Demons

Chapter 17: Burn Out

Chapter 17: Burn Out

"Something happens when everyone finds out

See the vultures circling dark clouds

Love's a fragile little flame that could burn out

It could burn out"

(I Know Places by Taylor Swift)

Rachel

I sat in the car, feeling bereft.

How could everything so quickly fall apart? Just this morning I had woken up next to Damian, and he had kissed me and held my hand. Now he wanted nothing to do with me? His words rang in my head like they were on repeat. No matter how many times I turned them over, the pain didn't seem any less. I thought I could do this. But I was wrong. About us. About all of this. I'm sorry I ever took you out on that picnic. And I'm sorry I kissed you.

The regret on his face was as plain as day, and that's what hurt the most. The fact that we had gotten this far, only for him to think it wasn't the right thing. That it shouldn't have happened. Was he right? Were we too young, too rash? Were we wrong to think we could do it- push past our issues and our problems and be together?

But it had felt so right to be with Damian.

I don't know how long I sat in the car, but after a while, Asteria appeared next to my door. She peered inside, a worried look on her face. I sat as stoic as ever. Maybe if I ignored everything, the pain would go away. Maybe if I didn't move, Damian would come back to find me here and realize that we could get through this, if we just stayed together.

Asteria knocked on the door, and I continued to ignore her. After a few minutes, she disappeared back into the house, which was for the best. She was wasting her time with me. I deserved to stay here and wither away if Damian didn't come back. I had hurt him, that much was evident. And I hated it. I hated that I had caused him pain, when all I wanted was the best for him.

Outside, the sky was beginning to darken, the afternoon giving way to night. Asteria soon came back, trying to get me out of the car again. I was surprised when Bruce appeared next to her, a worried expression on his face. I watched them through the window, seeing Asteria wave her hands as she explained what was going on. Maybe Damian had told her. Bruce turned his blue eyes in my direction, and for the first time, I felt something other than pain.

Fear.

Damian's father scared me. I didn't really have a reason to back up this misplaced fear. I was the one that told Damian his father was a hero. Asteria nodded her head at whatever Bruce said in reply and handed him something. She gave Bruce a peck on the cheek before leaving us, while Bruce made his way around the car. I was wary as he stood by the driver's seat, and when he unlocked the doors and slid inside, I had the urge to run the other way.

He regarded me with his blue eyes. There wasn't any anger or malice in the look. Just curiosity. After a while, he turned away and put the key in the ignition. That must've been what Asteria had given to him. "Why don't we go for a drive?" he murmured quietly and began driving away from the manor without waiting for a reply.

I didn't know where we were going. For all I knew, Bruce could've been driving me to the woods to murder me and dispose of my body. I shook my head at the direction my thoughts were going. He wouldn't do that. He may have been scary, but he was a good guy.