Devils Roses 05 - Death

things. He walks down the stairs to the basement.
    "You can’t leave me. Ever." I follow him down. I smell something when I'm part way down. My insides tighten and panic.
    "What have you done?"
    Giselle walks across the basement looking grim. "Hey." Her eyes are still red from the funeral.
    "What's going on?" I almost don’t trust either of them. I smell Shane. I know I do. I almost worry about him and question them. Something is up.
    "I have him calm." She says.
    "Giselle remembers the blood lust. She doesn’t remember anything else but she remembers that. She thinks she can save him."
    Giselle smiles weakly at me, "Maybe I can find out where Ari is too." She hugs herself.
    I wrap my arms around her and breathe her in. It's the first time being with her after all of it. Her body doesn’t melt into me the way it used to. She is tense where I am soft. I'm hugging with my heart and she is unable to understand why.
    "I will make them give it back Giselle. Give back all your memories."
    She shakes her head, "I don’t want them. I don’t want to fight it again."
    I nod, "The happy memories though. The memories of Lydia and O and Dorian."
    She swallows hard against my shoulder, "It sounds weird but my heart remembers them. I know them all inside of me."
    My eyes water, "No, it sounds like love."
    "We did all love each other. I can feel it."
    Aleks wraps his arms around us both and holds us to him.
    "You guys just humped didn’t you?"
    I snort, "What?"
    "He smells like sex. Like ew. Get off me caveman." She shoves us both.
    I sigh, "I missed you."
    She laughs and walks to the door to the cellar. "Did you straighten out the Alise thing?"
    I laugh harder, "Blake has her convinced it was a bad dream. I guess she came there to see him after drinking a ton with Michelle."
    She looks confused, "Do you ever miss it? The normal shit? I just want to get trashed and let some boy take advantage of me."
    I tilt my head, "I do miss it. I miss the regular stuff but this is so big. It's everything to me now. I guess seeing it both ways was all I needed."
    "Not me. I miss it. I miss getting trashed and having sex and not feeling like eating the person. I even miss just not coming. Just being used for a one-time thing. Sweaty sexy boy and me and the smell of booze. Jesus. Every guy now wants to be my husband." Her voice becomes mocking, "I smell so good and look so good and taste so good. Blah blah blah. Like shut up and do it. Jesus."
    Aleks looks like he might cry. She is oblivious to the fact we have not said a word and continues. "I just want someone who can't see my beauty. Who can't smell my shit. Well you know, not my shit but like the succubus thing. I just want a guy who wants to just do it a lot and maybe buy me purses and stuff."
    I distract her, "We should go to Cuba some time. You love Cuba."
    She points at me and opens the door, "I know right. I love Cuba. This place is depressing. I officially don’t like England. Boring. No wonder no one comes here for spring break. No girls gone wild in Hertfordshire."
    There is a blur and a snarl and she clotheslines Shane and jumps on top of him. She presses her face to his. He is frozen once she does it.
    "Giselle! I told you to chain him."
    She pulls away and grins, "It's more fun like this."
    Aleks sighs, "You're going to be the death of me. I swear it." He eyes me up, "You both will be." He grabs Shane and drags him back into the cell. Giselle sits on the ground and smirks, "He tastes funny. It's weird."
    "Can you kill him?"
    She shrugs, "No clue. I mean maybe. I never tried. I killed other vamps but they weren't Marcus's vamps. That could change things."
    She stands and walks into the cellar. I follow. He looks different. So different I feel like he too has died. Like he is missing from my life.
    He lifts his face slowly and grins, as his strength filters in slowly. "You got some kiss Giselle. Always did I guess."
    She laughs, "And you got some pain in the ass nerve. Now tell me where Ari is or next time I suck until you die."
    He laughs. It's so bitter and hard, I don’t know it. Or him. "Kill me. Do it. Free me. She cursed me. Kill me and let go." His laugh almost sounds like it could turn to a sob.
    "I'm sorry Shane. I'm sorry for what happened. I didn’t know." I say.
    His blue eyes are hard and cold, like his laugh. "You know now don’t you? You have it all back. Those memories of us, loving each other. You loved me. You chose me once. You remember that?"
    I nod