AllFreeNovel
Share Us
From the corner of my eye, I can see Rei and Misha flashing each other an alarmed look. Misha sticks his hand behind her head. She does it again, slamming his hand against the headboard, making Misha grimace.
The bed clatters against the wall. It has enough momentum to peel the paint off the wall, tiny sparkles of beige falling in Trine’s hair.
Misha’s hand is on the back of her head as she tries to slam the top of her head against the headboard again. She closes her eyes tightly and screams again, a low, guttural sound that sounds nothing like her.
“Out,“ I say.
She grits her teeth at me, so hard I hear something break when she does. She whimpers–this time, it does sound like her–and her eyes close again as she slumps down on the bed.
“Luke,“ she says.
It’s hard to ignore her but I force myself anyway. I want to ask her what she wants, but I don’t even know if it’s her that’s talking. Demons are slippery, and they can see into everything that’s happened.
There’s every chance they’re trying to use her experiences against her. Against us.
“Please don’t hurt me,“ she says, her voice cracking.
“It’s not her,“ Misha says. He sounds so far away, it’s almost as if he isn’t talking at all.
“Luke,“ Trine says.
Misha says something, too, but at this point, his voice is nothing but static coming from a distant radio.
“Why are you letting them do this to me?“ she asks. “I thought you were going to protect me.“
“Trine…“
“This hurts. You’re hurting me. You already did this once before. Why can’t you just let me go?“
“We are helping you,“ I tell her, and the words taste sour in my mouth. “We’re doing this to help.“
“It hurts so much,“ she replies, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Please stop this, Luke.“
“I’m sorry,“ I say.
She closes her eyes and I watch as tears slide down her pretty face. Her mouth closes and her teeth clamp down together, to the point where it sounds like she’s hurting her bones. “Why are you doing this? I thought you liked me.“
“Ignore it,“ Misha says. “That’s not Trine.“
“Don’t ignore me,“ Trine says. “It is me, Luke. Misha just doesn’t want to hear it. He never wants to hear it, but you’ve always been so nice to me. You’ve always listened to me. I know you’re just trying to take care of me…“
“Stop,“ I tell her.
“If you stop all this, we could be together,“ she says. “You don’t have to do this, Luke.“
She picks her head up to look at me, her brown eyes glimmering with tears.
“Saint Michael…“ I start.
She shakes her head. “I’m fine,“ she says. “I’m fine, and you’re letting them torture me.“
“Keep going,“ Rei says between gritted teeth.
I close my eyes. I don’t want to look at her. It’s too hard if I do. “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle,“ I recite. “Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil–“
“I see how you look at me, Luke,“ she says–or, I guess, whatever is inside her says. “I know the kind of porn you look at when I’m not there…“
Her voice is getting deeper. It sounds like her, but not like her anymore, and I realize I should’ve never engaged the demon when they were talking to me.
