Months passed by since the night Margaret had attacked Victor. Though it had taken a while, Victor had managed to convince Margaret that the burn marks on his skin were from an accident caused at a construction site. While he'd managed to get her off his case for the time being, he was still wary around her. Every time they were within close proximity, Victor would all but go out of his way to make sure that he had gotten away from her. He had even been forced to visit the prayer closet more than once. For his sister's sake, he went in without too much incident. Often, he'd spend the time juggling the statues and glaring at the religious artifacts and pictures decorating the small, dimly lit space.
Carrie's telekinesis had grown stronger as well. Whenever she had time to herself or when she and Victor were alone, she would practice lifting heavier objects. She had even begun lifting Victor from time to time, something that really surprised and amused the elder White.
Several times had Victor taken his sister as well. At some point, Carrie had begun making him use protection. As much as she enjoyed her time with Victor, the thought of having a child terrified her. Even more so because the child would be her brother's. The constant reminder of their sin. Their sweet, forbidden, incestuous sin. Victor hated the condoms at first, but then grew to tolerate them. He was always content afterwards with lying with his sister. One time in the bathtub had almost gotten them caught when Margaret came home early from work, but quick thinking on both their parts allowed them to escape Margaret's wrath.
School had been just shy of hell for the both of them. Despite the subtle bouts of telekinetic revenge, Chris and the Ultras made sure that Carrie and Victor were as miserable as possible. From tripping in the hallways to graffiti to hassling in the locker rooms and more, it was obvious that it was affecting Carrie far more than it was affecting Victor. Many times had Carrie been nearly reduced to the point of tears, and often that point broke. It didn't matter to anyone that Carrie had Victor nearby. To Them, it only made the teasing all the more fun. Victor's larger stature did very little to stop the bigger students. They shoved and hit and tripped and harassed him just as much as they did Carrie. Victor never hit back though. He didn't want to be taken from his sister. He kept himself in line by simply getting back at them and freaking them out when they least expected it. It sated him.
"One day..." Victor had thought as he wrapped his arm tightly around his younger sibling, "One day they're all gonna pay." His eye twitched. "They're all gonna burn."
It was Christmas time in Chamberlain. Fresh snow littered the ground and rooftops. Children were out laughing and enjoying the snow days, free from the grip and torture of school. Children proudly showed off new toys and the more privileged teenagers flaunted their new clothing or vehicles. Snowballs pattered against people and objects alike, eliciting cries of laughter and a few of pain. In front of the White bungalow, it was no different. Carrie giggled as a snowball connected with Victor's hip. Her bright blue eyes widened and she held up her hands to block a returned snowball. It had been years since she had gotten to enjoy Christmas Day outside in the snow. Margaret usually had her cooped up inside, telling her her version of the birth of Christ. Not today though. Today, the frail woman was lying in bed, stricken with a sickness so terrible that it hurt to move and even speak. That didn't stop her from trying though, trying to move and look through the window to see her daughter. Cavorting around in the snow with a boy instead of sitting inside, learning of and praying to the Lord like she was supposed to be.
A pained groan left slightly cracked lips as Margaret rolled onto her back and clutched her stomach. Surely this sickness was brought on by her disobedience. She had messed up somehow and the Lord was punishing her. She curled up. She probably deserved it. She clenched her eyes shut and tightened her jaw as the laughter came floating up through her closed window. All she wanted was silence. A quiet hiss escaped her mouth. Heathens. All of them.
Victor glared and then smirked as he ran towards a very crudely built snowman. Carrie's eyes were wide with anticipation and when she watched him crash into the snowman, she covered her mouth to stifle her amused giggles.
"That guy stood no chance!" he posed for her, which caused her to drop her hand and laugh. He brushed the snow from his coat and walked over, wrapping his arms around her. His blue-green hues sparkled when they met bright blue. In all the time he'd known her, Carrie still managed to bring a blush to his cheeks. He leaned down and planted a quick though affectionate kiss to her forehead.
"I love you. Merry Christmas."
Carrie's own cheeks heated and she fought the urge to look up to her mother's window. Instead she leaned against him and rubbed her cheek against the material of his coat.
"Merry Christmas. I love you, too."
She could have stayed in his embrace for a long while had the moment not been interrupted by a small rain of snowballs. A few were yellow tinted. Instinctively her body tensed and she folded into Victor's larger frame. Victor's eyes widened and his head snapped up to see a silver Mitusbishi car drive by. Both Carrie and Victor knew it belonged to Tina Blake. In the front seat were Tina and her boyfriend, Jackie Talbot, and in the back were Nicki and Lizzy Watson. They snickered and jeered as they drove away. From the window could be heard, "Merry Christmas you religious freakshows!" and "I hope you enjoyed the lemon snowballs!" More laughter followed that. Victor's eye twitched then he looked down to Carrie. He pulled away from her and instead stood behind her. He wrapped his left arm around her waist and the right rested under hers. He raised it subtly and murmured to the blonde, "Think of tiny snow spikes. Make them hard. Sharp."
Carrie stood like a board as she allowed him to lightly manipulate her frame. Her mouth was set in a thin line and her rigid body swayed slightly. She looked down to her coat then back to the departing car.
Flex.
She watched in mild, morbid satisfaction as the tires of the silver vehicle shredded and sent it into a wild skid. Sparks flew, causing the snow in the wake to melt the smallest bit. Several children screamed and scattered as the car came to rest against a line of trashcans on the curb. The corner of her mouth twitched as she took a step away from Victor. She felt his arm release her, though it was quickly followed by a ruffle of the hair. She turned to see Victor shoving a hand into his pocket and offering the other out to her. She took it wordlessly, following him to wherever. Following him away from the small destruction that she'd caused. The spikes began to melt.
Tina pushed open her door and whimpered as she stepped out. Immediately she began to cry as she surveyed the damages. She was already seeing dollar signs because of the damages, especially to the tires and rims.
"Ohh my parents are gonna kill me!"
Jackie stepped out at the same time as the twins. He seethed then walked around to try to comfort his girlfriend.
"Tina shh... Don't get too worked up. Your heart-"
"Screw my heart! Look at this car!" She hit at Jackie once then sniffled as she began to cry into his shoulder.
Nicki and Lizzy looked at each other then to Tina. "How the hell did this even happen?" Lizzy asked.
Tina shuddered and shrugged miserably. "I-I don't know..." she looked up, "i-it just-" She cut herself off mid-sentence as she noticed the road. Stepping away from Jackie, she approached the melting spikes. The twins and Jackie followed close behind. Tina watched as he knelt and brushed a finger to the melting spike. He quickly yelped and withdrew his hand, which caused all three girls around him to jump back in surprise.
"What?!" Nicki asked urgently.
"The snow spikes. They're hot as hell," he replied.
The twins shared a skeptical look. "Snow... is hot?" they asked together. Tina glared and smacked his shoulder. Jackie frowned and stepped back.
"Feel them!"
The girls all shared a look then reached to touch the melting spikes. All three recoiled back, which caused Jackie to smirk.
"See?" His response were multiple smacks to the chest. "What the hell?"
He was ignored as the girls' attention returned to the spikes. Water dripped down the surface of the little spikes as they gradually melted away.
"F-Fuck... Billy!" Chris's husky, shaky voice filled the small interior of the crimson car.
Steam fogged up the windows as the car rocked back and forth. It was parked in a dirty alleyway, partially hidden by trashcans. Billy's low, throaty grunts mingled with Chris's pitchy moans. A golden chain dangling from Chris's neck brushed their skin as Billy bucked into her. It was her Christmas present from him. Undoubtedly he stole it. That didn't matter to her. She still loved it. Billy readjusted her leg around his waist and cursed loudly as he slammed into her one final time.
"Fuck y-yeah!" He growled as Chris's nails dug into his skin as they rode out their orgasms.
Chris buried her face into his shoulder and panted as he kissed her forehead.
"Merry Christmas babe," he said between pants.
She smiled and allowed him to rest inside her for a long while before she finally pushed at him. "Mmph... Can you get off me now? My legs are starting to fall asleep."
Billy smirked and slowly pulled out of her, soon after taking the condom off and tossing it carelessly out the window. After rolling the window back up, he readjusted his clothing while Chris fixed her skirt and underwear then her hair. He crawled back into the front seat and sighed as he wiped at the front windshield.
Chris reclined in the back seat, fingers playing with her purloined necklace. "Hey, you think Carrie White is getting fucked by that guy that follows her around?"
Billy scratched at his shaved head and lifted a brow, regarding her in the rearview mirror.
"What? What makes you ask that?"
Her eyes met his in the reflection as she said, "You see the way they look at each other? Especially Carrie. She looks at him the way she used to look at Tommy Ross. Undressing him with her little beady eyes. And those little smiles and shit they share. It's just, ugh." She shook her head.
Billy shrugged. "He might be fuckin' her, but have you seen the guy. He can't be younger than his early twenties. If he's fuckin' her, it's probably fifty shades of illegal."
That amused Chris. Her boyfriend, Billy the Delinquent, talking about something being illegal. She clicked her tongue and tapped her chin in thought before smirking evilly.
"If he's fucking her and he got caught, he'd go away to jail and poor little shit eater Carrie White would be all alone again. Boo fucking hoo." She snickered and leaned forward, wrapping an arm around Billy's neck affectionately before sighing. "Oh well though. I doubt she could attract a guy that far. Not even a weird ass like that Vincent guy."
Billy rolled his shoulders then lifted a brow as he noticed two figures walking along the sidewalk. "Hey. Isn't that them now?" He pointed to Carrie and Victor, both of whom seemed rather happy. Carrie had a large sugar cookie in her hands, no doubt gotten from the carolers that go around and give out sweets.
Chris perked up and watched as the pair walked by, seemingly without a care in the world. It made her sick to see Carrie White so happy. So carefree. She deserved to be miserable. Self-righteous bitch. "Yeah," she looked over to her boyfriend, "follow them."
Without hesitation, Billy turned the Chevelle on, smiling as the engine roared to life. He eased the car out of the alleyway and drove it casually along the side of the road.
"Gimme a bite?" Victor asked.
Carrie looked up to him and smirked before taking another bite out of the cookie and shaking her head. Victor frowned and huffed, showing mock hurt.
"You're so mean, Carrietta White."
The blonde's eyes widened and she jabbed at his hip fairly roughly. He seethed then laughed, brows raising when the cookie was raised to his lips. He smiled and took a bite, leaving the cookie slightly steaming when he withdrew. Carrie blushed slightly. As he chewed, he straightened up when he heard a car approaching. The roaring engine and the slight clunking. Both he and Carrie knew this vehicle. He drew her close and glared ahead as the car pulled up along side them.
"Not now," he muttered under his breath, "not on Christmas."
He looked down to see Carrie had tucked herself against him as tightly as possible. When he heard Chris's voice call from the window, he rolled his eyes and looked over.
"Hey! Merry Christmas you two." Her voice was laced with a fake sweetness so sugary, it could have given a baby diabetes.
Victor increased his walking pace, prompting Carrie to do the same. Ignore. Ignore, let them do their thing, and they'll go away. The car drove up again, Chris spoke louder.
"Helloooo. I said Merry Christmas."
Carrie looked up to Victor, who only looked straight ahead. Though he didn't look to Chris or Billy, he spoke. "Fuck off please Hargensen. It's Christmas and it'd be really nice if you and your gremlin didn't ruin it with your bullshit." He didn't really wait for their response because as soon as he spoke, he led Carrie into a nearby fenced alleyway, much too narrow for a car.
Chris stared, open mouthed as she watched the siblings disappear down the alleyway. How dare that jackass talk to her that way?! She sneered and looked forward as Billy drove the car away. He seemed unfazed, but the gears in his mind were turning. He didn't like being insulted. Not even by Chris so he'd be damned if some fucking idiot who followed Carrie White around like a puppy was going to talking to him or Chris that way.
Once they were far enough away and back into the residential area, the blonde looked up to her brother and lightly pushed away, causing him to let her go. Her eyes were moist. It confused the strawberry blond.
"Why do you say things to her. To Them. It only makes things worse. Please... P-Please stop."
Victor's eyebrows raised then furrowed. He contemplated this for a moment before sighing and bobbing his shoulders in a shrug. "If that's what you want, okay. I'll do it." He would stop around her. If approached alone, he wouldn't mind his tongue. His eyes fell half mast when he felt her arms lock around his waist. He heard her muffled voice say thank you. He ran a gloved hand through the golden hair peeking out from beneath her snow hat.
After what seemed like an eternity, Carrie pulled away from Victor and took his hand in hers. They walked back to the house in relative silence, opting to listen to the merry sounds of children and Christmas songs, both sung and instrumental.
The rest of the holiday went smoothly for the siblings. With Margaret too sick to move, they were free to spend their time in the attic, only occasionally bothered by Margaret's groans. They spent most of the day in the attic, listening to the music through the open attic window. The night was spent making love in Victor's bed. It was slow, passionate, and tender.
Victor now lay in his bed, one arm under his head, the other locked securely around Carrie's sleeping form. The clock read 1:43. He stared at the ceiling as he stroked her naked shoulder slowly. He loved Carrie. He would continue to go through the hell Ewen threw at them if it meant that he could make her smile, even a little, at the end of the day. He looked down to the sleeping blonde and smiled, kissing her forehead before closing his own eyes. He didn't worry about Margaret. The blanket, held in an invisible grasp, covered Carrie's shoulder before fading. Victor's voice whispered into the air before he drifted to sleep.
"Merry Christmas, Carrietta."
