For Better or Hearse

by Ava Hunter

She’s a demon. The prettiest demon he’s ever seen.

“We need a task force that stops white men from starting podcasts for no reason.”

i would back this effort.

“Everyone’s an expert in grief.” The gray flecks in her green eyes catch the soft overhead lighting. “We just don’t know it until it fucking hits us.”

“My number,” he says abruptly. “You should have it. Just in case.” “Mmm,” she hums, handing over her phone. Nathaniel plugs in the numbers, giving himself the name Tall Asshole.

“Ugh,” she mumbles, even as she holds him close. “We can’t do this.” “Why not?” “Because we hate each other.” “Liar,” he murmurs, smug.

“Had to find some way to get you speaking to me again, Bigfoot.” Lips curving in a smile, she lifts a creamy white shoulder. “Hasn’t been that long.” Twelve hours and two minutes. That’s what he wants to say, but he doesn’t.

Ash bites her lip. Smiles. Whispers, “He looked up cryptids. For me, I think.”

A sparkle in his eyes, he reaches out. “I want to take a walk.” Ash stares at his hand. He’s infuriating. God, she loves it. Slowly, she clasps her hand to his. “Then take me for a walk, asshole.”

“I’m not perfect. Least of all in the eyes of my father.” “Why?” The mood between them has quickly turned somber. “Because you didn’t join his practice?” “I didn’t want to burn off warts for a living, and he’s been pissed ever since.”

“That’s a brave thing to do. Live for yourself. Most people don’t realize it’s what they want until it’s too late.”

“I think you’re pretty,” he says, and all her objections fall away. He slides a finger along one strap and stops at her neck. Thumb caressing her throat, he dips closer, his voice low. “No matter what you wear. Stomping boots. Vampire garb. White dresses that fuck up my heartbeat. I love it all.”

She takes two steps from the table, rips around, finds Nathaniel’s sister. “Get your tarot.” Delaney springs out of her seat, nearly falling in the process. “You mean it?” The joy blazing across her face carves out Ash’s soul. “Fuck yes.” Ash grabs a bottle of red wine. “We’re taking this.” She looks around the shell-shocked table. “And we’re going to go see the fucking future.” Nathaniel stares up at her with an expression of worry and amusement.

“I’ve always felt like I didn’t belong,” Ash says. “Not because I’m not good enough, but because of my weird interests, or my diabetes. Take your pick. What Jakob said cemented it in my head. And I hate it. I hate that I let a man like that, a man who couldn’t even stay faithful, who didn’t even see the real me, make me feel like that.”

“I love you. Until this world ends and our sun is nothing but a shriveled, dead star, I will love you.”

“It will be great to be missed,” he says. His smile is wide and his eyes are bright. “It will be an honor.”

Love isn’t about fixing yourself so that someone loves you. It’s about finding the right person to love you as you are.