Hope Everlasting. [COMPLETED.]

Chapter Twenty One-Captivated.

Chapter Twenty One-Captivated.

Dylan’s P.O.V

“I still don’t understand...what do you mean by ‘blocking’ it out?”

I rolled my eyes; for one of the most intelligent girls in school, Ashlynn sure was being stupid.

“I was able to teach Tabby how to block Lily out, at times. It took it out of her though, and Lilith...well, she was too strong. Tabitha was only young, she was weak. I know with practise, we can teach you how to do it.”

Her forehead knotted together into a frown. “But Dyl...I’m weak too. Hope can possess me without me even realizing what’s going on. And, once she knows something is going on, we’re bound to be in deep poop.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her attempt at a curse; she was just too cute. Had I mentioned that before?

“We can teach you. You’ll be fine.” I couldn’t help but reach across and grab her hand, squeezing it lightly. “You’ll feel pretty tired once we start teaching you how to do it, but that’s okay. I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”

She nodded, a small smile gracing her face. “I’m used to feeling tired.” Almost on cue, a yawn escaped her mouth and she giggled sheepishly.

“Wanna watch a movie?” I asked, gesturing to the couch. “We’ve got plenty.” She nodded, and so we moved over, putting on a comedy.

Half an hour into the movie, her eyes were beginning to droop. I smirked but didn’t say anything; if she needed to sleep, she needed to sleep.

Cory came in then, hustling and bustling about. I shot him a glare then, gesturing to her and putting a finger to his lips. He rolled his eyes, giving me a look that clearly said ‘keep your hair on.’ When Ashlynn began snoring, I made the decision to take her upstairs. Carrying her carefully, I couldn’t help but think how peaceful she looked.

Once she was tucked into bed--fully clothed, I didn’t think she’d appreciate me changing her--I wandered downstairs, to where Cory was sat with a beer and a football game. Oh, just great. So, I decided to do an incredibly rare thing; I sat down beside him.

Cory obviously realized the rarity of the situation too, as he stared at me as though I were a mirage, and even turned off the T.V. “Um...yes?” he asked, looking a little lost as to what to say.

“I think we need to talk...about Ashlynn and...the situation.”

He looked up at me, one eyebrow raised as his brown eyes studied me carefully. “What about it?”

I sighed--did he really not get anything about this situation? “Well, we need to talk. Like, about what we’re gonna do. We need to teach her to block it out, like we almost did with Tabby.” As normal, a scowl appeared on his face at the mention of our sister. I wish he didn’t act like that; whatever had happened, she was still the same kid.

“I think we should make sure she’s never alone. She can spend as much time here as she wants, and we can take shifts being ‘on call.’ And tomorrow...well, I think we should go to the asylum.”

At once, his face turned to one of anger. “No. Not happening.”

“Cory, why do you have to be such an idiot all the time? This has to happen, for Ashlynn. Maybe she can connect with her in some way; we may be able to get Lils on our side.”

“Don’t call her that!”

I flinched--even though I was used to my brother and his often angry ways, I hadn’t been expecting him to yell nor react quite how he just had. “Don’t call who what?” I asked.