“You’re lying,” Clara said. “I won’t ask why.” The shocked look on Caiden’s face confirmed her suspicion that he had lied about her future. “I really can’t tell you the full details,” he admitted and looked at the floor. “There’s a good reason.” It was likely for the best that she didn’t know the exact details of the events that occured at the end of her second life. She died and that was the end. There was no need to worry about the specifics. “I can tell that. Let’s change the subject,” she said. “Were you listening better than I did during the last Art History lecture?” She turned back to her laptop to work on her essay and Caiden moved to be at her side. Their conversation became about art and Caiden acted normally again. *** The months flicked by and Clara concentrated on passing her exams. Caiden seriously responded her joking request to whisper the right answers to her in knowledge-based exams. Clara was bemused to realise that he would actually help her cheat in e
The plane landed and Clara stumbled off the plane with stiff legs and tired eyes. She had been too tense to sleep on the long journey and now she was paying the price. “You look like you’re ready to sleep,” her best friend Meredith commented. “You can sleep on the coach.” Clara nodded sleepily and when the coach arrived, she followed Meredith on and fell asleep soon after sitting down. A range of people appeared in her dreams. Their faces were oddly clear this time. When she had dreamt of the people she hated before, their faces were faint and hard to make out. This time she was sure of the people who appeared in her dream. There were the four bullies, Xavier, Ryan and a lot of random Trinity Academy students and teachers. There were so many people who had contributed to her early death, but she considered some to have more culpability than others. Who was she going to encounter this time? *** Clara woke up with difficulty in her hotel bed. She was feeling the effects of jet l
Xavier was on her list of revenge targets because he had broken her heart on the day she had died. She considered him to be culpable for her death. Clara froze up for a long moment and then another powerful gust of wind reminded her of the situation she was in. She was in a new body and she was out for revenge. She couldn’t just stare back at him silently. “I think this was all of the sketches I saw,” Xavier said with a smile. Clara tucked the sketches back into her sketchbook and clutched it tight to her chest so they wouldn’t fall out again. Now she had to work out what to say to Xavier. Caiden was silently watching nearby so she could only guess that events were currently going smoothly. “...Thank you for your help. I will get going now.” “Did you draw those sketches?” Xavier asked. Clara looked at him sharply. Things were slotting into place. Xavier had a distant look in his eyes. Caiden had told her to adopt her older style of sketching and her natural hair colour. Xavier h
Clara clung to Caiden whilst she quietly cried. Caiden responded by hugging her tighter. Eventually her tears stopped and she wanted to wipe her face. Caiden was one step ahead of her and wiped her wet face with a black silk handkerchief she hadn’t seen before. “Was that a gift from the demon king?” she asked. “It was,” Caiden said and put it back in his pocket. “He really likes me. I can’t work out why, I’m the worst performing demon.” “Is it because of me?” Clara asked with more tears threatening to fall. “No,” Caiden said immediately. “Apparently I’m too nice to be a good demon.” Hearing Caiden’s problem distracted Clara completely from her dilemma. She couldn’t believe that Caiden wasn’t considered to be a decent demon because he was too nice. It was true that he was nice, but she didn’t personally think that was a problem. “What do they think you should do instead?” she questioned. “Scare me so I can’t sleep?” “Apparently, I should get you to track down and kill your
The unexpected request was not what Clara had wanted to hear. She wanted to get her revenge against Xavier completed quickly and not drawn out over the week. There was also the question of whether or not he was actually trying to ask her out on a date. Clara didn’t want to find out if he really wanted to date her or if she had misunderstood. There was a way out of the situation that should work. Caiden’s odd suggestion from the night before had likely been referring to this. “If we meet tomorrow, it can’t be a date. I have a boyfriend,” she said firmly. She knew that she was going to need to go straight to see Arthur after parting with Xavier tonight to explain that he was going to have to pretend to be her boyfriend if Xavier saw them together. Xavier looked disappointed. There was no other way to describe the look on his face. Clara frowned. She was annoyed that he wanted a date with someone who reminded him of her original self. He had been so mean to her the day she had
The statement had the benefit of confirming that his first love was Clara Kennedy. Now there was no mistaking who his first love was. Clara knew she had an opportunity to torment him. She was angry enough to use her own death to twist his emotions. “Was it your fault?” she questioned. “You look regretful.” “I was most definitely a factor in her decision to take her own life,” Xavier admitted. “We went to the same high school. She was the scholarship student and was bullied by pretty much every student at that school. I sat next to her for a semester in Physics and I developed a crush on her.” “Did you bully her?” Clara asked plainly. She pleased in some way that Xavier knew he had played a part in her death. “I didn’t. I didn’t stand up for her either which does make me as bad as everyone else really. On the day that she committed suicide, her biggest bullies used me to torment her. I should have stood up to them and defended her. I eternally regret everything I did that da
Clara sighed and got up from her cramped position. Now that she was calmer, she could feel her back aching. She had spent too much time sitting down on the coach and lounging against the bathtub to speak to Caiden was taking its toll. “I’ve calmed down now,” she said. “I’m not keen on getting revenge. I’ll make my final decision in the morning. In the meantime, do you have any suggestions on how to torment him in case I change my mind?” “I’ll let you know tomorrow,” Caiden said very insincerely. Clara glared at him. If the demon wasn’t even going to pretend that there was a revenge plan in the works, it was obvious that she never chose revenge for Xavier. *** Clara wasn’t surprised when Arthur sat next to her at breakfast and handed her a stack of paper. Now she had to pretend she didn’t already know all the information Arthur had given her. “I looked up Xavier King. He does good investigative work,” Arthur told her. “Here are some of his articles and other information about him
Caiden’s smile was one of understanding and Clara smiled back. They were close enough to be able to tell how the other person was feeling. “You know, you can use him instead,” Caiden said. “Just because you’re not getting revenge against him doesn’t mean he can’t be part of a future revenge plan.” “Is that a hint?” Clara asked. “If you think I’ll need him because he’s an investigative reporter, you’re wrong. I have Arthur for things like that.” “It’s not quite because of that. Xavier has a vendetta against the same people as you. It will help to have some way to contact him when you meet your targets later on.” Clara nodded and lurched into action. The demon was trying to subtly tell her that she would need Xavier in the future. She ran up the beach and caught up with Xavier. “Xavier!” she called out. “Can we exchange contact information?” Xavier looked delighted to be asked that question. “I wasn’t expecting this, however I am willing to give you my number and my email address