Janet parked her car outside of Tyler’s house before we both got out of the vehicle. After walking up the stone porch, we noticed the front door was already open.

“’Cause this isn’t creepy at all,” she whispered, following me inside. “Clearly you’re not a fan of horror movies, ‘cause you’d know we’re doing something really stupid right now.”

“Actually, it’s my favorite genre,” I murmured while looking around the dim living room. The cream-colored home was clean and cozy from what my eyes could see, with furniture organized in a cohesive manner. Tyler’s parents were almost never home, so the house was usually quiet with no activity—except for today, as the sound of muffled voices could be heard upstairs.

With every step I took up to Tyler’s room, the nervousness causing my body to shudder increased. The familiarity of a feminine voice filled me with apprehension upon reaching his room door. I turned the knob and opened it to see two individuals sitting on a bed, one of whom sat up and gazed into my eyes.

Now was not the time to be frozen in disbelief, but I couldn’t help but stand as still as a statue at the sight of her. Valeria was here. Alive and well.

Teardrops escaped the corner of my eyes when she embraced me with a hug. “Y-you’re a-alive,” I struggled to say in a state of shock. Tyler sat at the edge of the bed and smiled at our joyous reunion.

“I don’t know what happened to me,” Val cried out. “But I’m so happy to see you.”

She tightened her arms around me, and I could feel a river of bliss falling on my shoulder. We continued to rejoice until Janet’s question brought everyone out of their euphoria.

“I’m sorry, how the hell are you standing here?”

Everyone snapped their heads at her as she continued. “Your clothes are ripped, and there are cuts all over your body, but there’s not a speck of dirt on you. You expect us to believe you just crawled out of a grave without getting messy?”

Her observation was spot on. There was a gash on Valeria’s forehead with similar slits on her arms and torso that were revealed due to the tearing of her shirt. It made me think back to the incident at the hospital, and how Alvin put himself in charge of cleaning up the mess.

“You’re perfectly normal,” Janet avowed, gesturing her hand up and down in Valeria’s direction. “Are you sure you even died?”

“I-I don’t know what to say,” Valeria replied. “Did I? All I remember is waking up in a lab.”

Janet and I turned to each other in shock before looking back at Val. “Did you see where it was located?” Janet asked.

“No. I was chased by a bunch of men wearing black lab coats. I found my way out of the building and kept running until I reached the city. Everything happened so fast, I didn’t check my surroundings. All I cared about was getting back home to Tyler.”

I gaped at their romantic gaze while trying to rationalize her rebirth. Not only did it confirm that the curse was now strong enough to resurrect the dead, but that Alvin took Valeria’s body to experiment on her.

“She can’t stay here.” Janet shook her head. “She’s putting us all in danger. What do you think’s gonna happen when Alvin and his men come looking for their runaway pet project? We’re all gonna get shot up ‘cause we’re witnesses of a government experiment gone wrong.”

Tyler stood up and glowered at Janet. “Don’t call her that. She’s my girlfriend. I’ll protect her from whatever, and if you got a problem, you can get the hell out.”

Sighing, Janet tapped my hand and asked, “Can I talk to you alone for a minute?”

We turned to walk downstairs just as a certain someone stepped into the room and uttered, “V-Val?”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

I couldn’t believe he was there. “Lucas?”

Despite my calling, his attention remained on Valeria. His jaw hung low, trembling from her presence.

“This can’t be real. No. Everybody get away from her. She’s a demon.”

Tyler confronted him. “Dude, no she isn’t. This isn’t like what Aliyah told me, alright? She’s normal. She’s actually back this time, man.”

Lucas’s shaking only increased as Val walked closer to him.

“Lucas, it’s me. I don’t know what happened, but I’m okay.”

She opened her arms to embrace him, but he declined and backed against the wall.

“I-I need to go. I-I can’t do this,” he sputtered before rushing downstairs and out the house. I followed him outside and grabbed his arm, stepping in front of him for answers.

“I know none of this makes any sense, but something’s going on with you. I want the truth.”

He paced back and forth, pushing his fingers through his hair. “I feel like I’m losing my mind, Ali.” He flopped down on the bench near Tyler’s porch with his head to the ground. “I don’t know what’s going on anymore. Nothing’s normal, and I don’t know what to do.”

I sat next to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Talk to me. What is it, Lucas?”

He looked up at me with a puzzled expression before taking a deep breath. “I’m so overwhelmed. There’s the whole thing with Robyn, the label wants a hit single right out the gate, and now this.” He pointed to the front of the house. “And those don’t even compare to my biggest problem.”

“Your biggest problem? Tell me.”

“Okay. I first noticed it back when I performed at the night club. I messed up big time, but the crowd didn’t care. They keep cheering, Ali. They kept freakin’ cheering.”

He gave me a stern stare, and my mouth began to drop because I knew where this story was headed. “No… Lucas, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Yes. It happened again when the CEO of Skull Knight Records made me do a private audition before I signed the contract today. I froze, I don’t why; it was nerve-racking. But despite me screwing up, he and some executives clapped like it was the best damn performance they’ve ever seen. What’s happening to me is scary, Aliyah. This is not the way I wanted to be famous.”

I latched onto his shirt and leaned my head against his arm. “I can’t believe this is happening to you. I feel like the worst girlfriend ever thinking you were hiding something about Robyn from me.”

He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “It’s cool, babe. I just don’t know what’s real or fake anymore. Do you think there’s a way to turn this power off? I don’t want fake applause and rewards if I don’t deserve them. I wanna earn it.”

“I don’t know how to reverse it, Lucas. I’m sorry. Your power seems to be like mine; it isn’t generated from a sinful aspiration. My light isn’t going to get rid of it, but I promise you I’ll find a way to stop all this and get our lives back to normal.”

We held each other in silence for about a minute or two before he spoke.

“Ali, there’s one more thing. I… Cassandra, she…did something to me.”

A gut-wrenching pain shot in my stomach. “You remember, don’t you? I don’t understand. No one ever remembers after I... Wait.” My words diminished as I dropped my face into my hands. “That’s right. I wasn’t able to use the light against Cassandra.”

“I couldn’t do anything,” he admitted. “I had to watch the whole thing. I fought against the thoughts of her in my mind, but I couldn’t move my body. I didn’t want it to happen. I know it seems impossible to imagine, but—”

“You don’t have to say anything else,” I told him. “You were sexually assaulted and something like that can happen to anyone. I want you to know that I’m still here for you. I know I’ve been quick to judge you and assume the worst, but I love you, Lucas. I believe you. You don’t have to feel guilty. Not with me.”

He slammed his fist on the bench and cried, releasing his anger and sadness as I held him close.

“What’s happening to my life? I just wanted to make great music and be successful. I never asked to be taken advantage of by a woman I didn’t know. Why couldn’t I stop her? Me being a man, you think this is going to fly with the public once everyone finds out? I’ll be a joke. Our relationship will be a joke. I’m pathetic for letting this happen.”

I gripped the sides of his face with both of my hands. “Listen to me: you’re not pathetic. You’re strong. You’re the guy I’ve always wanted. The guy I’ll always love. You don’t have to feel like a victim.”

“But I do. I feel weak. Useless. What if Cassandra gets reckless and starts telling people what she did to me?”

“She can’t. Cassandra’s dead, Lucas.”

His bug-eyed expression was something not even I had seen before. It was the definition of bewildered. “H-how? Ali, did you kill her?”

“No, and don’t worry about it. Just know what happened won’t live with you for the rest of your life unless you let it. I’ll be by your side, and I won’t judge you.”

The sudden ring of his cell phone broke us out of the moment. He answered it as I stepped away and waited for the call to end.

“That was the label. I need to get back and do a little recording. Is that alright?”

“Yeah, okay. I understand.”

My body pressed against his as I showed my affection with a lip-lock, hoping to relieve him of his sorrows. He needed to know that I’d be there with him through it all, no matter the issue.

“Tell everyone inside I’m sorry. I’ll call you later when I have time. I love you.”

He got in his car and drove away. Nothing more could be done for him now. It was time to head back in and face my own problems.