Dark Side (Completed)

Bruises, Blisters, and Blood

Lawrence let out an involuntary yelp of pain as Anthony and I helped lower him onto the sofa. He was on his stomach, being as most of the severe wounds danced around his spine and shoulder blades.

As gently as we could, we peeled his orange spandex away from the wounds on his back. It was much worse than I had first expected.

"My God," I covered my mouth with my hands as I looked down at him, my eyes watering slightly, "I'm so sorry, Lawrence."

He only groaned in response as Anthony poured a little alcohol along the split and blistering sections of his back. He winced heavily as his back constricted in pain, only adding to his agony.

"Sorry, son," Anthony muttered, "I may be able to heal, but my powers won't stop infections. Better to be safe then sorry."

Looking down at his exposed back, I saw the gruesome twists and turns of charred veins riddling up his spine and fanning over his shoulder blades, neck, and shoulders. It looked sickeningly like a tree with no leaves.

Bruises, blisters, and blood. That's the damage I had done. Gulping down the lump in my throat, I threw my mask onto the table and rushed off to the bathroom to find the pain meds. After fumbling through the medicine cabinet, I rushed back out with the same stuff we'd given to Swift after his brutal defeat.

I poured a few into my hand before kneeling next to Lawrence. I pulled off his mask and tried to ignore how every inch of his skin glistened with sweat. I held the pills out to him and he took them gratefully, popping them into his mouth and swallowing them dry. He winced as Anthony placed a hand on this back.

I gripped his hand as his face scrunched up in pain. Eventually, his pain ebbed and transformed into exhaustion. He was weak, and I knew he was struggling to stay conscious.

Finally gaining the courage to look away from his face, I found that Anthony was about halfway done. Lawrence continued to tense as his hands made contact, but he was losing his energy.

Anthony saw me staring at the pink scar tissue left in place of the black tendrils and explained, "He'll have scars. All I do is speed up the natural healing process, so there's not much I can do to fix them."

A sudden guilt and sadness clutched at my heart. Scars never really went away. Sure they would fade, but that didn't mean they weren't still there. Now, because of me, Lawrence would never be able to forget what happened. He'd always have the scars to prove it was real.

He must have seen my face, because his hand weakly squeezed mine. I looked back to his face to see him smiling weakly at me. I tried to return the gesture, but my smile was unconvincing. I dropped my head and tried to distract myself by drawing light circles on the back of his hand.

I was startled by a sudden hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to look at it and followed the arm back up to its owner.

"Mom," I breathed before releasing Lawrence's hand and engulfing my mother in a hug.

She held me tightly, stroking my hair and whispering apologies into my ear. I was relieved that she was safe, but I quickly released her. After assessing her and eventually deeming her unharmed, I pulled her into another quick hug. Then I gave her a small smile before turning back to Lawrence.

He needed me the most right now.

By the time Lawrence was most of the way healed, the other two decided to make an appearance. They were supporting each other's weight as they limped through the doorway.

Swift immediately sunk to his knees and sprawled across the floor, his chest panting in a mixture of relief and exhaustion.

"Blood is dead," Daniel gulped, clutching the doorframe for support, "It's over."

There was blood dribbling down the side of his face, the wound hidden somewhere in his hairline. He looked absolutely exhausted.

He straightened up a little as his eyes locked onto something in the room. He took a hesitant step forward, a solitary tear welling in his eye.

I turned my head to see my mother in a similar state.

As soon as Daniel sighed in relief, the spell was broken. They each took a few steps forward before crashing into a tight embrace.

My mothers head fit perfectly beneath his chin, and finally seeing them together made me indescribably happy.

Lawrence, being fully healed but still exhausted, weakly sat up on the couch, pulling me up to sit beside him.

I laid my head on his shoulder and entwined my hand with his as we watched my parents.

I couldn't help but smile at the thought that things were finally going to go back to normal.

Or as normal as they could be for us.

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OH MY GOD! THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! Congratulations to everyone who stuck it through this book! Since I'm still in denial that it's done, stay tuned for an Epilogue and a few bonus chapters! Thanks for all the support!