Page 83 of Phantom Flower

I pushed through the crowd like a fucking storm, slamming shoulders out of my way. One kid did not move fast enough, and I shoved him hard, sending him to the floor. Someone else tried to block me and I elbowed them aside.

When I finally broke through the wall of bodies and saw him, the entire world went black with rage.

Rei was on the floor, curled into himself like a wounded animal. Blood was smeared across his face, in his hair, dripping down his neck and soaking into his shirt. His hands were clawing at his cheeks, eyes glazed with pure terror.

My vision tunneled.

I dropped to my knees in front of him instantly. “Lyubimyy…”

He looked completely lost, trapped inside his own mind, drowning in whatever nightmare the blood had dragged him into. His fingers kept scratching at his face, trying desperately to wipe the blood away.

“I can’t get it off…” he whimpered. “I can’t— it won’t come off— please—”

“Shh, baby. Don’t do that. We’ll get it off.”

I gathered him into my arms as gently as I could, even though every muscle in my body was screaming to destroy everything around us. I pressed his face into my chest, shielding him from the crowd. “It’s okay. I’m here,” I murmured into his hair. “I’ve got you, little fairy. Breathe for me.”

Behind me, I heard Alexei’s voice.

“Give me those fucking phones right now!” The sound of smashing glass and plastic followed as he started ripping devices out of hands and crushing them under his boot. “If I see a single video of this, I will personally hunt every last one of you down. Scram, you worthless pieces of shit!”

Let Alexei handle them.

Right now, the only thing that mattered was the boy shaking in my arms.

I carried him inside an empty classroom, kicking the door shut behind us, and gently lowered him onto one of the wide desks.

He immediately curled in on himself again, hands flying back to his face.

“No,” I said firmly, catching his wrists. “Don’t scratch. You’ll hurt yourself.”

I grabbed a box of tissues from the teacher’s desk and started wiping the blood from his face. His skin was deathly pale, and his eyes were unfocused, still lost in whatever hellish memory the blood had triggered.

“Talk to me, Rei,” I whispered, wiping under his eyes. “Where are you right now?”

He choked on another sob. “Blood… there was so much blood… my dad… he was bleeding everywhere… his finger… it was on me… I couldn’t get it off me…”

My jaw clenched.

Whoever did this was going to die screaming. I would make sure of it.

“It’s not his blood. You’re with me. You are not there. Do you hear me, Lyubimyy?”

I tried to pull him into the present.

He nodded weakly, but he was still hazy.

I pulled him forward until his forehead rested against my chest, my arms wrapping around him tightly. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” I murmured, pressing my lips to the top of his head. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

I held him tighter, refusing to let go.

Eventually, he calmed down.

I kept kissing his hair and hugging him.

“I don’t have it…” he said in a weak voice.

I pulled back slightly, cupping his face in my hands. His eyes were devastated.