"Because I could not stop for death, He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves and immortality."

- Emily Dickinson

_____________________________

Adeline

"Isabella." I shook her softly, trying to wake her but not hurt her, I'm sure she had bruises everywhere.

"Addie." She unsteadily lifted herself up. "What did you do?" She cried, I didn't know what I might look to her, if there was blood or just the guilt shown through.

"Nothing. He won't bother you anymore, lets just go inside."

"Addie, did you...oh my god you didn't." Her hands clasped over her mouth, muffling her cries.

"Shh just come inside I'll explain everything and so will you." I took a hold of her arm lifting her from the bench.

I helped her walk into my room, she wanted to sleep in bed with me, not wanting to be alone. I felt the same way.

Helping her take off her clothes, I watched as she winced in pain. Handing her a shirt, she dressed then she covered herself with the blankets.

Going to the bathroom I took a washcloth putting warm water on it, taking the empty glass from the counter, I filled it with water. Also retrieving aspirin for the pain.

"Here take these," she took them downing the water. "Stay still okay Izzy, I'm going to wash the blood on your face." She nodded her head.

As carefully as I could I slowly wiped the blood from her nose and the cuts on her face. She whimpered when I pressed too hard on the purple bruise forming around her eye.

"Sorry." I whispered.

Finishing I lay next to her, "How long has this been going on?"I needed to know for my sake, that I killed him for reasons that would justify what I'd done.

"A year or so now." Her voice sounded so hollow, not like my sister at all, I knew her to be strong and independent.

"Was he the one who hurt you when you said you fell an broke your arm and when you got that concussion." I listed off the injuries she's had in the last year.

"Yes. Can we not talk about him, please." Her voice was broken, the memories painful.

"What do we tell dad Izzy."

"Tomorrow we will talk. Let's go to bed okay, I'm really tired." She turned to me, grasping my hand like a scared child.

"Okay."  

"I love you sis."

"Love you too Izzy."

✴

"Okay so how are we explaining this to dad?"

Izzy was up, just finishing a shower, she looked even worse as I stared at her swollen, discolored face and the finger like bruises that covered her body.

"I fell." She stated.

I didn't want to raise my voice but was she seriously insane, "No I say we tell the truth."

"We can't." She started to become nervous, fidgeting, like Tony was going to jump out from behind a wall.

"He's not coming back Iz, relax."

"You never explained that Adeline, what did you do?"

"A little threatening that's all, he won't be back I promise." He will never come back, his lifeless body flashed in my mind, I shoved in back, burying it deep.

She bit her lip causing the slowly healing cut to split open, "Dad will freak."

"Stop, you're not letting it heal." She stopped, an apology fell from her lips, "As for Dad well yeah I freaked out so he's kind of obligated to Iz. After he sees you like that, he won't believe you just fell."

"I know." She started to cry, sitting on the bed next to me, "I just don't want him to be ashamed of me, I wasn't strong enough to fight him."

"He would never be ashamed of you. How could you say that, he loves you." I was careful where I touched her knowing she hurt.

She nodded her head slowly, peering up at me through her long eyelashes, "Come with me. I can't tell him alone."

"Of course."

I helped her walk down the steps, holding her around the waist as we took each step carefully.

I told her to wait by the stairs to see if Dad was awake, like always I found him on the kitchen table a coffee mug in one hand, a newspaper in the other.

"Morning Dad."

He looked up from his newspaper, a smile on his lips, "You're up early, you know there isn't any school today."

I laughed, "A simple, good morning Addie, would have been just fine."

He sipped his coffee, "I know. Did you ever get a hold of your sister." My heart beat a little faster as he spoke, "She never called me back."

"Yeah I did Dad, um." Where do I even begin with this? "Dad you see Isabel, she well, she." Think Adeline, shit.

"What's wrong? What happened?" His voice was laced with concern for his daughter.

Before I spoke Isabel came into the dining room. "Dad." I heard her low mutter.

He shot from his chair, spilling his coffee all over the table, on his newspaper, I watched as it dripped to the floor. "Isabella! What happened, tell me who did this." He could barely contain his anger as he spoke.

"I...I, Dad." She was unable to talk, so I filled in for her.

"It was Tony. He hit her because he found out she left without his permission." I scoffed. "He's been doing this for a year now, Isabel was too terrified of him to say anything to anyone, so don't get mad at her. As for Tony well he won't be coming back anytime soon, don't worry about him." I continued after no one spoke. "Pressing charges will only cause more pain for Isabella, I don't think it's necessary for her to visit shrinks, they will only pry." After finishing, my father finally reacted to the situation. I understood his slow reaction to the scene in front of him, he was the same when my mother died. Took him awhile to finally grasp it, I was like my mother quick to everything.

"I am going to kill him." Already did that. "Isabella my baby girl." He face was contorted into all sorts of emotions, anger, sadness, confusion but never disappointment. "We should get you to a hospital, I don't want you in pain." He checked her wounds, as she whimpered softly.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Sorry for what, you didn't hit yourself, I never trusted that piece of filth. He will get what he deserves." Couldn't agree more. He turned to me. "Adeline, I'm taking her to the doctor, you don't have to come, if you don't want to."

"No it's okay. I'll stay here. Go." She needed to be checked. Something could be broken.  Before they left I told my dad, "No cops."

"Why, he deserves to be thrown in jail, he will answer for what he has done to your sister."

"But Dad-" He cut me off. "No Adeline, I am doing this for your sister."

Shit. As my dad went to get his shoes and keys, I took ahold of Izzy, "Whatever happens tell the cops that I never left you last night."

"I will."

"Promise me." I begged.

"I will, I swear." She hugged me. "I know you killed him." She whispered in my ear.

Pulling back I look at her dumb founded. My dad comes rushing in taking Isabel away before I can tell her that she's wrong. She's my sister, she would never rat me out. Paranoid, I wave goodbye as I watch them pull out the driveway. I am unable to close the door, looking to the floor a certain someone's foot is shoved in the doorway.

"Leave. Now." I grit out.

"No. You need me and I am the only one who can help you." I watch as Death, pushes open the rest of the door, as if me pushing back was nothing.

Grunting, I gave him my back as I walked further into the dining room, "You're wrong, I don't need you. Why don't you just take your smug little face somewhere else, where people actually want to see it." I walked to the kitchen grabbing paper towels to clean the mess at the table.

"Cause that hurt so bad, I've heard worse. You can do better than that my pet." He followed me into the kitchen only to follow me back into the dining room, I ignored him as I bent down to clean the spilled coffee.

He pulled a chair almost taking off my head along with it, glaring, I pierced holes into the chair, "Get the fuck out of my house."

"Make me." His voice was as cold as mine, but he was playing a game I did not want to participate in.

"I hate you." I stood, wiping the coffee from the table, walking back to the kitchen.

"Try harder." He called after me.

"You disgust me."

"Nope." He was behind me leaning on the refrigerator door.

"I wish you never saved me." That got him, I could sense how his body changed, not significantly but just enough that I saw it.

He threw me against the counter, holding my arms behind by back. It was extremely uncomfortable but I don't dare inform him of that, I only laugh causing him to press me harder into the counter. "Oh that got you, didn't it Death." I emphasized his name just a tad, just to piss him off more. "We should really stop ending up at counters though, it's getting kind of old." Remembering what happened in the bathroom that day.

He drags me by my arms, which are securely tucked behind me, into the backyard, throwing me onto the soft grass. Hardly a punishmen, I fall to the ground, laughing, trying to hold back the tears as I grasped my aching stomach. "You find me hilarious don't you."

"Yes, in fact I do." He stomped over to me, slamming me on the ground, he then lifted me by my hair. Holding in my gasp, I stare at him acting unscathed.

"You say I'm the crazy one." He tossed me across the grass, I landed with a thud, my back connecting with the ground but I'm hardly in pain.

Sitting up, I glare at him, "You made me insane."

"That was your added charm sweetheart." He slowly walked over to me.

"Stop, you're giving my middle finger a hard on."

"Enough Adeline. Get up." He scolded me as if I was some child who disobeyed.

"Make me." Repeating his exact words.

He growled. Those eyes darkening as he glared down at me, his deep voice seemed to echo within me, causing my demon to awaken.

Obey Adeline.

She really believes I would listen to her after what happened, I don't think so.

Obey Adeline.

I heard myself growl, not wanting to give in.

Obey Adeline. She insisted once again but I was reluctant.

No.

OBEY! She growled back.

No!

She ripped through the barrier I built, I winced in pain as she fought over control, I stared at Death as she clawed her way in my head slowly taking over.

My body disobeyed as she lifted me off the ground, facing him, she even had the nerve to bow.

You Bitch.

His hand came up, brushing my face, my body involuntarily shuddered underneath his touch wanting more. "I'm glad you came through but I need for her to come to me. Go."

Without missing a beat she went back into her hole, letting me back in, I staggered back my vision blurring slightly. His hand drops to his side, knowing I am fully me again, "Face it, you need my help to control her."

"I only need help to control her when you give her incentive to take over my own body!" Yeah I knew I needed his help but why should I give him the satisfaction of knowing.

I knew what I must look like right now, my eyes wild and glowing, my body humming with energy swirling around me licking at the air that surrounds me.

"My pet." He encouraged.

"I killed someone." I stated, my voice hardly controlled.

"Yes you did. I am not sorry and I don't think you are either." His words hit me, flashes of his limp corpse invade me, leaving me with nothing, I tried searching for anything; remorse, despair, even hatred but I found nothing, I felt nothing. "My pet." He tried again.

"Stop calling me that, I am not an uncontrollably animal."

"The word pet means, a controlled animal." He advised with a smirk.

"I hate you." He stepped toward me, the smirk never leaving, "You've already tried that one."

"Just shut up." He licks his lips as he stares at my eyes.

"Make me." His dark eyes captured my glowing blue ones, never wavering as he stepped closer.

"You wish."

"Don't you though." His hand reaches up, running his thumb over my cheekbone.

"Never."

"Liar," he steps closer, "and you know how I know you're lying." His thumb trails down, skimming over my collarbone, on cue my body starts to hum louder. My vision changes my energy clings to him but does not crave him, his energy is not light in color, it's black a dark cloud surrounding him. I watch curiously as the two opposite colors mingle, embracing each other.

I step back breaking the two energy's, "I think you should leave." I am unable to look at him, the feeling of his energy wrapping around me still clings to me, causing me to feel unbalanced.

"I'm afraid you haven't learned anything today, so no. You do need to control her." He appears just as affected by my energy as I was.

I have to agree or else I'll kill someone else. I look at him, "Fine."

He clasps his hands together, "Good to hear. Now we will start off by controlling those eyes, the tea is obviously not working, you're too strong." Walking up to me, he hits me right across the face, stunning me.

I growl, the energy was back, "What the hell was that for!"

"Learn to control it, I know you feel this energy coursing through you but don't give in." He hits me again.

"Stop!" I shout, I push back this invsbke force only to cause it to fling back twice as hard.

He hits me again, "Push!"

I scream in frustration, "It's not working." My aggravation, grows my vision is strictly energy now, I can feel and taste everything around me.

He hits me harder, "Embrace it. Accept her Adeline once you give in to the demon you will be able to control the energy."

A feral growl ripples through me as I launch myself at him not bearing anything he says, we land on the ground, hard, me gripping his throat, as he tries to fight me off. I can tell he's not using all his strength as he forces me off him. Pinning me to the ground he yells at me to stop, I hear him but it's not registering as I kick, punch, and scratch at him.

Pinning my hands above me, he mutters, "Fine, don't hate me for having to do this." He crushes his mouth to mine, his hot breath an intoxicating mix of sweet and minty. I bite his lip causing him to pull back in shock, I can taste blood in my mouth as he stares down at me. One of his hands is holding mine above me, his other one travels down, grazing my side, his large hand taking ahold of my hip. I growl again only he doesn't let me go, he kisses me again this time he was the one to bite. Opening my eyes, I snap out of my trance, shoving him backward, "I think that's enough." I say breathlessly.

His eyes are deep black, there is no distinction of a iris and pupil, they are all one. "You didn't pass." He's still straddling me as he stares down at me.

"No shit Sherlock, your methods don't work, I mean slapping me, really,  now this." I wave between us.

His eyes follow my body, down to where we meet at the waist, climbing off of me he lays down next to me. "You're strong, I don't understand why you can't control her, why I can't control her to obey you." He whispered the last part, talking solely to himself.

Great now he can't even figure out what the hell is wrong. "You better figure it out Death, I'm not up for a killing spree."

"I'm the one who would have to cover up the deaths so don't think I want you to either." He scoffed.

"Did you cover up Tony's?" I turn my blue gaze to him.

"Yes I did, made it appear accidental merely a car accident after heavily drinking. Slammed his car into a tree, leaving his body in the car." He shrugs. "No one will question it, he was in fact drinking."

I keep quiet not feeling up for talking, we sit in silence just hearing the other one breath. I liked this, not hearing him talk for once, "Adeline."

"Just when I thought I could have silence from you."

He didn't laugh, he was serious as I peered at him. He sighs, meeting my gaze, "I'm not sorry for what I did to you."

I avert my gaze, "I know."

••••••••••••••

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-Ash

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