Dancing With The Devil

Chapter 13

I wake up on the bathroom floor covered in blood. I look around to see that the cuts on my arms have started to scab over. I guess I passed out from blood loss. I clean up the bathroom with a wet towel and wrap my arms in bandages.
I mentally scold myself for being so careless. I'm lucky that Caleb didn't walk in and see me like this. Speaking of him, where is Caleb. After I throw the towel into the hamper, making sure to stuff it in the bottom, I go downstairs to find Caleb. He isn't in the living to I wander into the kitchen. On the fridge I notice a note taped up.
      Jace,
Sorry to leave so suddenly. I was called into work and had to go in. Don't worry, the officers are watching the house from outside. I won't be back until late. Dinner's in the fridge.

Caleb

I take down the note and throw it into the trash. I walk into the living room, looking outside of the window. A police car sits outside of the house and I close the curtains.
     I spend the next few hours watching tv. Eventually, it gets late and I go upstairs and into my room. Laying down with Harry next to me, I snuggle into the warmth of my bed.
     Soon I wake up to the sound of the door opening and closing. I open my door when I hear my door open to see Caleb standing on the other side. "Why aren't you asleep," he asks.
"Can't," I say without looking at him. I turn around so that my back is facing him. I hear Caleb come inside of my room and he sits on my bed next to me. "Jace," he sighs. "What's going on with you? Why aren't you talking to me."
I sit up and turn around, looking at him. "You said you didn't care. And you still don't."
"I didn't mean it like that-."
"Then what exactly did you mean," I ask cutting him off. I'm getting a little annoyed with him at this point. He sighs. "What I meant is that, I'll just leave you be so that you can learn on your own. That guy Mike is no good for you.
"So this is all about Mike," I ask angrily. "No! It's about you too. It's about everything. 2 people that you were close too just died. I want to make sure that you're okay."
"I'm fine," I say and look at my arms. I'm nowhere near okay but right now, I just want to be alone. "It's clear that you're not okay Jace," Caleb says.
"I said I'm fine. I just want to be alone." Caleb glares at me and scowls. I don't know where all of this anger is coming from, but right now, it's flowing through me and I can't stop it. "Why is it that whenever I try to help you, you push me away? I'm just trying to help."
"Just leave me alone! I'll be perfectly fine by myself!"
"Yeah because you've been so great at that," he scoffs. "What are you trying to say," I ask glaring at him.
"Look at you Jace," he says. He gestures to my arms. "What was the reason that you had to go to therapy in the first place? Because you couldn't even take care of yourself."
I stare at Caleb incredulously. Anger surges through me and I stand up. "And why did I do that Caleb? Because of our father! But if you want to go as low as to mention my cuts then, why don't you take into consideration about how it was you who abandoned me!"
Before I can even blink, Caleb has me pinned against the wall. His hands squeeze my shoulders and he looks down at me. His eyes are dark and they don't look like Caleb's eyes anymore. In that moment, they look just like dad's. For a second, fear charges through me.
Caleb glares down at me and I feel small under his gaze. "I did not leave you. I didn't want to leave and you know that. I left to protect you." He whispers it so menacingly that I'm actually afraid of him. Still, that doesn't stop the angry retort from coming out of my mouth. "You abandoned me. You left me when I needed you the most. You left me with that monster. And now...you're acting so scary. You're acting just like him," I whisper the last part so quietly that I didn't think he heard me. Apparently he did though because rage fills his eyes as he glares at me.
My head snaps to the side and my cheek stings. I feel his hand connect with my face again and my head snaps to the other side. I hold my burning cheek and stare up at Caleb in shock and hurt.
Caleb looks at me shocked, as if he just realized who I am. "Jace I'm so sorry I didn't-"
Before he can say anything, I run past him and down the stairs. I run out of the front door. I hear the 2 officers call me but I ignore them and continue running. Caleb calls after me and I know that he's going to get in his car so go down a small alley and hide in there. I see Caleb's car drive right past the alley and I sit down. I bring my knees up to my chest and lean my head on top of them. Thunder booms over me and soon it starts to rain. Great.
I walk out the alley. I don't have anywhere in particular that I'm going, I'm just walking. Eventually, I make it to the park and I sit down on a bench. My clothes are soaked and I'm freezing.
     He actually hit me. My cheeks still stings and the cold rain is doing nothing to soothe it. "Jace?"
     I look up to see Mike standing in front of me. He's holding a black umbrella and a bag in his hand. "What are you doing out here?" I don't answer him and instead look down. Why is he even asking me this? I thought that he hated me.
     "You'll catch your death out here. Come on." He pulls my arm and brings under the umbrella with him. I look up at Mike but he just looks straight ahead. "My house isn't too far from here." He starts walking and I walk with him, holding onto his arm so that I stay under the umbrella.
      A few minutes later we get to a small 2-story house. Mike walks up the few steps and opens the door for me. I walk inside and he follows a few moments later after closing his umbrella. I stand in his living room which is a nice teal blue color and it's fully furnished. Mike walks inside and starts to go up the stairs. When I don't follow him, he looks back at me.
     "I don't want to get your floor wet," I mumble. Mike sighs and shakes his head. Suddenly he lifts me up in his arms and begins to carry me up the steps. It feels so strange being in his arms like this, but it's also so comforting. We walk down a long hallway and Mike opens the door to the bathroom. He sits me down on the toilet before leaving. When he comes back, there's a stack of clothes in his hands.
    "You can shower and put on these clothes. They're mine so they might be a little big." I nod and he leaves the room. I turn on the shower and take off my clothes. They're completely soaked. My bandages are soaked too. I have to take them off or else the cuts could get infected. I carefully unwrap the bandages from my arms and throw them into a trash can in the corner. I hop in the shower, letting the warm water hits me.
      My arms sting when I wash them, but I bear the pain, way more comfortable with suffering from a couple of sting than from infections.
      I get out the shower and put on the clothes that Mike left me. It's a pair of black jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. The shirt is big and slides off my shoulders. I walk downstairs to find Mike watching tv in the living room. He notices me and chuckles looking at the shirt and I blush. "It's big," I mumble.
     "I see," he chuckles. I feel awkward just standing here but I don't know if Mike wants me to sit down with him or not. He probably still hasn't forgiven me for what happened. Without looking at me, Mike pats the seat next to him. I walk over and sit down perfectly still.
      We sit in silence for a couple of minutes before I break it. "Where's your mom," I ask. I noticed that there wasn't anyone else here when we came in. The house was completely silent. "Out of town on business," he replies. "Oh," is all I say. He doesn't ask me about why I was out in the rain, and I'm grateful for that. I don't really wanna talk about it. We sit there for a couple more minutes.
     "Look," Mike says. "I don't know what's going on with you, but you're not acting like yourself."
     I down, letting my hair cover my face. "It's just a lot has happened these last couple of weeks." Mike looks at me, but can't see anything due to my hair covering my face. I don't want to see his expression. This is why I'm starting to grow my hair out. Letting it shield me from the world. And keeping the world from seeing me.
     A hand sweeps my hair out of my face and I look at Mike. His expression is soft and kind. It's not angry like I expected it to be. "Let me help you," he whispers. I shake my head and look away. "You can't help me."
     Mike puts his hand on my cheek and makes me turn to face him. My cheek stings a little when he touches it, but I don't pay it any mind. "Then let me be there for you." Mike leans in and before I know it, his lips are on mine. He kisses me for a few moments and for a second, I think about pushing him away. He could get hurt being around me. My mind screams at me to push him away.
     But I don't. My entire life has been nothing but a complete mess. For once in my life, I just want a sense of normalcy. I kiss Mike back. When he pulls away, he smiles at me and I smile back. Mike pulls me close to him and wraps his arm around my shoulders.
     I know that in a few hours, everything could go to shit, but right now, I'm just enjoying the feeling of peace. Even if it's only for a moment.