David flicks through the channels and lands on The Exorcist. She hasn't seen this in years, not since Matt took her to a midnight screening on the beach. She remembers screaming and hiding in his jacket. It was the head spinning and the pea soup vomit that did her in. Her stomach clenches and Sofie squirms in her seat, unable to hide the grimace that's spread across her face. David glances over at her, smirking.
"Not a fan?"
She shakes her head and they watch in silence as Father Karras sprinkles holy water on Regan. She writhes and speaks backward in that hoarse voice. The sound alone puts her on edge. Sofie turns to David, desperate to distract herself from the TV.
"Do you think they're real?"
"What?"
"Demons."
David lights a cigarette.
"Sweetheart, if you and I are real, everything you've ever been afraid of is real too."
"That's comforting," she replies sardonically.
"They're all real. Demons, zombies, werewolves, witches... We all exist in the same fucked up ecosystem."
She sits up and quirks an eyebrow.
"Werewolves are real?"
David nods.
"Very." He makes a face like he's got something disgusting in his mouth. "Can't fucking stand them."
"I think they're tragic," Sofie whispers.
David's eyes pierce hers. She can't tell if he's angry or just curious, but then again, it's difficult to tell with him.
"What do you mean?"
"Cursed with power they can't control that makes them kill people, even the ones they love. That's gotta weigh on your conscience."
"You could say the same for us in some circumstances."
Sofie thinks of Marko - tearing his family to pieces and having to come to the realization of what he's done. She can't imagine the guilt.
"Do you think we're tragic?" David asks after a moment.
She sighs and fiddles with a hole in her jeans.
"A little, yeah."
"How so?"
"We have to watch everyone we've ever loved get old, frail, and die. We have to stay secret. Hidden."
"Unless we want to turn people."
"You said that's a huge risk."
"It is," he agrees.
There's a long silence. David crushes his cigarette beneath his foot.
"Why are you afraid to turn Star?" Sofie asks softly.
David sighs and puts his head in his hands.
"Sofie..."
"Tell me."
He breathes deeply, rubbing his temples, and turns the television off. David moves closer to her. Sofie naturally tenses up, waiting for an explosion, or to feel the brunt of his quiet, seething temper, but his eyes are wide. Honest.
"Because I think she's weak," he says softly.
"She's sensitive and vulnerable, that's not the same thing as weak."
David turns the TV back on, content to leave the discussion hanging. Sofie picks at her fingernails while the movie blares in the background. She feels a rush of guilt. She should have just kept her mouth shut. She won, he was going to explain everything and turn Star. Sofie wonders if she's completely fucked up any possibility of that happening. She looks up at David.
YOU ARE READING
Sick Child - MarkoxOC
Fanfiction"Santa Carla has always been a weird place - one of those places where you always had to be on the lookout, keep your wits about you. 'Look straight ahead and keep up' is what her mom always said whenever they hit the boardwalk. It's a strange mix o...
