Hey guys! So I decided to update on a Monday!!! Please don't forget to follow me so you can see when I update and such! See you guys on Wednesday! Also, don't forget to vote and share this book to your friends! :D 

Song: Make it Rain x Ed Sheeran

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"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." 

~Corrie Ten Boom

My phone slid from my fingertips and landed on the floor with a loud crack. All eyes, including my teacher's were on me. Mr. Simons pushed his glasses up his nose before asking me, "Is everything alright, Ms. Beaumont?"

I was hyperventilating and it was hard to inhale air to loosen the tight knot in my throat. After awhile, I finally found my voice to speak.

"May I please go to the nurse's office?" I asked meekly. Sweat began to form on my brow, I was itching to get out of school to run to the hospital.

"Celeste isn't feeling well Mr. Simons, can I escort her to the nurse's office?" Angelo interrupts as he slid a comforting arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah we'll definitely escort her to the nurse's office too." Ted added as he puts my arm around his shoulder while Brittany and Summer took my textbooks and backpack.

"I think Ms. Beaumont only needs one escort to the nurse's office, not the entire posse." Mr. Simons said.

Summer placed her hands on her hips before speaking in her soft musical voice, "Mr. Simons, my parents didn't pay for this new school building I'm standing on just to have my best friend pass out without medical care. So if you'll excuse us, we'll get going." She walked in front of me and Angelo and the rest of the group followed her lead. 

Before we left, I looked at Mr. Simons' with his mouth open. I was surprised too, sweet Summer never talked back to a teacher. Brittany, however, was ecstatic from Summer's outburst.

"Great job, Summer! You finally released your inner b*tch!" She clapped gleefully.

I pulled away from Angelo's comforting gasp. "I have to go to the hospital," I said before gulping, "it's my dad."

"Let's go then! We'll take my car." Daniel offered behind me.

During my car ride in Daniel's car, I thought I was about to pass out or vomit because of Daniel's ridiculous driving skills.

"Moron! You could have gotten us killed!" Ted complained.

"I'm just trying to get Celeste faster to the hospital." Daniel said, defending himself.

We finally reached the parking lot of Los Angeles Trinity Hospital. There were three ambulances carrying bodies in gurneys with doctors and nurses wheeling these helpless victims into the hospital. I immediately scrambled my way out of Daniel's car. I searched for my mother and my father hoping that they are among the nurses that were wheeling the injured into the hospital. I took out my phone and reread the text my mother sent me.

"Your father's in trouble. Don't go to the hospital."

Like a rebel I was, I decided to do the opposite of what my mother's text demanded. Dialing her number, I waited for my mother to answer.

A weary and dejected voice answered the end of the line causing it hard for me to believe that it was my happy-go-lucky Mom who answered.

"Mom!" I exclaimed, "Where are you? I can't find you."

After she told me her location, I ran to the emergency room with my friends on my tail. The doors of the emergency room automatically slid open to reveal my mother with her hands on her forehead. Her usual blue scrubs were stained with blood with her nails crusted with dried blood.

"Mom..." I hesitantly called out to her, "What happened? Where's Dad?"

I kneeled in front of her, taking a slow deep breath as I prepared for the horrible news that will come my way. My mother's eyes were stained with tears and so much blood all over her face. It was a frightening sight because of her glazed unfocused eyes. It's as if she's seen a ghost.

"Mommy, what happened?" I asked her in a small voice. Taking her hand slowly, regardless of the slightly dried blood on them, I brought them close to my cheek.

"Your father..." she said while taking a deep breath, "was shot."

******

According to the witnesses in the hospital, a deranged man walked into the Los Angeles Trinity hospital my mother and father worked at and began to shoot everyone on sight. My father was one of this crazy man's victims. He had two bullet wounds; one in the stomach and one close to the nape of his neck. My father just came from surgery and is now in the delicate three day observation that doctors are watching over.

"He should have died." They told me.

"It was a miracle he lived."

Silent stubborn tears fell from my cheeks and into the crisp white sheet over my father's chest. He seemed so peaceful with his eyes closed, yet I know how much in pain he was without the drugs in his system. He wore an oxygen mask and was attached to so many tubes that were now his life support and standing next to the side of his bed brought so many veiled emotions from within me; regret, desperation, fear, and so much more.

I tried to remember the last words I told my father before I left for school but all my mind could do was come up with a blank. I was so focused on what's happening to me and my friends that I have been neglecting my parents' wellbeing.

I wiped the tears with the back of my hand harshly. There is no knowing when my father will wake up and I've exhausted most of my energy crying already. I must stay strong for my mother and for my friends who rely on me.

"Your father's a tough one you know." a silvery voice mused in the dark.

Before, his presence used to intimidate and alarm me. Now, it just annoys the hell out of me. Something from the shadows advanced and Daemon revealed himself in his wicked glory, his trademark grin plastered on his handsome face. His change in mood confuses me so much. The last time I saw him, he was serious and enamored and right now, he returned to his mischievous self.

"He is desperate to live although the odds are against him. I can see where you got your determination from." he winked.

"My family is not a part of our game. Stay away from them." I said, my voice as taut as wire. I thought that what happened to my father was based all on bad luck. Now I know it was Daemon's fault my father was at a hospital in a coma.

He began to walk around my father's bed while looking at him and continued to speak, "That may be so, but our little game isn't going to stop me from doing my job my love."

It irritated me beyond belief when he called me that, but that didn't stop me from understanding the rest of what he disclosed.

Daemon was the King of the Nether Realm and he was responsible for the souls that would soon die. Looking at my father and back to Daemon's chilled orbs, I finally knew what he meant. My father is in a coma which causes him to be caught in between the dimensions of the living and the dead. The second my father dies, Daemon would be there to take his soul to the Nether Realm.

The look of disbelief on my face caused Daemon's grin to grow wider.

"It can't be," I shook my head, "my father is a Christian. His soul is meant for heaven."

"Not exactly," Daemon said raising one finger up, "it seems that your father hasn't told you everything about your origins."

"And what would they be?" I challenged.

"You'll know soon. I like keeping you on your toes." he said coyly.

Rage bubbled within me, ready to explode. I was beginning to see red and I wanted to hurt Daemon until a soothing feeling within my chest calmed me and prevented me from doing something I might regret later.

I chose to remain silent instead of playing along with Daemon's word games. This angered him because his playful attitude switched to a more aggressive attitude. His blue eyes flared before he spoke.

"I'll see you later tonight. Don't forget about the lives you put at stake by deciding to continue this game of ours."

His words brought back the bite of guilt in my stomach. I looked down at my father's peaceful expression before I returned my gaze to Daemon's infuriated expression.

He was no longer there. 

What do you guys think will happen next? Now that Celeste's father is in a hospital, how hard do you think the next game will be? Next update will be this Wednesday!

Xoxo,

~Angelique