Fight Me
[stella fighting with/or against @possessedclaire]
Stella knew her grip on the girl’s head was likely painful, but she didn’t let up. Couldn’t. Her forehead was pressed into Claire’s, eyes locked on hers. “C’mon, Claire,” she begged through grit teeth. “Claire. Come on, honey. I believe in you. I believe in you. Because I know it’s you in there.” They were kneeling just past the fence, dirt digging into their knees. But Stella took no notice to that.
She took no notice of anything beyond the woman in front of her. The woman with a scream all tangled in her throat. She could tell Claire was in horrible pain, bracing against her own mind. She couldn’t imagine how incredibly difficult it was. There was a strength in Claire that Stella could never even begin to achieve.
“You are stronger than that thing, baby,” she promised the girl. “Look at me. Listen to me. I know you. I know what you’re capable of. And you can do this. You can beat this thing.” Tears perched at her eyes, spilling over easily. From fear, from hope, from tense concentration. She wouldn’t let Claire down, wouldn’t let her go. Wouldn’t let he face this on her own. No. They were in this together. Stella would see it through to the end.
And she would be standing with Claire when it was all over. Not a demon. Claire, the human girl.