*Warning: Trigger Warning for Suicide and Drug/Alcohol Use*
*Ember*
I anxiously wait for my name to be called. My tassel tickles my ear as the breeze raises my gown slightly. I've waited 13 years for this day. Today is the day I graduate. Families cheer as their loved ones get called up and receive their diploma. I fiddle with my honors cords, looking up into the crowd. I spot my mom, smiling proudly. Jacob is giving me a thumbs up. Damian stares at me with love while his family smiles. I'm drawn back to reality when I hear my name.
"Ember Mayflower." Guess it's my turn. I stand up from my seat and walk over to the principal. I take my diploma while smiling and shaking hands before returning to my seat. I cheer as Bella and Casey get their diplomas, super proud of my friends. Soon we reach the end of the class. "You may now turn your tassels as a symbol of you starting your new journey in life." A smile grows on my face as I move my tassel from one side to the other. My fellow classmates start to stand up. I follow their cue.
"Congratulations to the class of 2022!" Screams and cheers ring out across the field as our caps go flying.
"Welcome, welcome!" Damian's mom pulls me into a hug. We were having my graduation party at Damian's house. At first, I didn't want one but Misty insisted that I have one. She may have also threatened that if I didn't have one she was going to "kidnap" me and have one whether I liked it or not. "I may have only known you for a few weeks, Ember but you're like the daughter I never had. Plus you make my Damian happy and that's what counts."
"Thank you Misty." I smile. "I really appreciate you guys hosting this as well. You didn't have to do it, you know."
"I know but you are part of the family. Now go and have fun." Misty rushes me towards the backyard where everyone else is waiting.
"About time the graduate arrives." Bella calls out. I grin.
"Oh but you're a graduate too. Same with Casey."
"Yeah but our names aren't Ember. Now let's get this party started!!!" Bella screams. Casey shakes his head and smiles at Bella before connecting his phone to the speaker. Low by Flo Rida starts to play as Casey and Bella pull me onto the dance floor. I look around for help and see Damian smiling at me. He makes his way over to us. "Hey Ember." He kisses me gently on the lips. "Hello Bella."
"Hey Damian. This is my boyfriend Casey. I don't believe you two have officially met yet. Well besides when you first met Ember."
Casey and Damian shake hands. "Nice to meet you Damian. You better be taking care of my friend here or you'll be paying for it. With your life."
"Casey!" Bella and I both screech in horror.
"What?! You're my best friend! I ain't letting a guy hurt you again!" I shake my head at Casey. Always so protective.
I wrap my arms around Damian. "Well I have a feeling this one is going to be the one to last." Damian looks down at me and smiles.
"I love you Ember."
"I love you too Damian."
"Awe!" Misty squeals. "You two are so cute! I'm gonna go get my camera. Michael, can you come help me find it?"
"Yeah. Anything for my beautiful lady." Misty turns red and heads inside leaving Michael to follow as he chuckles.
You Make It Easy by Jason Aldean starts to play over the speaker. Damian takes my hand. "May I have this dance?"
"You may." He wraps his arm around my waist while holding my hand. We start to gently sway to the music.
"You make it easy lovin' up on you
Make it easy with every little thing you do
You're my sunshine in the darkest days
My better half, my savin' grace
You make me who I wanna be
You make it easy"
I look up into Damian's eyes and see nothing but love, passion and care. I get lost in his eyes and the music fades into the background. It's only us and nothing could ruin this moment.
"GET EVERYONE OUT OF THE HOUSE!" A voice screams in my head. I jump, startled and let out a screech.
"Ember? Is everything ok?" Everyone is looking at me. Damian looks especially concerned.
"Hmm? Oh, I'm ok. I thought I heard something. Must have just been my imagination."
"GET AWAY FROM THE HOUSE!!! RUN!!!" Before I can even comprehend what was said, a loud boom echoes in my ears as I'm thrown from Damian's grip.
"AHHHH!" I scream as I fly through the air. My voice sounds so far away. I hit the ground and everything goes black…
"Ember…" I groan. Everything hurts. "Ember!" Am I dead? "EMBER! WAKE UP!" I finally force my eyes open. The scent of stuff burning as well smoke fills my nose. I see Damian hovering over me, blood pouring down his face.
"Damian…" I moan as I try to sit up. I can't sit up. Sharp pain shoots through my head. I close my eyes as I struggle to roll onto my side. Why does everything hurt? When I finally open them, flames fill my vision. What was once Damian's house was now a burning pile. Ash floated down from the sky.
"Misty…" My voice cracks. I look over at Damian as his eyes widen with realization.
"No… No… NO!!!" He tries to get up and run but falls to the ground. "MOM!!! DAD!!!! OWEN!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!" His screams start to fade into the background as everything goes black once again.
*Damian*
I wake up to the most horrible ringing in my ears. It was like an alarm blaring through a police car's siren. I open my eyes to an impossibly white light, am I dead? Once my eyes adjust I can see that I'm not dead at all, it is still daytime. The pain sets in. Nothing was broken but pieces of wood had been embedded into my skin, nothing too deep though. I look around and see Ember on the ground nearby. She's lying there, not moving. I rush over as fast as I can, screaming her name repeatedly. "EMBER!!!" She finally groans, attempting to sit up.
"Damian…" Her voice is barely a whisper. She finally rolls onto her side. I watch as her eyes widen. "Misty…" Why is she saying my mom's name? I turn my head and follow her gaze. MY HOUSE!!! MY FAMILY
"No… No… NO!!!" I start to get up and run only to fall to the ground. "MOM!!! DAD!!! OWEN!!" I screamed as I finally regained my footing. I run toward the once beautiful home of mine. I busted the door down with every bit of strength I had. I landed on my face due to how weak the hinges were. I searched every bit of the house but there was nothing but smoke, flame, and ash. The fact that my family is dead now haunts me for the rest of my days. "NOOOOO!!!!!!" I shouted at the sky as fire truck sirens rushed in, but I was so distraught that I barely remembered the last hours of that day.
"We gather here today to bring peace to three souls who have been lost to us and we remember…" The priest babbled on. I can't believe I'm at my family's funeral, not just my father and mother but my little brother as well. He was so young! Fourteen! I don't shed tears. I can't allow myself to. But deep down I am so crushed. Broken. Not a single piece of happiness was within me. For the past couple days I've been keeping myself in solitude by living in my truck. I haven't seen Ember since the incident happened but I heard that she was okay and doing fine. She ended up with a few broken bones but Crystal had apparently helped her heal with her powers. She also still had a slight limp from her leg being broken. I covered up my bloody knuckles because I had a lot of anger built up and lashed it out on the hood of my truck. I'm not gonna lie, I was hurting myself. I burned my thigh multiple times every night just to feel what my family had gone through. I had also taken up drinking alcohol, smoking and chewing tobacco, and had even contemplated suicide. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of Ember. Just one thought of her made me weak to my knees and cry. Last night I laid down on the paved parking lot at a gas station, curled into a ball and shed so many tears that my head started to throb. I felt a sudden touch on my shoulder. I looked at Ember and saw her.
"I'm so sorry Damian, this… this never should have happened." She cried. Instinct kicked in and I pulled her into my chest. She immediately began sobbing so my grip on her tightened.
"It's not your fault." I managed to speak quietly.
"Your family didn't deserve this." She looks up at me and wipes the tears from her eyes. "You look like hell." I stayed quiet knowing that I couldn't look healthy after what had seemed like years of torment turned into days. The only thing that was being buried was ashes of what used to be them. "Come and stay with me."
I was quickly drawn from my thoughts again. "What?" I asked, confused.
"Damian, as far as I know you don't have any family in this town and plus I don't want you to be away from me. You make me feel safe. Please come and stay with me." Ember begged. After giving it some thought, I agreed. When I was a kid I never visited any grandparents or aunts or uncles, none of that. I guess that's the curse of being a demon and an angel. But one thought still crossed my mind. How did they die? Aren't angels and demons basically unkillable? I look towards the coffin. I guess not.
After my family's burial, I told Ember that I would buy some food for myself and maybe drive around a little until I'm ready to come to her house. I laid my head on the steering wheel with a throbbing headache. I was parked outside the store but I wasn't ready for the blaring lights inside or the noisy crowd. I took a sip of the half bottle of whiskey I had left and immediately things seemed calmer. "We should be out there finding out who murdered them." Oh no. Drago.
"Even if I wanted to get revenge, I don't even know where to start."
"Go back to the house and investigate then."
"No!"
"What do you mean 'no'? We need to find out whoever the bomber is and kill them! Father taught us how to fight for a reason! Maybe this is what his reason was."
I hate to admit it but maybe this demon in my head was right. Why was I not allowed to go to school? Why was I taught how to kill a mortal man in a bunch of different ways? I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the same black shadow with red eyes. This time I didn't look at him with fear or anger, instead it was one of determination. "Alright Drago, you made a point. But before we go find out who this is we need to get accustomed to Ember's house."
"For once I agree."
That was that. I was set on a course of vengeance! Justice would be brought to my mother, my father, and my little brother. Rage, anger, and sadness fueled me to keep going and no one was going to stop me.