Darkness Finds You (The Darkness Finds You Chronicle- Aleister Black)

Chapter 6: Let Him Burn

(Song: "Let Him Burn" by The Relentless. Well, I hope you enjoyed the end of the Lars feud and more of Devon's appearance. This is only the beginning- there's more coming. This marks the start of what I've been dreading as a writer. Ciampa and Aleister losing the NXT title, also Aleister's injury too. Sigh. But I hope you all enjoy. --TM) 

The agony of force on my ribcage- the taste of blood in my mouth. The hard smack of my head against the wall. My throat raw from screaming to be let go but all I hear is menacing laughter. I want to escape but I'm confined to stay still. I want it to stop but I know that it won't unless every drop of strength escapes Devon. And when it does, he passes out. 

"You know where you belong." He growled. "You're mine. MINE." 

I scream as I'm hit with another strike from him. 

I wake up and I sit up- I'm laying in bed with Aleister at his place before the next NXT taping. Sweat drips down my forehead and I get out of bed, so I don't wake him. I barely glance at the clock as I grab a blanket and I walk out to the porch. 

Feeling the cool air of the morning, I sigh- sitting in the chair and letting it blow through my hair. I hear a meow and I see Totty sitting next to me- he rubs his head against my leg. I move to pick him up and I listen to his purrs as I run my fingers through his long white fur. Letting it calm the erratic beat of my heart. 

"Lyra?" I turn my head and I see Aleister standing in the doorway- his Liars Club shirt staring back at me and I see Luna on his shoulder. He walks toward me and he sees me with Totty. He pets Totty behind his ears. "What are you doing up so early?" 

"Nightmare. It triggered my PTSD," I say as I wipe a quick tear from my eye. Aleister's face softens and he kneels down in front of me- Luna jumps off and lands on the ground. "After what I've been through, how could you still want me? I-I'm scarred up and I'm useless. Broken even." 

"Lyra. Hey," Aleister murmurs as his tattooed hands caress my cheeks. "Don't say that, baby. You're not broken and you aren't useless. You might have scars, yes- but that's who you are. You might see yourself as damaged goods but I don't see that at all." 

I sniffle and I whimper softly- Aleister sighs and he pulls me into his arms, he moves us around so I'm sitting on his lap and Totty is sitting next to Luna. 

"I-I don't feel like I'm anything anymore," Tears move down my cheeks. I feel Aleister nuzzle into my neck and he closes his eyes. 

"Hey. Shh. We all do," His breath is warm against my jaw and throat. "It's okay to have a dark day, liefde. Just know I will always be by your side." 

I rest my head on his shoulder and his hand moves toward the top of my back, rubbing circles in comfort. I move so I'm straddling his hips- I take a moment to remove my shirt, leaving only my Killstar bralette on and I show him the scars that I have- they're hidden by my wrestling gear or by my regular clothing. Most of them are from Devon, others are my own personal doing. 

My scars cover my entire left and right sides- lines and words like "sick", "broken", "worthless" from my mental demons are carved into my flesh forever. I hear a gasp from him when he sees the ones that Devon made- "slut", "mine" and his name, I know his heart has broken at what's crossed his vision, he's lost all the color in his face. Pale. Like a ghost- I close my eyes, my mental wall breaks away and let my tears speak. Holding me to him, I feel his fingers move across every mark. 

It takes a few moments before Aleister finds a way to use his voice again. "As much as it hurts me to see this," Aleister says. "It doesn't change how I feel about you. You're still the same girl I remember. Even with scars, you're beautiful."