DEVON
As soon as I walked into the house, I found my dad sitting on the couch with a grim expression on his face.
"Dad-" I began.
He raised a hand to silence me and gestured to his side. I sat down beside him, my heart thumping harder against my rib cage.
"Did you or did you not go on a date with Casper?" He asked. "I-"
"I want nothing but the truth"
"I did not"
"Why?"
"I don't have feelings for him. Besides, I'm going out with someone else" I said and his nostrils flared.
"Who's your boyfriend?" He spat, glaring daggers at me.
"He-"
"Who is he?!"
"Dad, stop yelling at her. You're scaring her" Allen said from where he stood by the staircase.
"She should be scared! I have no business with you right now,young man" he hissed. Allen rolled his eyes and walked out of the house.
"Now tell me, who is your boyfriend? Don't tell me he's a 'fairy' who has claimed you as his 'mate'. Because, there is no such thing as-" Dad growled, rising to his feet.
"Will, can you please stop yelling at our daughter? Let's talk like the civil people we are" mum said as she walked into the sitting room.
"This is all your fault, Brielle! I asked you to make sure-"
"What was I supposed to do? Devon met her soulmate! I can't question fate. We can't separate them even if we tried"
"That's because you didn't try harder!"
"You can't force Devon to stay away from the one who is made for her! You can't keep her away from the one she loves!"
"How can she be in love with some sort of fairy tale character that doesn't even exist?!"
"Will, there are worlds, dimensions, realms that you don't even know about. There are supernatural things that you cannot understand. Why can't you just accept the fact that our daughter has met her soulmate?! Why can't you just get over it?"
My dad was certainly furious at this point and the frustration that was building up within me was close to exploding. My parents were both arguing and raising their voices all because of me and I knew I had to end the argument.
"Casper's parents cut off the business deal I had with them all because you made their son unhappy!" My dad said to me.
"It's not her fault-"
"It is-"
"Stop! Just stop!" I said and my dad stared at me, his jaw slackened. He'd clearly not expected the sudden outburst from me.
"I'm eighteen years old, dad. You don't get to force me to go on a date with someone as awful as Casper. I have my own life to live and you don't get to live it for me. I don't care if you believe that my soulmate exists. Really, I don't care. I'll go on as many dates as I can...with him, with or without your permission. You can't stop me from seeing him. You can't even stop him from seeing me either" I said and stormed off to my room, slamming the door shut. I was pissed off and I desperately wanted to take it out on someone. Too bad Melvin wasn't home for me to take it out on him.
....
THEO
"Theo?" Luke said as he walked into my room and shut the door behind him. I ignored him and continued to massage my aching knee. I was trying to soothe the ache in my knee but it was only worsening. I felt him stare at me but I still didn't say anything.
"Here. I know you're in pain" he said, handing me the bottle of painkiller.
I uncapped the bottle and brought it to my lips.
"You shouldn't be taking too much of that" he said.
I rolled my eyes and continued to gulp down the yellow liquid. I just wanted the pain to disappear.
"Okay, that's it" Luke said and took the bottle away from me. "Give me that" I rasped.
"No, you've taken a lot already" he said and I turned away from him, clenching my jaw.
"Get out" I said
"Theo-"
"Just leave me alone, Asshole" I said through gritted teeth.
"Look, I'm really sorry for the way I treated you-"
"I don't want to hear your apology" I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"I know you're mad at me and I deserve that. But, you're still my bestfriend" he said.
"Last time I checked, you nearly bit my head off when I asked you to tell me what was bothering you. You clearly do not trust me even after all these years. I'm stupid to think that our relationship meant anything to you" I said, closing my eyes tiredly.
"I trust you, Theo. You know that. I was just trying to protect you" he said and I chuckled bitterly.
"You clearly did a very good job at that, guardian" I said.
"Theo-"
"I don't need you protecting me if that's how you protect people"
"You don't understand" Luke sighed, taking slow steps towards me.
"Make me understand then" I said, drowsily leaning back on my chair.
"It's about Thane" he mumbled and I lifted my heavy eyelids with difficulty.
"What has Thane got to do with this?" I asked, staring at him through half opened lids. "He threatened to kill everyone I care about if I told you anything"
"Thanks for the information, you can go" I said and turned away from me.
"You're still mad at me, aren't you?"
"I'm feeling a lot of things right now....but anger isn't one of them" I said.
"What are you feeling then?" Luke said, watching me, warily.
"Helplessness, pain and most of all..... exhaustion. I'm just so tired of everything. I don't know why I suddenly feel like this, but I wish I would fall into a long slumber and wake up when things are fine" I mumbled.
"Oh man, I'm so sorry. This is probably all my fault. Don't you think something about this whole thing is weird?"
"Weird? Maybe"
Definitely a yes, but I wouldn't let him know that. Ever since my near death experience, I no longer felt comfortable in my own skin. Everything was suffocating me. Everything looked so bleak. I just didn't understand why.
"Thane's suspicion has increased especially since you haven't been able to come to the HQ for days now"
"I don't care anymore. He needs to piss off" I said.
"Okay, I didn't realize how drowsy you are" Luke said, helping me to my feet.
"Shut up. I'm not drowsy" I hissed. "You sure?"
"Stop tempting me" I growled. "What d'you wanna do?" Luke asked.
"I want to punch something until my knuckles bleed" I said, my voice sounding too small and vulnerable. I hated it.
"If it makes you feel better, I'll tell you everything Thane said to me"
"Not now. I'm so tired. Can you not bother me for now?" I said, running my fingers through my hair.
"Okay."
I was alone in my room and it felt like the walls were closing in on me. I curled up in a ball, ignoring the searing pain in my knee. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. My mind felt like murky mud. There were voices in my head but I couldn't quite make them out. I just knew that they were there.
The room felt cold and I started to shiver. Something was awfully wrong with me. Something horrible. It was happening and I felt like I couldn't stop it. It was quickly draining me and I was falling. Falling just like the way I fell in my nightmares.
...
LUKE
"Is he okay?" Rachel asked me as I helped her get the grocery bags from the car.
"I don't know. He's acting really strange and I'm worried that this is not just a phase" I said and she bit her lower lip.
"Is he asleep?" She asked me as we both headed upstairs.
"I don't think so."
She knocked on the door of his room but got no response.
When she tried to open it, it didn't budge. My eyes widened.
"He locked it on the inside" I groaned.
"Theo, honey... please open the door" mum said, knocking on the door frantically. All we heard was sniffling from the other side. My heart sank and I stared to hit the door harder.
"Come on, Theo! Open up!" I yelled.
"Leave me alone! I want Devon" he sniffled.
"Great, just great. Now, he's acting like a whiny baby and is probably throwing a tantrum in there. What's with his mood swings, anyway?" I said.
Mum rolled her eyes.
"He's gone through a lot, Luke. Give him a break" she said and pressed her ear to the door. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" She asked. There was an eery silence followed by a loud crash.
"I'm not okay! I want Devon!"
"There's someone at the door" mum said to me. I went downstairs and flung the door open. Devon was standing there, looking worried. "Is he okay?" She asked. "Why is everyone asking me that?" I groaned.
"Theo?"
"Mmm?"
"She's here"
The door slowly creaked open and we all stepped in. The room was dark with the curtains drawn close. He was sitting at the foot of his bed, hair covering his face.
"I only asked for Devon" he said, gloomily. Rachel grabbed my hand and led me outside.
***
DEVON
"Theo? What's wrong?" I asked, holding his shaky hands. He let out a weak groan and pulled me close to himself.
"I don't know what's going on with me" he whispered.
"Theo-".
"Listen to me..... I-I have horrible mood swings and I-I get horrible thoughts because of the voices in my head"
"Voices? Don't tell me you've been possessed by Barza" I said, dread poisoning my veins.
"N-no. I'm not possessed. I would know if I was possessed. I don't even know what I'm saying- "
"It's okay.... take deep breaths" I whispered, brushing his hair away from his face.
"It's so much easier to breathe when you're here with me" he rasped, burying his head in the crook of myneck.
I slowly rubbed his back, soothingly. All of a sudden, he broke down into tears.
"I'm scared, Dev. I've never felt this terrified....not even when I was so close to dying. I've not been myself ever since I survived the dragon blade. There's this darkness..... it's growing within me... and it's... it's messing with my head. When you're here, you snap me out of it.... but when you aren't, it's like I'm falling. I don't know.... I think I'm depressed but I also think it's worse than that"
"Whatever it is, we can fight it together" I said, feeling very worried. His skin was ice cold and he was shivering non-stop.
"Theo, you're cold" I said, grabbing a blanket and placing it around his trembling form. He closed his eyes.
"Just h-hold me, please" he croaked.
"Those voices in your head. What do they make you do?" I asked.
"I've never really succumbed to them. B-but, they make me want to hurt myself.... to hurt others....to spill blood..... it's driving me nuts, Dev. I think I'm going mad" he breathed as I held him close to myself. I gently rubbed his upper arms to create warmth.
"We'll find a way out of this. I promise" I said to him.
"I know.... I trust you" he said and I grinned.
"Whatever you feel, let me know. I don't want you to go through all this alone"
I felt him smile and it felt like a great achievement.
"You should get some sleep" I said, stroking his hair.
"I can't. I'll keep seeing myself falling. I'll keep seeing myself transform into a monster" he rasped and my heart shattered into pieces. "I'm right here. I'll slay your demons for you...if I have to" I whispered.
He tried to protest but he was too weak to do so. He fell asleep in my arms, our limbs entangled together on the floor. My beautiful soulmate. He had always been so strong but at this point, he seemed so fragile and all I wanted to do was wrap him in my arms and never let go.