━━ CHAPTER FIFTEEN / jealousy, jealousy
episode two, part four.

The sitting room and library had been fully set-up for the contacting of Annabel now. The furniture had been pushed back into the corners, a single chair lay in the centre of the sitting room in place of where the coffee table should have been. The curtains were pulled tightly closed to keep any of the sunlight out and Lucy was ready.

She was already sitting in the chair and Demi was standing back in the library. Her body was leaning against the mantle, trying to keep the pressure off her back as much as she could. It still hurt like hell but she was trying to ignore it in favour of focusing on Lucy.

"If she takes any liberties, we're right here, okay?" Lockwood said as he held the box with the Source cautiously in his hand. Lucy nodded and Demi moved her gaze from Lucy to Lockwood and then Erin. Erin Hampton who was in their house. A Hampton was in their house. Demi tried not to be astounded by it but she was. It was bizarre. It made no sense. It was ridiculous but she tore her gaze away before Erin caught her staring.

It shouldn't have been that big of a deal. Big clients would become a necessity soon enough. It would be fine. Demi watched as Lockwood dropped the ring into Lucy's hand and then he stepped back. He took his spot behind Demi and she sent him a cautious yet somewhat reassuring smile before she turned back to Lucy.

"It's okay, Annabel. It' safe," Lucy said softly as her fist closed around the ring. The whole room was deadly silent as they all waited in anticipation for what Lucy would say and after a few seconds she said, "There's a song playing." Then Lucy began to smile and Demi tried her best to adjust her position. The ache in her back suddenly returned, "She loves it. It's their song."

"Who's they? Annabel and-" George attempted to question but Lockwood was quick to shush him. The boy still had yet to put pants on and he was sat with his notebook, scribbling down any relevant notes.

"She's so happy," Demi glanced towards Erin but her face seemed unreadable. So, she focused back on Lucy. Lockwood had shuffled closer to Demi now, his hand gently nudged hers. Their fingers touched but he didn't grab her hand, "She loves him." Demi paused at those words, her gaze downturned when she realised where this was really going. They had barely filled her in about what they researched about Annabel between the bruising and her attempt at a nap but it didn't take much for Demi to put it together. Annabel was murdered by her lover.

"She's dancing to the song. He's watching her," Lucy said and a few seconds later she suddenly stood up. Both Demi and Lockwood quickly moved to attention. Even if the way her shoulders stiffed made her back ache like hell. Erin also seemed to come to attention and worry seemed to pass over her face.

"He wants her but it's just," Lucy was walking straight to Lockwood. Demi stepped back, not wanting to risk being too close to the Source. The scream that had reverberated through her skull was enough to put her off being near it, ever again. Lucy stopped a step or so in front of Lockwood and the confusion and hurt seemed to appear.

"What is it?" Lockwood asked softly. Demi could feel the tingling in her fingertips. The way that it almost seemed to crawl up her arms. It made her want to curl up and disappear. Just the feeling of the source being so close to her.

Lucy's eyes snapped open and Demi glanced over at George and Erin. They both looked apprehensive though George looked equally as intrigued, "He's angry, jealous. She's afraid" Lucy explained and Demi could almost feel it. The way that the annoyance spread across her own chest. The source was too close to her but when she stepped backwards, her back hit the shelf. She hissed in pain but tried to ignore it to focus on Lucy.

The girl began to laugh shortly and her hand moved to Lockwood's face. He was quick to grab Lucy's wrist and push it away while the girl said, "It's alright. He loves me." Her accent almost seemed to change and Lucy continued to try and hold Lockwood's face as she asked, "You love me, don't you?" Demi almost couldn't watch. Not only because of the jealousy that tore open her chest but because this had to stop. This was going too far.

"You have me the ring. He'd never hurt me. He'd never..." Lucy seemed to trail off but she was staring up at Lockwood who glanced back at George.

"We need to stop this, now." It was the first time that night that Demi had actually agreed with something he had said. She nodded and glanced to George who shook his head.

"Let's just see what happens." It was such a reckless move, exactly what she would have expected from George when it came to something like this. It was stupid.

"This isn't just an experiment, this is Lucy," Demi tried to keep her tone even but it was hard when the jealousy and annoyance was warring in her chest. Her own emotions seemed to mingle with the ones she could feel coming from the Source and it made it feel ten times harder to decipher. She didn't even feel like she was in her own head anymore.

"She's fine. You told us to have faith in her," George argued in response. And then Lucy began to choke and the begging was more than Demi could bear. They were watching the last minute of Annabel's life and she couldn't.

"This is no-" Demi began but she was promptly cut off by Erin who began to rush towards Lucy as she went "We need to stop this, something is wrong." But before Erin could even reach the brunette, she dropped to the floor. Her body slumped in the corner of the room. Her eyes had gone white, she had been ghost-locked and Demi looked between the two boys.

"We need to stop this now!" Demi practically shouted as she snatched George's notebook from his hand. She threw it to the floor to stop him taking his stupid notes and then ran to the curtains. She slammed them open and the chair flew across the room, smacking into the wall in the library. Lucy and Lockwood had managed to avoid it and George stepped back quickly into the library doorway to get out of the way.

"You always take it too far!" Demi snapped as she whirled on the trio. Lucy had crawled over to Erin and was now desperately shaking the girl. The terror spread across her face but Demi was too focused on George to care. The anger had won over in her chest and she felt it burning her skin. Her face felt red, hot with anger.

"I took it too far? You were the reason that we did this in the first place!" George responded. He wasn't particularly loud but he sounded offended, a little annoyed. Demi scoffed and she reached for the closest thing (a book) and hurled it. It wasn't intended to hit George but it hit surprisingly close considering her wild aim.

"You don't know when to stop your stupid experiments and now look what has happened!" Demi responded as she pushed her fingers through her hair. It was ridiculous, it was stupid. It was completely and utterly irresponsible and she felt like screaming.

"We're all alive, it's fine," Lockwood said as he looked between the two warring friends. Demi scoffed and she whirled on her feet and stormed up the stairs. She didn't even say anything anymore and once she reached her room, she slammed the door. The entire house rattled with it and she screamed. A guttural scream as her foot collided with the wall. She was glad she had put shoes on now since it protected her toes from most of the damage.

After a few seconds, there was a gentle knock on the door and she slammed the door open, glaring at Lockwood on the other side. There was a small frown on his face and he watched her for a moment before she stepped out of the doorway. He closed the door behind him and Demi stared down at the floor.

"You need to stop throwing things at George," Lockwood said softly. He was trying to inject some humour to the conversation but it didn't make Demi laugh like it usually would. She just collapsed against the bed in response which led to her letting out a soft cry of pain. Which promptly turned into tears and she covered her face with her arms as Anthony moved to sit on the bed beside her.

She felt the bed dip beneath his weight and it was only when he gently pried her arms back that she moved. He adjusted how he was sat and used his thumb to gently wipe away the tears that had fallen. His hand moved to gently tuck hair behind her ear and she stared up at him.

"Did Erin come out of it?" Demi asked softly. Lockwood nodded. He had only briefly caught Erin coming back to the land of the living before he had rushed up the stairs after her. And with that, Demi got up slowly and cautiously. Her hands were carefully placed and Lockwood helped her the best he could.

"It's all okay. Lucy is fine. George is fine. Hampton is fine," Lockwood said simply. Demi nodded and then she collapsed against Anthony. Her head fell into his lap and it made her spine ache but the way he leant over to gently hold her, his head rested against hers was worth it all. And then he pressed a soft kiss to her hair. It was gentle, completely unexpected and it made Demi's face flush bright red.

"I'm sorry," She mumbled softly. He shook his head and used his free hand to gently stroke her hair, separating the strands with his fingers.

"You were scared, it happens," He responded. She chuckled softly and slowly pulled herself from the awkward position.

"I shouldn't be scared. That's like rule one of ghost-hunting," She said, the corner of her lip turned up into a half-smile. He chuckled softly and nodded before he shrugged.

"I suppose but you did just get thrown into the air by her. So, I think I'll let you get away with it this time." There was a small shrug to his words and she scoffed. She then shuffled closer to Anthony and he leant back against the headboard of her bed, gesturing for her to come and lie against him. She rested comfortably against his chest. Her stomach pressed against his front as her head tilted to the side, listening to the fast thump of his heart.

And despite everything in Demi screaming at her that this wasn't normal, she couldn't shake the thought that he was just trying to help a friend in need. Even if she wanted to kiss him so much at that moment. He moved his hand down to her hair and began to play with it again.

"You can't fall asleep on me," He said after five or so minutes of the two just cuddling silently. Her breathing had evened out far too much and he could tell from the sleepy way her eyes blinked open every few seconds that she was going to pass out at some point. A soft groan escaped her lips and she turned her face so it was pressed against his chest.

"I won't," She mumbled. Lockwood sighed and he gently lifted her chin up so that she was looking at him. Her eyes blinked open sleepily and he gave her a smile. The amusement was written across his face and she pouted slightly.

"Let's go back downstairs?" He asked. She let out a soft groan before she finally pushed herself off her bed, admitting defeat. The anger had disappeared from her chest and was replaced with sleepiness. It would at least make her a little more agreeable when she spoke to George again. Another argument would be pointless. Lockwood got up from the bed and then he grabbed her hand and the two headed downstairs together.

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NOTE.

this chapter is also unedited because i think i'm getting ill and i just do not have the energy rn so pls excuse any mistakes again <3 ily all and thank u for supporting this chaos