Daughter of the Devil - r. peters // 2

𝟷𝟸. 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎

Reggie takes a breath, looking up at the tall building where he and the guys felt the most pain.

Hollywood Ghost Club.

It had been months. He almost couldn't believe he was doing it.

But... Seeing Alex's panicked face when he told him about his sort-of maybe partner being put back into Caleb's clutches... He had to grow a pair.

He closes his eyes, before mustering up all of the courage he had, and poofing himself up onto the roof.

His breath seems to be punched out of him almost immediately.

She was there. She was right. There.

He sucks in a silent breath, watching the long locks of tangled raven hair blowing back, revealing the almost completely black and blue face of the girl he hasn't spoken to in months. There wasn't any swelling, so they must have been older, but the marks on her neck and hands...

They were new. The amount of raw, red and purple marks of different size variations, small, large, teeth marks, and fingerprints on her neck nearly swamped the welted, almost black lines across her hands and wrists.

He could see the faint outline of the purple mark on her wrist, and he closes his eyes again. She hasn't heard him... He could leave. He didn't have to be here.

So much for courage.

However, just as he takes another breath to look away, he feels a hand on his wrist, and nearly yelps loudly as he flinches, looking back.

It's Willie. He swallows, placing a finger to his lips, looking at Callie, before looking back at the bassist, tilting his head to the side, flicking his gaze over.

Reggie simply nodded, and let the long haired boy poof them both away from the rooftop.

Willie sighs softly, running his fingers through his hair. "Reggie, what are you doing here? Caleb will skin you alive if he finds out you're here."

Reggie shakes his own head, looking back at him, before pausing. He lightly reaches forward, tilting Willie's jaw to the side slightly, not asking for permission like he knew he probably should've.

But the darkened skin on the side of his neck was almost unmistakable.

Willie jerked away from Reggie's touch, frowning slightly. "I-"

"I know. Alex told us." Reggie says with a frown of his own. Maybe it wasn't his business to say that, but judging by Willie's face, he wasn't upset. He probably knew the boy would tell them; they are his best friends, after all.

Willie notices the slight concern in the boys eyes, and he sighs, shaking his head. "Look, I'm not hurt, alright? Actually. He... Wasn't very harsh with it." He mumbles, before nodding upward, where Callie's feet are visible, just barely, from the edge of the rooftop. "I'm not nearly as hurt as she is."

Reggie bites his lip. "How bad is she?"

"Quite." Willie shakes his head. "It's like she's numb. She doesn't talk anymore, she just dances, and then goes to her room. She doesn't even cry anymore." He says, before he sighs. "And... She always comes up here to talk to some... Guy. Almost completely ignores me now."

Charlie.

Reggie shakes her head. "I... Wanted to talk to her-"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea."

What?

It was like a slap to the face. But Willie wasn't joking, Reggie could see it on his face. He swallows, closing his eyes. "What.... What do you mean?"

"I mean, she's already going through enough as it is... I think... Seeing you, will just... Ruin it even more." Willie mumbles, looking down. "And I'm saying this in the nicest way possible... I don't think it's going to help anything, Reg."

Reggie opens his eyes, looking at the boy, before taking a breath. "Look, I wanna see her. Whether... You think it's a good idea or not, I..." He swallows. "I have to see her."

Willie looks at the boy, not saying anything, until he sighs. "Alright. Fine. But. If she says she wants you to go..." He clenches his jaw. "Go."

Reggie nods at him, smiling in relief. "Thank you, Willie. I'll... I'll be nice, I promise."

Willie nods, before pointing. "Better get up there then."

Reggie takes a breath, looking up at the roof, seeing her feet still dangling off of the edge of the building, before he poofs up again.

Again he's faced with the sight of her back to him, but her face is tilted to the side, as if she's avoiding looking at something across the street.

Reggie takes a deep, slow breath, before clearing his throat softly.

"Callie."

He could see her freeze at his voice, and he sucks in a desperate breath as she turns around to face him, her eyes wide.

She seems to stare for a moment at the boy, her mouth slightly opened in shock, her breaths shaky.

One moment, she was sitting on the edge of the ledge, the next she shoved herself up off of the ground, ignoring the constant ache in her limbs, almost throwing herself at the boy, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

The initial surprise only lasted about half of a second before Reggie responded, hugging her back tightly, holding her to him as if she were going to disappear.

"Oh my God..." The girl whimpers into his chest, her hands gripping tightly to the flannel on his shoulders, her eyes squeezed shut.

Reggie doesn't respond, his fingers burying themselves into her tangled hair gently, feeling her trembling body rack with soft sobs as he closes his own eyes.

He almost forgot how deeply he felt for the girl in the time he'd been away from her. But, now, being here, undetected on the roof, holding her, it was as if everything rushed back to him tenfold.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She hisses, pulling her face out of his chest, looking up at him through tear stained eyes.

Reggie simply shakes his head, looking down at her. "I had to see you... I missed you." He says softly.

Up close, he can actually see the bruises on her face up close. Some were lines, some were handprints, some of them looked like normal bruises. It only got worse as he looked down her neck, seeing the dark marks running all the way down her skin.

He breathes shakily, bringing one of his hands up to trace the marks on her neck, before moving one of them back up to her face, lightly rubbing his thumb across her skin. "Oh, Cal... What happened to you?"

Callie bites her lip, shaking her head, her eyes filling again.

Reggie simply nodded, pulling her back in gently, bringing her into his chest, letting her cry softly.

He closed his eyes, burying his head into her hair, taking a deep breath, before looking up, and freezing.

There, on the roof, where he wasn't supposed to be detected, was the blue eyed magician that's haunted his nightmares for months now. The one that's been hurting the girl in his arms, the one that has caused so much pain to all three of the boys.

They stare at each other for a very long time, until Caleb simply lifts his chin, tipping the hat on top of his head with the smallest of smiles, if he could call it that.

Reggie couldn't even acknowledge the puzzling motion before the ghost is gone, leaving the girl and the bassist alone for the first time in months.

///

Uh, hi. Yeah, it's been a shit few months. Writers block and the sudden new hyperfixation on a completely different show kinda threw a lot off BUT ANYWAYS IM BACK AND I HOPE TO WRITE MORE