The problem came when I woke up that morning. Once again, Rixon was gone, and this time he didn't answer his phone. I was worried. I never knew when he would carry out his plan, and no matter how stupid it sounds, I didn't want to tell Patch anything because if it turned out to be old paper Rixon had just forgotten about, I would give Patch more reason not to trust Rixon. I would admit he was right, and I couldn't bring myself to do that. I stood my ground, not wanting to go to my big brother when something started to stir.
So instead, I did the next best thing.
"Yo," answered Scott, and I smiled. He always made me smile.
"Scott, I need you to come over."
"Something wrong?" he asked, his humorous tone gone.
"Don't worry, just be here in half an hour, yeah?" I hung up before he had the chance to answer, or decline.
Within 30 minutes I had managed another shower, and dressed in my comfy hipster knickers in such a lovely colour as grey, and pulled on another one of my over-sized tee's in grey as well – which ironically read 'THE BASSIST IS MY BOYFRIEND'.
My hair was still damp when Scott rang the doorbell.
I opened, stepped outside and closed it behind me.
"You live here?" asked Scott in disbelief, gawking at Rixon's house.
"Rixon does. I just … live with him."
The bruise on my face was almost gone, but I could still see moments when Scott would look at it.
"What did you need me for?" he asked, avoiding the topic of Rixon. I gestured towards my car and walked towards it, getting into the driver's seat. At the same time, Scott sat down in the passenger's seat.
I strapped myself in, Scott mirroring my act, before I steered the car out on the road and sped down it.
"I'm guessing this is serious, then?" Scott said, and I nodded.
"Rixon's been disappearing every night, except last night when I convinced him to come home." Scott flinched slightly at the mention of Rixon's name.
"We had, um, you know." Scott grimaced. "And I fell asleep. When I woke up this morning, he was gone again. And I think I know why."
I stopped by a look-out-point, killing the engine.
I bit my lip before diving between Scott's legs, drawing an amused chuckle from him.
"You could've just asked," he joked, but I silently ignored him, getting the papers from under his seat. I sat back up, blew some hair out of my face and gave the papers to Scott. "Read," I ordered.
And he did: he read, flipped through all the pages, and the re-read the whole thing.
"Alaïs," he started, his tone weary and full of alarm.
"It could be old papers!" I chimed in immediately, coming to Rixon's rescue more out of habit than belief.
"They're dated," he sighed, showing me the date at the top of the page that I'd missed. It felt as if my heart had been a passenger, along with the last thread on hope I'd been clinging to, on the Titanic and that they'd gone down with the ship into the cold and black emptiness.
"I could convince him to let it go. I can make him forgive!"
Scott shook his head. "Alaïs, he's never going to let this go."
I knew he was right, but it hurt so much.
"But I love him," I whispered. "I love him."
Scott reached for my hand, and I let him. Even though I couldn't actually feel it, his touch brought comfort.
"By the way," he whispered, and I noticed he'd come closer. "Loving the t-shirt."
I couldn't help laughing. Even in the lowest of times Scott could make me laugh.
"Thought you might," I smiled, the threat of tears spilling over gone. Scott gave my hand a squeeze, and I felt so thankful for him.
Opening the door, I hopped out and walked over to the edge. I didn't hear him, and I was too lost in thought to feel him approaching. I did realise he'd joined me though, when he laced his fingers through mine.
I grabbed his wrist with my free hand, holding on to him as if my life depended on it.
"Do you think he ever loved me?" I asked, looking up at Scott.
He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Of course he does," he said eventually. "But he never liked Nora. He always planned on disposing of her. Then your brother burnt his feather and sent him to Hell, so now he holds a grudge against him as well. But I honestly believe he always cared about you."
I gave a grateful nod, before leaning my head on his upper arm (I couldn't reach his shoulder, all right?)
"Thank you for being my best friend," I whispered, receiving a squeeze of Scott's hand.
"Will you go with me?" I asked. "To find Patch. So I can tell him."
"Of course," he answered, releasing my hand to wrap me in his arms.
"Come on," I sighed, stepping out of his embrace and walking back to the car. Scott strapped himself into the passenger seat, and I reached for my phone.
I called Patch, and he picked up on the first ring.
"Alaïs, I'm sorry. I never meant to be so harsh on you."
"It's okay," I whispered into the phone, before taking a deep breath. "Patch, are you at your new place?"
"Yes."
I motioned for Scott to show me the papers, which he did, and I flipped to the fifth page. I read the address, and from Patch's silence I knew it was the right one.
"How did you get it?" he asked.
"I didn't," I said, "Rixon did."
Scott gave me an encouraging nod, so I continued. "Patch, you need to get the hell out of there right now."
"On it," was all he said before he hung up.
After a quick stop at Rixon's house for me to pull on a pair of dark blue jeans, my new brown boots and of course my black leather jacket, I walked back to the car and got in.
I took a deep breath, before starting it again.
"How do we stop him?" asked Scott, looking over at me carefully.
"The same way Patch did," I answered, putting the phone up to my ear. But Patch didn't answer. I tried a second time, and a third. No answer.
"Something's wrong," I groaned, pulling out the address again. I had no idea where it was.
"Do you know where that is?" I asked Scott, showing him the address. He nodded, and I motioned for us to switch seats.
Scott was already out on the road before I had even managed to strap myself in. Turned out Patch had risen a few notches on the luxury scale, and I was quite baffled. Until I noticed Rixon's car.
I was out of the car and through the door before Scott had even killed the engine. I stopped dead in my tracks when I entered the living room, seeing Rixon standing only a few feet away from Patch, Patch using his body to cover Nora's.
"Rixon, could you come over here?" I asked, swallowing.
"You shouldn't have come, Ala," Rixon warned, and I sighed.
"Can't let you send my brother to Hell, Rixon."
Rixon proceeded to laugh, but it was cold and raw of emotions. "He deserves what he's got coming."
I grit my teeth. I could hear Scott coming up behind me.
Rixon's eyes pierced through me, and I knew he felt Scott was Nephilim.
"A Nephil, love?" he asked, disapproval written all over his face. I rolled my eyes, really not interested in this. "Really? You're here to send my brother to Hell, and kill his girlfriend. But you're judging me, and my choice in friends?"
Rixon shrugged carelessly. "You're too pretty for filth like that," he said as if it was common knowledge. I ignored him, and instead looked to Patch. Every muscle in his body was tensed, and he was ready to attack whenever.
I dug my hand into the pocket of my jacket.
"You don't have to do this, Rixon," I tried, knowing I had the feather as back up. "Stay out of it, love," Rixon warned, but it only made me take several more steps to close in between them.
"Can't do that," I sighed.
"I don't want to hurt you," Rixon explained, "but I will if I have to."
His blue eyes met my brown, and I felt my heart tear apart in my chest. I shook my head.
"I love you, but I won't let you hurt my brother," I said regretfully. I pulled out the feather, drawing a gasp from everyone - even Rixon. His eyes narrowed.
"You gave it to me the first day I'd fallen, when we met."
A light flashed behind Rixon's eyes, and I knew he remembered.
"That was a good day," he said, and I nodded in agreement.
"I wish things were still like that, but it's not. Everything has fallen apart, and you've left me with no choice."
I fished up the lighter from my jeans pocket, and Rixon took a step closer to me.
"Love, don't," he pleaded, but I shook my head.
"It's too late," I whimpered, releasing the flame. "I did everything I could: I got you out of Hell, I gave you everything. But I won't give you my brother."
And then Rixon was engulfed in flames for the second time, and chained back in Hell. But this time I couldn't blame anyone, because this time I put him there.
