Turn Away | c.h

Chapter 56 - You Can Run

Gotta love a man in a tux

Ps yay I saw your guys responses as to whether or not continue it and I wanna say thank you guys!!
I'll keep writing for y'all, I really hope you guys are enjoying this. thanks for all the support lovelies :)

xxx

«Calum's pov»

Stella trailed along behind me, her small silhouette following mine. She wore a thick jumper, that almost swallowed her figure- and under it, my shirt hugged her. She kept her pace with mine, hands occasionally reaching out at or tugging at my clothes.

It was dark, so she held a makeshift torch. We'd travelled the past ten minutes in silence, as I kept a sharp ear out for any unusual noises. Tonight was particularly stiff- the atmosphere was eerie. I almost contemplated turning back and taking Stella home. But bringing her to Anne Marie was much more important to me right now. I could protect Stella against other people if I needed to, but the darkness that was taking over her body... that was something I couldn't even save her from.

"Cal," she puffed, suddenly breaking my train of thoughts. "Cal, I'm in pain, I-I need to stop for a second."

I turned around, watching as she came to a halt. I moved over to her, placing my hands on her body. She looked poorly, her face drained of colour and eyes dulled over. I almost didn't recognise her in the state she was in.

"Are you okay?" I asked, holding her tired body. She softly shook her head, panting slightly as I looked around for a safe place to sit. I saw a fallen tree a couple of meters away from us, so I helped her over to the area.

Stella sat down on the fallen tree trunk, arms wrapping around her stomach.

"What's hurting?"

"My stomach." She mumbled.

"Let me see." I said, moving my hands to her jumper. I tugged it up, moving aside her shirt and jacket to reveal the bruise. Two reasonably large scratches now covered her skin. I cursed under my breath, pressing my hand to her skin.

"That hurts." Stella pleaded, taking my wrist. I gently grabbed her hand, pressing my lips to her knuckles as I closed my eyes and transferred as much energy as I could. I didn't want her to see the marks. I didn't even want to see the marks, I had to heal her- I had to save her. I was running out of time.

"Stop." She quietly said, voice drowned in sadness.

"I'm sorry, it'll stop hurting soon." I responded, pulling my lips away from her hand.

I moved my grip from her stomach, the two scratches still covering her skin. They looked like they had worsened, even. How was this even remotely possible, I had the ability to heal yet her body refused to take it. She watched me curiously, pale eyes studying mine before flicking up to scan across the emptiness behind her.

I studied her wounds once more before moving the clothes back over her stomach. I stood up, offering her my hand. Though she looked beyond distracted.

"Come on," I said. "We need to keep moving."

"Calum, there's people." She whispered. I pulled away, looking around the forest. That's when their glowing eyes were spotted amongst the trees. I was so stupid for letting my guard down for even a few minutes. Because now, we were surrounded by souls that longed for humans. For my Stella. We were trapped in the middle of no where.