Deenwood Hall Of Horror {twenty one pilots inspired fiction}

Chapter Sixteen - Taxi Cab

As Bailey was with Liam, Macy walked over to Luke. "I need your help with something."

Luke followed her down the hall to the bathroom. A pair of scissors were on the countertop. "What are you gonna do, Macy?"

"I want to get rid of everything that reminds me of Calvin," she explained as she pulled her hair into a low ponytail. "I'm cutting my hair, and burning the clothes I was wearing when we saw him in town."

"Oh," Luke said, picking up the scissors. "You'll look beautiful with short hair."

Macy beamed, turning her back to Luke. "Chop off my hair, please?"

Luke carefully trimmed her hair above the rubber band. He cut slowly, making sure the ends were even. "Do you have a comb or something?"

Macy handed him a comb and Luke trimmed all the stray hairs.

"Okay it's done."

Macy turned and looked in the mirror. Her hair fell to just below her jaw. She felt the short strands and grinned. "Thank you so much, Luke!" She turned around and hugged him.

"It looks okay?" he asked.

"It looks perfect," Macy replied. "Now we're gonna make a bonfire."

"Where?"

"Outside."

"Macy, we're trying to go unnoticed. I don't think a bonfire is a good idea."

"I have to burn the clothing, Luke. Please?"

Luke sighed. "Okay, let's do it."

Macy grabbed the clothing, a blanket, and a book of matches from her room and the two went up to the clearing.

"I guess it's a good thing it hasn't rained in a while," Luke said, gathering some sticks to build the fire. Luke lit the kindling and the fire grew quickly. Macy lit the clothing and carefully set it on the fire.

Luke stood and pulled Macy into his arms. "I won't let him ever touch you again."

Macy hugged him tightly. "Hopefully we don't have to see him again."

Macy stretched the blanket out on the ground and sat on it. Luke sat next to her and laid back, staring up at the stars in the clear night sky. Macy laid down, Luke's arm under her head, watching the sky with him.

"My grandma loved the stars. She told me that when my grandpa was on his first tour in Vietnam, he sent her a postcard of the Libra constellation, which was his star sign," Luke chuckled softly. "She would look for Libra every night while he was deployed, even though she didn't believe in that astrology stuff. He died in service, but she continued to sit on the porch every night, looking up at the stars."

Macy put a hand on Luke's chest. "That's beautiful. She must've loved him so much."

"She never remarried. He died at the beginning of his second tour, just after after my grandma learned she was pregnant with my mom. She was only twenty-two."

"I can't imagine being a single mother in the 70s," Macy said. "All the drugs and the riots."

"My mom was raised on the same farm where I was raised, in South Carolina, but when she moved away, she got super into drugs. The cops busted her boyfriend, who was in charge of a pretty big cartel. My mom was arrested too, and ended up having me in jail. I wasn't supposed to have even survived the pregnancy. Grandma always said I was her miracle child; a reincarnation of my grandpa."

Macy looked up at Luke, moonlight gracing her features with serenity. "You're my miracle too."

Luke rolled to his side and brushed his fingers along her cheekbones, down to her mouth. He paused, gazing at her lips, then he kissed her. The darkness that surrounded them fell away as their souls intertwined. His warmth stitched shut the lacerations in her being, the mutilations from past betrayal. Every second in this embrace tipped the scales in her heart toward the dangerous possibility of hope and away from familiar clutch of safety and skepticism.

Macy pulled her lips away from Luke's and brought them to his ear. She mustered all the courage she could. "I love you, Luke," she whispered timidly.

Luke's usually stoic face was transformed by the utterance of these words. His dark eyes shined with tranquility in the moonlight and the corners of his lips pulled into a gentle smile. "I love you too, Macy."

He bit his lip and looked down. "Are you sure you're okay with me saying that?" he asked.

Macy lifted his face back towards hers and nodded. "I've not said that to anyone but you. I swore when I was young that I wouldn't speak it if I didn't mean it, and I've not broken that promise. I love you with every fiber of my being. You've satisfied my every longing and soothed my every fear. With you, I am at peace."

Luke said nothing, but pulled her into a long embrace. She buried her face in his chest, breathing in his aroma. The steady beat of his heart lulled her into a peaceful sleep. Luke did not sleep, but continued to hold Macy close.

The fire dwindled to a few glowing embers, so Luke decided to put it out fully. He quietly got up and grabbed some water from the shelter, splashing it on the ashes. When the smoke cleared, a small medallion of sorts shone through the ashes.

Luke squatted down to get a closer look. The medallion was made of silver and beared the mark of the satanic goat's head pentagram. He moved over to Macy and gently shook her awake.

"Macy, is this yours?" he asked, showing her the medallion.

Macy's eyes widened. "No. Where did you find that?"

"It was in the ashes of the fire. You're sure you didn't have this in your pocket or something?"

"Why would I ever have something like that in my possession?" she asked, starting to breathe heavily. "Calvin has that exact symbol tattooed on his chest!"

Luke immediately dropped it. "We're going inside. Now." He grabbed the blanket, handing it to Macy, then helped her down the ladder. Once in the shelter, Luke pulled her close. "Are you sure it's the same symbol? I've seen similar versions in Hot Topic."

Macy nodded as her eyes started to tear. "It's the exact same, from the texture on the goat's horns to the double-lined pentagram around it."

Luke sighed and picked her up. "You're sleeping with me tonight. I'm not taking any chances."

He carried her down the hall and into his room, laying her on the bed. He pulled the blankets over her. After taking off his sweatshirt, he slid into bed next to her.

"He's not gonna hurt you anymore, baby girl. I will do whatever necessary to protect you," he said. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Luke," she said with a yawn, snuggling into his bare chest.

"Good night, my love," he whispered, kissing her head. Macy smiled slightly as she drifted to sleep.