Movie Night

[The Cedar Witch]

Rachel, a trembling leaf in a gale, drew her arms tightly around her body while they sat in the car.  Had she been holding her breath while they left the mall?  The almost painful tightness in her chest was an answer, even if she couldn't remember their exit clearly enough.  She should have felt comforted by reaching the car, but her breathing was still shallow, heart still hammering.  She was lightheaded, and the car felt too small.  Can't roll down the window for air - He would get inside.  A wave of nausea swept through her at the realization, worsened by the fact that she hadn't gotten the chance to eat while they were at the mall.  Later she'd remember that, but for now, she had no appetite. 

Need to calm down.

Deliberately she took a deep inhale and a slow exhale.  When Jake spoke she turned to him.  "Huh?"  she squeaked, taking another gulp of air while trying to be mindful of it.  What was going through her head?  She swallowed against the urge to cry, squeezing her arms around her a little tighter.  Lots of things were going through her head, and it wasn't until the driver pulled onto the main road that her thoughts began to unravel.

Damien was going to be livid.  She was going to be on lockdown like in the beginning.  Was he going to quit the campaign to go after Him again?  The irrational part of her wanted to keep it from him - as if that were even possible - so that she might have a little bit of freedom while she was still fucking alive. 

"I-I'm glad we g-got to spend t-time together," she shrunk deeper into the car seat.  "Cuz' I d-don't think I'll be able to go out like this again."  Defeat felt heavy on her tongue but anger set firmly in her gaze as she stared at the back of the car seat in front of her.  Remembering to breathe again she took another measured breath. 

Fear.  Anger.  Was He going to follow them back?

No falling apart in the car.

"I'm fucking tired of this shit," her jaw clenched, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.  They went years without sign of Him, fucking years. Was it really Him?  Ruining her fucking night out?  Why didn't He just nab her then while she was in the bathroom?  What was the point in letting Jake see Him?  Was it even Him?  Maybe it was some demon punk trying to get a rise out of Jake with the election coming up.  But it was about her.  Smelling her hair in the bathroom.  Why her, anyway? 

[Black Philip]

"Or I'll chop off Laurent's head, and you'll get your life back."

Rachel heard an older voice, one that carried weight, weary and anger. Jake had transformed into the Black Prince. The playful boy was replaced by something harder, less empathetic and he felt significantly older. He pulled out his phone and sent a fury of messages, all to his own staff. He demanded Benny and Eva give him an update. If they had nothing to show on Laurent, then Jake was going to have a word with his rat. This couldn't continue. Rachel couldn't live like this. Now he understood Damien's frustration more clearly, and he shared it. He hated that Rachel was being made to feel this way, that some monster was clearly stalking her. It reminded Jake of Lazarus, although at least he had the balls to be cruel, and terrible to people's faces. Lazarus was a bully, but a predictable one. He could always be counted to look out for himself. Laurent was more insidious, careful, although probably less powerful.

However clever this demon might be, Jake had fought worse. He would revel in the bastard's demise. "You might have to go back into lock down for now, but I promise you I will find this bastard, and remove him from this world. You deserve to live. It's the joy of being human."

[The Cedar Witch]

Rachel snorted contemptuously at his declaration, but all the bitterness was for her own situation.  "Get in line," she muttered darkly, wiping the tears pricking at her eyes with the back of her hand.  In her darkest moments while in His clutches, she'd fantasized about stabbing Him repeatedly in the chest, feeling His blood ooze darkly over her fingertips as the life drained from His body.  Survival mechanisms, sprouting from the violence her environment impressed upon her without her consent.  The image came vividly back to her, stirring the rage.  She spent too long in the dregs of sorrow - there was scarcely anything left but anger, a startling force pooling at her emotional depths. 

The joy of being human.  A heavy sigh acted as her response to that, and she ran an anxious hand through her hair.  She'd had enough of her humanity if this was what it was filled with.  How she envied her vampire friends with their invulnerabilities. 

She reached across the seat for Jake's hand, reaching for the comforts of their newly budding friendship to steady the torrent in her mind.  This car ride should have been a continuation of their joys, not a decompression chamber for their ambush at the arcade.

In the darkness of the car, her wide eyes searched Jake's.  "Help me tell Damien?"  Her voice wavered, filled to the brim with tension, and she squeezed his hand. 

continued here