Page 54 of Inbetweeners
“Wow.” Harry beamed. “Hello, Lazarus.”
Phoenix gave a heavy sigh. “You’ve made a mess of the car.”
“Get it valeted,” Emmett said. “Tell them your friend had an accident.”
Phoenix’s grin was annoying. “You’re my friend?”
“I knew you two were—”
“Shut up, Harry,” Phoenix muttered.
“Are we back at the flat?” Emmett asked.
Phoenix nodded. “You think you can walk?”
“Let’s see.” Emmett got out of the car. He was shaky and tired, and he ached, but he managed a few steps without falling flat on his face, so figured he could get back upstairs.
As they headed into the building, a woman was coming out and she let out of horrified gasp when she saw Emmett.
“Paintballing,” Emmett said. “I lost.”
She rolled her eyes and hurried past.
“Decorating,” Emmett said to the next guy.
“What are you going to tell the next?” Phoenix asked.
“Murder re-enactment that went wrong.” Though they didn’t see anyone else.
Finally, they were back in the flat with the door closed. Emmett went straight to the bathroom.
“Need a hand?” Phoenix called.
“Not yours.”Although…
Phoenix laughed.
Emmett wasn’t even going to try and rescue his clothes—or his shoes. He took everything off, left a bundle by the door, wrapped up to keep the blood off the floor, and stepped into the shower. There wasn’t even a mark on his chest.So weird.But that was two lives lost, six to go before he was whisked back to Heaven, and he wasn’t sure they were much further forward than when they’d started. He tipped his head back to let the water fall on his face.
His life was officially no longer dull. Ignoring the minor detail that he was already dead, being able to come back from the dead was kind of cool, albeit painful. Add in that he lusted after a seductive arsehole of a demon who had a more dangerous demon inside him, one who might, at any moment, decide he wanted to take charge or even slip into Emmett instead.
He and Phoenix were racing around like headless chickens on the heels of a grey-haired guy and a blonde woman, species unknown, who’d stab them as soon as look at them—as Emmett had learnt to his cost—plus there was their aggravating sidekick, Harry, who needed to disappear before his soul was snatched for purposes as yet unclear. Life was not dull at all.
Emmett really wanted to lie down and sleep, but he towelled himself dry and dressed in new clothes. Though when he sat to put on his shoes, he dropped back on to the bed. Maybe he’d just lie down for a while first. His eyes closed.
Memories rushed back. There had been no boyfriend when he’d died. He’d had one once. David. Two years ago, David had broken Emmett’s heart. Not just broken. Crushed. Destroyed. Annihilated. The death of love, for Emmett at least. Emmett hadn’t freaked out or begged David to reconsider. Instead, he’d closed down, cut himself off and pretended he was fine until he’d almost convinced himself that he was.Liar.
Their friends had either sided with David or slipped away, largely because Emmett had let them. He’d not whined about David, instead he’d blanked any question about him.He could only refuse so many invitations before people stopped asking. He told himself he didn’t care, that he was better off without them, better off with his own company.
Anti-marriage David had clearly had a change of heart because he’d married a very beautiful woman—the bastard—three months after leaving Emmett. She was a former model. David had made her pregnant while he’d still been with Emmett. That hurt. How could Emmett have ever competed with someone who could offer David a child? Emmett hadn’t even known the man was bi or that he’d wanted kids.
I didn’t know him at all.
And whose fault was that?
He wasn’t right for me.It was a pity neither of them had come to that realisation sooner.
Emmett remembered now what he’d done for a living. He’d been an actuary in the city. David had called him Robot Man, Mr Boring, Emmett the Android and R2-D2. It had been a joke at first and Emmett had laughed, then it wasn’t a joke and Emmett had stopped laughing because being made fun off all the time no longer felt right. There was an edge to the humour that hurt more and more.
