Chapter 87- Into The Thorns

“Crystal?” Emerald shook her harshly. Where had Levi gone and why on hell’s earth had he just left her there. Alone with angry Ghost wanting revenge? She didn’t know the answer. But she wanted to give Levi a piece of her mind. Crystal made a sound like she was clearing her throat.
“What happened?” she croaked out and Emerald sprang into action. “ghosts are stronger. Can you walk? She asked a daze Crystal who wobbled to her feet. Emerald put her arm around Crystals waist and helped her walk the rest of the way to the manor. She took a glance over her shoulder and a cold shiver ran down her back. Pure evil stared back at her. The gaze of her mother. A face she wished she would never have to see again. It was the face that haunted her dreams, plagued her nightmares. Emerald opened the door and slammed it shut behind her letting out a loud gasp that echoed around them. She didn’t notice that she had been holding her breathe but the ache in her chest was evident.
“Where is Levi?” Crystal asked in a hoarse voice and Emerald could see the beginning of bruising appearing around her neck. Crystal was lucky that was for sure. A minute more and she may have been lost forever or perhaps she would have joined the vengeful ghosts. Emerald wasn’t sure and she certainly didn’t want to find out.
“I don’t know. He carried you away from the attack. By the time I caught up with you two he was gone.” Emerald was worried. What had happened to Levi? He didn’t seem the type to just bail. She had seen the look of love and admiration in his eyes when he looked at Crystal. A look Emerald had only ever dreamed about. A look she wished someday someone would give her.
“Something is wrong.” Crystal voiced her concerns and coughed.
“You need to rest.” Emerald said in a motherly tone and began to help Crystal to the staircase.
“What about Levi?” Crystal almost whined and Emerald smiled. She had missed out on a lot and a annoying little sister was one of those things.
“You are no good to anyone on the brink of exhaustion. Rest then we can figure this out. Together.” The word together was like a song to Emeralds ears. She had been alone for so long. Trapped inside her own mind.
*
Once Emerald had left her room, Crystal looked in the mirror. Purple bruising covered her neck adorned by a scarlet redness. Fingerprints were evident where the ghost had tried to squeeze the life out of her. Crystals eyes were dull and bloodshot. Dark circles from lack of sleep and worry made her eyes look almost black. Her blonde curly hair was a mess of knots and her skin so pale she almost feared she was a ghost herself. Staring at herself in the mirror a deep seeded sadness crept into her heart. Perhaps Levi had realized that Crystal wasn’t what he thought she was. Maybe he saw the worry Crystal held deep inside her that no one would ever love her. How could they?
She stared long and hard at herself in the mirror.
“Sometimes I try to Imagine an ordinary life. cause I can’t seem to get one, no matter how hard I try.”
Crystal began to sing, to let the feelings she held deep inside out.
“Sometimes I look at people and wish I was like them.
I bet if they were me, they wouldn’t stand a chance.”
She moved away from the mirror and towards the window, her voice echoing around the manor. A sweet melody that pulled at those within its walls.
“My world is crashing down. When will the sun come out?
Why am I like this? I don’t wanna be weak. But I don’t wanna be alone. Oh is this a crush? Tired of being cold. Gotta clean the dust, but how will I love if I can’t trust.” She let the last note trail off as she pondered her own lyrics. How does one love if they cannot trust?
She had so many emotions circling inside her at once. Fleeting and lingering thoughts. She closed her eyes and let the words that were within her heart flow out in a musical and enchanting tone. Her song was her way of making sense of how she was feeling.
" I am scared of something i ve never had, i say i don't want it but i am lonely and i am sad. I am going through changes in my life, and thats what keeps me awake at night." Crystal opened her eyes. She wished Levi was there right in that moment. She wanted to explain to him her hot and coldness towards him. How she truly felt and what was happening within inside herself. But she was alone and Levi was no where to be seen.
"If i can't trust, who will trust me? If i can't love, who will love me?" she looked at the doorway and envisioned Levi stood there with his smung look upon his face and she whipsered. "If I can't love will you love me?"
*
Levi held his head high. No hint of fear. He wasnt scared of the demon he had been called upon by. No what he was scared of was losing his soul. for each life he took, for each bad deed he did upon the request of this demon he would lose a piece of his soul. That is what he was afraid of. It was funny when he thought about it. As it wasnt that long ago he had thought he had no soul. He was dead inside. But Crystal had changed everything. She had set a fire in his heart that he didnt want to lose. She made him feel and he wasnt about to lose the greatest gift anyone had ever given him. She had saved him from himself. From his own destruction. She had given him a purpose a reason to live. She needed him and he would do everything in his power to return to her with his soul intact. He would do what was needed of him.
It was faint but he heard her voice whisper out, "If I can't trust will you love me?" and he whispered back. "I aldreay love you." He knew the words wre true. Crystal had stolen his heart. He was in love with her and would do anything for her. But first he had the demon to take care of. He would play the game while he found out a way to free himself. He just had to by his time and save his soul in the process. Levi grinned. It was a game he once played well. One he was willing to return too.