Traces Of Magic

~Chapter 24~

I push open the door to the main room. There is an unsettling quietness and calmness to the room. It feels emptier than normal, as if something's missing. I look around for Derrick, but he isn't here. I look back at Grayson, who stands near the door. He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "Derrick? Are you here?" My voice echoes off of the walls.

Eventually, Derrick comes out of the hall looking terrible. His eyes are bloodshot and his hands are covered in blood. His black hair is unkept and messy, like he just got out of bed. "Mandy..." He stares at me before collapsing to the ground. I run over to his side. "Don't worry...I'm...I'm okay..." He struggles to catch his breath. "No Derrick. You're not okay. You can't breathe. You need to sit up." I help him get into a sitting position. "Really Mandy...I'm fine. I've just had...a rough night...with Jarron..."

My eyes flicker with concern. "Is he going to be okay?" He doesn't answer. "Derrick! Is Jarron going to be okay?" He stares at me with dull eyes. I sigh frustratedly before turning to go back over to Grayson. Derrick reaches up and grabs my arm. "Mandy wait! Can you help me get back to my room? I'm afraid that I won't make it." I sigh before letting him cling to my arm so he can get up. Once he's standing, he wraps his arm around my shoulder and uses me to stand.

We walk to his room together. I can't help it but look at the door as we pass Jarron's room. What if Derrick didn't get there in time, or what if he couldn't do anything to save him? I shake the thought out of my head as I enter Derrick's room. His room is quite different than Jarron's room. The walls are painted brown instead of white and most of the furniture is black, including the bed covers. Derrick closes the door behind us.

"Um Derrick? Why did you close the door?" His eyes swirl drunkenly as he smiles crookedly. "I need to show that Grayson dude that you're mine, not his..." He shoves me down on to his bed before climbing on top of me. I place my hands on his chest and try to push him off of me. He grabs my hands and pins them against the bed. My breathing gets faster as he moves his face closer to mine. He stares at me as he licks his lips. A quiet moan escapes me before he presses his lips against mine. His stubble scratches my cheeks and makes them itchy. He moves from my lips to my cheek then to my ear. He bites my ear softly for a bit before growing bored. He moves from my ear down my neck to above my shirt. I find the courage to say something.

"Derrick..." He lets go of one of my hands and covers my mouth with it instead. "Shhh. Stay quiet Mandy. You're about to feel really good..." He lets go of my other hand and starts to take off my shirt. With my free hand, I push his hand off of my mouth and call for help. "Grayson! Help me!" Derrick has pulled my shirt up over my bra when I finally look back down at him. "Oh god. Derrick stop it!" His kisses move to the cleavage in my chest as his hand brushes over my breast. My face turns red as I start to get really uncomfortable with Derrick on top of me. "Grayson! Help!"

Just as Derrick starts to undo the clasp on my bra, Grayson barges in. "Derrick? What the hell are you doing to Mandy?" Grayson pulls him off of me and throws him against the wall. I take a deep breath before looking over at the two of them. Derrick's lips curl into a snarl. "She doesn't like guys like you. You're scrawny and incapable of giving her the love she needs. That's why you're called an ex."He spits on his face. Grayson's face turns red as he wipes off his saliva.

"So you call trying to rape Mandy 'giving her the love she needs'?" Derrick narrows his eyes. "She was enjoying it before you came and interrupted us, weren't you Mandy?" He looks over at me. His gold eyes flash furiously. I stay silent. "Then why in the world would she yell for help if she was enjoying it?" Derrick smiles evily. "She was just trying to get your attention so you could watch us do what you never got to do."

Suddenly, Grayson reaches up and punches him right in the jaw. I cover my mouth and do the only thing my terrified body lets me do: watch. Derrick pushes Grayson off of him before he reaches up and touches his bleeding lip. The sight of fresh blood sets him off. He growls before he throws himself at Grayson. He catches him by surprise and pins him against the other wall. He punches him in the face, giving him a black eye. His fist then makes contact with his nose, breaking it instantly. Grayson dodges his next throw. His fist goes through the wall beside Grayson's head. Derrick grunts frustratingly as he tries to pull his hand out of the wall while Grayson squirms out of his grasp.

Taking the opportunity, Grayson comes over to me and grabs my hand. "Come on. You need to get out of here." He pulls me out into the hall and closes the door right as Derrick gets his fist out of the wall. I sit against the wall with Grayson as Derrick throws himself into the door. Grayson leans and whispers info my ear. "Don't worry. He can't break through. The shield I put around us also protects the door so it won't break. Once he tires out, we'll leave."

I rest my head against him. He leans back and wraps his arm around my exposed shoulders. My shirt hangs loosely around my neck. His soft voice is reassuring. "Did he hurt you Mandy?" I shake my head. He makes his arm tighter. "I'm sorry you had to see that side of me." He looks down as I look up at him. "What do you mean Grayson?" He looks over at me with sensitive eyes. He takes my hand in his.

"Did I ever tell you about how I discovered my powers?" I shake by head. He sighs as he rests his head against my shoulder as well. "It was late at night. I was nine years old at the time. I was in bed trying to sleep, but I couldn't. There was moaning coming from down the hall in my parent's room. At that time, I didn't realize what was going on, but now I do. My father was raping my mother. Soon the moaning turned into screaming. Thinking there was a burglar, I got worried, so before I went to investigate, I went downstairs to the kitchen and got a knife out of the drawer. When I entered my parent's room, my dad had my mom pressed against the wall and was strangling her. So I went over to her side and said " Don't hurt my mommy!" All of the sudden, my dad lets go of my mom as he goes flying across the room. Every time he came at us, he would fly backwards into the wall. Eventually, he went through the wall, and when he came out with white dust all over his face, I didn't recognize him." He stops for a moment and takes a deep breath.

A tear starts to roll down his face as he pulls me even closer. "I thought he was a monster Mandy. Then I remembered that I had a knife, so I went and stuck it into his stomach. I'll never forget his face when the knife entered him. I ran back over to my mom as he fell onto the ground. I stood there hugging my mom as blood came out of his mouth as he died. My mom and I have kept what happened a secret ever since." He looks me straight in the eye, his eyes filled with tears. "I killed my father Mandy. I killed him out of cold blood. I'll never forgive myself for that." I bury my face into his chest and hug him tightly as he cries on my shoulder.