Love Nip (18 page)

He opened his mouth but the words wouldn’t come out. He finally just shook his head to tell me he didn’t know. I looked around and pulled a towel off of a nearby chair. Placing it on his neck, I applied pressure. I had to keep him alive. He shook his head and pulled my arm back gently. He was ready to die, he had given up.

I could barely see clearly through my tears
. “Ezra, please let me help you,” I begged.

He could no longer move, his eyes spoke for him. They seemed to get heavier, until they finally closed one final time. I sat down in the blood and cried. A whirlwind of e
motions was going through me; anger, guilt, sadness, confusion, hopelessness.

A few minutes later Axle came running in
. “I couldn’t find anyone—” he started, but stopped when he noticed Ezra. He fell to his knees; his face was blank but tears still tumbled down. We sat there, staring at Ezra’s body, until backup arrived.

Axle helped the men take Ezra away
. I sat alone in the room, drenched in Ezra’s blood. I had no more tears left in me to cry. Robert came in and pulled me up. He wrapped his arms around me and I could feel his emotions. He ran his hands down the back of my head, comforting me as if I was a child. At one point he said something about Kimmy being safe, but everything was becoming a blur.  

Later on he had Gavin take me home. It was early in the morning before I got home, showered, and crawled in bed. No matter how much I tried I couldn’t sleep. Every time I shut my eyes I was back in that room with Ezra. I felt so much guilt
, and it was taking over. I had done this to him. If I wouldn’t have bitten Ezra he would still be alive. This was my fault. I was always messing things up. Time passed and I still had not slept. I heard knocking but couldn’t get up to answer the door. I heard my name and then the door open. Dee-Dee walked into my room and crawled in bed next to me. She pulled me in tightly and held me.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I woke up and it was dark outside. I looked at my phone, it was a little after midnight. I had a few missed calls from Robert, Axle, and Kimmy. I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Nothing looked appetizing, and I wasn’t sure if I could eat if I tried. I crawled back in bed and wondered how Riley was doing. I wondered if she blamed me for his death. 

I hear
d the door open the next morning, but I didn’t make any attempt to move. Dee-Dee walked in with a bag of doughnuts and coffee. I took a sip of coffee. The warm liquid slid deliciously down my throat. “Thanks.” I smiled slightly at her.

She played with my hair
. “Honey bear, you need a shower, a good meal, and a mani-pedi.”

“I just need some time alone,” I answered sadly. The next few hours I stayed in bed, dealing with my depression. My phone rang a few times throughout the day until I finally turned it off. It was just after seven when I decided to get up. I took a long shower, crying as the water washed over me. I tried
everything to think of something besides Ezra. I went back through the details of the case, hoping I could find Ezra’s killer. Whoever killed him had to know about Ezra’s condition, and where we worked. He would’ve had to have access to the building, and know the layout. I shook my head, climbing out of the shower. The more I tried not to think about Ezra the more I found my thoughts sneaking back to the moment he died. I kicked the edge of the door with my foot. I grabbed my ankle, jumping up and down in pain I accidentally knocked over a glass of water that was rested on the dresser. I watched as the liquid spilled onto the floor. Suddenly, I had an amazing idea. Grabbing a pair of jeans, I pulled them on, reached for a hoodie, and took off.     

I ran over to
Dee-Dee’s apartment and banged on the door. A moment later she answered, her hair was tussled and the dark circles under her eyes told me she was asleep.

“Emily, what’
s the matter?” she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“I need your help,” I announced in a hurry. If my plan was going to work I had to act quick
ly.

“Ok
ay, help with what?”              

“Stealing a body.”

If Dee-Dee wasn’t awake before my comment, the look on her face said she was now. “Excuse me? I must still be asleep. Did you just say stealing a body?”

“Yes, and we
have hurry,” I urged, pushing through her and into the apartment.  I began walking to her room to help her get dressed.

“What body are we stealing?” She yawned.

I wasn’t sure if she was taking me seriously, or if she was really just that good of a friend to go along with my plan. “Ezra’s,” I explained as I grabbed the first t-shirt I found and a pair of sweat pants. I threw them at her, she jumped catching them both in her arms.

She scratched her head
, thinking for a moment, and then shrugged. She began undressing and I left the room to give her some privacy. I sat on her couch, but then quickly stood. My heart was pounding and there was no way I could sit with my plan in motion. I reached for my phone and called Riley.

“Hello,”
she answered, her voice sounding strained.

“Riley
, I need your help,” I replied.

“Emily, what
’s wrong? Are you okay?” she asked, worried.

“I’ll be better if this works.”

“What works? Sweetheart, calm down and talk to me. What’s going on?” she asked.

“Riley, this is going to sound crazy, but I’m going to
resurrect Ezra.”

Silence.

“Riley, are you still there?” I asked, worried she would hang up once she heard my plan.

“Yeah, I’m here. Emily, Ezra is gone
. You should leave it alone,” she answered sadly and hung up.

I looked at my phone in disbelief. I hadn’t planned on that.

Dee-Dee walked out and did a twirl. “Good enough for body snatching in the middle of the night?”

I chuckled and walked out
, heading to my car. I had my hand on the handle when I looked up at her. “Thanks for helping me, Dee-Dee, this means a lot to me. Also, if we get arrested Robert will bail us out … I think.”

“Blah, it’s nothing. Plus
, if we get arrested I’m saying that you kidnapped me.”

De
e-Dee was on her phone the entire drive getting the coven involved. A plan was forming quickly and it sounded like a great plan. I was hopeful that this would work. It had to. We arrived at the morgue within minutes. We got out and crept to the front lobby door. I peered through the glass doors. The moonlight dimly lit a small room with maybe two chairs and a front desk. I reached for the door and it didn’t budge.

“Shoot, I didn’t think about the door being locked,” I pointed out. My
plan crumbled before me.

“Ha, locked door,” De
e-Dee whispered with excitement in her voice. She pulled up her sleeves and bit her lip as she concentrated. Her face got close to the lock and she began gently blowing. A white smoke appeared from her mouth and floated into the lock. She stood and suddenly I heard a click. She pushed the door and it opened.

“You are amazin
g,” I exclaimed, strolling into the building.

“I try,”
she shrugged as she followed me inside.

We tiptoed to a door past
the receptionist desk, the door led to a hall. The only light in the dark hallway came from the green illuminated exit sign. We walked down the hall using our cell phones as flashlights. The unnerving quiet made every step we took earsplitting. I heard a bang from behind me and I yelped. I looked back, holding my phone up for light.

“Sorry I ran into the wall,” De
e-Dee whispered. I could barely make out her silhouette but it looked as though she was rubbing her head.

I sighed and continued
on. We stopped at the door marked
Holding Room
. I turned the handle and pushed open the door. We flicked on the light and stood before a giant silver box with several small doors. I walked over and opened a door. Cold, stale air snuck out, slapping me in the face. My stomach churned and I had to swallow back the desire to vomit. Inside the hollow space was a white body bag on a silver table, I unzipped the bag a few inches and peeked in.

“Is it Ezra?” De
e-Dee asked.

I gulped and closed the bag
. “Nope, some guy that got shot in the head.”

“Gross.”

We began to open doors on opposite sides of the room checking each body bag. I was happy to see a few of the spaces were empty. When we met in the middle we looked down to find one door left. I looked at Dee-Dee; she looked worried, but hopeful. She gave me a small pathetic smile. I took a deep breath and opened the door. I recognized his sandy blond hair immediately. He wasn’t wrapped in a body bag like the rest of the bodies. I pulled on the table until it stretched out of the silver holding box. He looked peaceful and still, exactly how a body looks at a funeral. His hands draped beside him and his skin was pale white.

“Ok
ay, now what?” Dee-Dee asked.

I looked around, the small room was bare except for
two doors. I opened the door that we didn’t enter from and searched for a light. As soon as the room was illuminated I spotted a silver table on wheels. I pulled it over and into the holding room.

“So we just need to get his body on here
. Then we can wheel him outside and get him in the car.” It sounded easy enough. I had never lifted a living person, let alone a dead person. Dead weight, excuse the pun, is extremely heavy.

We pulled with all of our might. Fifteen minutes had passed and we weren’t even close to getting his body on the table.

“He’s too heavy,” Dee-Dee panted. She propped her body up with the table.

“We can’t give up, we just need to take a running start,” I announced as I back
ed up a few feet.

“Before you start
, I need to go on record saying this is a very bad idea,” Dee-Dee stated, taking a step back.

“N
ote taken,” I answered. I turned my head and popped my neck. I took a deep breath and let it out. I began running with everything I had. My body connected with Ezra’s and we both flew to the ground. His cold, dead body broke my fall. I didn’t have time to get up before the door flew open. Axle stood in the doorway panting. Our eyes connected and a mixture of anger and confusion overtook his face.

“I was kidnapped,” De
e-Dee yelled, throwing her hands up.

I stood slowly
. “Axle, it’s not what it looks like.”

“I can’t wait to hear your explanation,
because it
looks
like your stealing Ezra’s body,” he stated, his deep voice echoing through the room.

“Hmm, well I guess it is what it looks like.”

“We have a plan,” Dee-Dee offered.

“I’m sure you do
.” Axle took a few steps inside, shutting the door behind him.

I glared at him as I straddled Ezra’s body
. “For your information, we do have a plan, and it’s a darn good one.”

“Em, you can’t even get his body on the table. How do you expect to get him in
to your car?” he asked, smiling as if we were entertaining him.

“We just started
. We got his body out of the fridge, didn’t we?” My hand found my hip and I dared him to continue.

He laughed, walking toward
me. “Move.”

I jumped
off Ezra and stood next to Dee-Dee. Axle lifted the body with ease and placed Ezra on the table. He began pushing the table out of the room. Dee-Dee and I followed closely behind.

“I reckon we should
’ve called him first,” she whispered.

“Does it seem l
ike he’s done this before?” I asked with a realization that Axle was way too cool about the entire situation.

I opened the car door for Axle. He
seized Ezra’s body and plopped it in the back seat. He reached over and buckled him in. I gave him a confused look.

“I don’t want you to get a ticket because your dead
passenger isn’t wearing a seatbelt,” he explained.

“Right, it would
be difficult to explain to a police officer why I have a dead body in the back seat.” I smiled. It was nice that Axle was supporting my outlandish scheme.

He tossed the table into a nearby bush and crawled into his
Mustang. Dee-Dee jumped into the car with me and we started on our way. I peeked back to make sure Ezra was okay. His head fell sideways, and to an on looker it would seem as though he was sleeping.

“So where are we
meeting?” I asked as I turned onto the highway.

“The cemetery on Jefferson Highway,” she answered.

I gave her a sideways glance to see if she was serious.

“What? Can’t say were not sentimental
.” She smiled.