Surreal Ecstasy Page 13

  More emotion swept over Morgan's face. I believe—or hoped—it was a show of her overpowering love for me. In return, my adoration of her overwhelmed me, and I briefly considered telling her the rest, the part about how it would be necessary for me to choose another charge to watch over.

  But how could I? It was such an intimate bond I had shared with Morgan, and I couldn't, wouldn't replace her with someone else.

  There was no point in making her feel guilty about something which was completely my doing.

  "Ree," she exclaimed, throwing herself to me with open arms. I embraced her and smoothed her gorgeous silky hair, enjoying the softness of her skin. I kissed her head and smelled her hair. It was intoxicating. I could spend a thousand lifetimes loving this woman.

  "Wait a minute," I said, and we broke our embrace. "Don't you want to call me 'Tiberius' from now on? It's manlier, don't you think?"

  She laughed a little and smiled, leaving me to bask in the beauty of her natural glow. "I agree, but it sounds like a lot of work. 'Ree' is much easier to say."

  We laughed together—something that was happening more and more. It has been ages since I was able to really laugh with anyone outside of my family. I did know of various people that were kindhearted and genuine, but to be on the exact same wavelength as somebody was new to me, not to mention exhilarating and fulfilling.

  "I have a question for you, now," I told her.

  That got her attention. She sat up rigidly, awaiting further instructions from me.

  "You have been surrounded by angels, gods, and demons—all members of the God Generation—your whole life. Are you aware of this?"

  She gave me a look that clearly indicated she had not been aware of that. "Like who?"

  "I don't know who's who exactly, but I have felt their presence for years. There is something specific I want to reveal to you, however, and I would really like you to keep an open mind." I paused, not knowing the best way to say this. In that same second, I decided I would stop overthinking it and merely tell her what needed to be said. "Baby, I think Adim's Melted." I sighed quietly and put a comforting arm around her.

  She gave me a confused look—I was completely aware of the fact that it sounded strange. Did she remember my explanation about the human demons being called Melted? I wondered if she were imagining him literally melting, like a wax statue left in the oven.

  "I never even spoke to you about him," she said finally, more to herself than to me. "This is weird. I'm really not sure if I can get used to you knowing about my entire life." She stared into space for a moment, and I felt her shame. "You know about the drugs, the men, and Adim… what Adim did…" She buried her face in my shoulder.

  I held her protectively, blinking back tears that threatened to free themselves from my eyes. "I always knew what you endured when you were with him, but to see proof of your pain up close and physically…" My fingers again traced delicately along the discolored skin on her forearm. My heart felt heavy and sick, utterly disgusted by the thought that anyone would want to harm this gentle, beautiful woman.

  And while the human emotion of disgust ran its way through my veins, another feeling followed almost immediately after.

  Guilt.

  It was my fault, this whole mess with Adim. I was to blame because I didn't meet her earlier in her life and therefore couldn't protect her during those times. I can accomplish only so much in dreams. "Do you even know what it's like for me… to see all the horrific things that you've been subjected to? Do you know what I would like to do to Adim if I wasn't so supposedly Worthy?"

  She remained silent and only wept. I held her protectively, images of him abusing her playing themselves through my mind like a slideshow, enraging me more with each memory that I viewed. There he was, punching her face. Pushing her hard into a bookshelf, which fell on top her. Supplying her with foul things like marijuana, cigarettes, alcohol, cocaine, and ecstasy. Treating her like she was a doormat instead of a woman.

  There were definite ways of dealing with this man. A whirl of a very agitated emotion began to stir up within me, followed by the contentment in thinking that one day, someone was going to bring him down.

  I drew myself back, realizing what I was feeling, and tried to put a stop to it internally, but it was too late. The spirals of wrath had begun. Remembering who I was and where I came from, I began to feel somewhat ashamed.

  Somewhat.

  Chapter 12

  "My name is Lachesis. LATCH-uh-sis," she emphasized, strolling confidently through my apartment door.

  "Funny, all this time I thought your name was Decima Claudia," I said, stirring the eggs while slowly adding a little bit of milk.

  "I was under that impression as well," Ree said lazily, sitting back down on the foot of the mattress after opening the door for his sister. He'd set up my laptop on the folding chair in front of him and was watching an online movie.

  Sadly, he was now wearing his shirt over his boxers, but I kept a very vivid image of him in all his naked glory. I saw it now in my mind's eye, and with this image to accompany me, I smiled and hummed as I made breakfast.

  Dess locked my door and walked over to the kitchen, taking out some plates and utensils. Pathetically enough, I didn't actually have a table, so she put them on the counter next to the stove for now. "I had a dream again last night, a very clear one. I know who I am now." She smiled proudly.

  "Oh, Dess. I'm so sorry I haven't had time to help you set up your mind room."

  "No prob, Bob. You just got released from the hospital yesterday, for chrissakes. I'm not going to fuck you up psychically just to suit my own needs. Besides, I did discover the identity of the god I used to be." She gave me a big toothy grin.

  "You might not need me after all. That's great, Dess." Smiling, I got the sautéed mushrooms off the stove and put everything together in a messy but delicious scramble, glad I didn't have to look at her square in the face while we hung out in the very same place where I had practically raped her brother the day before.

  My cheeks burned with this thought. Was she uncomfortable? She didn't seem to be.

  Ree closed my laptop and gave his sister his (sort of) undivided attention.

  "Tell us about it," he said. I sprinkled some shredded cheese over the scramble. It was nearly done.

  We sat down, Ree and I on the bed and Dess on the floor next to us, and ate our breakfasts. "Lachesis was one of the Three Fates, you know, the ones that spun the wheel and determined the amount of years a person lived."

  "Oh, yeah. I remember learning about them in school, I think." I sucked down my home-brewed coffee.

  "Baby, this food is really good," Ree remarked as he squeezed my hand, probably trying to annoy Dess by pretending he wasn't paying attention to her.

  But Dess wasn't fooled; she didn't look at all concerned. She probably knew him too well for that.

  "Which one were you again?" I prompted after thanking Ree for his praise.

  "Lachesis, the one who measured the thread of life. I'm telling you, Morgue, it was insane. I was just sitting there using the computer, and in my head I suddenly saw things—it felt a lot like my old past life dreams, except everything was crystal clear, and thoughts were zooming around my head like lightning. Suddenly, things make sense in my life. It's totally unexplainable."

  "And yet we still have no idea what planet you're from," Ree teased, swiftly cleaning his plate.

  "Eat a bloke and choke," Dess retorted without missing a beat, stuffing a slice of orange in her mouth.

  "What else do you remember, Dess?" Maybe I should be taking notes or writing this in a journal.

  "Just that the other two Fates are also on Earth right now as Slates, just like me, and that it's important I find both of them. Beyond that, I don't remember anything helpful." She looked irritated and despondent.

  Ree looked at Dess with a serious expression, which was a very strange thing to witness. Dess, sensing it, turned her head and looked at him back.

&
nbsp; "Whatchu want, Rios?" she asked, polishing off another orange slice. Then, upon seeing his expression, hers changed to match his, all the usual signs of mockery vanished. "What is it? What happened?"

  He took a deep breath. I was about to get up and take a shower, but something told me to stay and watch what would happen next. Keeping his eyes on his sister, he motioned with his head toward where I was sitting. "It's her."

  She instantly rolled her eyes and looked like she was about to speak, but she froze, considering something for a moment. "Morgue is your charge? No fucking way. Really? NO FUCKING WAY!"

  My shock almost matching hers, I regarded Ree with a similar expression. "You really never told her about me? I mean, even while you guys were growing up?"

  He shook his head. "I told you—I couldn't. That's one detail that I kept to myself. It was too sacred," he added, his voice dropping to an intimate tone.

  "And I understood that," Dess interjected. I felt her eyes on me so I looked at her, and she was indeed studying me. "It's just fucking crazy. All this time… all your distractions… I can't believe your charge is Morgue, my best friend. This is screwy. I'm getting confused. How could we all be connected like this?"

  "I had to meet her somehow, someway, and… I suppose this is how it happened, confusing or not."

  Realizing the juiciest part of that conversation was over with, I decided to leave the twins talking among themselves and watching an old movie on my laptop so that I could take a much-needed shower. It felt like ages since hot water has rained down on me, cleansing my worries away momentarily. I felt like myself again, like the insanity of this past week left my body with the dirty water trickling to my feet and disappearing down the drain.

  The twins were the only highlights of my week. They were a godsend.

  Um, metaphorically speaking…or not.

  When I got out of the shower, I heard partial sentences through the closed bathroom door.

  "We have to –"

  "I know."

  "Do you think she'll –"

  "Not if we –"

  "What about when we –"

  "That'll be –"

  "You sure –"

  "Yup."

  "Kay."

  "Cool."

  "Let's do it."

  Not understanding at all, I laughed to myself and shook my head as I dried myself off. Twins were crazy specimens.

  Although Dess' clothes had been a relief for me to borrow, it was incredibly satisfying to be in my own clothes again: jeans, pink off-the-shoulder blouse, white socks. I emerged out of my two-inch bathroom to find the twins elbowing each other for more laptop-viewing space.

  "Hey, Morgue. Rios and I were talking about it, and we've decided on something."

  I laughed. "I heard the way you guys talked. You can actually have a conversation that way?"

  They both chuckled briefly. Besides one sounding masculine and the other feminine, it was the exact same laugh. "It's a twin thing," Ree explained, a tiny gleam of attraction shining in his eyes as he looked me over. "Some twins actually have their own unique language. Hey, we used to do that, remember, Dess?" His sister nodded.

  "Anyway," Ree continued, "We know your life has been turned upside down lately, including you getting fired from your job."

  "How did you know that I was just going to talk to you guys about it?"

  "We didn't—not really," he replied. "But it was a natural topic of discussion for all of us to have. Anyway, Baby, what I'm getting to is that –"

  Dess couldn't wait. "We want you to move in with us!"

  "Whoa! What?" I never dreamed they'd be that generous, although thinking back on it, I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised.

  Ree stood up and smiled. "No pressure for us to actually live together, Morgan. I'd personally love it, but I have absolutely no problem with giving you sufficient time to get used to the idea. I can take the couch, and –"

  I tackled Ree, throwing my arms around his neck. He got pushed back a few inches but otherwise held his ground. "Thank you so much, you guys," I gushed. "I can't believe this. You don't have to be this nice to me!" Touched by his show of commitment, I planted kiss after kiss on his face, all over his cheeks, forehead, and neck.

  "Whoa, Morgue, back it down a notch," Dess said. "Save it all for your bedroom, please. I'll get all those boxes and crap outta there and move it to the garage, which I never use anyway."

  "Morgan, I don't want to crowd you too quickly," Ree continued, studying me closely.

  "Let me worry about that, okay?" I asked him. "If you get on my nerves, you can keep your promise of sleeping on the couch."

  "Deal," Ree agreed, smiling adorably.

  "There's just one other thing that's bothering me, guys," I pointed out. "I don't want to take advantage of you—of your generosity, I mean, both of you, you know? I don't really have anything in my savings account. I mean, Dess, you have the same job I do—I mean, used to—and that barely paid for my apartment and utilities. Plus, you started after me so I'm pretty sure you don't earn as much as I did. How can that be enough to pay the rent for this house? And now with Ree coming to live with you—I don't know if you plan on getting a job, Ree, although it's not my business. I know that. I'm just trying to understand how things are gonna go, how they're gonna happen, how we'll maintain—I mean, I know I have to get another job, obviously, but that could take weeks. I don't really want to ask my mother for help because she already thinks I'm the devil child as it is." I stopped to take a breath.

  Dess' lip quivered a bit, threatening to break out into a grin, and Ree flat-out smiled and laughed. "You're cute when you ramble."

  "I'm not finished explaining yet," I protested.

  "Do you want to tell her, or should I?" Dess asked him.

  "All right, what twin secret do you want to let me in on?" I had a feeling something interesting was on the horizon.

  Ree looked at Dess, then at me and said, "Baby, you don't have to worry about money, okay? We're good. Seriously."

  "That's not telling her anything, dummy," Dess told him, elbowing him. To me she said, "Our family owns a restaurant in L.A. In the valley, actually."

  I had no idea what she meant by 'the valley.' "Oh! That's great. So you're not struggling, then," I said, suddenly understanding how Dess was able to put $500 in my hand at a moment's notice on Friday.

  "It's a little more than that," Ree chimed in. "You know Abuela Zerlina's?"

  I knew that name. Where have I heard that before?

  After a moment it hit me, and just like the time I found out they were twins instead of husband and wife, realizations began whirring through my brain, including the reason why the twins' names had been familiar to me. I suddenly began to feel weak. "Oh, my god. You guys are that Rios family?" I started to hyperventilate. Ree whipped out a small paper bag out of nowhere and made me breathe into it.

  "Morgan, it's okay," Ree said after I'd been able to breathe on my own.

  "Uh, I beg to differ," I retorted, incredibly mortified. For some reason, my only thought was how Ree and I had lunch at Pike's and I'd told him not to worry, that I'd pay for it, as if I were some hotshot doing him a favor. Oh, god. I wanted to rip up the wood planks in my kitchen and crawl underneath them.

  The twins' family was wealthy and kind of famous. Not everybody in the world knew who they were, but they actually had an empire. They themselves have probably appeared in a tabloid now and then, though the media usually focused on a couple of their older siblings, who spent much more time in the limelight. Abuela Zerlina was the name of the manufacturing food company that made and packaged chips, salsa, and the like, which were all being advertised up the butt on TV and in magazines everywhere. Not too long after the company made it big, it gave birth to a handful of restaurants across the nation, which in turn caught the media attention and the offer for their short-lived reality TV show called Dining as a Rios, which I'd never seen but certainly heard about from women who thought the Rios boys were hot.
Who wouldn't love to watch them? They were a good-looking, intelligent, charming family from Malibu, California. The publicity they received from the show paved the way for more opportunities for them, because since then I'd seen one of their brothers in a guest role for a TV sitcom, and one of their sisters in advertisements for her new makeup line.

  I mean, you could actually go to Best Buy and find the Dining as a Rios DVD. There was probably even a small picture of the twins with their family on the cover of it.

  I should have caught on when Ree told me there were eleven children in all, but I was so focused on my intensifying feelings for him that I didn't even consider he might have been well-known. It also helped explain the stares and idiotic behavior in women around Ree. He was already perfect, gorgeous, and considerate, but when you add 'millionaire' to the whole thing, well, that was a whole new ballgame, folks. For most women, that is. Never mind the whole 'angel-who's-sexy-as-hell' bit.

  For me, however, I suddenly felt insignificant, not to mention inept and brainless.

  Here they were, the Rios twins, youngest siblings of the semi-famous family, sitting on the floor in my crummy studio apartment, eating the breakfast I cooked for them and acting as if the shabbiness of the whole place didn't offend them. They treated me as if I were one of their own. Ree's perfect personality suddenly made sense—it was probably the result of privileged upbringing, his obnoxiousness around his sister notwithstanding. And Dess, whose wages at work would probably infuriate and insult her mother to no end, walked around Crafts Market like she was beneath everyone else, when in fact she could probably buy and sell every jackass at the store's corporate headquarters.