Ichabod sleeps on her chest, purring softly and nuzzling against her neck. Occasionally, she awakens to feel his whiskers on her cheek and drifts back into unconsciousness. She can hear someone calling her name, but it sounds like they're submerged in water. The voice is dark and smoky, but her brain can't decipher who it is. She rolls over and reaches instinctively for Marko, thinking it's him at first, but feels a pair of soft leather gloves and the sleeves of a wool jacket. Bleary brown eyes pop open. David is leaning over her with his characteristic piercing gaze.
"Sofie."
She gasps and sits up, pulling the sheet up to her neck.
"What the fuck, David?!"
"Where's Marko?"
It's a command, not a question. Sofie stammers.
"I don't know."
"Shit," he hisses.
She rubs her eyes and blinks while her mind adjusts to consciousness.
"Why can't you just... you know..." she taps her temple; David shakes his head.
"His mind link is closed." He leans in and cups her face in both hands. He's so close that she can smell the cigarette smoke that clings to his hair and jacket, and Star's blood on his tongue. His eyes are blazing with anger and helplessness.
"I need you to try and contact him," he whispers. "Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah."
Sofie closes her eyes and pictures his face. In her mind's eye, her hand reaches out to touch his cheek. The image she holds of him gasps and their link goes black. Sofie's eyes pop open and lock with David's. He knows the answer before she even says it.
"I can't."
He draws himself up to full height, walks to the wall, winds his arm back and punches directly through the stone before letting out a furious howl. Sofie covers her ears, tears spilling down her face like a reflex. Every horrible memory she has of Kevin wracks her mind like an aftershock and she can't do anything to stop it. Everything she's built over the past three years to eradicate him crumbles in an instant. David grabs a half-drunk bottle of whiskey off of one of the old dressers and smashes it on the floor. Ichabod yowls and darts out of the room.
The curtain whips open and Dwayne barrels into the room, grabbing his eldest brother and coaxing him down from the height of his fury while Sofie curls herself into a ball and shuts her eyes in an effort to make the visions stop. Her chest aches and burns with grief and rage. She'll never fully be rid of Kevin. He'll be attached to her forever in some way or another. When she looks up, David is gone. Dwayne eases himself onto the bed and reaches out to stroke her hair.
"It's okay," he says softly. "It's okay. He's gone."
"I'm sorry," she sobs.
Dwayne lifts her chin, his deep brown eyes filled with concern.
"Why are you sorry?"
"That I can't find Marko," she manages to choke out between gasping breaths. "That I made David -"
Dwayne shushes her immediately and wraps her in a tight hug.
"Hey. No. His tantrums aren't your fault."
She nods and chews her thumb nail. Her bones fill with a shame and regret that makes her skin feel hot with embarrassment. Dwayne searches her eyes, his own filled with compassion. He sees her guilt and offers her a warm smile in return. All she wants is Marko. His skin, his hands on her, his voice filling her ears, his gentle kisses littering her body. Dwayne grabs her hands and holds them tightly.
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...
