Edward?"

The red orbs snapped to me before a smirk stretched across his lips. "Madi?"

I shook my head. Hew as in a playful mood still. That was good. The problem was not knowing how long it was going to last. This had been the longest I had been with him without seeing his outbursts. "How are we still here? Is it because of you? Are you keeping us here like this, somehow?"

He shrugged. "I'm as confused as you are. As much as I'd like to take the credit for it, I can't. Someone or something else is controlling us." But he seemed to know what the cause was. He just didn't want to tell me. It was so typical of him that I couldn't even be frustrated anymore. It was simply something I had to accept.

Looking around, I noticed that everyone had already disappeared. The drama had resolved itself, while we were being distracted with our own problems. "Let's get out of here. I think my legs have fallen asleep."

Rory grinned sheepishly at me before getting off.

The three of us took a short stroll around the property. The trees were rustling loudly and the sun was already setting down the horizon. Something dark fluttered away from the corner of my eyes.

I went over to the large rock and found a single black feather. A crow? Frowning, I picked up the soft feather and decided to keep it. Why not? There weren't a lot of new things around here and it was pretty.

Going back to Rory and Edward, we eventually settled on a clearing in the forest. It was a place where the Lost Colony had left alone. The flowers were blooming here and instead of the usual dead grass, it was green and luscious.

I rested my head in Edward's lap, while Rory had his on my stomach. It was so peaceful here. Maybe this wasn't so bad. I had them both here and it didn't seem as if anyone was going to break us apart.

That would be nice. I was tired of having to start over every time. I was afraid that one day, I was going to lose them forever. Who knew how long the cycle was going to last? Maybe one day, we were simply going to cease to exist.

A side of me wanted to know what that would be like – to finally find eternal peace and never have to worry about anything anymore, but a more dominant part of me knew that I would never be able to choose anything over him.

I ran my hand through his hair as Edward did the same to me. "Why do you think Monet disappeared?" I asked, looking up at Edward who looked back down at me with a content smile on his face.

"She probably finished whatever unfinished business she had here," he replied.

"What about you? How long have you been here?" I brought his other hand to my lips and kissed the palm.

He sighed. "Far too long, but I haven't always been here. You know that already."

"It's hard to tell how much time passes after I die and then jumping around… It feels as if I've been around for an eternity already, yet it also felt so short – as if I've only just begun living. I'm not making any sense, am I?" I shook my head as the other two chuckled at my rambling.

It was concerning that none of us seemed to know why this was happening. Edward Mordrake had once mentioned that the demon was the reason why we weren't able to move on, but whenever I asked this Edward, he didn't seem to know either.

All he was able to tell me was that I was part of something bigger and until that was fulfilled, we were going to have to continue living and dying.

"Stop thinking about it," Edward whispered. "Let's enjoy the time that we have before we lose it."

Yes, that seemed like a good idea. Why dwell on all that we didn't know and couldn't fix when I could savour what I didhave, as short as it may be?

"Are you ever going to tell me who you are?" I reached up, running my finger along his bottom lip and hummed when he began to suck on it.

Not long after, we were all rolling on the grass. Edward hovered over me, his hands working quickly on both our clothes. Rory was already completely naked, stroking both members until they were hard and the head glistened.

I moaned at the sight of them in all their glory. They were so beautiful.

With one smooth movement, Edward had me up and impaled on to him. My chocked cry filled the clearing. Rory kissed the side of my neck. He brushed my hair away before tightly gripping my hips. He slowly slid in behind me.

It was as if they knew what each other was thinking. Each thrust, each stroke was made to compliment the other. Edward leaned forward, capturing Rory's lips. Their breaths caressed my cheek as I felt myself quickly losing control. They were too much together. When they brought me over the edge, they sent me plummeting several times more.

If it wasn't for a loud, dramatic exclamation, we would've continued on into the night. As it were, we looked around for the source, while putting our clothes back on. The last thing we wanted was to have one of the voyeurs gawking at us.

"I know what I saw!" the British accent was familiar.

I could feel Rory's body stiffen beside me. As Audrey Tindall came into view, I watched the redhead, wondering what he was going to do now that his wife was back. I still hated her for taking him for me, but I also hated him for allowing it to happen.

I would like to say that everything was forgiven and forgotten, but that was a lie. It was not forgotten and a part of me would also feel that tinge of hatred for what he had done. This slight seemed to cut just a bit deeper than all the rest.

"They all died in that bloody house!" she continued on. "A-and there were these crazy people who kidnapped us when we were trying to run away!"

Behind her were a camera crew and a woman holding a microphone to her mouth. Was she returning here for some sort of interview? Honestly, if I ever get out of this Hellhole, I was never ever going to return.

"Your husband, Rory Monahan also died here, didn't he?" the reporter asked, her eyes sparkling with intrigue.

Audrey let out a loud sob. "Yes! He was just hanging in a tree! Let me show you where he was." Her voice slowly disappeared into the thickets with the equipment trailing behind her.

I shared a look with Edward, who kissed me behind my ears and whispered, "Don't worry. You'll never have to worry about her again. He's yours."

With his hands clenched to his side, Rory looked as if he was about to explode.

We both waited in silence, until a loud string of curses burst from his lips. "That bitch! Crocodile tears for the camera! I've seen her do that millions of times! That's all my death meant to her, isn't it? Another opportunity for her to rise to fame!"

I blinked.

"Fuck! Don't even know why I married her. Barely even remember the wedding." Running his hand angrily through his hair, continuing to curse her out, while I was trying to suppress the laughter that was bubbling inside me.

"It's okay, love." I wrapped my arms around him, kissing his cheek. "She doesn't matter, anymore."

"As long as no more killed her here," Edward added.

We both groaned. Yes, that could be one of the worst things to happen to us. If she died here, we were going to be stuck with her forever.

To ensure her safely, we had to follow her around as she continued describing everything that had happened to her. The reporter was soaking it all up, urging her to continue, which she happily complied.

Being completely absorbed by my own death when it all happened, I was actually interested on hearing it from another perspective. The thing I was most intrigued about were the maniacs living just outside of the plantation. I had never seen them before, but I kind of wish I could, now that there were no way for them to kill me.

"Let's go. I don't want to listen to her annoying voice, anymore," Rory grumbled, tugging at my hand.

Reluctantly, I allowed him to lead me away.

"I don't ever want to see her, again," he sighed, falling on to the bed beside Edward who ran his hand through his hair, soothing the raging man.

"She won't be here long," I reassured him. "Stay here. I'll make sure that she doesn't end up dying here."

Thankfully, when I returned to the crew, everyone was still alive. The spirits were hovering around them, but they seemed to be hiding their time.

"Miranda!" I barked at her when she began to inch her way towards them.

"Go away! We don't need shithead party poopers like you!" she screamed.

I raised my eyebrow at her. "Come here. I think I have something you may be interested to hear." The plan was already swirling in my mind. This had to be perfect.

Miranda grudgingly shuffled her feet towards me, her sister trailing after. I took them to a corner away from eavesdroppers and crossed my arm. "Look, this is something that will only happen once. We have a common interest here. You want to have your bloodlust sated and I want Ms. Diva gone, but if you kill them all here, we'll have to spend the rest of eternity listening to her talk our ears off. Not what we want, is it? This house is crowded enough because you have absolutely no self-control. All I want is for you to hear me out."

"Why should we listen to you?" Bridget rolled her eyes. "This isn't something you usually go along with, less of all orchestrate."

I narrowed my eyes. "As I said, I just want her gone and not just to see a little blood. I never want to see her face, again, but killing her here only means that she'd be stuck here. Got it?"

The sisters shared a look, as if they were communicating telepathically. "Fine," Miranda conceded. "And what's your plan?"

I grinned at them. "It's simple…"

The more I detailed what I wanted to happen, the more confident I became. This was going to work. I wasn't going to allow her to sink her poisonous claws in him, again. He was mine. I have had enough with her always trying to steal him from me – her and that other blonde, loud-mouthed bitch. It was a relief that I only had to deal with one this time.

A chuckle reached my ears and a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. "Good job. If the plan doesn't work, you know that all you have to do is ask me and I'll happily get rid of her for you."

I turned my head to glare at the pale face beside me.

"Go away," I hissed. "I don't need you. I have this taken care of."

I was still angry with him. I was still very, very angry.

He hummed before disappearing, taking his green mist with him.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Only one chapter to go!

Thank you Vivi H88, B00KW0RMFA1RY, guests (anonymouscsifan, Guest, Guest) for reviewing

Vivi H88: Thank you!

B00KW0RMFA1RY: Hehe… Of course! The demon is always being a stalker… Lurking about…

anonymouscsifan: I promise I'll clarify more! But… Probably not in this story. The mystery will continue on!

Guest: Teehee… hehehehehehehehe. I will just say yes and no.

Guest: Thank you and thank you! :D

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