Hallows: Merciful Death

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Bad Flower- Ghost

B.B:

Lucien Daniels was my sister's best friend. He's a senior this year. I love him for trying to take care of me. For taking care of Terra after my sister died. The least I can do is let them hang out at the best table in the cafeteria for all time's sake. I need to get out more. It's time for me to stop wallowing in fear and regret. Regrets that shouldn't even be my own. It was their decision, not mine.

"What do you think she wants?" Luc asks his stepbrother, Carson Hayashi.

"I don't know, man. She's buggin'," Carson sighs heavily, while he fiddles with the zipper of his leather jacket.

I know he didn't sound like that a couple of years ago. His voice is almost as dark as Luc's now. Deep and filled with secrets. He's changed so much. Grown. Physically at least. Based on this conversation, he's still as immature as ever. It's one of his more charming qualities.

Carson Hayashi is a few months older than me. We're both juniors this year. Which means one more year of this hellhole for the two of us. He's one of the most handsome guys I've ever seen. However, he's also one of the scariest guys I've ever seen. Maybe it's the neck tats or the piercings but he scares me in the most delicious kind of way. The guy raises all sorts of little red flags just like his stepbrother. I've had a crush on them since I was a kid. Not that I'll ever admit it. That would be embarrassing.

"Get rid of her," Luc smirks.

"I've been trying. She's-" Carson has a hard time coming up with a word to fit his predicament.

"Nuts?" I whisper. The two of them turn their attention to me.

"Yeah," Carson smiles.

"That happens when you pop the wrong girl's cherry," I shrug. They both laugh. "Just rip the bandaid off. The longer you wait the worse it's going to get,"

"Thank you," Luc laughs. "Someone with a f*****g brain,"

I have no room to be giving relationship advice. I haven't been in one in over two years and my last one crashed and burned. Not that it mattered, nothing mattered then. He could have been f*****g his neighbor's cow for all I cared then. It stings now. Now that the grief has taken on a new more evolved form. His little longing stares. f**k him and f**k her. It's all sorts of messed up. I trusted them. I guess that was my mistake.

"How are you, B.B?" Carson asks. His tone is a little gentler. Low enough that only three of us hear it.

"I'm okay," I lie with a tight smile and meet his eyes. Fake til you make it, B.B. That's how we're going to make it out of here alive.

"Yeah?" his intense green eyes search my face. His gaze makes my heart race. "Good,"

"How are you guys?" I ask, trying to steer the attention from myself. They both give me a single nod.

"Good," they say at the same time. It sounds as rehearsed as my lie. Worse actually. The nearly identical tone in their voices. The mimicked blank expressions. Why do I find that adorable?

"I really am sorry about snapping at you," I apologize to Luc, again. He smiles. That's all he ever does when he looks at me. It's not a sympathetic one either. Not the way other people smile at me. They both have that in common.

"Come on, you're not the first Blackstone to trash me. You are the first to apologize," he smirks. I laugh.

Their eyes light up as a warm feeling spreads through me. It feels good to interact with someone. Anyone but I don't want it to feel good. Not yet. I can't let her go just yet. I need to know what happened to her. I need to know. I won't be able to move on without knowing.

"Stacy Whitmore is having a party this weekend," Carson mentions. "How about you put something cute on and come with us, Pompoms?"

"Pompoms?" I glare at him. They called me that when I was in cheer. "Ugh. Shoot me if I ever pick those things up again,"

"Pew," Luc pretends to shoot me with finger guns. "Nah, I liked Pompoms. Go team!" he rolls his arms over his chest and then tosses them in the air, spiritly. "What do you think, Blackstone? Would I make the cut?"

"No," I shake my head making everyone at the table laugh.

"You wound me," he places his hand over his chest feigning hurt. He's always been this dramatic. "So, is that a yes?"

"Say yes, Blackstone. I'll be hurt if you say no," Stacy Whittmore is sitting at the table across from us. I give her a little wave, her smile turns into a grin.

"Yeah, sure. I'll go," I agree. If I'm going to get answers I need to stop sitting at home looking for clues that aren't there. "What time?"

"I'll pick you up at ten. Wear something less," Carson looks me over with distaste. "Perky,"

"You don't like my pink cardigan?" I ask, looking down at it.

"No," he shakes his head.

"I'm insulted. Pink is my favorite color," it's the truth. Pink has been my favorite color since I was a little girl. My dad would call me Pinky.

"Mmm, not for this. I'm going to need you to step it up," he crinkles his nose.

"All right, anything else?" I sigh.

"Maybe smile more?" Luc offers. I flip him off. His cute deviant smirk turns into a menacing grin.

Luc and Carson look nothing like one another. Luc is blond for starters. They have the same haircut long at the top with a fade at their sides. They slick their hair back. His eyes are a pretty honey yellow. Luc has a scythe tattooed behind his ear on the right side. His right ear has about eight silver piercings through it. He has snake bites and a tongue ring. A horizontal eyebrow piercing. A jawline that could probably cut paper. Luc Daniels looks like your worst nightmare with the smile of f*****g angel. Cocky motherfucker knows he's gorgeous.

However, the real nightmare is Carson. With his dark hair. Icy blue eyes that almost look silver, they do under certain lighting. He doesn't have as many piercings as his brother but he has twice as many tattoos. I'm sure his entire torso is covered. All I can see is the red feminine demonic hands around his throat. I've always wanted to see the whole thing. I've only heard rumors. It's a red devil woman looking over her shoulder. It cost him over three thousand to get. Everything else is done in black ink. His sleeves, his fingers, all of it. Black ink.

He doesn't have a bunch of piercings but he does have double zero gages in his ears and a lip piercing. He's the ultimate f**k boy. Has a different girl every other week but he's not like Luc. His conquests speak for themselves. He doesn't need to be cocky, there's a sense of false security in his eyes. They make you believe he's the kind of boy you can present to mom and dad but that smirk on his lips. The half-Japanese devil would never stand before anyone's father to make promises he doesn't intend to keep. This is Carson's world and the rest of us live in it.

"Be yourself," Carson adds.

"So, be myself or smile more? I don't think I can do both," I scoff. They laugh. My god, I've missed this. The sound of my voice. Connecting. "I'll try my best," I promise.

"I know you will," Carson stands up without ever looking at me. He takes his tray and excuses himself. "I'll catch you guys later,"

"What are you listening to?" I ask Luc when Carson walks away. He has an airpod in his left ear. He doesn't have any piercings in that one. Not even the lobe.

"You wouldn't like it," he smiles tightly. "What are you into? Beyonce?"

"What?" a very unladylike comes out of me. I cover my mouth and clear my throat. My mother would pinch the hell out of me for making a noise like that in her presence.

"Taylor Shifts?" he tries again.

"I've never listened to either of those and I think it's Taylor Swift," I laugh.

"What? You look like you listen to cutesy stuff. Look at you," he motions to my outfit.

"Do you know who my father was?" I smirk. "He'd roll over in his grave," I'm not joking. Dante Blackstone would haunt my very existence if I listened to something cutesy.

"Nuff said," he chuckles. "Highly Suspect,"

"Johnny is life," I admit. He grins reaching into his back pocket to get his airpod case. He offers me the spare. I reached up to take it but the bell rings bringing lunch to an end. "Mmm, next time,"

"You'd tell me if you weren't okay, right?" he asks me on a more serious note. I stand up grabbing my pink backpack. I cup his face running my thumb over his smooth-shaven cheek.

"You'd be the only person I'd call, Luc," I reassure him. It's the truth. At this point, I'd have no one else to call. He puts his warm hand over my own. With the hand that reads FALLEN in my sister's favorite gothic Cambridge font. They all have it in the same place. Right over the front of their knuckles.

"Okay, B.B. I'm here whenever you need me," he genuinely smiles this time.

"I know,"

His touch is warm. All of him. He's always been like this. Like her. Scary monsters with good intentions. He stands up taking my backpack deciding he's going to walk me to class. I pushed my chair back in place. When I turned around I walk right into someone's lunch tray. It's the first time it's ever happened to me. The old B.B. would have done something really stupid.

"Oh, sorry," the voice sends a cold ripple down my back. Rosa Delioncourt. My former best friend.

"It's fine," I bend down putting what she dropped on the floor back on the tray, and stand up to hand it back to her. "No use in crying over a little spilled milk,"

"Bella. I didn't see you there," she sneers.

"Right," I glance over at Luc. He holds his hand out for me to take. "I'll see you around," I take his hand and let him pull me away from her. "Sorry about that," I say when I'm close to him.

"Don't worry about it," he brushes it off and pulls me into his side so our hips touch with a light bump.

"That's cute," she calls after us. "The emo girl reunites with her dead sister's pals,"

I pause. It's a little hesitant but I chose to ignore her. I keep walking without even glancing back. Luc leads me over to my locker and then to class before he lets go of me. He looks pissed. I stop him from walking away from me by slipping my index finger into the sleeve of his jacket. He looks down at my hand and then up at me. He's furious. I can't let him walk away like this. He's impulsive and I'm afraid of what he might do.

"Don't let her get to you. It's not worth it," I try to soothe him. Why would we give that wannabe the time of day? It'll hurt her more if we act as if she means nothing because she doesn't. Not anymore.

"You're too kind for this world, B.B," he smiles reaching for my face. His tattooed thumb caressed my cheek affectionately just as I had in the cafeteria. I just now realize how intimate the gesture is but I can't take it back. I don't really want to.

"No, I'm not," I push his hand down. "I just don't have enough energy to break her f*****g teeth right now,"

"B.B," his menacing grin returns. "You're going to make me fall in love with you,"

"Wouldn't be the first Blackstone to steal your heart," I laugh.

"No, but you'd be the first straight one," he growls. I swear his golden eyes spark as he pulls away and turns to leave. Holy s**t. Did he just hit on me?

"What was that?" Stacy bumps my shoulder playfully. "Crushing on the cute senior?"

"What?" I turn my gaze to hers. I doubt anyone has ever called Lucien Daniels a cute senior before.

"Into the class, you go, Blackstone," Carson calls from somewhere.

I look around and find him leaning against the lockers across the hall. He lifts his hand shooing me inside. I smile at him and spin around to walk through the door. My face feels hot as I try not to think about either of them. I'm used to their mindless flirting, however, I'm not used to us being this affectionate toward one another. This is gentle and very unfamiliar. Stupid in my state of mind, but that's the point of it, isn't it? Recklessness. Heartbreak.

"Or is it the cute stepbrother?" Stacy teases.

"Hi, Stacy," I grin, taking a seat.

"Hi," she greets me and takes the seat next to me. "How are you feeling, B.B?"

"I'd feel a lot better if people stopped asking me that," I admit.

"Noted. Tossing it out now," she smirks.

"How are you?" I ask.

Stacy's parents got a divorce this year. It was a tough one. Her dad is now married to our Principal. Mr. Olivera. Mr. Whitmore now. Mrs? I don't know but they make a great couple. Her mom and dad were toxic. Not a single person in Hellbourne will ever say otherwise.

I've known Stacy since we were babies. Our moms used to be best friends. She went on tour with my parents when my dad was still singing. We're only a couple of weeks apart. She's older. Stacy is super cute. Strawberry blonde hair that covers her ass. Big green eyes. Pretty olive-tone skin. Freckles. She's a classic Irish beauty. The accent comes out when she's pissed. I love it. HEr dad has a thick accent. It's cute when they argue.

Stacy took up my sister's connect job when Dilly passed and she's really good at it. Stacy's girls don't just run weed and pills through Hellbourne Academy. They run Tech Prep on the Westside and Talon High on the Southside. She's kind of a big deal around here. I know she's not getting her drugs from the same person Delilah did. I think she runs for Jimenez our local shark.

"I'm good. He seems happier, you know?" she shrugs.

"How's Tammy?"

"Mom's-" she furrows her brows and shrugs. She shrugs when she talks about things that make her uncomfortable. "Gone. Out of sight out of mind,"

"I'm sorry," not just as sympathy Stace. For everything. For pushing you away. For not giving a f**k but I was drowning. I didn't know how to cope. How to channel this inside of me. I still don't but I need to be better.

"Don't be, B.B. You're here now," she smiles placing her hand over mine.

"I miss you," I whisper trying not to let the tears filling my eyes spill. She reaches over to my desk and kisses the top of my head.

"I miss you too. Welcome back to the world of the living, Blackstone. We got work to do,"

Rosa and Shane take the opportunity to walk through the door hand in hand when the final bell rings. His eyes hold mine as he walks passed me. She pulls him to her and they sit somewhere in the back. Out of sight out of mind. That's what Stacy said. Yeah, that seems to be the theme of our resurrection, doesn't it?

"Yeah," I agree. "Are you game?"

"All day," she smirks. "Let's clap back?"

"Let's," I raise my fist. She bumps hers to mine.

"f**k yeah," she turns around to get her laptop going. "Let the motherfucking games begin,"