It’s then I wonder something disquieting about his dirty little secret.
Yes, Ivy. He has demons too.
I know, Azael, I know.
Chapter 14
Thanksgiving is only a few days away, and even though we seldom get snow here, the weather has definitely cooled down.
“Hey, I wanted to let you know, Clara asked if you want her to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving,” Tobias asks as I pick at my lunch in the school cafeteria.
“Yeah, if she wants.” I’ve been distracted lately. Stressing is more accurate. My demon has been quiet for a while, and this is worrying me. Maybe he’s surrendered and decided to leave me alone, but what I fear most is he’s gathering his strength, waiting to strike when I’m at my utmost worst.
“Did you hear what I said?” Tobias asks nudging me and bringing me back to the now.
“Huh?” I lower my head and look at my lunch, scolding myself for thinking about him.
“Mom asked if you want us to make the turkey.”
“Turkey… yeah. No, I’m making that.”
“What’s wrong?” He leans over to tuck some loose hair behind my ear. “You look distracted. What’s bothering you?”
Shaking my head, I look to Tobias and offer him a smile. “Nothing, I’m perfect.”
His gaze examines me, as if I’m lying to him. I’m not lying, I just don’t want to tell Tobias about Azael. He won’t understand. Or, maybe he will, because maybe he cuts too. Not that I’ve seen any scars on his body. I’ve looked when I can, but there’s been nothing there. His skin is perfectly smooth, with no lines anywhere. But then again, I’m a master of deception; maybe he is too.
“Bullshit, Ivy. Something’s wrong and you’re acting weird.”
“Weird?” I laugh. “I don’t think we’ve officially met.” I stick my hand out to shake his, “Hi, I’m Ivy, and I am weird.” I shove my hand closer to him.
Tobias looks down at it and sniggers. “Yeah, you’re weird, alright. No wonder I like you.” He winks at me. I feel it in my stomach, a sensation like butterflies fluttering their little wings.
“You know what I want to do?” I ask as I stare at him. He has such a beautiful strong chin.
“What?” he draws the question out with hesitation.
“I want to take photos of you.”
His mouth drops, and his eyes widen. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Because I think you’re beautiful,” I blurt without even thinking. I instantly cover my mouth in embarrassment.
“Beautiful?” He arches a brow, though his lips turn up into a cheeky grin. He scratches his neck, distracting me. “It’s not an adjective I’d think of to describe myself. Let’s see, if you said, handsome…” He puffs his chest out and lifts his chin, “… then I’d accept that without question. Or even if you said, sexy, I’d definitely be okay with that one,” he boldly announces. “But beautiful?” Tobias scrunches his nose and shakes his head. “Not beautiful.”
“Well, I think you’re beautiful.” Smirking, I playfully smack his arm.
He leans over, bowing his head so his mouth is incredibly close to my ear. His closeness affects me. The rush of his words is already sending my heart skipping merrily in my chest. Closing my eyes, I tilt my head so we’re close. Extremely close.
I can feel his warm breath on the sensitive skin on the nape of my neck. Oh god.
“I like how you think I’m beautiful.” He sweeps his mouth over my skin. The heat of his breath, the wetness of his mouth causes a flurry of excitement to wash over me. “Because I think you’re beautiful too.”
And in a rapid movement, his lips have disappeared. Swallowing back the desire I have for him, I pull away and compose myself. It takes me a few moments to gather my sanity. “You’re going to be the end of me, Tobias,” I say as I fan myself. While I can’t see it, I know I’m flustered.
“I think you have that wrong. You’re going to be my undoing. You’re crumbling all my walls. Each and every one of them.” I can’t help but smile. I want to destroy his walls, so he’ll open up to me and tell me all his secrets. And hopefully, when I tell him all of mine, he’ll understand and not be scared or judgmental.
Looking around the cafeteria I notice no one is paying any attention to us. “Tobias?” He casts his gaze over to me. “Are your walls scary?”
“My walls aren’t, but my demons are… or I should say, they used to be.” He said demons. That’s what I call mine. Azael is a demon, a monster, maybe even the devil himself.
“Can we go somewhere? Do something?”
“As in ditch school?” Tobias’s shoulders rise as he straightens his back.
“Not ditch, but straight after. Can we… talk?” What’s wrong with you, Ivy? Are you going to tell him? No, of course not. Tobias frowns and his jaw tightens. “Sorry, we don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to.” Like an arrow straight to my heart, regret courses through me. I caught a glimpse of a high with his kiss, now a low with his lack of interest. “I’m being dumb,” I immediately back pedal. “I’ve got stuff to do today.” Standing, I grab my tray and try to get away from him.
“Hey.” He grips at my wrist before I can leave. “Why are you running?”
Frustrated with myself, I stare away from Tobias. “This is bullshit,” I mumble.
“What’s bullshit?”
“Just… forget I said anything, okay?” I plead with him.
“I want to spend time with you. Whatever’s going through your head, you have to calm it down.” He steps closer to me, and lifts his arms so he can hug me.
I can feel my brows scrunching, unsure. Is he saying what I want to hear, or does he actually want to hang with me?
Ivy…
My shoulders become rigid as I straighten my back. I have to control him, I can’t let him try to get in my head here. He’ll make what’s going on in my head worse than it already is.
The moment Tobias’s arms are around me, he disappears. Does my demon not like Tobias? When I’m around Tobias, he seems to remain quiet.
I squeeze Tobias.
“Thank you,” I whisper to him.
“What for?”
If only I could tell him. “For being you.”
He kisses my cheek, and hugs me tighter. “I can’t spend time with you today after school because Mom needs me home. She asked me to help her with some chores around the house.”
I’m such an idiot. I thought the worst, even though Tobias has given me no reason to doubt his feelings for me.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I overreacted.”
“How about tomorrow? We can hang out tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’d really like that.”
The bell sounds for the end of lunch, but we’re stuck in our tight embrace. Neither of us makes a move to leave. “Is it wrong of me to say I want to stay like this with you?” he whispers in my ear.
“I feel the same way.” The bitterness of letting go of his body and losing his warmth saddens me. “We have to get to class.”
He looks into in my eyes, as if he’s searching for something deeper than I’ve given him. “You’re the beautiful one, Ivy,” he says.
Taking my hand in his, we walk to class.
“Tobias?” I say once we’ve taken our seats.
“What is it?”
“I’m glad you moved here.”
“So am I.”
Mrs. Richards enters the classroom, and smiles. “Class. Guess what we’re doing today? We’re learning more about the human anatomy.” Everyone groans. “I’m sure you all know the basics,” she laughs. “But in the next week, we’ll be dissecting a pig. Does anyone know why we’ll be dissecting a pig?”
Chloe raises her hand. And Mrs. Richards nods for Chloe to answer. “Because pigs are the closest to the human anatomy. And their skin has the closest composition to ours.”
I scrunch my nose.
“That’s right. For the rest of the week, we’ll be learning about the huma
n body, and next Monday we’ll dissect the pig.”
Vomit rises to the back of my throat. Yuck. Dissecting has never been my strong suit. It repulses me. Ironic, considering I cut myself.
The lesson goes on, and I’m distracted by the beautiful man sitting next to me. My heart is quickly falling to him, and I’m liking it. Smiling to myself, I watch Mrs. Richards as she goes on about the lesson.
The next thirty seconds transpire so quickly, I’m not even sure they happen.
The door flings open, and Tyler Lewis is standing inside the classroom.
There’s something angry stretching across his face. Evil rolls off him, as if he’s standing in an inferno waiting to be consumed by flames.
Goosebumps cover my entire body.
My mouth falls open as my eyes widen in fear.
The gun he’s holding makes a sound. It’s loud. Deafening. Overwhelming.
The room is silent and no other sound can be heard over the gunshots. My blood pumps loudly in my ears, and I can’t drag my eyes away from the shiny black object in his hand.
He steps inside, and shoots again.
The gun isn’t pointed at me, but to the front of the room.
He walks with purpose, determined.
Tyler opens his mouth to say something, but I’m tackled from the side. Someone throws their body on mine. Lifting my head, I watch as Tyler stalks toward the prone form of Mrs Richards at the front of the room. He keeps shooting. The gun is pointed to one target, and one target alone.
He steps closer, standing over the body.
“Stay down, Ivy,” Tobias whispers in my ear. I know it’s him by his aftershave. How peculiar. I never really noticed the scent of the cologne until now.
It’s a sweet smell, with a touch of cinnamon, a comforting smell. But there’s nothing comfortable about what’s happening.
Tyler’s deadly gaze stares at the person on the floor. His eyes are wide and full of fury.
He lifts his pale face and looks around the classroom.
He catches me looking at him and stares back at me.
Tobias is breathing heavily, his body draped over mine.
In this second, this instant, there are only two people in this room. Me and Tyler.
“She deserved it,” Tyler says, speaking directly to me. “I can’t go to college because of her.”
I open my mouth to say something, but Tyler opens his mouth too.
He shoves the gun in and pulls the trigger.
Blood and brain matter splatters out the back of his head and his body limply collapses to the floor.
I’m not petrified. I’m not scared.
I’m confused and lost.
What’s happening?
The classroom erupts in screams and wails. I get pulled up by Tobias, and he’s yelling something at me. There’s urgency to his body language. My eyes are glued to the two still bodies at the front.
“What happened?” I ask in a daze.
“We have to go!”
My head is telling me to look for a way to help, but Tobias is pulling me out of the classroom.
My feet won’t cooperate though. They’re stuck. They won’t move. It’s in that second I hear it.
The sirens in the distance, coming closer. As if I snapped out of it, I break free of Tobias’s grip and run toward the front of the room.
Tyler is dead, laying on the floor face down, but blood and brain matter are splattered behind him and pooling beneath him.
Mrs. Richards breathing is rapid, but also shallow.
Kneeling beside her, I do what I’ve seen in the movies. I apply pressure to a bullet hole I can see that is oozing blood. “It’s going to be okay,” I say to her, trying to calm the shaking of my voice.
“Ivy…” she mumbles.
The life inside her is quickly fading. I can see it.
She reaches up to grab my hand, squeezing. Her grasp is weak, and I know she’s about to die.
“Just hold on. The ambulance is on its way. Fight it, don’t close your eyes, don’t close your eyes!”
“Tell my family I love…” Her eyes glass over, and her chest collapses from the lack of air.
“Tobias!” I scream. He’s beside me within a second. “Do you know first aid?” He shakes his head. “Put pressure here.” I grab his hands and apply strength to where I was pushing down. I place two fingers to the side of her neck, feeling for a pulse. I’m not getting anything, but I’m not trusting my lack of experience to find it either.
“What are you doing?” Tobias asks as his bloodied hands maintain pressure.
“Trying to find her pulse, but I can’t.”
“She’s dead, Ivy,” he whispers in shock. “She’s dead.”
“No! No she isn’t!” I yell at him. “She can’t die.” I remember something I watched years ago about breathing into her mouth. “Tilt the head back,” I say to myself. Like a movie playing in my head, I remember the YouTube video I watched which had the paramedic pinch the nose and breathe into the person’s mouth. I can’t remember how often. What if I kill her? What if what I do doesn’t help, but kills her?
“Ivy,” Tobias barks at me, forcing me out of my mind and into the present. It’s all I need to pinch her nose, and breathe into her mouth.
I swing my head to the side, listen for breathing, and watch for any movement in her chest. There’s nothing.
It feels like hours have passed, but I’m sure it’s only been a split second.
“One-two-three-four-five.” I halt my chest compressions to breathe into her mouth again, then check her chest. God, I hope I’m doing this right.
Her chest is still. “Come on!” I yell at her.
But her pupils remain dilated with a glazed cloudiness covering them.
In my heart, I know she’s passed away. But… this can’t be it for her. This can’t be the end of her life. Dying because of someone who’s lost their mind.
“Miss… Miss… we need to move you,” the voice is deep and strong. Two powerful hands grab me from the waist and lift me effortlessly. “Are you hurt?” the man in the uniform asks me.
Blankly I stare at him.
“Take her,” he yells at someone behind me before kneeling on the floor and taking over CPR on Mrs. Richards.
“What’s your name?” a woman with a gentle voice and kind eyes asks me. She’s an older person, maybe in her forties. Her hair has a streak of gray in her dark hair, making her look like Cruella De Ville. “Come, let’s go outside. Can you walk?” She takes me by the upper arm and leads me out to the corridor. I keep staring behind me. Two people are working on Mrs. Richards. “What’s your name?” she asks me again once we’re out of the classroom.
I look around me. People are everywhere. There’s a heaviness in the corridor, and a sense of urgency as people are going in and out of the classroom. “Did I kill her?” I ask the woman standing in front of me.
“No, sweetheart. You didn’t. You were trying to save her.”
“But she’s dead, isn’t she?” I ask. My voice is shaky, but my body is strangely calm and composed.
“Yes, she’s passed away.” There’s yelling, crying, and other loud noises. I want to cover my ears, but I don’t.
I look down at my hands, and they’re covered in blood. My clothes have the distinct red splotches all over them. “I tried to save her.” My hands are shaking as I stare at the crimson red coating my pale skin. “I feel nothing.” But my hands are shaking in clear defiance of the denials whirling around inside my head.
“Are you hurt?”
I should be feeling something, anything. But my mind is blank, and my body is indifferent. “Am I normal?” I ask the woman who’s trying to get me to talk to her. “I feel nothing,” I openly admit.
She narrows her eyes at me, and looks down to my hands. “What’s your name?”
“Her name’s Ivy,” Tobias says as he throws his arms around me and squeezes me tightly in a hug. “Are you okay?” he asks as he kisses the side of my
face.
“She’s dead,” I whisper.
“You did everything you could to help her.”
“Her eyes, they were looking at me. She was looking at me. I could’ve saved her.”
“No, you couldn’t. She was dead the moment Tyler entered the classroom,” Tobias softly says.
“Ivy,” the woman’s kind, though stern, voice drags me away from Tobias. It’s almost like I’d forgotten she was there. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” I step away from Tobias’s hug and look down at myself in case I missed an injury. “I’m okay.” Lifting my hands in front of me, I stare at them. “This isn’t my blood.” Reality sinks in. Blood is on my hands. “This isn’t my blood,” I say again with panic rising rapidly, along with my voice.
Suddenly, I feel sick. My body begins to tremble, my throat constricts and my knees are going to give out.
“I’m going to vomit,” I yell as I run down the corridor toward the bathroom. But I don’t make it. I lean against a locker and vomit right there, in front of everyone. My throat burns and my stomach roils with the need to vomit again. With a powerful force, more vomit rips through me and lands on the tiled floor.
Collapsing to my knees, I bury my face in my hands. But the rusty stench of blood invades my nose, and makes me retch with a promise of more vomit to come.
“It’s okay, Ivy,” the kind woman says as she kneels beside me.
But nothing is okay. “I killed her.” I bury my face in my hands, and try my hardest to close off the toxic smells of blood and vomit. Because it’s not my blood. I can deal with it if it’s my blood, but it’s not. “I have her blood on me.” I cry again.
“Ivy.” Tobias grabs me by the shoulders and lifts me like I’m a rag doll. He pulls me away from the stench of my vomit, and moves my hands down from my face. “You didn’t do this.” He grabs my face between his hands, but the rich red is coating his hands, too. I pull his hands away and notice the blood has dried, and is beginning to flake off of his hands. “Tell me Tyler didn’t hurt you?” Tobias begs. His eyes are red and filled with tears. “Please… talk to me.”
I can barely think straight. “She’s dead,” are the only words I can manage. But the tears start, and appear to have no off button. “She’s dead,” I wail as I collapse; but this time, Tobias reaches out to catch me.
Edge of Darkness Box Set Page 77