Without You There Is No Me

By the time we got to Jess's house there were already two other cars parked on the pavement. We'd been held up by my mother. Jaime parked up and we got out. Jaime bit his lip as he looked at me and shook his head.
"Why you didn't get changed I'll never know." he said.
"There wasn't time." I said.
"There was plenty." he rolled his eyes.
I went to the door and knocked softly. It opened and I saw a sleepy eyed Jess. She yawned at us and stood back to let us enter. Jaime wrapped his arms around her and kissed her quickly before we went down to Aidan's room.
I saw Tony and Carrie sat at the end of the bed, with Mike under the covers looking like he was falling to sleep and Vic sat in the chair. They looked up and Vic stood up when he saw me. I smiled and went over to him. He wrapped his arms around me and leant down to kiss me tenderly on the lips.
"Why are you wearing nothing?" Vic laughed against my lips.
"I didn't have much time." I murmured. I looked down an sighed. I came in shorts, a tank top and vans.
"Nice legs!" Mike called, suddenly announcing his awakeness. Vic took off his hoodie and wrapped it around me. I reached up to kiss his lips to thank him.
"So, what's up?" Tony asked. Vic sat down in the chair and I sat on his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in between my shoulder blades.
"Tonight Aidan came to me to tell me something. He came through in my dreams," I explained.
"What?" Jess muttered.
"He showed me the night he died. I saw everything. How Savannah left and how Jess tried to help him. But he wouldn't let her. Then he was possessed. He went to Lauren's but she was already dead. They made him string her body up. Then they had no use for him. They made him O.D." I rushed.
"No," Jess shook her head. "That didn't happen."
"I'm sorry." I told told her gently.
"But...?"
"She wouldn't lie." Jaime whispered to her.
"That's why Lauren told me everything is connected, because it is."
"Shit." Mike breathed.
"I can't believe it." Jess muttered.
"Shhh." Jaime soothed and wrapped his arm around her.
"I'm sorry." Jess muttered. I saw she was crying. She stood up and ran from the room. Jaime followed after her and nodded to me before he left. He'd look after her.
"There's still Vic though, right?" Tony asked.
"What do you mean?" Carrie asked.
"That he still doesn't remember," Mike yawned and buried his face into a pillow. "Catch up so I can go to sleep." he grumbled.
"You don't remember?" I asked Vic.
"Sorry." he shook his head.
"I don't know what to do." I muttered.
"Wait!" Mike suddenly said, sitting up in bed.
"What?" I asked.
"You've tried summoning people. But I've got something else. I think I can help." Mike explained.
"You?" Vic asked and raised his eyebrows.
"Let me call Lily." he said. Mike got up out of bed and got his phone out. I saw him talking and he hung up. Mike didn't say anything as he sat back down. He just waited, looking more pumped than before.
After a while the door opened. Jaime and Jess came down but they had Lily with him. She sat crossed leg on the floor and emptied the contents of her bag. She set everything out and smiled widely at him.
"What's this all about?" I asked.
"Mike phoned me. He said you wanted me to do a spell." Lily replied.
"A spell?" Vic asked weakly.
"To make you remember. Don't worry, it'll be okay! I've done it before." she reassured him.
"I don't know if I like this." Vic whispered in my ear.
"Will it hurt him?" I asked Lily.
"Not at all. He'll just remember and say it all out loud as he sees it. We'll be able to hear." she explained.
"I think it's a good idea." Tony said.
"Actually, me too," Jess told the room. "Aidan had stuff preformed on him and he was fine." she added.
"I-" Vic tried and swallowed hard. "Stay with me?" he asked me. I nodded and kissed his cheek quickly. "Okay." Vic agreed.
I stood up and Vic went to join Lily. She was going around the room lighting her candles. Vic crossed his legs and Lily sat in front of him. She gestured Mike over with her head and he nodded. Lily was starting to add things into a small bowl. It was smoking and the smoke was circling above them, just around Vic's head.
"Do you want me to say anything?" Mike asked as he drew a circle of salt around them.
"No, I just need to channel your energy." she explained. I went to the bed with Tony, Carrie, Jaime and Jess. As Mike sat behind Vic I reached for Jaime's hand. He squeezed mine to comfort me. Vic was used to watching me go through these things. I didn't like it the other way around. Mike touched both of his hands with Lily's. Lily's head snapped back and she let out a breath. She started muttering under her breath.
"Are you still here?" Vic asked anxiously.
"Right here." I promised.
"Powers and emotions tied," Lily cried. "a dead girls heart is where it hides. Help him through his agony, Bless him with his memory!" she finished. I gasped as all of the candles went out. Vic's head snapped back and he fell back, his head landing in Mike's lap.
"Is he okay?!" I asked urgently.
"Leave him." Jess muttered.
"She's hurting," Vic suddenly said. "Beautiful girl is hurting. She watches me. She knows. She knows what's going to happen. She knows all about the girl I'm going to meet. All about my baby, Hannah. But she doesn't say anything. She's got dead eyes and her arms are always red.
"When I go to the park she's there. She says she's lonely but ain't alone. She's never alone. People are always with her. I didn't get it. I thought her boy knocked her around. But she doesn't have one. She has a girl.
"But she was scared. I told her I'd help her and she didn't have to be scared. She didn't believe me. But at night she'd joined me crying telling me the evil was coming. Evil isn't just something hiding under her bed. It's getting inside her. Bad things happen to her.
"One night she phoned crying real hard. She said the evil was really bad that night and that it was going to kill her. I got scared and went to go to her house. It was a few blocks away. On the phone I heard them get to her. I didn't know what it was. I started to hurry. But the cops were there. I saw they carried her body out. This time here wrists were hanging off and she had a sore neck.
"But I go to sleep and it's all gone. There's nothing left but a news report. Poor Lauren." Vic finished.
Then his back arched and his eyes opened properly. Vic sat up and held his head. I rushed over to him and wrapped my arms around him. I kissed over his face and neck and heard Vic laugh. He shifted so he was hugging me.
"I'm fine." he whispered in my ear.
"Why would Lauren block that out?" Carrie asked.
"If I didn't know about Lauren then I wouldn't find out about Savannah." Vic explained.
"No Savannah means no link to Aidan or what he did." I added.
"You think she was protecting his memory?" Jess asked.
"I think so." I nodded.
"I should go." Lily said. "It always makes me sleepy." she added and started to clear up. She collected her things and put them away in her bag. Once she was ready I saw Mike stand up. He took her hand and my lips twitched up in a smile.
"Thanks, Lily." I told her.
"Anytime." she shrugged.
"I'll see you out." Mike said.
He went upstairs with Lily and I turned to Vic. "Are they... you know?" I asked and raised my eyebrows.
"What?" he looked back at me confused.
I rolled my eyes and looked back to the basement door. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.
"Sure." he nodded. "Go, I know you want to." he urged.
"Thank you." I told him.
I turned and went upstairs. I waited in the hallway and saw Lily with Mike by the door. They were talking quietly. Then Lily leaned in to kiss him. I gasped as Mike kissed her back and they finally broke away. She waved to him and he closed the door. Mike leant up against it and laughed.
"Han, I know you're there." he said.
"Sorry." I mumbled.
"It's okay. Just don't creep on me." he said. I walked over to him and Mike dropped down to sit in the hall. I joined him and turned to face him.
"What's going on with you two?" I asked.
"Ugh, okay," Mike breathed. "We're together. Like we're dating." he admitted.
"That's why you've been spending time with her?" I asked and he nodded. "That's great." I grinned.
"It's not." he shook his head.
"What?" I frowned.
"She's one of the haunted, Hannah. Fucking hell. Do I need to say what that means?"
"Oh." I muttered finally understanding.
"When she eventually finds her person - which could be any day now - I'll be all but forgotten. She won't care about me. It'll all be about her person."
"You don't know that." I countered.
"I do actually," he laughed bitterly. "I asked Rich. He told me. I just have to wait." Mike sighed sadly.
"I'm sorry." I told him sincerely.
"I don't want everyone to watch her taken away from me. I really like her, Han. Everyone would know. It can't be private. I can't set myself up for that. She knows that. She agrees. I hate this!" he kicked out.
"It's okay." I told him and rested my palm on his arm.
"It's not, but I guess it's all part of the hot cakes of pain." Mike chuckled darkly.
"You're a really good, brave guy, Mike." I said.
"I don't know about that." he sighed.
"You're choosing the pain. Just like Jess and Jaime. The rest of us can't," I told him. "That's brave."
"Thanks." he told me and I patted my arm.
"I need to sort something. Tell Vic I'm going to the park."
"Want me to come?" Mike asked.
"No, it's okay." I smiled.
I stood up and went to the door. I went outside and wrapped Vic's hoodie closer to my body. I walked down a few blocks until I came to a park not far away. It had to be the park Vic was talking about. I went inside and took a seat on the swing.
"Come on, Lauren." I muttered. I closed my eyes and swung gently, the sound creaking and then echoing through the park. I opened my eyes and saw Lauren sat on the swing next to mine. "I know what happened." I told her.
"I know." she nodded.
"Is that okay?" I asked.
"I thought it was all my fault. Without me Sav would have stayed with Aidan and he'd be alive. Jess wouldn't be full of grief. Neither would her parents." Lauren explained.
"It wasn't your fault." I assured her.
"I think I know that now." she replied.
"What are you thinking?" I asked her.
"The light, Hannah. It's getting so bright. I can't even see your face." she gasped.
"Go into it. You deserve to." I urged.
"But you'd be all on your own."
"It's okay." I told her and I was sure. "For both of us it's okay,"
"Thank you." Lauren said weakly. I looked over and she was silently crying. She reached for my hand and I squeezed her icy cold hand. Lauren pulled away and stood she turned to me and widened her eyes. "It's beautiful," she told me. "But don't you dare join me. Not yet. It's going to be so hard for you. But you're okay. Remember that you'll get everything back, no matter what you lose. Build the bricks and get it back."
"Do you know something?" I asked.
"I can't," she gasped. "If they know they'll kill you. Just remember. You're made for bright things, bright than this light. That's what scares the demons."
"I'll miss you." I told her weakly.
"Yes." she smiled. Then she stepped forwards and looked back once more before she disappeared. I smiled despite the tears in my eyes.
"You deserve it, Lauren." I muttered to myself.
Then everything changed. I suffered a blow to the head. I fell back off of the swing and looked up. I could just about make out the face of Carrie before I blacked out.

Notes

Hey! Another update! I know what you're thinking, is it your birthdays? This was super long but what did you think? What will happen? What about what Carrie did? Is she possessed? Only two more chapters left! Who's excited? :)