Demons //h.s

Chapter Twelve

YEET

-

"Lux?"

My whole body freezes, and the pain I expected to come doesn't arrive, instead relief washes over me. A male figure stands in front of me, and I can only make out his curly hair. I hesitate for a moment, thinking that it could be Harry, but then realise that the man before me is much shorter than Harry. I keep my eyes glued onto the unidentified figure, feeling Lux fidget beside me.

"Uncle Ashton?" She replies, clawing her way out of my arms and climbing up from the ground, hesitantly making her way over to the supposed 'Uncle Ashton.'

"Oh, Lux! What are you doing in these woods?" He rushes over to her, engulfing her in a huge hug. I can make out some of his characteristics in the dim moonlight, but I'm unsure if he can see me or not. What was he doing out in the woods in the middle of the night? "Are you by yourself?"

"No, Louis' friends are with me." Lux points to the tree where Amber and I are both still sitting, and Ashton rushes to us, his face extremely close and able to see most of now. He helps us up, bringing us all into his arms where he leads us away from the tree. I'm weary of the whole idea of a stranger I met in the woods in the middle of the night guiding us somewhere, but I don't have the chance to ask anything before he starts talking again.

"What are you girls doing here at this time? It was lucky that I was still awake when I heard you girls talking." He talks on, not giving us a chance to answer his questions. "You all can explain when we get inside the house. Lux, why isn't Lou with you?" He stops abruptly and fiddles with a sort of gate. I can just make out the outline of a very small house, but none of the lights inside are turned on and it's heavily covered in vegetation, which makes it difficult to spot at any time.

"We got attacked by a demon." Lux says bluntly. Ashton stops walking in his tracks, bringing his finger to his lips to urge us to stay quiet. He ushers us into his house, which is still completely dark, and guides us into a room with a couple of beds in it, but no windows. He shuts and locks the door behind him, breathing out a sigh of relief. It is pitch black all around us, but suddenly a flickering light bursts up from the shadows, illuminating Ashton's face.

"We're staying in here for tonight. It's not safe anywhere else. You girls will tell me everything in the morning, now, get some sleep." He whispers, gesturing toward the beds. Lux does as he says immediately, climbing into the bed and getting comfortable. I hesitate for a moment, then make eye contact with Ashton in the dim light, seeing the concern but also warmth in his eyes, giving me some trust and reassurance that he will help us.

I climb into a bed, Amber climbing in after me. She snuggles up beside me, and for once I kind of feel safe, in a warm bed, being able to maybe sleep without worrying. Of course I'm still worrying, but within a camouflaged house with no windows and a locked door, I feel a little bit safer. My legs and back are finally catching up to me as I settle down, sending rockets of pain up my body each time I move. I know I'm going to be feeling it even worse tomorrow, but for tonight, all I want and need to do is rest.

-

"Anything?"

"Yes! I'll do anything! Please, just let her go."

-

My body surges upright, my hair sticking to my face and my heart beat erratic. The dark room that I am in doesn't allow me to see much, but I can tell that I'm the only person in the room. I try to get out of bed, my whole body aching more than ever. As soon as my feet hit the floor I am struck with a tsunami wave of pain crawling up my spine, rocketing me into the ground. I scream out in pain, a thumping feeling in my right leg taking over my senses.

The door busts open suddenly, a tall figure that I remember to be Ashton stands over me, trying uselessly to help me up. To smaller figures run in after him, hauling me up by my sides, which causes another wave of pain to take over me. Like knives being stabbed into my back over and over again, and every time I move, the knife twists and digs deeper, is what the pain feels like. I'm crying now, not being able to contain myself, crying out in pain every time somebody made s sudden movement.

Ashton eases me down onto the lounge, and it's only then that I see his physical features clearly for the first time. His warm brown eyes sooth me, calming me down a bit, while his loose light brown curls hang over his face as his head hangs down, the hair along his sharp jawline softening out his defined features. Concern in his eyes, he places a couple of pillows behind me.

"My leg, a-and my back." I choke out, biting back from crying. He nods, examining my swollen leg. He tries to touch my leg, but I flinch away, gasping in air.

"What happened." He asks, pulling a pocketknife out of his jumper pocket. In one swift motion he cuts open the top of my jeans, releasing some of the pressure building on my leg. He cuts the jeans open more until my whole thigh is exposed. I intake a sharp breath when I see how bruised and swollen my thigh is.

"Lou, we were at her house, a-and a demon found us. It cornered us, and I had no other choice than to escape out the window." I gasp out, breathing deeply and slowly to try and calm myself. He nods again, examining my thigh like its a wild beast.

"Two storey?" He asks. I nod. He offers me his hand, giving me a questioning look. "You might want to squeeze something, this is going to hurt - a lot." I nod, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. In a quick and well practised movement, he squeezes my leg with his other hand, feeling the bone. I scream in pain, squeezing his hand tighter and biting down on my lip, choking out sobs. He stops after about 30 seconds, shushing me over and over.

I don't even notice that he's gotten up when he arrives back by my side with a packet of pain relief tablets, a glass of water and a bandage. My shaky hands take the pain relief tablets and the water, swallowing it down quickly and finishing off the rest of the water in the cup.

"Can't feel a broken bone, doesn't necessarily mean there isn't one, but I think you've just got a severely bruised bone at the moment." He mutters while wrapping my leg. I flinch again when he pulls it tightly. "Sorry." He apologises, tucking the rest of the bandage into the top of the wrap. "Those should kick in in about 30 minuets. In the meantime, I need to check your back." He says with little emotion, helping me to roll over on the lounge.

He lifts up the back of my shirt, but then freezes, staring at my back. I hear Lux gasp, running out of the room. I furrow my eyebrows, trying to see my back, but it's hurting too much for me to twist that far.

"Did the demon happen to touch you?" Ashton says barely above a whisper. My blood freezes. Did I? I don't remember being touched by the monster, I'm pretty sure I jumped out the window before it could touch me.

"No, why?" I ask, but I'm not sure if I want to know the answer. He takes a deep breath, covering my back with my shirt again. He doesn't answer me for a while, leaving us all in complete silence. I can tell he's avoiding eye contact with me, and i can sense a sudden fear radiating off him now. Fear of what? Me?

"I don't think bruises form in the exact picture of a blood soaked rose."

-

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