"Is it really possible to tell someone else what one feels?"

― Leo Tolstoy

/ / l o u i s / /

I sit on the floor with my knees pulled up to my chest. My eyes focus on the wall in front of me, not on the pacing Zayn who's constantly moving through the living room. He found me passed out on the ground and brought me back inside. Apparently, I was out for more than six hours. When I woke up, I forgot what happened until Zayn told me where he found me laying. Then I remembered everything and started to cry. How could she go with him? After all we have been through? How could she let him turn her into the disgusting monster that she has become? I don't understand. The Evelyn I know would never turn herself over to Harry like that. She would do whatever she could to keep us together.

I close my eyes just as Zayn says, "The big, scary man is very rude." I open one of my eyes to see him sitting down on the floor beside me. "He took Evelyn away from us. This isn't fair. If Zayn could, he would get Evelyn back and hurt that man."

"Zayn," I whisper, opening my other eye.

"That's Zayn's name. Yes."

"You're a genius."

"How is Zayn a...a...genius?"

I look at him and his eyes are wide. There's a small smile on his lips and I look back at the wall. I guess he rarely gets compliments. I take a deep breath and begin to explain, "Harry has Evelyn, right? He made her exactly like him and she's acting as if she doesn't remember anything. As of right now, he has the upper hand. We can do something about that, Zayn." I look at him again and his eyes are still wide. "We can get Evelyn back if we get rid of Harry. We can make her remember who we are."

"But...how?" Zayn's smile disappears and he looks slightly conflicted.

"I don't know," I sit my chin down on top of my knees. "But we have to figure out how and soon. If we take too long, we could lose her forever. I can't lose her, Zayn. I'm slowly losing my mind. If I lose her, I lose myself."

"Zayn will find you," he says and I look at him. "When you get lost, Zayn will find you. When Zayn and Mommy went to the store together and Zayn would get lost, Mommy would always find him. She was nice."

"I didn't mean it like that but thank you."

"Oh."

I lay down on my back on the floor and stare up at the ceiling. Is there a way to kill Harry? I bite my bottom lip. There has to be a way to get rid of him. He can't just stay around forever. Something will eventually get rid of him...right? I close my eyes and think hard. He is a demon. What could kill a demon? If I shoot him, he won't die. He'll heal. The same thing will happen if I stab him with a knife. If he didn't have Evelyn with him, I wouldn't have to be thinking about any of this.

Evelyn.

I sit up and immediately think of when Evelyn went into the church. As soon as she entered it, her body started burning from the inside out. I frown. Harry isn't stupid. He would not just walk into a church. He has been around for years. He probably knows every trick in the fucking book. I run a hand down my face and groan.

"What are you thinking about?" Zayn asks me.

"I'm thinking of how we can get rid of Harry," I mutter.

"Is it working?"

"What?"

"Is your brain working?"

"Sure."

"Okay," Zayn says. "Good."

"If Harry can't go into a church because he'll know it's a church, what can we use to get rid of him?"

"Zayn loves going to church!" Zayn yells and I throw him a look. "He went one time with his Nana and there was a big bowl of water. He tried to drink it with his hand but Nana popped him before he could get his hand in the bowl."

"Holy water!"

"No," Zayn laughs and shakes his head. "It was just water, silly."

"Get up, Zayn," I stand to my feet and Zayn does the same.

"Where are you taking Zayn?" he asks me.

"We're going to go find a church." I tell him. "And we're going to get some holy water."

He opens his mouth again to speak but I turn around and rush toward the front door of the apartment. I open it and frown at the sight of the weather. It's raining extremely hard and neither one of us have umbrellas. We don't have a change of clothes, either. Zayn appears beside me and he's intrigued by the weather. My hands drop to my sides and they form into fists. Why does it have to rain now? I shake my head. It doesn't matter that it's raining. Evelyn needs to come back home and I'm not going to let this weather stop me from bringing her back to me. I take a step outside and Zayn follows, shutting the door behind him.

"No shoes," he points out and I look at both of our feet.

"It shouldn't matter." I say, shrugging my shoulders. "We're going to go get Evelyn back."

"But we could get sick."

"It shouldn't matter," I repeat.

"Louis—"

"Let's go, Zayn!" I'm frustrated.

"O-Okay."

We step out into the rain and we're both silent as we walk across the parking lot. My socks become soaked with each step I take and it isn't long before my hair starts sticking to my forehead. Zayn groans from behind me and I know I should have left him back at the apartment. There isn't much I can do about it now. He's out here with me and we're both soaking wet. He might as well stay.

"If Zayn gets sick, how will he get better? What...medicine is there? There is nothing. Nothing, Zayn says," he mutters from behind me. "What will happen if Louis gets sick? Zayn will have to take care of him and..."

His voice trails off.

"What?"

He sighs, "Zayn is talking to himself. Don't listen to him."

"Okay."

"Wait."

"I'm waiting," I say.

I stop walking and look over my shoulder to see that he has stopped, too. He wipes his eyes constantly and this lets me know rain is continuously getting in them. His clothes are soaked like mine and the longer I stare at him, the more I notice how cold he is. He's shivering like we've been out here longer than a few minutes. He finally speaks, "Will this really work?"

"The plan?" I ask and he nods his head. "With two geniuses like us, it should do more than just work." He's doubting everything and if he keeps doing this, we'll be back in the apartment without the holy water. He smiles slightly and takes a step forward, catching up to me. His head is downward but the smile's still there. "After this, we'll be free. Don't you want to be free?"

"Where will everyone go?" he asks me and we start walking.

"I'll have Evelyn back," I say. "We'll be together and I won't lose her again. We're going to go somewhere where no one can find us and we're going to make a living. I'll provide for her because I love her so much. We'll get married once we have enough money. I don't know. I just know we'll be happy."

"What about Zayn?" his voice's barely audible over the rain.

"Huh?"

"You forgot about Zayn," he mumbles. Shit. "Will Zayn be by himself? If so, then...then he doesn't want to be free!" He stops walking again and when I look at him, his smile is replaced by a frown. "Zayn does not want to be alone again. He has friends now and he does not want to lose them. Evelyn is really nice to Zayn and Louis...you are beginning to be the same way. Zayn doesn't want any of this to change."

"I'm sorry," I'm quick to apologize. "I was being stubborn. Of course, you can come with Evelyn and I. We're friends, yeah? I'm not going to leave you behind. Besides, things won't be the same without you, Zayn. You add the icing to the cake."

His smile returns, "You won't forget about him?"

"No," I pat his right shoulder a couple times. "Now, let's get going, yeah? I don't think this rain is going to stop anytime soon." I take a step forward first and I make sure Zayn moves with me. He does and goes back to wiping the rain away from his eyes. I very rapidly blink my eyes to keep any rain from falling in them. At this point, it's raining harder and the rain droplets feel like spikes when they hit my skin. Zayn begins to hum something beside me and I briefly look at him to see his head nodding a bit.

"You know, you're not that bad."

"Zayn didn't know that," he responds.

"You're actually a pretty decent guy."

"Mommy told Zayn that he is handsome and he could never be pretty because he is a guy and not a girl," he says and makes a gagging noise. "So, please. Do not call Zayn pretty."

"No, I wasn't...you know what? Never mind."

He goes back to humming and I go back to keeping my eyes out for a church. So far, we have only passed by trees and one gas station. There has to be a church around here somewhere, right? As of right now, this is the only option we have on getting rid of Harry and getting Evelyn back. I don't care if Harry made her like him. She's still my Evelyn and I still love her. Hopefully, she'll feel the same way about me once I bring her back.

It's quite funny how much someone will go through just for love. I would do anything for Evelyn. Sure, in the past, there were a few people that I had liked. I never loved any of them, though. Evelyn is different. She has been through what I have been through. She can see what I can see and she didn't run away. She stayed with me. Now, she's away from me but it's all right. I'm going to get her back and we're going to be happy again.

"After we do this, can we go eat?" Zayn whines. "He's hungry and we never went to go get anything to eat. Zayn's tummy still speaks to him."

"Yeah," I tell him. "After this, we'll go find something for us to eat."

"Good," he sighs. "That is what Zayn likes to hear." He pauses before asking, "How is the holy water going to hurt the big, scary man?"

"I was thinking we could trick him into drinking it somehow. That way, a hole will burn in his throat and he should die."

"But...where is he?"

"I don't know," I exhale.

"How will we give it to him then?"

"We'll just have to find him, Zayn."

"But...how?"

"Wow, you're asking me a lot of questions today." I say and he shrugs his shoulders.

We're both quiet for a moment until I see a building off in the distance. A cross sits on the top of the building and my heart leaps with excitement. It is a church. I don't even bother telling Zayn that I see it because I know he can see it, too. We both quicken our step and it takes everything in me not to run to the church. I can't risk slipping and falling.

The church doors get closer and closer and before I know it, we're walking up the stairs leading to them. I place my hand on one of the knobs and turn it. The door is unlocked and this motivates me to push the door open. From what I can see, the church is empty. No one is in sight and this somewhat bothers me.

"What are we waiting for?" Zayn asks. "Zayn wants food. Come on." He tries to take a step into the church but I pull him back. "What's wrong?"

How could I have been so stupid?

Neither one of us can step foot into the church. 

If we do, our bodies will start to burn and we'll eventually die. I grab the ends of my hair and tug at them. There's no way I'm letting Zayn go in there and I'm not letting myself go in there, either. Zayn still looks confused and I just simply shake my head. His eyebrows knit together and his lips form in a straight line.

"Why not?" he sounds upset. "Zayn wants to help you get the water. Why aren't you letting him help?"

"You'll burn to death if you go in there."

"What?" he laughs. "No, Zayn will not burn if he goes in there. He used to go to church all of the time with his mommy. She said it's the safest place on Earth."

"Not anymore," I mutter. "Go in there and you're dead."

"Zayn doesn't understand."

"You've been marked by Harry...a demon. You're trying to walk into a holy building. Put two and two together, Zayn. You're not safe in there. Your body is no longer pure. If you go in there, your body will burn. You'll start to bleed from your eyes, ears and nose. Oh, you'll know when you're about to die when you start coughing up the blood. Your lungs feel as if they're on fire and you fall to the ground, unconscious. If you want that to happen to you, go right ahead. I won't stop you."

"But the water—"

"We can't go get it."

"Louis?"

"Zayn, I already told you. We can't go in there."

"Sit down, Louis."

"Excuse me?"

"Sit down and please stop talking. Zayn is trying to think."

"About?"

"Sit."

"I'm not going to sit down."

"Sit."

"Fine," I give in.

As soon as I sit down, Zayn runs inside of the building.

"Zayn!" I shout and rise to my feet. I stand in the doorway of the building and see Zayn running around the place. My eyes are wide and I'm tempted to go in there after him. If I do, neither one of us will make it out. He stops for a few seconds and looks around before running back in my direction. I grab his shoulders, shaking him, "What the hell is wrong with you? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

He takes a deep breath and asks, "How long was Zayn in there?"

"What?"

"Two minutes?" he wonders. "Or was it a little under that?"

"What is wrong with you?"

"Let Zayn go," he demands.

"You're not going back in there."

"Why not? Zayn's body doesn't burn and he's going to go get the water. He'll go inside of the church and grab the water. When his body starts to hurt, he'll come back outside and get some fresh air before going back in. Zayn is a genius, remember? You told Zayn that. Let him help you." I stare at him with my lips parted. As much as I hate to admit it, his plan sounds like it might actually work. He made it out the first time. He should be able to make it out the second.

I force him to look at me, "You come right back if you start to feel weird, you hear me? Don't stay in there too long. You got thirty seconds. Go."

I let him go and he runs back inside of the building. I know he stayed in there for more than a minute last time but I don't want to risk it. I want him back out here sooner than that. I watch him run across to the other side of the church and he stops. He starts looking around some more and I run my fingers through my hair. He should start making his way back if he doesn't see any water.

"Zayn, start making your way back!" I shout.

"Wait!" he yells. "Zayn sees it!"

"Come back! You can get it when you go back in there, okay?"

He turns around and runs back in my direction. He steps outside and takes a few deep breaths. I notice his face is slightly red and I'm concerned. He laughs, though. "Zayn almost had it, Louis. If you didn't call him back, he would have had it. He was so close!" I laugh, too. He's acting as if this is treasure. In a way, however, it is. "He'll get it this time, though." He looks up at me and smiles. "I'll get it for Evelyn." I smile back and he runs inside of the church for the third time.

Zayn goes back to where he was and I assume that's where the water is. He grabs hold of something but I can't see what it is because his back is facing me. I tap my foot impatiently. He knows he has thirty seconds but he's moving as if he has ten minutes. "Zayn, hurry up!" I wipe my face to get rid of the excess rain and when I look back, Zayn still hasn't moved. "What the fuck? Get out of there right now!"

"Hold on!" he shouts. "Zayn is going to get as many as he can carry!"

"You can go back in there! Just come back before you get yourself killed!" Still, he doesn't turn around. "Zayn!"

"Evelyn needs us, Louis!" he shouts.

"Right, but she doesn't need us dead!"

He starts coughing.

"Get the hell out of there!" I'm screaming.

He turns around and he starts to jog. He is not running. I put a hand over my mouth as I watch him with horror in my eyes. Blood starts to run from his nose and I know he stayed in there too long. It won't be long before his eyes start to bleed and then his ears if he doesn't get out of there. He's holding at least six bottles of what I assume is the holy water.

Once he's close enough to where I can reach him, I grab him and yank him out of the church. He drops the bottles and falls onto his knees. He coughs uncontrollably and I kick the bottles out of the way to get to his side. He gives me a thumbs up and looks at me with a smile on his face.

"Zayn told you he could do it."