34 | Hold On Tight

Seaside, California October 31, 2012

Scott

COMPELLING over fifteen drunk teenagers to not kill each other was a pain in the ass. But after pulling them away one by one and calming them down, and convincing them to stop drinking; things calmed down.

Barely.

Though much of the partygoers needed to leave at this point. This whole party was a horrible idea, just like any underage party involving alcohol.

I didn't plan on coming here. I had Zach to thank for that, and his girlfriend who nearly broke my door down earlier today. They both told me to get over myself and try and talk to Lily again.

If she even still wanted to try things, I would be all in. I didn't know what the future was going to be like. The worry of getting too close again always kept appearing in my mind, but I pushed it back.

I still didn't forgive myself for hurting and being a total asshole to the girl I loved. Driving away and leaving Lily that night was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do. Hearing her tell me she didn't blame me for what happened, even much more so that she forgave me, almost made me stay.

Even when I tried to scare her away, she still didn't stop trying.

But that hatred building inside was almost too much. She didn't understand just how wrong it was for me to hurt her in that way. And just how close I was to almost killing her.

Zach said the same thing she did. That it was an accident and that I needed to get over myself.

Then I remarked that if he almost killed his girlfriend, would he stick around?

He didn't seem too happy at that reply.

But here I was. Watching people party and act like idiots. I didn't expect Lily to be drunk herself, but with the way life is going, I didn't blame her.

After leaving her upstairs, the entire football team decided that having a brawl near the pool was the best way to end the night. Three of them had broken noses, and one with a dislocated shoulder.

With my very few years of medical school, I did set it back without breaking it. I almost wanted to rip it off and start beating the shit out of these morons with it. Maybe that would teach them to stop drinking and getting into fights.

After I finished compelling those idiotic people, I saw Celesta leave with something concealed under a blanket.

That didn't look suspicious at all.

After roaming through the crowd of people, I saw Elle dancing a little too close to the edge of the pool. The people around her didn't seem too concerned, they were just as wasted as she.

"Hey, you!" Elle giggled as she saw me walking up to her.

Taking the drink from her hand, I frowned. "I think you've had enough, don't you think?"

"What!" Elle exclaimed. "No!"

She tried to grab the drink back but stumbled forward. I shot my arm out and steadied her.

"Yeah, maybe I should lie down," Elle mumbled.

"Yeah..." I trailed off and helped her walk inside.

After getting her settled onto the couch in the living room and tossing the drink out, I left to go look for Lily. It always seemed I was always looking for that woman.

She disappears like Houdini.

I went back upstairs to her room, finding it empty. It felt weird being in her room, it still had traces of her childhood. Her furniture and walls were white, with splashes of color everywhere. On the windowsill was a stack of stuffed animals. Everything else looked pristine and put in a certain place.

Her perfectionism had no bounds it seemed.

But something was starting to feel off. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Zach either.

Did something happen and they decided to not tell me about it? Again.

Walking back down the stairs, I noticed Elle passed out on the couch, but she had been joined by someone else.

Eddie. But he had his head bent down, his hands on either side as he seemed to be distressed.

When I got closer I saw his blond hair coated with dried blood, did he get in that brawl somehow? I didn't see him in it.

"What in the hell happened to you?" I asked.

Eddie looked spooked when he heard me, his head snapped up at me, eyes wide.

"Why aren't you with Zach and Cel?" Eddie refuted, ignoring my question.

"What do you mean why am I not with them?" I remarked. "What the fuck happened to you?"

What is going on with everyone tonight?

Before I said anything else Amberly burst out into the scene, hands up and waving them around frantically.

"Everyone! The party is over!" she yelled, though it fell on deaf ears. "Seriously people, I will call the cops!"

She looked over at us and put her hands on her hips.

"Care to help?!" she snapped at me.

"Do you care to tell me what is going on?" I reiterated, growing more irritated.

Amberly looked anxiously at Eddie and then back to me. "I will but please help me get these people out of here," she cried.

Sighing, I nodded. These people did need to leave before I started committing murder.

I took out my phone and dialed the one thing that would get them to leave.

"What are you doing?" Amberly exclaimed.

"Calling the cops," I said nonchalantly.

"What!" she screamed. "I didn't mean that literally—Oh my God!"

"Relax, once they get here and everyone starts running away, I will compel them to leave," I explained.

Amberly started pacing as I reported a loud, outrageous party disturbing my peace.

Which was true.

Three minutes later when the one cop arrived, before everyone started to scream and run out of the house, I moved Elle upstairs to the guest room. I figured she didn't need to be in that melee passed out on a couch.

As people were running to their cars, the cop looked utterly bewildered at the number of people at the party. But before he called for backup, I calmly walked up to him.

And having him stay just until people cleared out, I sent him on his way.

I was surprised I was the one to call the cops and not the neighbors. Did they not hear the horrible music being blasted? Or the large number of vehicles parked on the road? Granted, the distance between the houses was great, but you could probably hear this shit from a mile away.

As the last few people were stumbling out of the house, I went back to where Eddie was still sitting, now joined by Amberly.

Amberly gulped nervously as I stood in front of them, the anger no longer hidden on my face.

"Well Isabel showed up earlier," Eddie began, his voice shaky.

Why were the two of them so petrified of telling me what was going on?

"And?" I pressed, getting impatient.

Realization dawned on me before Eddie even spoke. Lily wasn't here either.

"Isabel attacked me and then I woke up on the ground," Eddie replied. "I don't know what she did, but I don't think I should even be alive right now."

I glanced at his head again.

"There was a  lot of blood outside around him, and Zach found some of Lily's on the ground," Amberly lamented.

With every passing second now I could feel myself starting to slip away. I was here the entire time and I leave her for just a moment—

"Scott?" Amberly queried, her voice faltering.

I snapped my focus back on them. I needed to remain calm before I ended up going off the deep end.

"Do you have any idea where they went?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"No," Amberly sniveled as she started to cry. "Zach and Cel just left right after we found Eddie."

Perfect. When this was all over I might end up killing both of them for leaving without telling me anything.

I started dialing that idiot's phone number but it went straight to voicemail.

"I'm leaving, both of you stay here and do not leave until we get back," I ordered.

The two of them just nodded fearfully and I was out the door. I had no way of knowing where Isabel could have taken her. I remember this feeling of despair as I ran.

It was eighteen years ago.

And I ran all night and never found Adelaide. It was only hours after I found out that she was dead.

And it felt like it was happening again. A strange pull kept leading me in a direction. I was on the other side of town, racing through the woods. I sensed something coming toward me and quickly, too fast to be anything other than a vampire.

I stopped suddenly, skidding to a halt.

I felt whoever it was zoom past me, but they came back. A very disheveled Maggie gawked at me, her eyes wide with surprise. She had deep slashes on her arms that looked like they had come from claws.

But the strange part was that she was still bleeding profusely. Which meant like me, she probably hasn't fed in a while.

The longer a vampire goes without feeding, the weaker they become. And now was the time I needed to be at my strongest. But seeing Maggie like she was, I didn't think she would put up much of a fight.

She approached me slowly but stopped when I let out a snarl as a warning.

"I don't want to fight," Maggie cried, "I just want all of this to end."

"What?" I gawked, feeling caught off guard.

"I do not want to be this anymore," Maggie lamented. "I didn't want this. I don't want to be a monster anymore."

"You don't have to be a monster, if you want me to help you I will," I entreated. "I know you were just a pawn in Isabel and Seana's games."

Maggie just laughed sadly. "If only that were true. I believe just standing by and watching Isabel maim innocents makes me no better than her."

"No, you were terrified," I insisted. "Believe me, I have been there. But unlike you, I did become that monster. It is hard to come back from, but not impossible."

"And what about Isabel?" Maggie questioned. "Could she have been brought back? What she did to those people, to Brandon."

I sighed. "I don't know. After everything she has done, however, I wouldn't hesitate to kill her at this point."

"Well, I don't think you need to worry about that," Maggie replied somberly. "She's dead. Celesta killed her."

My eyes widened in surprise, but why did something still feel so wrong? That tug still was stirring in my chest. I knew it was leading me to Lily.

My phone started to ring in my pocket as I still looked at Maggie with surprise.

It was Zach.

"Zachary," I snarled, almost breaking the phone in half as my grip tightened. "You have five seconds to explain why you didn't fucking—"

"Scott," Zach croaked out.

"What?" I snapped.

"Y-You need to get here," he stammered, his voice shaky. "It's Lily. I-I don't think she is gonna make it."

And then I heard her voice as she said something to Celesta. And I felt my entire body just crumble.

"Scott? Did you hear me?!" he asked. But I could hear Celesta in the background now.

She was screaming.

"I'm coming," I whispered hoarsely.

I felt my phone crumble apart in my hand. My arms went slack at my sides as I stared ahead in disbelief.

"For what it is worth," I heard Maggie say in front of me. "Just for a second, I thought I could live like this. But this all must end now."

I finally looked at her, she had her hand held out toward me; a piece of a tree branch was in it. I locked eyes with her, feeling nothing.

She gave me a nod with her head for me to grab it.

"I am sorry I did nothing to stop Isabel from harming her," Maggie admitted, her eyes sad. "End this, please."

So I did. I shoved the stake into her chest, a gasp escaping her as she looked down. But a sad smile went across her face and she closed her eyes, at peace with herself.

I set her on the ground carefully. Another life was lost because of Seana.

Regret surged through me, but died at the same time. Just as my heart did.

I was silent as I ran, but my mind was spiraling. The last time I felt like this, I lost my humanity.

And I would lose it again.

Because I knew I could not bear the thought of losing someone I loved again.

THE fear of walking into that house and finding Lily dead had been replaying in my mind a thousand times, even before I crossed the threshold.

I could hear Celesta's cries and Zach murmuring things to her but to no avail. I eyed Isabel's body in the corner, two gunshot wounds and a protruding stake were in her chest.

And the smell of blood was so overbearing that I couldn't think straight anymore. But when I came around that corner and laid my eyes on Celesta cradling a lifeless Lily in her arms, all the numbness wore off.

To feel nothing but grief.

Zach turned quickly, his eyes red from crying. "Jesus Christ I thought you weren't going to get here in time."

"Please help her!" Celesta wailed out.

I was instantly down on the floor beside them, my eyes widening in horror at what Isabel had done.

"Can you help her?" Celesta cried out again, "I-I don't know if she is still—"

I leaned my head against her chest, listening for even a flutter of a heartbeat. It was so low that I thought I was hearing things when I lifted my head back up.

"Pull the knife out," I all but snarled as I sunk my fangs into my wrist.

Right before I pressed it against Lily's mouth, Celesta pulled the knife out carefully and tossed it away from us.

I pulled Lily closer and forced the blood to go down her throat. For a few horrifying seconds, I thought that this was it. That I was too late.

But then Lily started to stir as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Oh thank God!" Celesta exclaimed, a laugh of joy escaping her as Lily started to pull away from my wrist.

But I tightened my hold, I wasn't letting go until she was healing. I eyed the cut on her forehead and noticed it had started to close. When I pulled my wrist away Lily started to cough and spat out whatever blood she had in her mouth.

"Lily are you okay?" Celesta asked as I started to look over Lily's body, making sure everything was healing up.

"Everything hurts," Lily muttered, her voice weak.

I finally took in more of our surroundings and how we all were coated with Lily's blood. I didn't even realize it, all I was focused on was keeping her alive.

Lily finally glanced up at me, her eyes widening in surprise.

There was so much I needed to say, but the longer I sat there, the more my senses came back to me. And being around all this blood was not helping.

The moment she started to sit up Celesta enveloped her in a tight hug.

"You've got to stop almost dying on me," Celesta chuckled.

I started to stand, knowing I can't be here much longer. I still didn't trust myself.

But Lily shot her hand out, latching it onto my arm. Just one glance at her distraught face had me pulling her into my arms and hugging her tight.

Zach and Celesta looked at one another, their expressions grave as reality set back in. All of us came out unscathed, but not completely.

"This has been one fucked up night," Zach muttered to himself.

"No shit," I remarked. I was still going to kill him later.

The sound of several vehicles pulling up to the house made me tense up, as did Zach. Lily looked up at me with confusion as Zach and I had our eyes locked on the doorway.

"Guys?" Celesta questioned and stood up.

The sound of people walking around the house and some entering the house made me tighten my hold on Lily.

But to our surprise, the person to walk into the room was none other than Francis, with Orion and another man at his side.

"Celesta," the unnamed man said, he was holding a shotgun in his hand. "I believe this is yours?"

"Dad?!" Celesta gawked. "How—"

"Oh, a whole chain of events," Francis said gravely.

"Whoever ratted out your party Lillian got word to your father," Celesta's father murmured, "He does know people with 911 you know."

Oops.

"Your parents came rushing home and get every detail about this situation," Celesta's father continued. But he was looking at Celesta now. "Any attack on a witch must be dealt with immediately."

I saw Orion eye me with scrutiny. Francis however, looked at me strangely as I held Lily.

He almost seemed, pleased. I could never figure out that man.

"Are you kidding me?" Celesta scoffed. "Isabel needed to be dealt with weeks ago."

"It does not matter now, you have done what is expected of you," her father praised. "Just like I have taught you."

Another man walked in and whispered something into Celesta's father's ear. They found Maggie's body.

When he left, her father smiled. "Well, two of the problems have been dealt with," he paused and glared at Orion. "I trust you have dealt with your niece?"

"Of course," Orion replied, lying right through his teeth.

"You know one of those problems had a name," I seethed.

"And just who are you?" Celesta's father asked, his eyes narrowed on me.

"He is our friend," Celesta snapped and stood protectively in front of Lily and me.

"Jeffery, enough of this," Francis sighed. "We need to take care of things here."

"Very well," Jeffery concluded. "Celesta, you and your friends can go back to Lillian's. I will deal with you later."

"What happened to Isabel and Maggie?" Lily whispered to me.

I was about to reply, but Francis walked over to us.

"They have been dealt with," Francis replied. "I wish we intervened sooner, tonight should not have happened."

"Yeah," Celesta put in sarcastically. She gave a glare at Orion, something unsettling passed between them.

"Let's go guys," Zach chimed in, also noticing the animosity between them.

Celesta broke her glare away from Orion and walked over to Lily as I was standing her up.

People were walking around the house, dumping gasoline everywhere. So this is how they cover up the supernatural.

"I hate that man," Celesta mumbled under her breath as we all piled up into Zach's truck.

She jumped into the back with Lily, and Zach tore out of the driveway, wanting to get far away from that place as possible. Celesta started asking Lily what Isabel had done to her, but Lily didn't even remember everything.

So Celesta filled her in on what did happen.

"I hate saying this, but I am glad Isabel is dead," Lily confessed. "After what she did to Brandon, this needed to end."

"What about Maggie?" Celesta inquired. "Who killed her?"

"I did a number on her, but I didn't kill her," said Zach.

"I killed her," I revealed. "She felt so much regret that she wanted to die."

"That," Celesta noted, "is depressing."

I glanced at Lily, she looked greatly disturbed and looked away out the window.

"Where do you think Seana is?" Zach put forth.

"Orion must have done something," I guessed. "I know he didn't kill her, but Seana wouldn't of just let Isabel touch a witch, it is suicide."

"I don't trust him," Celesta hissed. "He is obviously lying to my father about Seana, but I know if I bring that up he will tell my father about what happened at homecoming."

We finally pulled into the driveway at Lily's.

She didn't need to tell me the outcome of that situation. Orion already threatened me that night on keeping Seana's transgressions a secret from the coven. If not, he would gladly let the coven know what I did to Lily.

Once Zach put the truck into park, the front door to the house burst open. Laura and Amberly were the first ones out, followed by a not-so-happy Samuel.

Celesta was helping Lily out of the truck when her mother pulled her into a tight hug, a cry of relief escaping her.

"Honey are you alright?!" her mother sobbed as she started looking over Lily's bloodied self.

"I'm okay!" Lily said, exasperated.

"We are all fine," Celesta added. "Mentally scarred, but fine."

Laura didn't look convinced.

All of us walked into the house, the aftermath of the party still evident. There was shit everywhere.

"I need to clean this up," Lily insisted and went toward the living room but was halted by her mother.

"No, you need to get yourself cleaned up," her mother snapped. "I'm not worried about this right now, you almost died!"

Lily just shook her head.

"She is right," Celesta chimed in. "We will clean this up, you need to go rest."

"Laura you know we need to talk about this party," Samuel finally spoke.

"We will tomorrow Samuel," his wife quipped.

"But—"

"Tomorrow!" she reiterated angrily.

Samuel sighed, then disappeared into the kitchen. I heard him opening a bottle.

Lily gave me a quick glance and without another word followed Amberly and her mother upstairs.

I never took my eyes off her, even when she was gone I still gazed at the stairs. I felt that pull again, but I ignored it.

"Well, would you look at the time!" Zach announced loudly, making me snap my attention to him. "It's after midnight!"

"And?" his girlfriend asked, annoyed.

Zach ignored her and started to grin idiotically at me.

"Don't fucking say it," I warned.

"Happy birthday!" Zach hollered and started to laugh.

"Happy birthday? I guess?" Celesta muttered.

"Thanks," I deadpanned.

Celesta started up the stairs but looked back at me, her face worried. "Scott, I think you need to go take care of yourself too, you don't look all that great."

Then I was left in the entryway with a still grinning Zach, but that faltered when he really looked at me.

"Dude, when was the last time you fed?" Zach queried, worry laced in his voice.

I didn't respond. I didn't want to remember the last time.

"I think you should go home and take care of yourself," Zach cautioned. "Especially if you plan on being around her, you don't need to be like this."

"Yes I know," I sighed.

"Good, because I don't want to have to kill you if you fuck up again," Zach chuckled.

I just glared at him. "You know I am about to kill you for what happened tonight."

Zach just held his hands up. "I know! I know! But everything is good now! Right?" he insisted.

"Sure," I replied sarcastically and walked toward the door.

I could hear everyone upstairs. Everyone was fussing over Lily. I hadn't heard her speak once since she went upstairs. I didn't know the extent of what Isabel did to her, but all I knew was that I was going to be there for her.

Just as was about to leave I turned to look at Zach. "Don't tell anyone it's my birthday."

"You got it bud," Zach winked.

I'm sure everyone would know by the time I got back.