Revenge, Photos and Covenants

Chapter 17: A Birthday

"What's wrong with him?" he asked, his voice cold and detached. His gaze firmly locked on Father Bill.

"Nothing, he just hasn't fully recovered from his fight with Ethel," she replied, attempting to maintain an air of confidence. "He's not a young man anymore."

"Please, you call this convincing," Pablo shot back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Even the newest exorcists would be able to tell the good Father Bill is no longer human."

"You're wrong!" Jessica burst out, anger and fear mingling in her voice. "He's right here and he's fighting!"

Pablo shook his head, his expression darkening. "He's not Bill anymore. He's just a thing, a cocoon waiting to hatch. And by the looks of it, he is close."

"Have some compassion, Pablo," Jessica protested, her eyes darting between Father Bill's pain-stricken face and the cold, unyielding gaze of her fellow exorcist.

"Compassion is a waste of time, a way to ignore reality," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "The reality is we have rules for a reason, now it is time for him to do what he knows he must."

With that, Pablo turned on his heel and ascended the stairs, leaving Jessica to grapple with the weight of his words.

-----

Deb sat in the back of her sociology lecture, her thoughts on the crime stats being discussed. Sarah fumbled to get the seat next to her before looking over at Deb, her cheeks flushed.

"Hey, um, I just wanted to say sorry again," she stammered. "For trying to kiss you the other night."

Deb waved her hand dismissively. "Forget about it, okay?" she said, without looking in her direction.

"Right," Sarah said, nodding. She hesitated, then asked, "So, what's going on with you and Zack, anyway?"

Deb sighed. "It's... complicated."

"Ah," Sarah said, her voice tight. "I see."

Sarah felt Deb's unease and annoyance with her, she wanted to make things less awkward but couldn't find the right words, with one more quick look at Deb, Sarah gathered her things and moved a few rows over. As soon as Sarah left, Deb noticed her camera had fallen out out of her bag, Deb reached for it, curiosity getting the better of her. She scrolled through the pictures - there were dozens of shots from different sporting events around the university, but as she scrolled deeper Deb discovered photos of herself and Zack. She began to panic as she came across a photo of Her and Zack that had been taken through her dorm room window.

"Jesus, Sarah," Deb whispered, her heart pounding in her chest.

Suddenly someone tapped her on her shoulder, and Sarah leaned in snatching her camera from Deb. "Were you looking at my photos?" she asked sharply.

"Uh, no," Deb lied, trying to act casual. "I just noticed it on the floor and picked it up, I was going to bring it over to you."

"Sure," Sarah said, her tone unreadable. "Why don't you come to my dorm later? I can show you some of the shots I've taken."

"Actually," Deb said, not wanting to be alone with Sarah, "I am really busy studying for finals, maybe when they are done we can hang out."

"Come on," Sarah insisted, her eyes narrowing. "It'll just be one night."

"Seriously I can't afford to fail," Deb said, her body leaning away from Sarah without her trying to.

"Another time then," Sarah said in a cheery tone, but as she turned away from Deb her expression darkened.