Blue Sacrifice (Blue Davison) (25 page)

“Did you go to school?” Hans asked and I noticed
he was sporting a black eye, not unlike mine. “Your backpack was in your room.”

“Why were you in her room?” Flynn asked, causing
Hans to frown.

“I don’t think we’ve met.”

“I’m not interested in knowing you. We’re just
here to pick up a few of Blue’s things. She’ll be at my place this weekend.”

“Blue,” Hans said as I walked past him and into my
room. Flynn followed and soon Hans did too. “Blue, what happened to your face?”

“The town happened. Is that what happened to your
face?”

Hans sighed, touching his eye which looked fresher
and more swollen than mine.

“You should be at home where it’s safe.”

“I’m staying at Flynn’s.”

“That’s a bad idea.”

“Why? I’m not safe here, Hans. I was hurt in this
house. Plus Gretchen doesn’t care if I’m here and you just keep giving me crap.”

In such a hurry to get out of the house, I wasn’t
sure what I would need while staying at Flynn’s place. After locating my phone,
I grabbed my toothbrush, deodorant, and other beauty stuff then shoved a random
assortment of clothes into my bag. While Flynn and Hans glared at each other, I
also smuggled my birthday pajamas into the bag before facing the men.

“Please stay home with us,” Hans said in the
soothing voice he used when Gretchen would freak out and I’d cry. “I’m making
dinner. We can talk.”

When I looked at Hans, I realized how many times I
wished he would do more than hover around the edges of my life. I wanted him to
act like my father in the way he often hinted he wanted to be. He pretended
like he cared when it was convenient, but it wasn’t always convenient.

I figured Hans only worried about me now because
deep inside Gretchen might give a crap. If she ever woke from her drug induced
stupor and asked for me, Hans wanted me handy.

“I’m staying with Flynn until things in town calm
down. If you want to talk, call me, but I’m not coming back here for a while.”

“I could call the police.”

Stepping between Hans and me, Flynn smiled coldly
at the older man. “If you do, I’ll tell them you hit Blue.”

“And I’ll say you did it,” Hans growled in a tone
I’d never heard him use before. “The abusive boyfriend.”

“Maybe the police would be curious about why you
hang around here even though you and the zombie over there aren’t together anymore?
Would the reason you’re always around have anything to do with the beautiful
teen girl in the house? Lies or not, just the whisper of impropriety will keep
you busy explaining and force you to leave Blue alone. Or you could just move
aside and let her take care of herself like she’s done for most of her life.”

For a second, I was sure Hans was going to hit
Flynn. I think Flynn was just as certain because his stance shifted as if
waiting for the blow. Instead Hans stepped out of the way and threw up his
hands.

“You want to trust a guy who just moved to town
and promises you the moon, go ahead, but I thought you were smarter than that.”

While I thought to defend myself, what was the
point? Hans wouldn’t admit why he really wanted me around. Besides as angry as
I was at his recent guilt trips, I had to admit for the last eight years he was
more of a parent to me than Gretchen ever was. To repay those moments of warmth
we shared over the years, I decided not to argue or point fingers. I just left
the house and gave him what he really wanted which was time alone with
Gretchen.

Placing my bag in the trunk, Flynn watched the
house with angry eyes and I noticed his jaw twitch with tension.

“That went well,” he muttered.

Remaining silent, I felt nervous and wanted to
return to his house. It was a cold impersonal home, but it was where Flynn kept
me safe.

“Are you alright?” he asked after shutting my door
then joining me in the car.

“Can you take me home? To your home, I mean.”

“Of course. We can pick up dinner then we’ll spend
a quiet evening at home.”

Nodding, I felt something itching at me. A sense
of danger or maybe plain old dread. The town felt quiet, yet I sensed the fury
bubbling just under the surface.

My mother warned me that if I didn’t die, the
clock would announce the rising of the darkness. After picking up food and on
the way to Flynn’s house, we passed the clock and I wondered when it would
chime? How long before my choice to live freed the darkness?

Flynn tried to initiate a conversation, but demons
were everywhere. Over a hundred years worth of death waiting around every
corner. Hiding my face in my lap, I needed to find the solace I’d enjoyed in
Flynn’s arms. Yet he would die soon because of me. Why wouldn’t the evil punish
me by taking away my love? Or maybe it would destroy Lacey and Tyson? Someone
was going to die and it was my fault.

“Blue, it’ll be alright.”

“What if your dad dies because I decided to live?
What if it’s you?” I said, falling into a complete panic. “The darkness is coming.”

“Just hold on. We’re almost home.”

When we reached his house, I didn’t get out. I
knew what would be waiting once I looked up from under my hair. I feared seeing
the lives lost because someone hadn’t acted soon enough. Assad’s victims would
have lived if Penny hadn’t failed or my mom hadn’t wanted to spend a little more
time with me. How many people had died this last week because I wanted to flirt
with Flynn or go to the opera or live another day? I was overwhelmed by the
guilt of knowing every single second I breathed meant lives were destroyed.

Flynn opened the passenger door then picked me up.
Hiding my face in the curve of his neck and shoulder, I tried to find the words
to make him understand. Unable to explain, I wrapped my arms around Flynn as he
walked through the house. When he set me down, I knew we were in his bedroom. I
also knew he wanted to distract me, but there were no distractions anymore. Feeling
the darkness growing stronger, I sensed evil awakening with my every heartbeat.

“Call your dad and make sure he’s okay,” I
insisted as Flynn pulled off my jeans. “He needs to get somewhere safe.”

“It’s okay. He texted me on the ride home. He’s at
the Affleck house listening to them whisper.”

I didn’t smile at his joke. Grabbing for my phone,
I texted Lacey and asked if she and her family were okay. When she took more
than three minutes to respond, I started sobbing, certain they were dead. Even
after she texted me back, I remained in a panic.

“See, she’s fine,” Flynn said, taking away the
phone then snuggling under the blankets and pressing his warm nude body against
mine.

“I feel the evil coming. I feel it now. I need to
go.”

Flynn didn’t attempt to reason with me. He just
kissed me and held me and didn’t stop until the sky was nearly dark and the
garage door opened. While in his arms, I felt a little more like myself. Yet
the minute I wasn’t against him, I heard the clock ticking louder in my head.
When we lay silently, I could hear something else too. Like my heartbeat
matching another one and it wasn’t Flynn’s. My heartbeat felt too loud now and
I knew the darkness was nearly awake. Soon it would spill out into Lily Falls and everyone would die. Or I could do my job and stop it.

“I think maybe I dreamed of you,” Flynn whispered
in the dark room. “For years, I think. I didn’t connect the dreams with you
when we met, but I see now how I was meant to be here with you. Even in this
evil place, I was meant to find and save you.”

“Saving me is a mistake.”

Lying on his side, Flynn stared at me as I trembled
under the blankets. “You can’t know that. The town wants you to die and it’s
still lying. The demons didn’t work, so now it’s telling you all this doom is
coming. It’s a trick.”

“I feel it.”

“You feel the evil in this town and it is evil.
What kind of entity would expect you to die to pay penance for something you haven’t
done? You are responsible for the sins of this town and the lives of everyone
in it. How is that fair?”

Shivering, I stared at him wide-eyed. “It’s why I
exist.”

“It’s why you think you exist. If you were nothing
more than a sacrifice, you wouldn’t love me. You wouldn’t care if you did well
on the math test last week or what color clothes you wear or how Lacey is?
You’d just sit around waiting for the day to die, but you aren’t a sacrificial lamb.
You have a choice and you should make the choice anyone else would make. Don’t
you see?”

“My mom…”

“Was lied to her whole life. Your aunt, the one
who ran off, maybe she realized her head had been filled with lies. Maybe she decided
she wouldn’t die for a lie nor sentence her daughters to die for one.”

“My mother died for it.”

Rubbing my bottom lip with his thumb, he smiled
softly. “Yes because like you she was told dying was the only way to save
everyone. Picture if you were just told one day you had to die to protect
everyone. You’d fight the idea, so instead the town starts the lies from the
moment you are born. You were brainwashed to believe the lie, just like your
mom. She shouldn’t have died, your aunt shouldn’t be in the hospital, and you
shouldn’t be hiding under the blankets. We need to let the town feed itself using
the people who want to fight and die. The world is full of darkness and sin.
Why should it be your job to fix something that has always been and always will
be? It’s not fair and I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself for a lie, Blue.”

“I hear the evil. It’s real.”

“But it’s not your responsibility. Hell, maybe
some bastard came up with the plan to feed your family to the darkness in this
town to protect himself. You could have been tricked into a lie by the person
the darkness really wants.”

My mind instantly latched onto something it had never
considered before. Having always accepted Davison women were born to die, I was
now shocked by how I never challenged this thinking? Why hadn’t I ever wondered
before about the origin of the sacrifices or who decided the sacrifice must be
a Davison woman? Were my ancestors originally forced to die and then for generations
deceived into dying willingly? When it should have been the first question on
our minds, why hadn’t I nor any other Davison asked the question of why us?

Flynn said nothing as if understanding how I was
questioning the reasoning behind my death versus someone else’s. Finally I
turned to him and wiped my eyes.

“So maybe I’m taking the place of the person the
town really wants? The one who brought the darkness here.”

“Maybe. I do know you don’t deserve to die when
you’ve done nothing wrong. It’s like you’re being sentenced to death for someone
else’s crimes.”

“So maybe if I wait then the person who deserves
to die will be killed and the darkness might go away?”

Flynn knew I didn’t expect him to have the
answers, but he nodded and wiped my wet cheeks. “You deserve to go to college
and travel and do whatever else you want. You don’t deserve to end your life to
save the lives of others who wouldn’t do the same for you.”

“Even if I save your life by dying?”

“Even then. If I die, let the universe punish the
bastard who killed me. You shouldn’t be punished though.”

“That’s what Tyson said,” I whispered, feeling the
weight of guilt and responsibility lift slightly.

“Then I agree with him, but just about that
though. Otherwise he sucks.”

Laughing, I kissed his chest then moved my lips to
his. “Thank you.”

“I need you, Blue. I’m afraid of losing you so I
need you to live.”

“I’m still scared of what happens next, but maybe
you’re right and it’s all been a trick to protect the guilty. My mom might have
died for this town, but if she had known it might be a lie, she would have
waited.”

His gaze full of hope, Flynn whispered, “So you’ll
wait?”

“Yes.”

“Stay with me and I’ll protect you. I don’t know
how, but I’ll figure it out.”

“Your dad is home.”

“Then we know he’s safe.”

“Should we say hi?”

Flynn scooted closer, his hips against mine, and I
got my answer.

“I love you,” he whispered, his gaze raw in the
darkness.

“I love you too.”

As the fear in his eyes faded, Flynn smiled at my
words. “I told you it would get easier.”

Smiling brightly, I felt more of the darkness ease
away as I embraced hope in the form of the beautiful guy who loved and saved
me.

For the first time, it felt like Flynn wasn’t an
outsider, but a part of Lily Falls which went missing for too long. Now he was there
and the future could change for the better.

After using the universal “sniffed it and it
smelled fine” procedure to test the safety, Beck warmed up the food that Flynn
had dumped on a table earlier. Sitting silently at the kitchen table, we ate our
reheated Italian as I tried to ignore evil’s heartbeat.