Abeyance

Chapter 9. Demons.

"Do it. Do it. Do it!"

"No!" She wanted to scream, but it was too late. Her arms swung down. Both voices were now silent and the flurry had now ceased.

In slow motion, Callie fell back into the white blanket of snow, red-black blood pooling around her innocent, withering frame. Her icy eyes were dull and lifeless as she struggled to breathe her last breath.

"NO!"

Shooting upright, Callie panted heavily, completely tangled up in a messy pile of sheets and pillows. "Oh, God." She rubbed her face with her palms, willing herself to forget the horrible, disturbing nightmare.

After a few moments of regaining her motor skills and thought process, she surveyed the dark, dusty little room. Looking down, she found Kalen sprawled out on the floor just a few inches from where she lay, remembering how he passed out hours before. The kid had no will power. At the first chance after the boy fell unconscious, she graciously took the bed with a smug, devious half smile. Unbeknownst to her, Kalen didn't mind simply giving her the bed in the first place--not that he would've said so in such a straightforward manner. He'd let her believe it was all her idea, of course.

Now all she wanted was to get out of the comfort of the lonesome bed. Anything was better than there at that moment. Pulling off the sheets, which were damp with her sweat, she idly thought about how much she hated being able to feel and sweat and panic like she had. Being dead had absolutely no perks, she thought cynically.

Her feet lingered on the side of the bed while she closed her eyes and pulled herself into her own little world, only to find that the dark, inhuman voice was still there, lurking in the back of her mind.

A sob caught in her throat as she quickly swiped away tears forming again in her eyes with her knuckles. Not wanting to be alone any more, she made her way down to Kalen and crawled under the covers with him on top of the shaggy floor. His warm body sent waves of contentment through her. Right then she felt so safe, so at home.

In his deep slumber, unaware of his surroundings or actions, he lazily draped his arm around the surprised redhead at his side and held her close. Her eyes went wide at first, then she felt more at peace after a moment or two, realizing that it felt almost—dare she think it—nice. Sighing, she nestled in closer to the boy, reveling in the warmth that radiated from him. His arm locked her in to him tighter, and at that moment she didn't mind one bit. In a matter of minutes Callie was fast asleep, hugging Kalen close, no trace of nightmares, ghouls or monsters, never wanting to let go.

That following morning Kalen woke up from possibly the best sleep he'd ever gotten, even if it was on his hard, dirty bedroom floor. Smiling, he sat up to stretch but found that he was being weighed down. Opening his eyes to the dim light he saw Callie cuddled up beside him, her arms wrapped protectively around his torso and her head buried in his chest.

His eyes softened at the sight. He felt his heart thud at an alarming pace as he took in the sight of her. She seemed so peaceful, so angelic—so unlike her normal self. His smile grew tenfold as he hesitantly reached out to her sleeping form and gently brushed her messy scarlet curls behind her ear. In her sleep she murmured something incomprehensible to Kalen, causing him to hesitate for a moment, but eventually he surmised that she was still dreaming and went back to methodically stroking the side of Callie's soft cheek.

He wasn't sure what'd come over him, maybe it was the fact that a member of the female species was laying with him, snuggled up in him for the first time in his life. Maybe it was the vulnerable, congenial way Callie looked as she held him, like he was her protector. At that instant she was remarkably beautiful in his eyes, even more so than before.