The Angelic Demon

Ch. 23 - I Just Want to Save Him

"I'm telling the truth," scowled James. He was standing defensively and if he had hackles, they would have been raised. "Sarah and I made out in the parking lot for, like, five hours. She's totally into me. Why do you care? Are you jealous or something?"

The same pain. The same pain erupted in his chest and settled there. It didn't leave - it wouldn't leave, not even when people told the truth, not even when Ewan held him close and told him they'd find Ezra.

Everything felt like a lie except for the fact that Ezra would die tomorrow. 

That always felt like the truth when Ben told it to himself.

"Ben," snapped James, grabbing the boy's attention. "I'm telling the truth. Do you want to ask Sarah? Maybe rough her up too?"

He was bleeding from a cut above his eye. Ben had landed a firm punch there, which had knocked James back into the bathroom. Where they were now. The cut didn't seem to bother the other too much - he just seemed annoyed and mildly shaken.

This didn't feel right. Ben couldn't accurately decipher truth from lie anymore and it felt wrong to try to. So he stepped back, away from the door, and James took the opportunity to scamper out.

How dumb... how dumb... God, how dumb...

"Damn it!" he yelled, slamming his fist into the wall. Again and again and again.

It cracked and chipped until a giant block fell back and hit him on the cheek. He flinched back, pulling his fist away slowly. Blood leaked from his skin and it lingered on the cracks in the wall. Taking in a slow breath, he glanced around before going to the sink and washing his hands, watching the blood spiral down the drain.

He didn't know how he felt. Ewan and Gabrielle kept assuming he was just sad - depressed that Ezra was out there, possessed, with a hole right through his body. But he was angry and frustrated that instead of searching for him, instead of going out there to find him, he was waiting for school to be over. 

Though it was true, also, that Ben spent every night searching for Ezra. He left right after school ended and got on his bike - he'd searched the whole town at this point, even gone to all the bordering cities, but he'd found nothing. Not a trace.

Ezra's dad had come to him twice at school, asking where he was. Each time Ben could only think about the fact that, if this went poorly, Ezra's mom would find him in a casket.

The only thing he told Ezra's dad was that he, too, was worried. He didn't know what was going on but he swore he'd find him. 

And he got felt like he was letting everyone down when he never found Ezra.

It was always four a.m. when he realized he was too tired to look anywhere else. And the idea of going home was too much, so instead, he went to Ewan and he got two hours of sleep.

An Irish 'hey' interrupted his thoughts.

Ben turned around to find Ewan, bringing himself back to the now. Feeling a sharp pain in his hand, he glanced down to find it was still running under the hot water. He yanked his hands out from under the water and watched the steam rise off of them, pain blossoming through them.

"What happened?" asked Ewan, stepping forward.

"I..." Ben sighed. "I don't know. I don't... I don't know."

"Ben," Ewan soothed, taking his hands in his own. Ewan's hands were colder and it felt better. "It's okay."

"You don't know that," Ben breathed. He watched as the demon took a paper towel and wet it, beginning to dab at the wound on Ben's cheek.