L I S A

Queerly I was relieved when they left me alone with Julie. There was a lot I had to explain to that girl so she would stop blaming herself for what she did. I could tell by sitting just right here that she was letting herself drown in her remorse.

However, my mind was kept drifting towards the conversation they might be having outside these four walls. I wished I had Edward’s heightened hearing so I could actually eavesdrop without getting caught.

I could always but guess what they were talking about since I was on the top of that hit-list they’re investigating and their most prominent—and only chance at finding out about whoever that possessed Julie last night.

Even though I barely knew any one of them, I knew or at least predicted how Edward must’ve been reacting to this particular incident. In his mind there was a red light beaming from the picture of that one renowned legend.

He must be explaining them that Mason was behind this all and the possession but I knew better and I wouldn’t waste my information on someone who didn’t trust me enough—Malcolm, that guy would always be a mystery to me as well as a misery.

If it hadn’t been for Edward I was pretty sure he could’ve had tortured me until I had told him every single detail about the night despite my condition and state of mind. I was far more than glad knowing it didn’t happen the way Malcolm had wanted.

“I’m sorry.” I quickly looked at Julie and realized me and my thoughts weren’t alone.

She was far too skinny just like me and had lost the blush on her cheeks that demonstrated her as a human. Her hair was a mess and in a bun and her face had gone pallor. There were dark pits beneath her eyes that proved her growing hunger along with the desire that dripped from her crimson lenses.

I knew not if it was the right thing or wrong as the thought of comforting her made its way into my head. Nevertheless in that moment, nothing mattered as I put my entire weight on my legs and walked unpretentiously towards the edge of her bed.

The edge of the mattress was flowing down as half of it was still covered around her, furnishing some thick warmth.

I made my way towards her and sat on the edge of the bed with her right in front of me. I wanted this to be a face-to-face interaction otherwise she’d just forget it afterwards and would take this lightly.

I placed my hand atop of hers and with the other lifted her chin to make her avert her gaze from her lap to my eyes. I ran slow strokes on the inside of her hand as my lips began to move, “It’s not your fault.”

”I tried to kill, of course it is my fault.” She retorted between her sobs as more tears streamed down her cheeks.

“You didn’t know.” I said bringing her face closer and stroked her cheek with my thumb, “You’re possessed. There wasn’t anything you or anyone could do about it.” I explained. I could feel the gravity of my voice that was laced with care and a deep compassion for those I cared about.

“But—” I didn’t let her continue as I shook my head and pressed my index finger on her lips furiously to stop them. “No buts.” I ended.

She didn’t argue anymore.

A long pause followed after that. Both of us could feel the tension and uneasiness that rested in the silence between us like a sea between two lands. It was tearing us apart yet at the same time it was the only thing that joined us together. It had made a bond between us that would never break. This silence, this discomforting and bothering silence would now always exist between the two of us.

“What did I do to you?” She asked randomly. I scrunched my brows into thinking what she meant. “I mean apart from what you just said, what else did I do?” There was a peculiar curiosity in her eyes, like she really wished to know what had happened and her precariousness escaped her voice, she was firmed and unbothered as she talked.

It felt cynical to think that a girl who was drowning in guilt just a few seconds ago would be this eager to know about something that’d yield her nothing but pain and remorse. My hand in hers tightened as I tried to understand the possibility of it all being true.

Malcolm had taken far too many hours with her and asked her questions I couldn’t hear. I’d seen him talking to her, caressing her head as if he was trying to . . .

“He put you up to this, didn’t he?” The feeling of betrayal became vivid on my features as I understood what she was trying to do.

Suddenly she was sad and scared as if her darkest secrets had chosen the time to be unveiled. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. I rushed to release myself from her grip but she just clutched my hand with the other one of hers, making me look into her beseeching eyes.

“Please don’t leave me alone.” She begged.

I perceived deep into her eyes and saw that desperation. I, perhaps would’ve done the same thing in her shoes but I wouldn’t have pressurized someone else into sharing a story that’d bring them tears.

As I looked into her I realized we weren’t much different, we possessed the same juvenile nature but I wouldn’t hurt someone in order to get my work done.

Guess we weren’t much similar then.

“For once I thought you’re different.”

I didn’t wait for a response and snatched my arm away from her grip, making her to fall back a little. I headed towards the door with no compunction at all. She deserved it the moment she decided to play me knowing well how I must be feeling at the moment.

She deserved it. I kept thinking.

My hand was on the doorknob and was about to move it when an abrupt scream burst out from behind me echoed in the room. It was like a slow-motion movie as I turned around to look at the source and found Julie arching her back against the mattress.

She was groaning and screaming as every muscle in her body seemed to tighten and relax. She was in an amount of pain that I could only estimate and not feel. She sounded as though every bone in her body was breaking and adjoining—only to be broken again.

The sight was petrifying as I stayed there on my wobbly feet gaping at the scene. She was clutching the sheets with firmer grips as if it’d stop or somehow prevent the inevitable from happening. Her heart seemed to have stopped beating as her whole body paled and the cold wandered off from her skin to the room like she was winter herself, a pale but ugly snow.

She kept groaning until a familiar black color took over the paleness of her body and she stopped fighting against the darkness and instead welcomed it with open embrace.

I fell back at the moment realizing what happened the last time she’d gone this black. Her skin seemed to have adjusted with this color as it returned back to being the same pale—however, the worst was yet to come and I could feel it in her cold gaze that was now slowly but surely coming to life.

Her body relaxed against the mattress and there was no movement for another few minutes. I was both scared and curious to know what would happen next. Scared to think I would die and curious in a fact to believe it was going to be different than the last time. I didn’t know about the scared part but my curious part was surely going to get me killed.

Just when I thought it was all over she flattened her back and gazed up at me. Her lashes slowly blinked and opened into a new world, a world where I was standing terrified in front of her, across the room. My heart beat louder in my chest as I counted the many possibilities of my future.

She stared at me with her crimson gaze. She contained in them a spiteful intent as she flashed her fangs at me, licking the tip of it with her tongue just like the first time. I should’ve been gotten used to it by now but I wasn’t and this fact would never change.

“Good to see you little Beth.” His voice didn’t change a bit as he spoke through her body. Her role just made it all creepier and added to one of my many fears.

He had the same malevolent look like the last time that gave me the urge and perfect reason to cry. Just the mere presence of him made me feel wobbly and shaky on the inside. I knew just how I was holding up myself and not crumbling down into a ball in one of the corners.

“What do you want?” I mustered the strength to whisper between my fears and his gaze on me.

In the next moment he was standing right in front of my eyes, matching my height. I fell back more before my back hit the door and I knew I couldn’t escape him this time. There was no going back.

“I appreciate you kept your mouth shut little one. You’ve done me a great favor.” He talked against my face and for the first time in forever I noticed his thick accent, it was different than anyone I’d ever heard. Although it was not out of the world one, I was not accustomed to it—especially when it came as a mixture of two sounds of two gothic characters.

He grasped at my arms and brought me closer. He acted as though he was trying to inhale me in but all the while his eyes stayed focused on mine, like he was figuring me out, my thoughts.

“You have a nice guess.” He muttered showing a light grin.

I was taken aback by his words. He could read my mind. He could really read my thoughts! Edward couldn’t, Malcolm couldn’t. Who was he?

“I’m pretty sure you’ll guess that too.” He smirked and I stopped thinking any further, I tried to shun any thought that might be useful to him. But then if he could read my mind and if he’d read it the last time then he . . .

“You’re absolutely right.” He said in all seriousness. My heart skipped a beat as I tried to remind myself to breathe again and again.

Talk about bad timing.

He drew me closer and held onto me firmly, making me gasp. “I know about each and every thought you’ve ever had and I know about your feeble attempts in escaping me.” He breathed on my face and I could feel blood splashing on my cheeks even if it wasn’t my own.

“You’ve let me down little Beth. I’ll teach you a lesson you’d remember the next time you even think about betraying me.” He barked at my face making me sob and wiggle against his stone-cold grip.

He didn’t hurt me and instead let me go from his grip. I looked at him in shock as I predicted his next actions but none of his true intentions included hurting me—he knew it wasn’t sufficient enough for a lesson to be remembered for a long time.

The next moment, he or rather she was kneeling down on her knees as tears of blood ran down her cheeks.

I froze unwittingly looking at her misery and soothed my heart that was intending to bleed out completely. I hated seeing her like this and held back my snivels and cries in order to hold her when he was done. I couldn’t have fought him so I waited as she released a scream after another until a very painful and the last weep escaped her throat.

It was a scream so desperate and lonely and in a pain that might’ve heard only in the greatest depths of Hell and now it was echoing in my ears. It was a desolate and begging scream, one that was asking for relief and freedom.

And at last she got it when the pain left her body, he left her body.

I scampered towards her and caught her as she fell on the floor. I then realized she hadn’t had only blood tears but real tears as well that begged me to save her.

I pulled her into my lap as she puked blood at me which for some reason didn’t trouble me a lot except for the pain that it triggered.

I was shaken again.

I held her more firmly and closely as if my life depended on it until I heard a loud bang behind me. I didn’t bother looking up; I was too abstracted with the blood and pain to care.

I just held onto her more closely until I felt a familiar scent filling my senses, the scent of sandalwood and damp earth that even in that blood was as distinct as sunrise.

It caught my attention and with a hope of gaining some relief, I looked up to the source of the sound and my eyes landed on a pair of light brown eyes. I could form no words to explain this situation so I just gave him my pleading glances hoping he’d take me away from all these pain and blood.