Lily’s eyes darted awake. She touched her throat, realizing that no one was choking her. She still couldn’t breathe. Lily could feel Damean’s hand wrapped around her throat, forcing the oxygen to clog in her throat as he suffocated her until she fainted. She panted heavily, her eyes burning with tears. Was that a memory? Did it just happen? Was that real? Was he doing that to Lucifer? What happened? So many questions surrounded her head.
She felt a warm hand grasp her wrist softly. Her stomach dropped. She screamed as loud as she could, her voice scratching her throat. Where was she? Who grabbed her wrist? Why couldn’t she breathe? She forgot where she was at the moment, her head ached, and her throat burned as she continued to scream. She tried her best to get out of the hand’s grip. She tried to pull her hand out, but whoever the person was, they didn’t let go.
“Hey, hey,” a familiar voice said, “shh, shh, shh… It’s alright.”
Her scream trailed off into a sob. She remembered where she was. She wasn’t in that bathroom anymore. She was in that hotel room. She felt a slight rinse of relief, but her fear stayed in her chest. She couldn’t breathe, her lungs refused to let her take deep breaths, causing her to suffocate. Just like her father. Why didn’t she believe Jason when he said that Lucifer was being controlled? Why was she such an idiot?
Another warm hand grasped her waist. She was lightly pulled into Jason’s embrace. Lily sobbed quietly in his chest, pulling the soft fabric of his shirt into her fingers. She panted quickly, the air refusing to get to her brain. Her head started spinning as she panted and cried.
“No, no, no.” Jason said, “Breathe, breathe.” She still took quick breaths as her eyes grew to an abnormal size. Her eyes grew black splotches, making her vision fade. “You’re not breathing.” He noticed.
“Please, please, make the nightmares stop…” Lily sobbed, “I can’t handle them anymore… Please, please, please…”
“Lily, I’m not some god,” Jason said, “I can’t just take all the nightmares away.” He pulled closer, rubbing his thumb on her cheek. “But, I can help you get through them.”
Her breathing softened at the slow gentle caresses that he left on her cheek. Part of her wanted to be upset and sad, making her want to stay awake for the rest of the night. The other part wanted her to calm down and breathe so she was ready to face her father. The only problem with that first one was that Jason’s soft gentle strokes wouldn’t let her be stiff and fearful. She was scared, Jason knew this, and he knew how to get her to fall back asleep. He wouldn’t let her stay awake. He continued to brush her cheek with his thumb. Her tense muscles relaxed slightly. Her eyelids lowered, and her hand let go of his shirt. She bent her knees and huddled up in his arms.
“See? I can help in a way,” Jason smiled. His green eyes were as soft as silk. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his warmth. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He calmed her racing heart as he softly stroked her head. Then he pulled every strand of hair out of her face, pushing them to the sides. “It’s alright…” His soothing voice made her eyes weigh down by a thousand pounds. “You’re okay…”
“What… about… my father…?” Lily managed to let out through her paralized lips. She could feel gravity softly push her onto the bed. She was sinking into the mattress, like quicksand. Even though she felt the weight of fatigue drag her into the dreamland, she still couldn’t get rid of the hard, cold pain in her chest.
“What about him?” Jason wondered.
“I had a dream…” She breathed softly. Jason could hear the exhaustion in her voice. “That… he was actually good… and… and…” She exhaled, clearly trying to stay awake. “...Damean… was… controlling him….”
“That makes sense,” Jason uttered. “Their wolf is the monster, remember?”
“So… he did all those things… be… ‘cause…” Lily’s voice trailed off into silence. Jason stopped stroking her cheek, then he lightly removed his hand away from her face. He grabbed the tangled covers and stretched them over her. She didn’t move a muscle, she slept quietly in his chest.
He bent his legs as well, helping her stay warm from the ice that was forming on her skin. He didn’t mind her freezing cold skin, mainly because he was warming her up, and he liked feeling her warmth when she was relaxed. Because that was the only time she was warm. She was always scared. Her fear caused her to either have fire emanating or ice forming on her skin. All Jason wanted was to feel her warmth, her normal warmth. He cared about her, he loved her, and he hated seeing her so afraid.
After the fight about a couple days earlier, Lily grew stronger. She started talking back and getting snappy. But… everytime she had a nightmare, she would wake up and be so terrified to go back to sleep. Jason always tried to help her back to sleep, because they both needed the rest. So, since he finally accepted that he needed the rest as well, he cuddled up with her and closed his eyes, sinking into the mattress as he faded into a world of dreams he always loved being in.
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*****
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A loud ring filled the air. Lily groaned as she woke from her deep sleep. She shoved her head in Jason’s chest as the ring continued to shake the room. Jason was still sleeping, not even twitching at the sound of the loud ring.
“Jason…” Lily groaned, “Jason…” She looked up to his face, he was sleeping so peacefully. She sighed, not wanting to wake him up. “Jason….” She lightly grasped his shoulders and shook him. “Wake up, please… Your phone’s ringing.”
Jason’s eyes squeezed shut tighter. “Let it ring…” He muttered.
“But, it could be important…” Lily murmured. She slowly started waking up. She remembered that dream she had the night before. Fear started edging up her throat. “Please, answer it.”
Jason sighed. “Fine.” He rolled over and picked up his smartphone that was charging on the nightstand. The phone continuously rang, not stopping. If he didn’t pick up in time, it rang again. He swiped at the screen a couple of times. Lily watched as he pressed the phone to his ear. “Hello?” He asked groggily. “Yes.” Lily heard muffled voices talking fast through the phone. Curiosity climbed up her spine and she crawled closer to Jason. She wanted to know what was going on. “What?” Jason said, “Elle. Calm down.”
Elle? Lily thought.
“Okay, okay, yes, we’ll come back.” Jason sighed, “It might take a while though.” The voice in the phone muffled an “okay” and she hung up. Jason took the phone away from his ear and shook his head.
Lily looked up at him, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “What happened?” She asked.
Jason placed his fingers on his forehead, “Elle just being Elle…” He sighed and looked up at her. “We need to pack.” He stated, “Do you know where everything is?”
Lily nodded.
“Okay then, go.”
“Can I have a hug first?” She asked. Her eyes shone as she felt the need for some comfort.
Jason stared at her for a moment. He saw the look in her eyes. She knew something he didn’t. “Are you alright?” He asked. She looked down at the bed. Her eyes darkened to a midnight blue. “Lily…”
“No.” She breathed quickly. Her body struggled to stay calm. She wanted to cry, but she pushed the tears down. Her head spun, her throat burned, her chest ached as she tried her best not to sob.
Jason crawled over to her, knowing that she couldn’t control her pain. “Hey, Lily… it’s okay…” She turned her head away, her body refusing to breathe. When she laid back down on the bed, Jason laid down next to her. “We don’t have to leave now if you don’t want to.” He said, “I don’t want to force you.”
“It’s okay,” she let out, “I’ll be fine…”
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What wasn’t she telling him? “Are you sure?” He questioned, “Because you don’t look fine to me.”
Ice crystals started forming on her arms, turning her skin red. She shivered as the cold dug into her body. It burned her. She let out a shaky breath. “Yes…” She sniffled, “Is the air conditioning on? It’s cold…”
Jason knew she didn’t realize that the cold was coming from her. He cuddled up with Lily. “It’s not on.” He could feel her cold skin, her freezing cold skin.
She trembled as the ice dug into her body. She folded her arms over each other, bending her legs as the cold bitter ice consumed her veins. “Wh- wh- why is it so- so- so cold…?” She stammered. Her body completely froze, her blood turned to ice. Her skin burned as the frost emanated from her skin, falling onto the bed and leaving wet spots.
Jason pulled her close to him. He grabbed the comforter and threw it over both of them. He rubbed his hands on her arms, attempting to use friction to warm her up. He could feel her body heat start rising. “Are you getting warmer?” He asked softly.
Lily could feel the heat of his hands on her icy skin. As her body started calming down, she felt the cold slowly fade away. “Why am I the only one who gets cold?” Lily asked, her words shaking.
“Your… ice powers are activating…” Jason whispered hesitantly.
Lily’s eyes widened, she turned to look him in the eyes, “I have ICE powers too?”
Jason’s green eyes stared into hers. They looked sad. His eyes shone with tears that never fell. “Yes… They start activating when you're afraid.”
“That’s…” she struggled to find the right word to describe what she felt. Words shuffled through her head until she finally came up with the best one, “cool…”
Jason chuckled at the word she chose. “That’s the best word you could come up with?”
“Words are hard…” Lily muttered. Embarrassment rose to her chest as his lips shone off a grin.
“Hey,” Jason said, “I’m just joking.” He pulled her into a hug, not wanting to let go. “I’m going to go run some errands.” He pressed his lips gently to her forehead. He softly kissed her head, leaving a warm spot on her skin. “I want you to stay here, please, just rest. Don’t pack. Take a warm shower, sleep, draw, read, I don’t know, just something to calm those racing thoughts.” He cupped her cheeks and tilted her head up to look at him, “Is that alright?”
Her eyes shone with depression. She nodded. “Yes, I’m fine with that.”
Jason kneeled down and pressed his lips on her’s. A soft, short kiss. He let go all too soon and sat up, standing up on the floor. “I will hold you to that.” He smiled, “No pressure.”
She still laid on the bed, her eyes halfway closed. “I’m still tired, so maybe I’ll sleep for forty-eight hours.”
He chuckled, “I’ll need your help packing the car though.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead again. “I’ll be back in about an hour.” He slipped on his shoes and slid his wallet into the back pocket of his pants. She watched him, fatigue pressing her into the bed. Jason grabbed his phone off the nightstand and pulled the charger out. “If you need anything, and I don’t care if it’s stupid,” he rose his phone, “call me, okay?”
Lily nodded, her lashes brushed against her cheek.
“I’ll see you soon, sweetheart. Take care of yourself.” He padded to the door, the lock clicking as he turned the bolt. He opened the door, stepped out, and softly closed it behind him. Leaving Lily alone in the soft comforters, and the little patches of sunlight that bled out of the blackout curtains.
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*****
Jason was gone for about ten minutes when Lily started feeling hot. Sweat dripped down her arms as she pulled the comforters off of her. She thought the heat was just her fire powers activating because she was stressed out. But then it got worse. She heard shouting and people running down the halls of the hotel.
It’s probably nothing. Her brain told her. Even though she felt unsure, she continued laying on the bed.
The heat got worse, burning her skin. It felt like there were heaters surrounding her. She wished she could turn the heat off but she couldn’t. She dug her head into her pillow, ignoring the sounds of fearful crowds and running footsteps.
But, wait… Lily remembered Damean’s words, You’re going to go to their crummy hotel and burn it to the ground. She shot up and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she slipped on her shoes and ran to the door. Pain shot from her palm all the way up her arm as she grasped the door knob.
She instinctively pulled her hand away, a burn mark formed on her palm. Fear edged up her skin, sending goosebumps that weren’t helping her breathing techniques. The hotel was on fire. Why couldn’t she remember that? Why didn’t she warn Jason? Why couldn’t she focus?
Okay, Lily, breathe. She told herself, Think. What did mom teach you in case there was a house fire?
Of course! The window! Why didn’t she think of that before? She darted over to the window and threw the curtains open. Fire trucks surrounded the hotel, spraying water at all of the windows that were rooms that were burning.
Then she realized she was on the tenth floor. She screamed in frustration, pacing the room. She was going to die at her own father’s hands. She couldn’t use her ice powers because she didn’t know how to control them. Her head shot up as a lightbulb formed above her head. What if she created a rope with all the sheets? She ran over to the bed, pulling all of the sheets and blankets off and tying them together.
The heat made her room wave. The fire was getting closer. She whimpered as she tied more and more sheets together. God… it was taking so long.
She could open the window and scream for help. No. That wouldn’t work. Her voice would be drowned out by all of the panicked people.
She tied all of the sheets together, only realizing that it was only a couple of yards long. She needed a much larger rope if she was going to climb down.
Lily heard a loud snap. She flipped her head toward the heater vent. The vent snapped and crackled. It got louder and louder until fire exploded through it, throwing Lily back. She screamed as the fire burned her skin. She flew across the room until she hit the wall, black slammed her vision. She sank to the floor, unconscious.
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