Flip the Coin [BL]-Chapter 395. Safer

On my way to my room, I could hear Jordan’s indignant complaints about why he’d be the one who would be done, while at the same time, Danny grunted with laughter like a pig.

I didn’t want them to notice, but my stomach had sunk, my hands had turned sweaty, and my heart hammered against my ribcage.

I could feel the paranoia speeding through my mind, searching through memories and emotions for something to use against me and against everyone and everything around me.

The repertoire of fears and insecurities was examined with an experience that was horrifying.

I knew my biggest fears, and that made me the most fearsome opponent.

And as if a panic attack wouldn’t be enough, the lunacy was just a step behind—soon catching up—along with convictions that wouldn’t come to a sound mind in the first place.

A crunching sound lingered in the back of my mind, like stepping on snow.

I opened the door and locked it from the inside.

After entering, I spotted Henry sitting on the bed.

"Are you alright?"

"You heard it?" I asked breathlessly, pulling on the collar of my too-loose shirt, as I felt it was restricting me—strangling me.

"Yes. Should I have a word with Omar?" He jumped up and came to hug me.

I pushed him away, looking around disorientedly.

"No...no. What is going on? Since when were they watching me? Are they watching me now?"

I felt eyes on me and was sure they were just outside, closing in on me.

Did the Lawrence family spy on me since they found out about my prophecy? Did they steal my blood?

Did they experiment with it?

Did they create a prophet on purpose?

I looked out of one window before walking over the mattress to the other. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Did they steal my blood?" I looked down at my arm and saw something squirming under my skin.

I scratched the spot on the inside of my elbow.

"Did they put worms in my veins in exchange for the stolen blood?"

I looked at Henry, whose expression shifted between murderous and heartbroken.

He again came closer to hug me, but I pushed him away, this time with more strength, rendering him on the floor.

"Back up. There are worms; I don’t want you to get infected," I warned absentmindedly.

"Kenny, it’s alright. Will you let me take a look at the worms? I can acidify them."

"Oh...okay." I agreed but continued to scratch before looking out of the window and scanning the cornfields behind the fence.

"Okay. Make them go away." I nodded to myself, and after not seeing anyone outside, I watched Henry coming closer with his hands raised.

"Can you give me your arm, my love?" He asked soothingly.

I didn’t stop nodding and scratching before I eventually held my arm out for him.

"Did they put the worms inside to spy on me?"

I felt Henry’s warm hands against my ice-cold skin as he examined the spot closely.

My head became foggier with every new theory, every new uncovered truth that turned into a conviction.

In the back of my mind, there was a soft voice telling me that I was delusional, but tell me, if everything feels so right and makes so much sense right this second, how could I not believe it?

How could I doubt it when my gut feeling was usually right?

I can either never again trust myself or my feelings, or I can always trust them, and then there is no paranoia, only someone—me—finally seeing the truth.

I remembered the suspicion I had that the Howards weren’t my original family, and the paranoia—no, the conviction—latched onto it.

Was I made by the Lawrence family, born in a laboratory?

Had all my friends been there to surveil me?

I remembered how Danny had flexed a new phone in high school a few years ago—did he get that phone as a reward for spying on me?

I felt eyes watching me, and my head snapped up to the ceiling, where I checked for cameras.

Yes, in the center, the Lawrence family had also been watching me.

They were watching me THEN, and they are watching me NOW.

I turned to Henry, suspicions spreading and convictions growing, as I touched his chest to see if he had a microphone on him.

"No, Kenny, I am on your side. See?" Shadowy energy left his palm and wandered to my arm, but I didn’t feel any pain.

"I killed them; they are gone. See? You are alright again." He showed me my scratched-open arm, and after I slid my hand over it a few times, I really found nothing beneath it.

He really killed the worms, but what if they came back?

Everything itched, all under the Lawrence family’s eyes.

Henry hugged me tightly.

"Tell me what I can do to make you feel better."

"Don’t touch me; your clothes are contaminated...the mattress is as well, the blankets, everything is full of worms." Waiting to feed on me and grow.

"I understand." Henry stepped away with a clenched jaw, pulled his shirt over his head, and got rid of his pants and boxers. In the end, he stood stark naked in front of me, acidifying his clothes, the mattress, and everything I had pointed out.

"Where else are they? Tell me, and I will get rid of them." He fell on his knees to hug me tightly.

"I don’t know... They are watching me... They are outside and watching me." I combed through his hair, unsure if I was searching his fur for worms or if I was just trying to calm myself down by touching him.

"Okay, I know what to do." Henry squeezed me before letting go again; he took my hand and went to the closet to quickly clothe himself in this now nearly empty room.

Then he lifted me up.

"Hold on tightly. I’ll bring you there. Don’t teleport."

I hugged his neck and smelled his enchanting scent, reminded of how my mother had carried me that way even on the morning of her death—even if I had already been too old for that.

Now I was even older, but I held onto him just as tightly as I did back then.

Henry walked to the window and opened it, the cold breeze hitting my back.

"We’ll jump now." He said while stroking my back, and the next second we were in the garden.

I closed my eyes in an attempt to suppress the swirling thoughts, the paranoia searching for more to feast on.

I tried not to look around and search for the gazes I felt on me.

Henry walked to the back of the house and jumped before he climbed up the wall and then took a few steady steps.

The wind was ripping at our clothes and hair.

"Tell me where they are." He grabbed my legs and steered them away from his hips.

"Baby, you have to let go." I thought for a second that I was hearing my mother’s voice together with her touch on my hands.

I obeyed like I had back then, just repeating the motions, but contrary to my mother, Henry didn’t let go—not even for a moment.

While hugging me, he turned my body so that my back was against his chest and sat down with me on his lap.

I opened my eyes, noting that we were on the roof of the house.

We were on the highest point of the roof, but he held me securely enough that I didn’t think for a moment that I could fall.

I watched the dark landscape, the cornfield dancing unanimously in the wind.

Some trees farther away and scattered bigger or not-so-big trees amidst the cornfield.

"Just point at the spot, and I will get rid of them. Nobody is allowed to watch you." He whispered.

I didn’t see anyone, neither monsters nor humans.

Yet, nevertheless, I raised my hand to one of the smaller trees, no idea why.

"There?" Henry asked, at the same time raising his hand and sending shadowy energy to the spot I pointed at, eradicating everything in and around it.

"It’s gone."

I hummed and felt calmer.

Closing my eyes, I leaned back.

Every time I felt the gazes together with the familiar fear returning, I snapped my eyes open and pointed at a spot where I didn’t see anybody in.

And every time I did so, Henry acted.

And every time he acted, I felt safer.