When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

I’d had enough of his shit and punched him. He hit me back. Again, and again, and again. ‘Why?!’ he kept screaming, as if I was supposed to know why he was beating the girl he had said he loved.

“I woke up three days later in a hospital with my parents sitting at the foot of the bed. Silent.

“Apparently, Julian panicked when he came out of his tantrum. He tried to drop me off at the hospital, but couldn’t explain the blood on his clothes or what had happened to me.

“He’s still in jail, as far as I know, but I don’t care about that. What pisses me off is that it took being raped and beaten into a coma for them to actually believe me. I demanded for them to let me move out, to go to a boarding school in America, and they obliged.

“Of course, mijah, take all the time and space you need,” Avia droned with a roll of her eyes. “They bought me my car, my condo, paid for my college: they did anything to try to win my forgiveness.” She gave a bitter laugh. “The putas couldn’t even look me in the eye when I woke up in that hospital. But it’s whatever; I’m not above taking their gifts. Accepting things I want doesn’t make me hate them less. I just have to hit them where it hurts and keep away what they really want— me.”

Cheshire reached across the table and rested his hands over hers. “I- I’m sorry you had to go through all of that alone.”

“It’s okay,” Avia said, forcing a smile. “Things are better now, I guess. It’s just…” She started shaking and tears welled in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concern slipping into his voice.

“I- I don’t know how much longer I can stay like this… I can’t stand going back and forth, back and forth, I just want to stay! There’s nothing for me in my life here!”

“I know,” he cooed, wrapping his arms around her again. “But—”

“I know, Ches, I can’t stay or my soul will be torn apart. But there has to be a way…”

She gently pushed him back and walked down the hall to her room. She sat on the bed and reached into her nightstand, fumbling around until she pulled out a new syringe. Tying her arm off, she pulled out her lighter and heated the heroin in a metal spoon. When everything was finally ready, she injected the needle and let the drug take her away to somewhere distant.

Chapter 11

“I see you’ve already made yourself comfortable,” Cheshire remarked, trotting across the meadow to Avia in his cat form.

In the years since their meeting, Avia’s powers had evolved to sculpt the magic of the Spirit World to her every whim. She sat on a throne of cotton candy, licking a lollipop the size of her head. Surrounding her were her loyal soldiers.

She had transformed her favorite deck of playing cards into a legion of loyal servants, ready at her beck and call. At the present moment, one fanned her with a palm leaf while another massaged her feet. They each resembled shirtless male models. Each card’s symbol was tattooed in the center of their chest. That same symbol appeared smaller on different parts of their body. On their backs were the imprints of the original card.

“What’s up, Ches?” Avia asked. “Want some cotton candy?”  She offered him the handful she’d just pulled from the arm of her throne.

“No, I’m good,” he said, absently pawing at a daisy.

Standing up, Avia waved her hand and reverted her soldiers back to a deck of cards. After securing the deck in her back pocket, she stepped down from the throne and squatted in front of him.

“Cheshire?”

“Remember when I said there were other spirits here?”

She nodded. “We see them all the time. This is the Spirit World after all.”

“Yeah, but I’m talking about the Free Spirits; the ones that normally don’t stick around too long.”

“Oh, yeah. I remember you said they were a little crazy. I mean I’ve seen a couple pass through every now and then, but they normally don’t stop to chat.” She waited for a reply, but he was silent. Even without his human features, she could read him like a book. He was fidgeting far more than usual and had already scratched a small clearing in the grass. He also hadn’t looked up since he arrived.

“Something’s bothering you,” Avia said gently.

Cheshire sighed. “I think there may be someone who can help with your… problem.”

Avia’s eyes widened. “You mean about not being able to stay here?”

He nodded and turned away. “There’s sorcerer I met a long time ago. He can travel between Earth and the aether as he pleases and stays as long as he wants.”

“Why haven’t you told me about him before?!” Avia yanked the cat up to meet her glare.

“Because he’s the embodiment of what I meant by ‘We’re all mad here!’” Cheshire faded out of her arms and reappeared on the ground. “The man lives entirely in his own mind. Anyone who’d try to reason with him would have to be just as gone.”

“Then why bring him up now?”

“Because at this rate, you’re going to find yourself in the same state he’s in!”

Avia froze. Cheshire ran his paws down his face and took a deep breath. “Do you remember what I told you when you first came? You. Can. Not. Stay. Here. Yet, every night you put yourself at risk of tearing your soul to shreds!”

She was speechless. As long as she’d known him, Cheshire had never questioned her actions. No matter what, he was a neutral party. She figured he probably wasn’t an advocate of her life choices, but she would never have guessed he