Page 57 of Haunting Phantom
“Krueger, what can I do?”Damien shouts.
“She’s gone, Damien. They’ve taken her over,”Krueger says, his voice laden with disappointment.
“Listen to Its,”a voice that is not my own, hisses from my tongue.“She is ours now.”
“I don’t believe it! I won’t believe it!”Damien shouts, crawling towards me on his knees, barely dodging a chair that goes whipping by him, only gripping on my hand long enough for my claw to pierce his soul.“I know you’re in there, Eve. You gotta fight it! You’re stronger than this. You didn’t mean to kill him. It was an accident. You were just protecting the kid.”
“Don’t listen to Its. Its lies!”
More Dark Ones appear from the shadows, watching with glee, dancing around us like a mob feeding off my misery.
Phantom clutches Autumn closer to him just as Amber and Drac dart from the room with Giovanni. They’re protecting him from me. Protecting themselves.
And they should.
I’m no longer in control, my soul dwindling with every passing second.
The only man who has ever loved me is moving on, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. The more I think about it, the deeper my despair sinks, until the darkness sits heavy inside my chest.
“Just let me go, Damien. It’s too late.”
A single tear drips down my cheek, and he quickly rises to his feet, wiping it away without a single ounce of fear in his eyes.
“It’s not too late,”he whispers. “It can’t be.”
“Why, Damien? Why can’t you just let me go? Just let me die in the shadows. It’ll be better off for me there.”
He clutches my hands, holding them tighter than he ever has before.“Don’t you get it, Eve? Haven’t you figured it out yet? I can’t let you go. My spirit won’t let me.”
“Why?” I shout, the black etching my vision.
“Because you’re my unfinished business, baby. You!”
Everything stops. The violent winds. The hissing in my ears. Everything goes silent so his words can soak into whatever’s left of my soul.
“You’re lying,”I cry, the tears still dark and consuming.
“No,”he assures me.“It’s why I stuck around the clubhouse. It wasn’t because I pledged my life to the club, it was because for the first time in my life, I had met someone worth chasing. Someone that keeps me on my toes and fights me at every turn. Someone whose smile brightens my day even when it’s being sarcastic and smug. When I looked into your eyes, I saw everything I wanted in a woman and more, and after I passed, I was so drawn to you that I stuck around just to make you feel safe. Krueger said I was crazy for following you around the way I did, but I couldn’t help myself. For me, Eve. You’re not just unfinished business; you’re my sole reason for existing.I know you feel lost without Phantom and you don’t want to let him go, but he’s still breathing. Don’t succumb to the Dark Ones. They’ll kill what’s left of your soul and feast on all that’s good inside of you. And I know there’s still good in you. I can feel it.”
He moves his fingers through my hair, but this time I don’t shy away, I lean into it, feeling the connection even though everything inside me tries to block it.
“Don’t listen to Its!”the Dark One growls, his screams becoming desperate and angry.“Its lies. Its deceives. Its wants your soul!”
Then Damien’s lips move in, forcing out the darkness, filling me with a light that I feel deep down in my toes. It’s the first time I’ve felt alive since passing, and it’s a strange feeling, one I thought I’d never feel again.
The claws retract, the black veil lifting as the Dark One’s body is violently ripped out of me and thrown back into the shadows. How that’s possible, I have no idea, but I melt into Damien’s kiss, letting the man that’s been an annoyance since I met him, become everything all at once.
When we finally pull apart, Krueger is actually fucking smiling, staring at us both like a proud papa. “See, I told you she’d come around, eventually.”
Damien’s grip strengthens as he pulls me closer to him, too afraid I’ll run or try to hit him again. He doesn’t realize how weak I feel, that my soul feels tired and drained.
Then everything starts to blur… sound… sight. I can barely see him through the haze, almost like my soul is dissembling into particles.
“No. No. No. Baby, stay with me. Please don’t fade out. Please.”
My hand moves over his face, ignoring the giant hole, and just let myself feel something for him other than repulsion. Love.
“It’s okay, Damien. It feels like my time.”
