She locks all the doors and turns, says,

"We will always be safe here in this bed"

All I see scares me, and no one waits forever

-lydia, all i see

"Tate! What the fuck are you doing in my car?" I yell furiously and remove myself from the vehicle as Tate reappears in front of me. blocking my way.

"Did I scare you?" And I hear the tone of hope in his voice and it sidetracks me slightly.

"No. You can't scare me. Not like that at least," I add as I make my way around him and up to the front door. He follows me as I search for my key.

"You sound just like Violet. Women are pathetic. I know your type. You act like nothing phases you, when in reality, your chicken shit deep down inside."

I stop fumbling for my key and look up into his eyes. They are cold and hurtful, his energy becoming more and more dark and it does take me off guard, considering I had sensed good in him not long ago.

"You don't know me Tate," my voice becoming spiteful,"I can't say the same for you though. I can sense you, you know? I know what you did in 1994. I talked to those kids at school today. But, for some reason, I don't buy into it fully. Why did you do it? Mommy or Daddy issues?"

The force of him pushing me against the brick wall is overwhelming I barely had time to react. I could feel his breath on my lips, the coldness of his skin against my own. In all the time I had dealt with the undead, I had never experienced it like this. I had never been the least bit afraid, but I was. Deep down, and I hated myself for agreeing with him, deep down I was afraid for the first time. Afraid of Tate, but also entranced by him.

"Shut your fucking mouth," Tate snarled,"You don't know anything. I don't even remember it. I heard it from Violet last year. The year she left me. I've been eavesdropping, trying to learn more about you. I know about your dad. How he left you and your stupid mother. I know how you got expelled from school for almost clawing a girls eye out. I know how you and Violet are best friends and how devastated you were when she moved. I know about you being a medium. What bullshit. You think you can save her after what she's done, what I've done? You think you can save any of us? I've watched you since you've been here. You might as well kill yourself."

He lifts up my sleeve trying to find some kind of wounds that had been self-inflicted, but looks back at me wide eyes when he doesn't find them.

"I've never cut myself. That's Violet," I say softly and somewhat calmly,"I was never one for self-mutilation. My pain is inside and its enough."

There's so much pain, you know? There's so much.

"Let me go Tate," I say to his speechlessness and surprisingly he releases me. I resume my search for my key and unlock the door when I finally find it. But Tate did not follow me any longer, having vanished as I closed the door. I ran up to my room as fast as I could, not even wondering if my mother was home. I needed to know the truth, as I thought of Tate and Violet and the souls I had encountered. I needed to know everything.

"I like birds too." Tate says quietly.

"Why do you like them?" Violet questions solemnly.

"Because they can fly away when things get to crazy I guess."

There's a long pause before he speaks again.

"Are you gonna tell your parents? About the pills?"

Violet ponders for a minute,"No. I've been sleeping a lot. They think I'm depressed."

"Are you?"

"I'm sad."

"Me too," Tate replies sorrowfully. The look in his eyes is heartbreaking.

"Violet? Something's changed in you-toward me. Your distant, cold. And I don't know what I've done, but I'll leave you alone from now on if that's what you want. Is that what you want?"

He waits for a reply but continues on when she doesn't speak.

"You know why I don't leave you alone? Because I care about your feelings more than mine. I love you. There. I said it. Not just on some chalkboard. I would never let anyone or anything hurt you. I've never felt that way about anyone."

A tear streaks down Violet's face as she beckons Tate into the bed with her, her arms cradling him like some sort of shelter.

"I'm tired," he whispers.

Violets grip becomes tighter on him.

"Me too."

I wake up abruptly. My room is pitch black, the sound of crickets filling my ears. I hadn't even realized I had fell asleep. I turn my light on next to my bed and take one quick look around my room before feeling my forehead. I felt extremely hot and opened the window behind me in an effort to breathe, going over the dream in my head. Tate and Violet. Violet and Tate. It wasn't a dream. It was the past.

You use to love me once.

Once. Use too. Why had she left him? Why hadn't Violet told me yet? I retrieve the aspirin off my dresser and pop two into my mouth, thinking about the pills that Violet had taken. And then it hits me. No, there was no way. She wasn't stupid enough to kill herself. I would have known right away how she had died. Then why didn't I? Why didn't I see it? How horrible was I not to realize it? I feel the bile in my throat rise and vomit in my trash can, wiping my mouth on my sleeve, I sink onto the floor. There would be no school tomorrow for me. I always knew when my body wasn't functioning normally, and mom always knew it too.

"Azura, honey are you alright?" I hear my mom ask through the door.

"You can come in," I state and she opens the door slowly.

"Your sick aren't you?" she inquires and I nod as I make my way back into bed.

"You can stay home tomorrow."

"I was planning on it," I groan.

"Something else is wrong."

Damn her for always knowing everything.

"Mom, can I ask you something?"

She shifts herself on my bed and eyes me playfully.

"Of course."

"Is it possible for a person to be possessed even after death?"

My mom raises her eyebrow,"By what? Demons?"

"Well, yes, and the Devil."

My mom opens her mouth, then closes it, then opens it again,"There are certain cases I know of that pertain to spiritual possession. It isn't unknown, but its very rare. Its said that the devil sometimes latches on to the weak, but also the ones that will give him what he desires most. If the Devil finds his match, I assure you, he will hold onto him even in the afterlife, keeping the spirit incapable of moving on."

I frown slightly.

"Is this about someone in the house?"

I look up at her suddenly,"I was just curious. I sensed something in one of the spirits here and it confused me. I mean, you are saying its possible? I mean can a spirit's soul be saved if it wasn't their soul in the first place? Could they be saved?"

My mother grabs my hand and squeezes it,"Tate is an unusual spirit. I cannot sense him like you can, I suppose. I have heard of the things he's done from Vivien, and they are unforgivable things, heinous things."

"How did you know it was Tate?" I asked shocked.

"I'm your mother and that boy is full of evil. If the Devil is working his magic, your going to have a hard time proving it. He doesn't want to be found."

She kisses me on my forehead before whispering goodnight and departing. My mind racing, I felt it glued solely on Tate. What else had he done that was unforgivable? Disturbing images flash before my eyes and I shake my head violently to snap myself out of it. The Devil is the essence of evil and so was this house and so was Tate. I could connect the dots. Was it never so obvious? I bury myself under the sheets, pulling them closer to me, feeling the safety of them. I think of Tate's face. How beautiful it is, how alluring and it hits me then.

The Devil is beautiful