Hell's Love

Chapter 12

  When Declan entered his house later that night, he heard yelling from his parents' bedroom. His brother, Carter, sat in the living room with the volume on the TV blasting. He was stretched out on the couch with head propped up on his arms. The young boy looked exactly the same as Declan when Declan was his age with the same golden blonde hair, blue eyes, goofy smile, and tan skin. Carter stared up at his older brother and frowned. 
  "They know about your fight in school today," Carter said. 
  "How did they find out?" Declan asked and walked over to the chair across from his brother. He sat down with his attention to the fight upstairs. 
  "You know why he's acting out like this!" His mother shouted at his father. "We've been fighting for months now about the same things and the boys see that." 

  "Boys fight, Hollie." His father responded with a soft tone. 
  "Mrs. Mayer told her and she said some things about Ava," Carter answered his question and walked to the kitchen. Declan returned his attention to his parents. 
 "Jonah, Iris also told me Ava hasn't school for a while." Declan's mother announced to her husband. 
 Leave her out of this! Declan wanted to yell up to them. His mom had always blamed Ava for the things that happened in his life. When he didn't get an A in Chemistry, his mom blamed Ava for distracting him. One night about five months ago, he stayed out until 3 AM because he was helping Chester cram for a test. His mom didn't believe that he was with Chester and told Ava she couldn't come over for a week. 
  "Ava is a nice girl." His dad argued. "She has an A average, participates in school events, and helps Carter with his homework. Does she sound like she's a bad influence?"
  "Her parents are terrible role models." His mother said. "They leave her alone too much. Sometimes they leave her alone in that house for days." 
  "We aren't in any position to judge other parents, Hollie." His dad replied with a hint of warning in his voice. 
  "Iris also heard from her daughter that Ava has been friendly with the new boy." His mom announced. Declan sucked in a breath and climbed the stairs to his room. He made his steps louder than necessary, which quieted his parents a little. Declan walked into his room and locked the door. He was angry at his parents, this demon, the rumors about Ava and Dominic, and himself for letting things get so out of control. He knew Ava was freaked out that day at the hospital, but he did nothing to help her. If he had done something, she'd be with him now. 
  You messed up. Now you have to fix it. He told himself. He took out the notes he made and the book. It almost seemed impossible to memorize this all in one night, but he didn't have a choice. He didn't want to wait another day. Tomorrow, he and Dominic were going to save Ava. 

 "You're back late." Dominic's mother said to him as he walked into his house. She tipped her head back and finished her drink. Her brown hair in a messy ponytail. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin was pale. "Archer is coming over tomorrow. Will you be here?" 
  "Not for most of the day," Dominic replied with his eyes on his bedroom door. 
  "He'll be spending the night." His mom told him with a small smile. "Will you be joining us for supper?"
  Dominic shook his head. "No, I have something planned for tomorrow night."
  "Nothing to do with demons, right?" 
  "Of course not," Dominic replied. His mother hated everything her father did with the exorcisms. She refused to have anything to with it. She wouldn't even go to his father's church anymore because she 'didn't want to get caught up in that again'. Dominic knew that her boyfriend was the reason. Archer would tell her that she couldn't go to church because her ex-husband was there and they couldn't interact at all. Not even if it was for Dominic's sake. 
  "How's your father doing?" She asked. 
  "Good," Dominic replied. "Same as usual."
  "You know, I was thinking," His mother said and walked towards him. "Why don't you and Archer do something together? Go to a baseball game or something?"
  "I don't know. We'd have to see."
  "Think about it. For me." His mother whispered and walked into her bedroom. With a sigh, Dominic went to his room and turned on the light. He knew he needed rest for tomorrow, but he didn't feel like sleeping. There was too much on his mind. Ava's life would be on the line tomorrow and he was terrified of how things would turn out. 
 You won't mess this up.  He told himself and prayed it was true. He wouldn't let Declan and Ava down.