I gave her a small, strained smile. “No problem.” I moved down the stairs to meet the guys.
Zeke grabbed my arm and took me to Asher’s truck. “Asher, where’s your first aid kit?”
“Zeke, I just want to go home,” I told him. The pounding in my head was getting worse. I just wanted to curl up in the quiet. He eyed me. “I’m tired.”
“I’ll take her home and get her patched up,” Miles told Zeke. Zeke looked like he wanted to argue. He turned back to me. His eyes ran over my face before he nodded.
Travis and Keith reached the group.
“Thanks for helping,” Keith said.
“What did you see?” Travis asked as he eyed me.
“I saw two little girls. But something was off; they felt… wrong,” I explained through the throbbing in my head. “I didn’t feel the chill on my neck that I usually do when I see a soul. That was the first clue.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose between two fingers. My head was killing me.
“So, you really see the dead?” Keith asked, hesitating a little. Pain shot through my skull. Hot liquid began to run from my nose.
“Shit,” I bit out as I quickly pulled Zeke’s handkerchief from my pocket. I held it to my nose as my head ached.
“Lexie?” Asher’s voice was worried. I waved him off as I stepped away from the guys to take care of my face. The blood seemed to be pouring from me like never before. My heart dropped. Was this… was this another symptom? I’d never had a nosebleed this bad without a soul being around. Was this because of the demon, or because of that spot on my brain? My throat closed as I focused on what I was doing.
Just as quickly as it started, it suddenly stopped. And Zeke’s hankie was soaked.
“Is there a bag somewhere?” I asked. Isaac brought me a small Ziploc bag from the kit and some wipes to get the blood off. He held the bag open so I could put the cloth inside. “Zeke, I’ll wash it and get it back to you.”
“I’m not worried about it,” he grumbled.
I cleaned my face quickly. Isaac pointed to let me know where I missed some. His amber eyes were worried as he watched me.
I gave him a smile. “I’m fine.”
He nodded but didn’t seem to believe me. Then again, I wouldn’t believe me either. I walked back to the guys with Isaac.
“Just keep it to yourselves,” Ethan told Keith and Travis. They nodded.
Miles came to my side, picked up my bag and moved his hand to my lower back.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” I told my guys. They said goodnight. Miles led me to his car and opened the passenger side door.
The drive to Rory’s was a blur. Memories kept pouring through my mind. Miles opened my car door. I grabbed my bag. Hades was already waiting at the front door when I started unlocking it.
The great room was empty. I dropped my bag near the door and moved straight to the couch. I sat down and set my feet on the edge of the coffee table. Hades jumped on to the couch and rested his head in my lap. I scratched his head while the memories kept flashing.
“Lexie?” Miles’ voice was soft. I blinked. He sat next to me and opened the first aid kit from the upstairs bathroom. He tore open some antiseptic wipes. He carefully took one arm and started cleaning the cuts on my forearm. “I need to hear your voice,” he said gently.
“I’m okay. It’s just… when it pinned me to the wall, somehow it got into my head and pulled all my worst memories to the surface,” I told him absently. His fingers slowed.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“They just won’t go away,” I told him, staring off at the dark TV. Not to mention that nosebleed and the headache…
He set the wipes down and turned back to me, his emerald eyes warm. It was exactly what I needed. Well, almost. I shifted and leaned against him, my fingers digging into his shirt. His arms moved around me, one around my shoulders, the other around my waist, holding me to him. I took a deep breath of wintergreen. The chaos in my mind started slowing down.
“It’s going to be alright,” he said against my hair.
“I saw it all over again,” I whispered. “Dad’s funeral, Mom beating me, Clay… I buried my face in the crook of his neck. He held me tighter.
“I’m sorry, Angel,” he breathed. I took deep breaths of his scent and slowly began to relax against him. When I wasn’t clinging so much, he loosened his grip until I was leaning against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. After some time, he broke the silence. “I need to clean your burns.” I nodded and sat up.
He took my hands and examined my wrists. “These look like handprints.”
I nodded. Four fingered handprints, but handprints none the less. “It grabbed my arms, but it was smoke, so… I don’t know how it did it.”
Miles' face was blank as he carefully cleaned my wrists before he gently applied burn ointment. When he was done, he repacked the kit. I was exhausted, again.
“I’m… I’m gonna go to bed,” I announced.
Miles' eyes ran over me before he got to his feet and held out his hand. I took it. He helped me to my feet and walked me to the stairs. Instead of leaving me there, he climbed the stairs behind me. I was half asleep by the time I reached the second floor. Miles guided me into my bedroom. He helped me pull out the futon. I didn’t hesitate. I lay down and curled up on my side. Hades jumped onto the bed and snuggled down between my back and the wall. Gentle hands were on my feet, slipping my shoes off. He covered me with the light afghan at the end of my bed.
“Nemo?” I called softly.
“Yes?”
“Stay?”
“As long as you want me,” he whispered. I was almost out when his hand took mine. Peace settled through me, pushing me into sleep.
Asher
I walked into the house to find Jessica actually home and in the living room with Dad.
“Where the hell have you been?” Dad bit out.
I sighed as I put my keys on the table in the foyer, beside Mom’s flag case. “I was at Zeke’s.”
He huffed. “That Blackthorn kid? You’re still hanging with that loser?”
That irritated the hell out of me. I turned around. “Zeke’s a good guy.” I half expected Jessica to smile or chime in to bash Zeke, but she surprised me. She looked at Dad with a frown.
“I don’t want you hanging around him,” he told me.
Normally, I would just say ‘yes sir’ and sneak around until he left. But… not this time. I couldn’t stomach this crap anymore. “No.” Dad’s eyes went to me. “I’m going to keep hanging out with Zeke.”
His eyes narrowed at me. “No? Asher, that kid’s father—”
“Zeke isn’t his father,” I snapped. “And you don’t get to tell me who to be friends with.” I walked away from the living room and up the stairs. I locked my bedroom door behind me. Then I dropped into my desk chair. I braced my elbows on the desk and held my head in my hands. I was so tired of his shit. I was tired of him. I was tired of playing things his way. I sighed and pulled out my phone. I started to text Ally and hesitated. She had looked exhausted when Miles took her home. She was probably asleep already. I set my phone down and tried to come to grips with what had happened tonight.
Demons. Demons were real. Those burns on her wrists showed that alone. Shit. What the hell else was out there? What else could come for her?
Isaac
Metal smashed into metal. The car jerked again. I held Sophie tight to my chest.
“Izzy.” She coughed. I looked down to find blood trailing from her mouth. Her amber eyes were wide, tears filling them. “Why didn’t you save me?” Her voice shook. My heart split in two. I bashed on the door, slamming my shoulder into it over and over.
“Hold on, Sophie, I’m getting you help,” I told her, my voice thick as desperation took control. I slammed and hit the door over and over. “Let us out!”