Walking home from school wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t pleasant.
Apparently, it started raining while English class was going on, the sky covered with dark, menacing clouds.
They blocked the sun’s rays that usually shone on the streets.
Before Lily said goodbye to Elle, where the roads parted, she questioned her on what she heard Jason say, but Elle denied hearing anything. That she was just focusing on the teacher.
Elle waved to her and started walking south.
Lily parted in the opposite direction, a slight uneasiness casting over her at the thought that Jason knew where she lived...
She didn’t have an umbrella to block her from the icy rain. So she walked home, the cold water bleeding into her clothes.
It wasn’t terrible. Her aunt’s house was only half a mile from where she was.
Easier for Jason to find.
She pushed the thought away, walking down the streets and glancing behind her a couple times to make sure he wasn’t following.
After twenty minutes of walking, she made it to her aunt’s house, brows drawing together when she saw the door open.
That was odd... her aunt was home already? She usually worked until six… and it was around three…
But... that still didn’t explain how the front door was open... Lily’s aunt always enforced keeping it closed and locked, when they were in the house or out.
Did someone break in...? she asked herself.
Her stomach surged.
Just be careful, she thought. Make sure to check every crack and crevice... It could’ve been that she just forgot to lock it...
Lily started inching toward the front door, insides growing hollow as she got closer.
She was concerned and confused, butterflies rummaging through her stomach, threatening to rise up her throat and suffocate her.
Something was wrong, but she refused to admit it.
Aunt Melody was fine. She was fine.
Lily crept silently up the concrete stairs, pushing the wood and slowly let the front door swing open. She peered through the entrance, glancing left and right to make sure no one was in the room.
The trash knocked over, rotten food spilled all over the floor, causing the house to smell like sulfur.
Books from the oak shelf on the wall were scattered all over the floor, torn-off pages blowing in the wind from the storm that was brimming outside.
Either there was a struggle or someone tried to rob them...
Bile rose in Lily’s throat. She pleaded that her aunt wouldn’t be home.
And that there wasn’t a struggle.
She went into the kitchen, and the stove was covered in dripping red stains.
They were wet, not dry.
Lily swallowed cold air.
Blood.
She followed the red stains into the bedroom, breathing shallowly.
Her heart stopped when she reached the doorway, though she kept on walking despite the nausea swelling up her throat.
A pale leg lay across the bedroom floor, looking abnormally white...
When she got closer, she saw some blue clothing covered in blood, and more red stains spread across the floor.
Tears stung the back of Lily’s eyes.
Red hand prints, foot prints...
It was like the poor thing crawled over here to get away from someone…
Lily was tearing apart, little by little until she thought there’d be none of her left.
When she made it in the room, she covered her mouth with her hands, every part of her becoming still and cold.
Until nausea welled up in her throat, but she swallowed it down painfully, dropping to the ground and crawling to her.
Aunt Melody’s body. Lifeless... Her soul vanished from her corpse... and her shining blue eyes were now colorless and gray, staring at the ceiling in horror. The expression froze on her face from the moment she died.
And it would stay from now to an eternity.
Blood trickled down her eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. Almost like she was poisoned.
But it didn’t get rid of the fact that her hands were stained with red, legs as well, and arms... feet...
Oh, God... every part of her was covered in blood...
A cold hand grasped Lily’s stomach, threatening to suffocate her.
“No!” she cried, shaking her aunt despite knowing she was dead.
Did she think she could wake her up like she did every morning?
Aunt Melody! Aunt Melody! she told her before. Wake up! You said we could get ice cream today!
Tears boiled her eyes at the thought, spilling down her cheeks as little gasps escaped her throat.
“Wake up!” she cried, shaking her aunt. “You’re not dead! I know you’re not! You wouldn’t leave me! You said you wouldn’t!” She shook her lifeless corpse harder. “Wake up! WAKE UP!”
Her vision started spinning, throat constricting, and she was getting her aunt’s blood stained all over her hands... but she didn’t seem to care.
Black framed her vision—nausea welling up her throat—and she would’ve fallen to the side, her face hitting the bloody carpet—but someone caught her.
They held her up with their warm embrace, letting her lean against their chest as their hot skin heated her icy one.
Like fire and ice.
“Shhh,” Jason breathed, wiping some tears that escaped with his thumbs. “Don’t look anymore, look away.”
“Let me go!” Lily cried, knowing that she was being irrational, but she couldn’t help it. “I need to wake her up!”
“She’s gone, Lily,” he said sympathetically.
“You don’t know that!” she sobbed. “She wouldn’t leave me!” Tears burned her cheeks. “She said she would protect me!”
“Lily,” Jason said softly, “it’s time to let her go. She’s gone.”
Her breaths came out shakily, staring at her aunt with wide, watery eyes. “She wouldn’t,” she said, struggling against his grip. “She wouldn’t leave me!”
“Lily...” he whispered.
Her skin start glowing, like her body was consumed by fireflies... and he held her tighter, hoping to calm her down enough so she wouldn’t explode into flames.
Fire stung Lily’s throat. She coughed and gagged as the heat burned her and spread throughout her entire body.
“Jason!” she cried, ignoring the pain while coughing. “Let me wake her up!”
He was silent, but held her tighter.
“Jason!”
She was gasping now, clutching her throat as fire burned her inside.
Preventing her from falling to the floor, he stroked her hair gently, hoping to calm her.
“Jason!” she gasped, coughing harder.
Black blurred her vision, followed by bright orange and yellow flames burning her retinas.
Sparks ignited her skin, and she started wheezing, looking up at Jason with her tear-filled eyes.
His eyes were dark, but with no menace this time.
It was sadness... recognition... as if he somehow knew what was going on...
“What’s happening to me?” she sobbed, feeling him hold her tighter. “I can’t breathe! I CAN’T BREATHE!”
She felt his hand gently stroke her hair. “Close your eyes,” he whispered.
“I can’t!” she responded shakily. “I can’t!”
“Yes, you can,” he said, brushing her bangs out of her face. “I know you’re hurting, but I know you can still close your eyes.”
When she refused to listen, Jason’s gentle hand pressed against her forehead.
Something cold emanated from his palm into her head, as if throwing frost into her burning body.
“What are you doing?” she cried, but he didn’t respond. Her eyes sealed shut then… and she couldn’t open them now…
Because exhaustion clouded her thoughts, and she felt herself drowning in the darkness of her mind...
She could barely hear Jason whisper, “You’re going to be okay. I’ll protect you, Lily.”
And she was lost in the darkness.
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