My Beautiful Death

Nine

KayCee began packing up random things around the house, knowing they would be on the road soon. She always trusted her gut, and she was rarely wrong about anything. Lunaire followed behind her, chatting about room arrangements and where they would be making pit stops at. Myles and Lilly sat with Elysia and Maggie, listening to his favorite memories when he had his vision; blue skies mixed with sherbet sunsets, the smile of someone full of genuine happiness, horses, so on and so forth.

KayCee stopped occasionally to look over her shoulder and watch Myles. Something was wrong, and she couldn't shake the feeling. "I don't like him, Lunaire," she said softly to him.

"He is an acquired taste, you'll learn to take him as he is," Lunaire replied as he helped pack up their luggage. "He means well, he just always takes things too serious. Alexander is a lot like him in some ways, he just knows how to talk to people better."

She shrugged, peeking back over to Myles. "He reminds me of Ted Bundy. Suave man, mass murderer." She laughed to herself, proud of her comparison. "Alexander is nothing like him. He is mean because he cares, Myles is mean to be mean."

Lunaire pushed KayCee along to take her out of Myles' view. "I promise, he isn't that terrible. He just takes things seriously in his life. He's just... intense."

KayCee shrugged, looking back at Myles one more time before heading up the stairs to help her best friend pack. She leaned against Mitchell's door, listening in to Alexander and her conversation to see if it was okay for her to intrude on them.

"I am the one getting in the way, so it is kind of a poetic moment, God choosing my own brother to do it. Everyone sees it as karma, I see it as a cruel reminder what I was forced to leave behind. The man I looked up to will likely be the man that takes me down in the end."

KayCee gasped. She knew Myles was no good, but hearing it confirmed from his brother was just the icing on the cake. She forced a smile before tapping lightly on the door, opening it slowly. "Hey guys, just came in here to help my bestie pack some stuff up since she's hurt and useless now."

Mitchell chuckled, "My life story."

Alexander smiled at KayCee, motioning for her to join them on the bed. "I promise I'll take good care of her, KayCee. She needs this right now. She deserves it."

KayCee sighed, shaking her head. "I know, but we have never been apart for more than five miles. Every vacation has been together, every family get together included each other, everything." She gently wrapped her arms around Mitchell. "Keep her safe, and you be safe as well."

"What do you mean 'been apart', Cee? Aren't you coming?" Mitchell frowned. "You went with them to get the van, and you were excited about it when the idea first came about."

"I'm an adult with a job," she sighed. "I didn't get a twenty-k tip from anyone for my services. Plus, this looks like something important for you, and as your best friend, I have to let you do things without me there. I can’t guide you through life forever."

Mitchell could tell something changed with KayCee in just a few hours. She was normally a 'drop everything and do what you feel' type of person, no cares in the world, so for her to opt out of an adventure, something had to be wrong. "Are you sure? We got the bus to make room for everyone."

KayCee shrugged, trying her hardest to keep her cool around Mitchell. She couldn't tell her how she felt, she couldn't tell her she knew she had to stay behind to watch over her little sister while she was gone from a maniac, she couldn't tell her that she overheard Alexander telling her that, basically, Myles had the power to kill his own blood. "Lilly can barely handle her own child, what makes you think she will take care of Kings?"

Alexander examined KayCee, reading her body movement and the cadence in her speech. He knew as ditsy as she seemed, she was too smart for her own good. The way she looked at Alexander, like she knew this is how things had to be, was enough for him to cut in. "Don't worry, if things get bad, I'll be the one lost in Las Vegas. Mitchell will always be safe with us."

Mitchell couldn't tell if he was joking with her, or if it was a serious conversation. "Nothing is going to happen you guys, it's just a much needed vacation."

Lunaire continued to gather his and Elysia's belongings for the trip while looking around for Kingsly in the process. "Here little kitty..."

Myles laughed as he watched his brother struggle with multi-tasking. Lilly kept trying to get his attention in her silly, immature ways, but he continued to shrug her off and watch his brothers. "Have you looked outside for the cat?"

Lunaire scoffed, pushing his hair back as he turned to his brother, "of course I looked outside. The damn cat would have been out and about already if he was in the damn house."

"Damn house!" squealed Maggie.

Lunaire's face turned beat red. "I am so sorry Lilly!" He knelt down by baby Maggie, waving his hands in a 'no' fashion. "No, little one! Bad word! Bad word!"

Maggie smiled, thinking he was playing with her, and started running around the living room screaming with joy. Lilly shrugged her shoulders, "She's heard worse. Bug will forget about it sooner or later. She's just one."

"Sometimes the small things from the past come back to haunt you in the future," Myles said smoothly, looking directly to Lunaire.

"Sometimes the small things from the past need to just be gotten over," Elysia chimed in from the lounge chair.

KayCee came quickly down the stairs, shaking her head at little Maggie running around screaming 'damn house' while Lunaire chased her, trying to get her to stop. "I can't leave you guys alone for five minutes around Mitchell's family without causing a ruckus!"

"Oh, they're fine," Lilly said, waving her hand in dismissal at KayCee. She barely took her eyes off of her phone and Myles the entire time she was there, and couldn't be bothered by her cursing child.

KayCee rolled her eyes as she snatched Maggie up. "Little girl! NO!" she yelled at her as she gently flicked her in the mouth. "Bad!"

Maggie began to cry, but she quickly got over it once KayCee began to swing her around. KayCee knew the feeling; wanting to cry, but finding reasons to laugh. She put her down, gently patting her on her rear to get her going to a different area. Kids were always so interesting to KayCee. Quick to act up, but quick to get over things. They had such raw emotions, but recovered so easily when distracted. There was always more to look forward to, and the pure innocence they had was to be envied.

"Lilly, when are you going to put down the phone and have a real relationship with your daughter? A screen wont raise her the way a mom can."

"When you have a child of your own, you can judge me, so for now I don't wanna hear it," Lilly quipped back.

Elysia sighed, quickly rising to his feet, trying to work his way out of the room to avoid the confrontation. "Not today, Satan..." he whispered to himself. He barely made it two steps from his chair before something caught on his foot, causing him to stumble. He barely caught himself on the arm of the couch.

A deep growl came from between the lounge chair and end table. Lunaire hurried over to find Kingsly, hunched over with matted fur. "I... uh... I found the cat." He attempted to pick him up, but after the hissing and clawing, he left him alone. "KayCee, can you grab Alexander for me, please?"

KayCee hurried up the stairs, Lilly pulled Maggie up into her lap to avoid her drifting over to the cat, and Myles worked his way across the room to Lunaire. "I can handle it."

Myles pushed Lunaire to the side, and picked up Kingsly in one swift motion. Even with the cat's flailing and attempts to claw at Myles, he held him tightly in his chest and began to examine him. "Looks sick to me," he said nonchalantly.

"Well, no s**t, Myles!" Lunaire exclaimed.

Myles continued to look over the cat, taking him into the kitchen to get him cleaned up. Foot steps pounded down the stairs to the kitchen, as Myles turned he saw Mitchell reaching out for her cat. "I said I got him," he said calmly.

"Don't touch my cat! This is all your fault!" Mitchell yelled as she tried to pull him away from Myles' grasps.

Myles pulled back, continuing to care for Kingsly. "I did nothing to your cat, I care deeply for animals," he replied, looking her directly in the eyes. "I'm here for one reason, and it has nothing to do with your cat."

Alexander moved around Mitchell, filling in the gap between her and his brother. "This wouldn't be happening if you weren't here, so it is your fault," she growled to him. "You caused this. He may be the Reaper but you are so much worse!"

"This will be the one time I agree with you, Myles, so remember it. Mitchell, it wasn't his fault. He's here because this is the half way point, not to kill your cat," Alexander said coolly. as he placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down.

Myles smirked, "Told you, Amelia." His eyes widened as he shook his head before correcting himself. "Mitchell... who ever you are this time around." Kingsly moaned in pain as he rested in Myles' arms, slowly growing weaker over time. "He wont survive, no matter what we do for him. I am really sorry about the cat. This would have been easier if you had no pets, then it would have just been the wild critters around you." He sighed, placing his right hand over Kingsly's head. "Let me put him out of his misery, please. He is just going to suffer."

Mitchell tried pushing past Alexander but he wouldn't let her through. "Just let him, Mitchell, don't let Kingsly suffer."

She shook her head, trying to come to terms that the thing closest to a child to her had to be put down over something that was out of her hands. "I can't watch..." she cried, slowly sinking to the floor.

Myles sighed, and in the same quick motion Alexander used on the rabid dog, he snapped Kingsly's neck, putting him down instantly. "I'm sorry it has to be this way," Myles murmured as he took Kingsly out of the kitchen, heading to the back yard.

Mitchell tried not to flinch from the loud snap, but she couldn't hold it back. She couldn't look at Myles's face or Kingsly's body as they left the kitchen. Her eyes followed his legs, watching him as he crouched down in the yard and began to dig with his bare hands. "He's burying him?" she thought to herself. "What more can possibly happen?" she asked Alexander.

"Didn't I tell you to brush up on your readings?" he asked her. Noticing her lack of patience with him, he sighed. "Boils, thunderstorms of hail and fire-"

"Locusts, three days of darkness, then your death," Myles finished for him as he returned to the kitchen, washing his hands in the sink. "Excuse the interruption, but your sister is having a melt down in the bathroom and I needed to clean up."

Mitchell pushed away from Alexander and stormed her way to Myles' side. The sound of her hand hitting his cheek echoed through the kitchen, but he didn't react. "I'm done with you, you're not welcome here. You need to leave."

Myles turned to Mitchell, wiping his hands on his pants and chuckling to himself. "That's fine. I will leave, but you will see me soon. No matter where you go, I will be there. No matter what you do, I will see it. No where is safe, and once this is over with I can move on with my life."

"What about my life?" Mitchell asked him, shoving him in his chest. "Why is yours more important than mine?"

Myles grabbed Mitchell by her wrist, pulling her into his chest. He leaned down to her ear, whispering for only her to hear, "You're not stuck here for eternity to suffer like I am. For once in my life, it is my turn to be selfish. I know you're going to Las Vegas, and I know who is out there, so you better hurry, for your sake." He frowned, lightly pushing her backwards, away from him. "I'm sorry about your cat," he stated as he exited the kitchen.

 Mitchell rubbed her wrist with her other hand, careful not to strain her arm. "Who is in Las Vegas?" she asked Alexander.