Ghost Guardian

Chapter 15

(Just some clips from the Starkid musical of a guy who reminds me of James in this book. (He's the guy in the suspenders). The musical is called, ironically, "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals" if you wanna check it out.)

Aaron's POV

I couldn't stand the thought of him being in the same area as I lived. I couldn't handle another encounter of Silas McCallister in my life. I thought that, after he was thrown in jail for Severus's murder, I would never see his face nor hear his name ever again. I thought my life had moved on from the likes of Silas McCallister. But what perfect cruel twist life decided to play.

I sat on a swing set in a park, not far from Emery's house where I ran from. I felt like curling into a ball and laying there, hoping I would wake up from whatever nightmare my mind decided to star me in. That there is no possible way, on any Earth, in any universe, how Silas McCallister popped up into my life again.

I didn't mean to upset Emery; I probably had upset him. I left him there: alone, confused, and scared. I didn't want to, but I had to get away from everything at that moment. Even Severus, who usually followed me everywhere, had left me alone to drown in my memories of the past... the one thing I can't ever seem to escape. No matter how many miles I travel, no matter how hard I try to move on, no matter who I talk to, my mind always goes back in time to the moment the bullet hit Severus's chest. To the countless interviews I've had with police, repeating the awful memory multiple times just to find my love's killer. Now, that killer was back in my life, but with a different means of pissing me off.

Not only has Silas McCallister ruined me, but now he's going after the one thing that can possibly fix me: Emery, the only person I have successfully talked to, made friends with, and possibly more than friends with. He's hurting Emery, bullying Emery, and I knew that, if I didn't do something, Emery would end up just like Severus. Dead. Following me around. Waiting for me to die so I can see them again.

I wasn't the weak goody-two-shoes anymore like I was with Severus. This whole time I wanted Severus to do something, but I realized it was my turn to fight the bully off. It was my turn to be the hero and save Emery from his evil cousin. But was I brave enough?

It didn't matter, brave or not. I was angry, angrier than I had ever been in my life, and that fueled my bravery, my courage. I didn't want to be crazy or sadistic, but if the law didn't give Silas what he deserved, I would.

And he deserved so much more than just a beating...

"Aaron! There you are!" I heard a voice. It was faint, as if I was too caught up in my thoughts to hear it properly. I started to come out of it, realizing that my head was hidden behind my knees, and I was leaning against a pole that was part of the structure to the swing set.

"Aaron!" the voice was closer now, I felt a hand on my back. I lifted my head and blinked away the light. Only when the breeze of the air hit my face, when the chill of the autumn air lashed at my skin, did I realize that tears were streaming down my cheeks. I felt a flush of embarrassment from Emery seeing me like this. I was supposed to be the big tough guy. But Emery didn't seem to mind as he wrapped his arms around me.

"It's okay," Emery mumbled into my ear, "I won't let him hurt you." Was that why he thought I ran away? Out of fear and not anger? I almost wanted to laugh because my safety isn't what I was concerned about. I also found it amusing that Emery thought he could protect me, when he can't even protect himself.

When no one was safe around Silas McCallister. 

I sniffed and looked him straight in his pained eyes. My mother always said that a picture could paint a thousand words, but I thought eyes held a thousand stories. If one person could read another's eyes, they could figure out someone's whole life story, personality, and emotions. There were few who could read eyes, and I wasn't that great at it. But I knew Emery's eyes weren't of sympathy, but apologetic. What? Did he think it was his fault Silas McCallister was the way he was? No one should blame themselves for someone else's actions.