Lily watched one by one as the trees passed by, counting every single one until she got to a thousand, then she started over. The trees faded into plains, the most boring thing to look at, then hours later, it turned into buildings, tiny houses that eventually made into a city. Lily has never been in a city as big as Denver, the buildings were high skyscrapers, and she couldn't count how many there were. She usually liked forests, not oceans, but forests.
Jason and Lily drove in silence the entire way, it wasn't wrong to be silent, but it still felt awkward. Lily looked over to Jason as he drove, his eyes were focused on the road, and they were so beautiful. They are usually a very light shade of green that turned darker when Jason was sad. Right now, they were a darker shade. She could tell something was bothering him, she tried to ask him, but he said it was nothing. So Lily stopped asking questions. She knew how it felt to not want to talk to someone.
They were going to Denver because Jason heard a distress call from the B.O.M.B.'s branch in that city. It's hidden amongst the other buildings. Jason said to Lily that it was disguised as a Moonbucks coffee shop. Apparently, there were more bureaus concealed in other states, but the giant one was the main one in Nebraska. The one that Lily, Jason, Elle, and Zach lived at.
"What's wrong?" Jason asked, still staring at the road.
"What?" Lily said. Stunned at his sudden break of the silence. She was sitting in complete silence for hours, so when he talked, his voice sounded like it was coming out of concert-level speakers when it was actually as calm as the ocean.
"You're staring at me," He noticed. His eyes were still aiming at the road. How on Earth did he do that? How did he see her expression?
"Oh!" She looked away, "Sorry," She stared out the window, not wanting to look him in the eyes.
He sighed, clearly annoyed. "How many times do I have to say 'stop apologizing' for you to actually stop?" He was right. She apologized way too much. She couldn't help it though, it was a habit.
She stayed silent and gazed out the window, watching the Civic Center clock tower pass by. It was so tall, she faked being interested in it, trying to avoid talking to him. She placed her hands on the window, trying to act like a child, and said, "Woah."
"You still didn't answer my question." He said. Not dumb enough to fall for her terrible attempt to avoid talking to him.
"Huh?" She looked back at him. His brown hair shone in the sunlight, "What did you ask me?" She knew what he asked her. She knew he was trying to get her to talk to him. She didn't want to, and he learned this a while ago.
He sighed again, shaking his head, "You are so forgetful sometimes, you know that?" Playing her game, he glanced in her direction, "I asked you what's wrong." He knew if he was straightforward, she would have some type of answer.
"Oh, nothing." She looked back at the window, "When will we get there?" She asked, changing the subject. The sun was setting, and she was tired. They were driving for thirteen hours, and she hated sleeping in cars.
"A couple of minutes." He mumbled, annoyed that she tossed off his question. Smooth, He thought. She's not dumb like most girls, Jason.
"Hey, Jason?" She asked.
"Hm?" He mumbled, wondering what she was going to say.
"Did you ever explain what happened to your brother?"
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, knuckles turning white. A week ago, Lily, Jason, Elle, and Zach stood up to Lucifer himself and won. Lucifer said he would be back, so when they got the distress call from the bureau branch in Denver, they had to make sure that it wasn't him. "Yes. He yelled at me for being reckless." Oh, I see, I get to talk, but she stays silent. He sighed internally. Convincing himself that Lily didn't have any malicious intent. She was just trying to help him.
"But... You were trying to save your friends... and you helped me through my problems too."
"Exactly!" He growled. Even though he practically just yelled at her, he felt a wave of relief knowing that she understood.
Lily stared at the floor, feeling the bumps of the car. She watched as the floor bounced for every rock they hit. "Well, I think you work really hard, and you take care of your friends very well, not that I don't respect your brother, but he was wrong for calling you reckless."
"Thank you, Lily." His tone was as soft as silk.
"For what?" She looked up, then glanced at him.
"For always being there for me."
Heat rose to her cheeks, and she shook her head, "You don't need to thank me for that."
"I do, so accept my gratitude." His eyes hardened as he stared at the road for a moment, then they softened again.
She stared at the floor again, "Okay. You're welcome."
He smiled, lips curling into a smooth curved line. Lily could see it in the corner of her eye. "You're so cute." He said.
Lily immediately looked at him, her cheeks rosy red. Embarrassment rose to her stomach as his lips continued to shine off a grin, "What makes you think that?"
"You're so nice and kind," he glanced in her direction, "I like that about you." Her eyes widened in amazement. She flushed and looked away. Jason chuckled, "And," He said, "You're really easy to embarrass."
Lily puffed her cheek and stared out the window, irritated that he liked messing with her. They entered a hotel parking lot, and Jason pulled into one of the spots close to the entrance.
"Come on," He chuckled, "Don't be like that."
After putting his car in park, he tugged a strand of her hair, ran it through his fingers, opened his car door, and got out.
Huh, he actually called me cute. Lily smiled. She felt the car jump as the trunk shut. Then her car door opened, "Oh, now you're smiling." He was grinning, so he wasn't angry. She gave him her best smile and got out of the car.
When she got out of the car, someone stood at the entrance. Her black hair was tied into a tight bun, her brown skin shined orange in the golden sunset. She wore a black tank top and tight black leggings. Grayish black sunglasses set on her face, and she was leaning on the side of the building.
Jason's eyes narrowed into a glare. He walked up to the woman and crossed his arms.
"Lilith." He said.
"Jason." She said back.
Lily walked up to them, everyone ignoring the luggage. "Jason? Who is this?"
"Lily, meet Lilith. Lilith, Lily."
Lily's eyes widened in fear. Wait. Isn't Lilith a demon? She took a step back.
Lilith took off her sunglasses, "You must be Lily! I'm so glad I finally met you!" Her orange eyes shone in the dim light. She stepped in front of Jason and hugged Lily.
"Umm..." Lily looked at Jason, her expression saying, "who is she, and why is she hugging me?" He shrugged. She could faintly see a smile play on his lips. Lily sighed mentally, confused as to why this complete stranger, keep in mind who was probably also a demon, was hugging her. Lilith finally let go, and she smiled brightly. "No offense..." Lily said, "But, aren't demons supposed to be evil?"
Lilith continued grinning, clearly not offended at all. She had gotten this question a lot. "Not all of them, only the ones who were taken over by their wolf. We try to train all of the werewolves how to control their inner wolf in BeedleBind."
"What's a 'BeedleBind'?" Lily asked. She wondered if it was some type of play on words?
Lilith glanced behind her shoulder at Jason, who Lily realized wasn't grinning, and her smile faded. "You really haven't told her anything, have you?" His eyes were narrow. He didn't like her for some reason. Why?
"Told me what?" Lily asked.
Lilith looked back towards Lily and sighed, "It's basically the name for hell." She smiled again, "But, I'm super glad I finally got to meet Lucifer's very own daughter!" She grabbed Lily's hand. Lilith's skin was surprisingly hot. "I'll have to fill you in later, but for now, I have to go." She hugged Lily again, let go, and smiled, "Bye!" Then she walked away.
"Umm... What was that?" Lily asked Jason as he walked over to their forgotten luggage.
"What was what?" He said, feigning ignorance.
She put her hand on his shoulder, "You know what I'm talking about."
He grabbed the luggage and shook her hand off his shoulder, "Just a stupid demon."
Lily settled her hand by her side, feeling fear and confusion fill her chest, almost leaving no room for anything else. "What makes you say that?"
Jason walked towards the entrance, ignoring her question. He walked into the building and got the keys from the front desk. All this with Lily following, trying to get him to answer. Lily tried talking again when they entered the room, "Jason...."
He slammed the door shut and stormed into the room, throwing the luggage at the wall.
Lily flinched, shaken at his sudden snap in anger. Then walked over to him as he sat on the bed. She settled down next to him and let her head rest on his shoulder. Lily could feel the hardness of his tense muscles through his shirt. It wasn't normal for him. The usually relaxed, chill Jason.
"She's an interesting one." He said, "She really likes to play with people's feelings."
Lily shot up, "Are you saying you liked her at some point?"
Jason looked at her with a disgusted look on his face, "What? No! Ew!" He looked down and twiddled his thumbs, "She did that to my brother."
"Oh..." Lily said, relief relaxing her muscles. She placed her head back on his shoulder. "Do... You want to talk about it?"
Jason sighed, "Not really."
"Okay." She yawned.
He placed his hands on hers. The warmth was heating Lily's cold hands. "Do you want to go to sleep?"
"Only if you don't need help with unpacking."
He pushed her off him and laid her on the bed, "I don't need help," He brushed his thumb on her cheek. For some ungodly reason, she found it comforting. "You can sleep if you want."
"Yes, I think I will." She rolled on her side as he placed a blanket on her, the softness warming up her cold, depressed body. She yawned again as she closed her eyes and faded into a world of dreams full of fear and worry.
*****
Lily laid in the grass, the soft blades of grass brushing against her bare skin. "Lily." Someone said. She looked up. Lucifer stood above her, his red eyes staring down at her. Her eyes widened in shock, and she tried to get up and run, but she couldn't move. She was stuck to the ground, the grass suddenly burning her skin, fear rushing through her chest, she screamed. Lucifer grinned, his white teeth glowing. "Now that you can't move, I'll make sure you can't leave." He took out a knife and started cutting her stomach open. Icy hot flames appeared as the blade sliced her skin. She struggled to move.
Lily screamed, "Help! Someone help me! Please! He's hurting me!"
"Lily, Lily, wake up! Wake up!" A voice said.
*****
Lily's eyes shot open, tears blurring her vision. Panting heavily, she saw a figure above her.
Afraid of everything, she sat up and scooted away. "Get away." She whimpered. "Go away!"
"Hey," The figure said, "It's alright, it was just a nightmare,"
She scooted again, hitting the edge of the bed. She lost her balance and fell. She hit the ground, knocking the breath out of herself.
"Oh! Are you okay?" A deep voice sang into her ears. Suddenly tears slipped from her eyes, and her vision came back into focus.
Jason stood above her. He knelt down and held out his hand. "It's okay. You're not dreaming anymore."
Lily didn't move. She just stared up at him.
He stood back up and walked closer to her, bent his knees, and wrapped his arms around her upper body and legs. He slowly lifted her and held her against his chest.
Lily was motionless. She just let Jason pick her up and walk over to the bed. Fear flowed through her bloodstream. It felt like ice freezing her body. Jason laid her down on the bed and finally let go. Leaving her cold and alone.
She stared up at him as he lifted the covers and laid them on her again.
She breathed shallowly, her head spun, her body cold. Jason knelt down and kissed her on the forehead. When he rose, she saw the look on his face.
Pure and utter worry. Jason's eyes were curved upward at the bottom, his lips pressed into a straight line, and his eyebrows curled together, forming a knot in between them.
Lily finally got the courage to speak, "Why do you look like that?" She asked, her words visibly shaking.
"Look like what?" Jason whispered, trying not to scare her.
"You look... Scared."
He sighed, "How long have you been having nightmares like this?"
She looked down at the TV on the wall, "For about a week."
He sat on the bed, "How do you deal with them?"
She closed her eyes, "Staying awake."
"Is there any night where you don't have one?"
"The one night after the battle when you laid with me, and you helped me fall asleep." She opened her eyes, "That was a tough time, and you really helped me." She sighed, "I wish I could sleep."
He laid down next to her and hugged her close. He folded his arms around her back. "Then I guess I'm comforting you tonight."
"You don't have to." She pushed him away. Worried that he felt forced to help her.
He held her tighter and pulled her closer, "Yes, I do, so don't complain." He was annoyed that she didn't want him to help her. She was traumatized. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't dream, and all she felt was fear. She wanted to sleep, didn't she?
She stared into his dark chest, his warmth comforting. The ice in her blood slowly melted away. She relaxed and pulled him closer to her. Burying her head in his torso.
Happy that she finally let him help her, Jason flipped the light switch next to the bed. He folded his arms around her, tightening his grip, so she was pulled closer, and he let his head rub up against her soft hair.
The room suddenly went dark. All Lily could see was the folds in Jason's shirt. She could feel him breathing. Was this supposed to be awkward? It wasn't. It was nice.
She pulled her arms to her chest so they were in between her and Jason. She bent her legs and huddled up in his grip. Feeling comforted and relaxed, she opened her eyes, realizing what she felt deep inside.
"Jason... I don't really want to sleep, I'm... Afraid." She whispered.
He held her tighter, "Don't worry. You won't have any bad dreams tonight. I'll make sure of it."
She whimpered. Digging her head further in his chest.
He took his hand from her back and placed it on her head, lightly stroking her hair. "It's okay. There's no need to be afraid." His voice was so calming. It made her want to stay with him like that forever.
She closed her eyes, the room getting darker. A picture of Lucifer flashed before her eyes, smiling. Then an image of him slicing her skin appeared.
She threw open her eyes, panting heavily.
Jason grabbed her head and pulled her closer to his body. "It's okay, try again." His fingers laced through her hair, her panting slowed.
"I don't want to...." She sobbed.
He pulled his lips to her ear, "Please, try again. I don't want you to get sick." His breath was warm against her ear. It sent shivers down her spine.
She gulped and closed her eyes again, breathing heavily.
It was dark, but she didn't care. The images of Lucifer didn't show up again. Her breathing steadied. Slowly the darkness surrounded her, and she faded into her empty dreams.
68Please respect copyright.PENANAyOxlPtfjYy