𝑊𝐴𝑁𝑇 𝑇𝐻𝐼𝑆 (locke and key gabe)

20 rewritten

Well shit.
The boys bathroom. Just her luck.
"Tyler!"
Her brother turned from the grubby sink, his expression twisting into some semblance of shock. Whether that was at her appearance in the bathroom or her current demeanour, Avery had no clue. She put it down to a combination of both, "Shit, Ave, what are you doing in here, put some clothes o- Whose blood is that?" He asked, his tone something like concerned verging on condescending.

Tyler took off his jacket, a plaid red and black button up, and tossed it to his dishevelled sister as she wiped the blood from her with thin blue paper towel. "I left you a note, you dickhead didn't you see it?" She asked, frowning at the stains across what had once been her favourite bra.

"Honestly?" Tyler mused, brow raised. "Didn't know you were gone."

Avery scoffed, shoving on his jacket. Typical Tyler. She was freezing, and the gravity of her situation was starting to sink in. So was her irritation towards her brother.
"I had to give Gabe the keys for Uncle Dunc's life, Ty. I got the anywhere key back and ran a way before he turned me, now he's on his way to kill you guys, so we need to go."

"Jesus," He said, "Do I want to know how you got that key back?" The look her gave her told Avery he already had some kind of idea. She tired her best to continue to meet his eyes, fastening the top buttons of his jacket with trembling fingers.
"We need to get Kins and Bode out of here, now."

"Yep, okay, uh and what are we doing when Gabe gets back?" Tyler asked. Avery knew he was worrying, still he kept on that brave big brother face as he often did, she knew the hint of sarcasm in his tone was forced. It only made her feel worse,

She had no clue, "Running?" was the only solution Avery could offer him, though a feeble one. The Locke family couldn't keep up the game they played with Gabe, and Avery knew that she couldn't continue to run from her fate forever. She desperately wished she could start over, that she could stop herself from venturing to the caves that day and sharing that cigarette with Gabe.
But she knew that there was no changing the past, no matter how much she wished.

Bode made his way to Tyler and Avery of his own accord, much to their surprise. And much to their horror too, when the youngest Locke told them that he had seen Gabe out of the window of his classroom and came to warn his siblings that he was coming.
Avery already knew he was coming for her and that she couldn't escape him every time, no matter how hard she tried. She was just glad that Bode was safe, and so she tried her best to ignore the rest of it.

Bode lead them to Kinsey using the tracking app the four siblings shared, and found her nestled in the common room, deserted save from the Savinis.
The way Kinsey and Scot leaned into eachother made Avery's stomach turn with something like jealousy. Their relationship was real, much unlike hers had proven to be.

"Kinsey, we need to go, family emergency!" Bode told her.

Avery's eyes were fixed on the window, expecting Gabe to turn the corner any minute. She loved and hated the anticipation at the same time. The sting of betrayal seemed to fade more to a playful burn, as though this feud between them was more a joke than a matter of life and death. Still she wanted to make this as difficult for him as possible, and though with herself on the line she was far more nonchalant, with her siblings involved Avery found the matter to be all the more serious.

Kinsey's eyes flicked between Scott and her siblings, "Why, what's going on?"

"Later," Tyler cut in, moving back towards the door. Avery tossed him the anywhere key and Kinsey followed suit with a final glance over her shoulder at Scot.

The moment they crossed the threshold into Key House, Avery began locking doors. "We need to make sure he's not getting in." She told her siblings, bolting the font door.

"We can't just wait in here forever," Bode stated, "Dodge will just stay there until we come outside, or she finds a way in."

Avery didn't like her brother calling him Dodge. He was still Gabe, her Gabe, or at least some part of him was. Though she was too high on adrenaline to mull over what had happened back at Javi's, the one thing she knew for sure was that she couldn't face the idea of it being Dodge or Lucas or an Echo touching her like that. It was Gabe, she told herself, as though Gabe could've been a separate entity from the rest of them.

"We need to find a way to get him into the Well House," Kinsey said, running a hand through her hair, "But we need to make sure he can't get in first to buy us some time to work out what we're going to do, kay Bode?"

He nodded, "How do we stop a demon getting in then?"

Every movable piece of furniture was lined up against windows and entrances, all of which were marked with lines of salt. None of the Locke siblings believed that it would do them any good, but one too many scary movies told them it was worth trying.

The house was a mess, and all four of them were unsure how they'd explain their predicament to their mother if she ever left her room. Then again, it was unlikely she would be anywhere besides the bottom of a bottle by now. Avery sighed at the thought. She missed her mom. Everyday she missed her mom almost as much as she missed her dad. Nina was distant and when she was near she reeked of alcohol and breath mints, too much of the former meaning her presence was not also mental.

As long as she was safe. Avery told herself, they could work everything out later, right now safety was all that mattered.

And so when the grandfather clocks hands had moved from one to nine without even a glimpse of Gabe, Avery decided that she could shower. She'd be quick. She just needed to scrub away his blood. But once the scalding water rand down her body, stealing the breath from her lungs and flushing her skin crimson, she found herself too deep in her own thoughts to think of anything outside her own mind and the droplets racing down her skin. And then she was reminded of his skin against her own, the way his fingers had worked her like clay beneath him. Her nails traced the bruises along her collarbone and down her chest, reminiscing the feeling of his breath against her skin. She wanted him. She also wanted him dead. Avery struggled to decide which option was favourable, but she knew that if he touched her family she would resort to the latter.

It was only when she turned off the water that Avery realised how quiet the house was. Throwing on fresh clothes as quickly as her body would allow her, Avery said a silent prayer that they all were still alive, a tear slipping down her cheek like a droplet of that hot water. It seemed to leave a burning sensation in its wake, one that spread across her skin like a blazing wildfire, consuming her very being.

She tried to ignore the feeling as she crept downstairs to find the house in darkness, her siblings crouched beneath the remaining visible gaps of window in the foyer. In the darkness outside was a his silhouette, undoubtedly, irrevocably him. Only behind him were so many people. So many more silhouettes, as though Gabe had turned the entire town in the time it had taken him to arrive.

"Holy shit."