Chapter 11

"Possessed by a WHAT?" I ask CeeCee, my head pounding even more violently than before.

"A demon," CeeCee says meekly.

"And why would you think that?"

"Well, I've done some research and she has a lot of the 'symptoms' if you will." CeeCee stops talking, awaiting a comment from me. All breath leaves my body. "Er, Jesse?" CeeCee prods.

"I have to go," I say and hang up the phone. I slump onto my bed.

Susannah possessed by a demon? How could that happen? Why would that happen? She's a shifter; she deals with ghosts, not demons. I shake my head and try to think of what 'symptoms' would be associated with being possessed by a demon. Isn't Susannah supposed to be 'immune' to things like this, because she's a shifter?

I sigh and put a hand on the back of my head. The gash there is immensely deep and I shudder. Maybe I should dress it now, I think while clutching my head some more. Then I feel the trickle of blood run through my fingers and yelp, startled.

Getting off of my bed, I rush into my bathroom and stick my head in the shower. After soaking my head, I dry it carefully with a towel. When I look at the towel, I realize that it probably wasn't a good idea to dry it with a WHITE towel. However, I shrug and dress my wound properly, trying not to think about how CeeCee thinks mi querida is possessed by a demon.

Once out of my bathroom and dressed in my boxers, Kate appears behind me.

"My God! What the hell did you do to your head Jesse?" She says while placing her hands on my shoulders.

"I slipped and fell," I say not really in the mood to talk about how stupid I can be.

"Jesus, that looks really bad…Did you do this yourself?" Kate asks.

"Of course I did it myself!"

"I meant the dressing, you loser," Kate says with a sigh and then turns me to face her. "What's wrong. I can tell something's wrong. Your aura is so messed up."

"Er…"

"Come on," Kate says, "Spit it out!"

"I talked to CeeCee."

"And?" Kate says excitedly.

"ShethinksSusannahisbeingpossessedbyademon." I say quickly in a whisper, not wanted to say it too loud, for fear that it might be true.

"Wow." Kate says dumbfounded. She sits on my bed and I begin to pace around my room. "What the hell are you going to do, Jesse?"

"I have no idea…" I say lost in my thoughts.

"I guess I should have thought about that possibility," Kate says while putting her head in her hands.

Jerked out of my thoughts, I ask, "What do you mean?"

"Well, Stephen is a demon hunter."

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I am throwing stones at David's window. This is how desperate I am; I have resulted in throwing stones at a person's window in the middle of the night like I was in love with them. What has happened to me?

"You are acting like a crazy person, you know that right?" Kate whispers in my ear, as if anyone can hear her except me.

I hiss at her, and chuck another small pebble. This one hits the spot, and after a moment a very disgruntled David opens up the window with a, "What the hell?"

"Oh! Jesse!" David whispers. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you, David. And I do realize that it is late, but this is about—"

"—Suze?"

I look at him surprised, "Yes."

"Give me a minute."

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"Actually it all clicks now. I had been thinking something along those lines, but it just proves that CeeCee knows how to research better than I do," David says while sitting in the front seat of my car. His hands are crossed, and there are bags under his eyes. His red hair brushing his eyelashes.

I have just told him about CeeCee and mine's suspicions and he agrees with us.

"I'll do whatever you need me to do, Jesse. I hate seeing Suze like this…it's unhealthy and unnatural. She belongs with you." David puts a hand on my shoulder. Somehow I'm comforted by this, and I relax my tensed muscles just a little bit.

"I really like this kid," Kate says from the backseat and try not to acknowledge her. I think David's dealing with enough right now, and does not need ghosts shoved down his throat so late at night.

"So what do you think I should do?" I ask him.

"Well since Stephen is a 'demon hunter' we need to tell him, because it doesn't seem to me that he knows what's up with Suze," David says.

"That's a great idea," Kate tells me and attempts to clap David on the shoulder, but he just gives me a weird look and shivers.

"There's a ghost in the car, isn't there?" He asks me.

"Yes," I say carefully.

"He or she just tried to touch me, right?"

"Her name is Kate Turner. She died recently—"

"—She went to RLS and was a beauty queen," David finishes for me. It's amazing how much the little kid knows.

"Omigawd, that is so creepy!" Kate squeals and looks at the back of David's head questioningly.

"Yes," I say to David.

"She is really pretty, I remember her picture in the newspaper."

"Awww," Kate says, "He said 'is' and not 'was'. Jesse, tell him I think I love him."

"Um, I don't know if that would be a good thing or not…"

"What?" David asks me.

"Oh, nothing, I was just talking to Kate. Sorry. She says thank you for calling her pretty," I say trying to recover.

"Oh," David blushes a little and Kate sighs with a smile.

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The next day on campus, I seek out Stephen. But he's always with Susannah, and I have to concentrate all my being on not attacking him when he kisses Susannah on the lips. The lips that are supposed to be only for me…

I try to find him alone, but it is near impossible. I settle for leaving campus without my only duty fulfilled. Storming through my door, Kate materializes beside me and places a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"No," I respond and jerk my shoulder away from her hand. "I could not get Stephen alone today! Susannah and him were always together! Always kissing one another!" I slump against my couch, and whisper, "Why doesn't she love me anymore?"

"Oh Jesse," Kate says suddenly by my knees. "You know she's not herself. She's being possessed, Jesse. Possessed, that means that she can't control her actions or thoughts. Suze still loves you; you're the only man for her, I promise."

I let out a yell and then punch the pillow beside me multiple times while cussing violently. I've officially lost it.

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The next night, CeeCee, David, Kate and I are walking through the streets. Just walking, nothing else to do, nowhere else to go. I'm also, more dangerously, thinking. Contemplating what would happen if I just died all over again. Would I become a ghost again, or would I move onto the other dimension?

I don't recognize where we are, but I notice a couple walking ahead of me. It's Susannah and Stephen. I grimace and try to control the anger boiling up within me at the sight of them holding hands. CeeCee also notices and puts a hand on my shoulder as if to hold me back.

"Let's follow them," Kate says from behind me.

"Let's follow them," I repeat for David and CeeCee, both of which cannot hear poor Kate. Stephen and Susannah walk down the sidewalk, never looking back at us. Then they turn in a dark alley and after a moment we follow down the dark alley.

Then there is a yell and a high-pierced-screech-of-a-voice saying something in Latin.

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AN: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I know, I know, I'm the worst person in the world. But since I'm done with school and everything, I should be updating quicker! Although I can't necessarily promise everyday…

Now you can go ahead and yell at me for the cliffy.