~BOOK 4/PART ONE~ Paranormal: The Battle's Only Just Begun (Multi-Bandom FanFic)

Chapter 20

Patrick was walking towards his car, sunglasses sitting on the bridge of his nose and keys in his hands, when he heard his name being called. He looked in the direction of the sound and watched as Rachael rushed up the driveway towards him.

"Rachael," He breathed, pushing the sunglasses farther up his nose, "W-What are you doing here?"

"I tried to get her out of here, Patrick," She replied hastily, approaching the man she'd been with for hundreds of years, "But she won't listen."

"What are you even talking about?"

"After you left, Brendon and I had a huge fight and I walked out. I went to the library and...okay, I really went to Will's bar then to the library, but it doesn't matter. I went to the library and read up on demons, and what happens when they populate an area and all of that stuff." She gripped his upper arms tightly, meeting his gaze that was hidden behind the darkened lenses. "It's horrible, Patrick, absolutely horrible. Like, worse than what happened at the coven. And it got me thinking, I...I don't want Ashley to be here when that shit goes down, you know? So I went to go see her this morning to tell her that I wanted her to leave town for a while, but she won't go!"

The vampire just stared at the witch, failing to process everything she was saying.

"You have to talk to her, Patrick, because she refuses to listen to me, because of what we did...what I did."

"What did we do?"

"Patrick, don't be stupid," The witch chastised him, "You know what we...I did, and now our decision's biting us...me in the ass. I just...I want her to be safe. I don't want her to fall to the same fate we will."

"What fate?"

"What do you mean 'what fate'? Patrick, this demon is going to destroy us, and this town. There's no way we're getting out of this alive and if there's one thing I want to come out of this, it's Halsey. She deserves the chance we...I deprived her of. And I'm not saying that just to prove myself or make myself feel better. I genuinely want to her experience what the world has to offer in a way I didn't."

Patrick took his glasses off, getting a better look at the woman standing before him. She was tired, worried, and concerned. "Rach, I don't...I don't know what you want from me. I don't even get what you're saying."

"I'm saying that I'm not going to make it out of this alive and I need you to make sure our daughter does. You too. Take her and get her as far away from here as possible, okay?"

"Whoa whoa whoa," He stopped her, shaking his head, "Hold up. Who said anything about anyone not making out of this alive?"

"This is all my fault, Patrick, and I don't want anyone suffering the consequences except for me." Patrick looked at her for a while, truly believing that she was losing her mind. "You have to save her and yourself. Please, show her we care. Or at least show her that you care, because she doesn't believe that I do."

"Rachael, you and I both love Halsey and everything we've done has been for her. But you can't blame yourself for this."

"But I'm the one that brought that demon into this world, Patrick," She reminded him, "That's all my doing. I was the one who brought it in, I was the one who put it in you, and now I'm the one who has to pay the consequences."

"Rachael, it was a mistake! You were just trying to save Jack. If it wasn't for you, Kenya wouldn't have her brother."

"That's another thing. I'm the reason why Kenya is so fucked up, why she left town." More and more air was escaping the sorceress with each passing moment. "Don't you see everything bad that's happened is my fault?" She screamed, the tears she'd been holding back spilling from her eyes.

Patrick brought his hands up to Rachael's face, gazing deep into her pain-filled eyes. "It's not your fault, Rach; don't let anyone tell you any different." He swiped his thumb across her cheek, wiping the tear away.

"But it's true," She croaked, "Patrick, it's all true." The world around the witch began to spin while she repeated the same three words over and over quietly. "It's all true...It's all true...It's all-" Then everything went black. The witch fell limp in Patrick's hold, slipping out of his hands and dropping to the ground.

"Rachael!" Patrick shouted, falling to his knees and picking her up in his arms, trying to shake her awake. "Rachael!"