Chapter 2

You can steer the story’s plot by voting on the polls! This story is a love letter to anyone who feels pressured or traumatized by religion, those who feel alone/broken because of who they are, and those who feel guilt/shame for their s*xuality. So here’s a traumatizing Horror-gothic romance for you because Ashley doesn’t want the gays happy

You picked a dance with the devil,
and you lucked out
-Swim

OUR LADY OF CARNATION VALLEY
Jude’s point of view

By 5am, I had hurriedly packed while everyone is asleep. Leo was not here, so he probably slept with the rest of them like the deprived souls they all are. Salve was already in bed fixing his coils. “You have no money for a cab, why will you do now?”

“I’ll walk to the nearest town, call my mom… I’ll borrow money,” I tell him, a statue of the Lady looking down on me from the corner of the room. “Anywhere is better than here, even the dirt streets outside.”

“You couldn’t borrow from the many men that wanted to sleep with you in this place?”

“No way in heaven I will. My mother is reliable.”

“And what will you tell her? The convent you enrolled to has nightly orgies that you refuse to participate in? I thought you were into Glass for a second—”

“Admiration does not equate to sexual attraction, Salve!” I frustratedly yell at him. “I do not want them, so stop stringing your jealousy everywhere, it is tiring to hear!”

He looks at me with wide, hesitant eyes and I immediately kneel before the bed, in front of him. I held one of his hands with both of mine, kissing him. “Baby, I’m sorry. My love, Sal… I’m just tired, I’m just in shock, I’m… I’m lost. I don’t want to be here. You’re right, you’re very right, this place is weird—something is wrong with this place and it’s not just the s*x. Instead of comfort, I… I feel like always swimming, and if I stop I’ll drown. I’m just tired of swimming, I need air—”

The door opened, and there was Leo with my breakfast. He looks at me, kneeling by the bed with my hands together, crying. His eyes softer, “I’m sorry for interrupting your prayer. I will drop your breakfast here.”

I wiped my tears and got up, “I’m sorry, do you not knock?”

“I would’ve, if the door was locked. But I checked if it was locked and it opened—I thought you were already gone,” Leo smiles at me warmly, his eyes captivating me. “Forgive me again. Are you ready to leave?”

“His words are stiff,” says Salve from the corner of the room, crossing his arms. “He sounds happy but he’s not happy. Sounds like Leo is disappointed you’re leaving.”

I understand, we were friends for a short while… I smile back at Leo. “Thank you for the breakfast.”

“I’ll go make the others’ meals.” He left the bedroom, and I sat at my desk eating his delicious waffles with maple syrup and whipped cream.

“I’m gonna miss Leo when I leave… most importantly, his food,” I tell Salve. “I don’t know how Leo does this. Even his eggs are soft and creamy like it was cooked in clouds instead of a pan.”

“Are you done stroking his pierced c*ck now?”

Salve can be quite bitter, but I find that adorable. “I’ll just return this to the kitchen, then I’ll come back for my stuff. It would be rude to leave this here, I’m no hotel guest.”

I took the tray out of the bedroom and snuck into the kitchen where I see don’t see Leo… probably in the dining hall, which is separate from the kitchen. I wash my own tray and plates before I heard a squeal right outside the kitchen window. “Whaaa!“

I look outside and see a familiar mop of blonde curls down a boy’s waist, trying to pull his feet out of twisting tree roots that he probably fell into. Every time he pulls, he just falls down because of the weird angle his foot is stuck in, so I wash my hands run out of the kitchen.

“Hi, are you okay?” The 17 year old Lucian turned to look at me with blue sapphires for eyes, watching me examine his foot. “Uhm… I think you need to twist your body to the left…”

He quietly did as I said, but he only twisted his body and not his leg, so his foot didn’t really move. I chuckle, before kneeling down to reach for him. “Is it okay? For me to move your foot?”

With a smile that could calm angry bees, he nods. Wow, this boy was adorable—a light untouched by life itself. The tree was shading us, but not his face, no. The sun seeks out his face to illuminate it.

I successfully twisted his foot so it could exit the tree root it was caught in. That’s when I heard his voice; soft and youthful, with a little bit of bass to indicate he’s done with puberty, but never angry enough to deepen it further. “Thank you… Jude.”

“You know my name?”

“Of course, I can hear them talk and a new name must mean it belongs to the new person,” He stood up and patted his uniform, as well as pat dirt off my knees. “I’m glad you’re here. We haven’t had a new student since Redd.”

“Do you know them?”

“Not really, just their names… nobody comes and talks to me. It’s nice that you did; I’m happy that you did,” his eyes squint at the slightest, making the dust surrounding us look like glitter.

Poor boy. I’m probably not allowed to talk to him, either. But I won’t be here for long. “I’m sorry that you had to be alone.”

“Being alone isn’t that bad, I have the trees and flowers with me, they’re quite alive,” he says, squatting to pick up the flowers he dropped when he got caught and fell. “Besides, we’re not truly alone. Some stay even when they’re not quite alive like the flowers.”

“That’s a comforting thought,” I smile, feeling warmth in this place for the first time. They were right; life hasn’t touched him yet, and he remains oblivious to the loneliness. There’s no one here to judge him, no one here to hurt him except nature, who is gentle and forgiving in how it treats him.

“Do you feel alone, Jude?” Lucien asks me, handing me a flower. “Here. Just in case.”

“I’ve been on my own since I left home… it’s kind of lonely,” I answer him, accepting the flower. It was a dandelion; weed to most people, but a special gift from Lucien.

“But you’re not alone…” he didn’t ask. He said it as if he knew. I look at him, and he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at something behind me where…

“How do you know I’m not alone, Lucy?” I ask him, but he already went back to picking the discarded flowers. He didn’t really answer me.

Instead he asks me, “Do you believe ghosts are real, Jude?”

“I don’t know?” I honestly answer, my voice wavering. I glance at Salve behind me, suspecting the boy knows of his presence. In quiet desperation I ask him, “Do you?”

“You do know, silly. We’re never really alone. They’re always here for us. Not really scary, not really haunting or trying to hurt us. But they’re always here to ensure we don’t suffer alone.” He looks at me with a smile, “So I’m never really alone. Just like you.”

“You can see him…” I whisper, my breaths loosen as my heart rises to my throat, “… you can see him, right? Lucy—”

“JUDE!” I was urgently called by Leo, who grabbed me by the wrist, pulling me away from Lucien with his nails digging against my skin. He bends his head, even refusing to look at the blonde boy. “Forgive us. He didn’t mean to talk to you.”

“But I was just—” before I can speak, Leo dragged me back inside, away from Lucien who sadly waved goodbye at me. Leo firmly brings me back inside.

“What do you think you’re doing?! You will get yourself in trouble with the Monsignor! You’re not allowed to talk to Lucy—you better pray he doesn’t tell his father!” He exclaims, frustrated and somewhat fearful.

“I-I’m sorry, I was just helping the boy!” Lucien can see Salve. I need to know if he can really see Salve.

Salve looked angry. “Get his hands off you, Jude! What is he doing holding you like that?!”

I squirmed under his hold, so Leo released me. But not without him angrily asking, “Did you tell him anything? If you tell him anything—”

“I didn’t tell him anything!” I argued, “All I did was listen to him. He told me he knows our names because he listens to you—that’s all I know!”

I need to know if Lucien can see Salve… I’m desperate to know!

“Jude, did you tell him any new information, anything that could make him think beyond these walls? Because that’s the reason nobody is allowed to talk to him—you’re not supposed to tell him anything!”

“Why?” I demand an answer, “Why keep a boy isolated from human contact just to keep him an oblivious child forever—I don’t think that’s a healthy life for him!”

“You don’t know what’s good for him, you don’t know what’s being protected here!” Leo argues with me, getting close enough for me get finally feel intimidated by him. “We are sinners, Jude. Lucien hasn’t sinned for 17 years of his life, and the Monsignor wants him to stay that way. He’s the only innocent human left in this world and the Monsignor wants to keep it that way. Is that such a hard pill to swallow?!”

I was standing my ground, but I didn’t reply because I don’t want this argument to escalate. Salve breathes in sharply and whispers to me, “I don’t like him when he’s pissed.”

He’s just frustrated. He doesn’t want me to get in trouble… Leo means well, but I can’t help but press my arms against my body for fear of his hold on me again. He can be quite harsh, but I just want to get this over with.

“I’m sorry for speaking with Lucy. It won’t happen again, I’ll be leaving now.” I give him a stiff smile as I walk away, but Leo stopped me with a firm hand against my wrist, making me gasp and look back.

Salve looks unsettled and pissed, while Leo looks solemn and… I don’t know, heavily hesitant. He looks like he wants to say something, but couldn’t. And for that, he releases my wrist. “I wish you the best.”

I got my stuff and exit my room, much to Salve’s excitement. He can’t wait to leave this place, and I am, too. It’ll be a long walk, but I’ll survive. But suddenly I hear familiar voices speaking by the stairs. That’s when I saw them, Glass and Evie looking out of the clear glass window giggling to themselves.

“Imagine if the Monsignor could die,” Evie says, and as I walk closer their malicious voices are much more clearer. “Lucy wouldn’t be last day over 18… that boy would be a delicious meal.”

I am horrified. They’re plotting on a boy’s purity as he’s nothing but food—does Evie really go that low? Is Lucy even safe here with them around?

“He’s not that good looking…” Glass hums, still barely present. “But I see your point. He’s steaming like freshly cooked food.”

“If it weren’t for the Monsignor, he’d be devoured, and I’d take the first bite… who knows, maybe when he turns 18 I’ll risk everything just to sink into him…”

“Stop talking about him like that.” Both of them turned to look at me when I firmly demanded they shut the f*ck up. Evie scanned my body before scoffing at my words.

“Or what? Are you gonna go stiff and cry until Leo comes to the rescue again?” Evie sneers. He stared at my bag, “You bark so loud but you’re running to the hills with a tail between your legs.”

“I’m leaving a place that smells like a sewer from how much sh*t spilling out of your mouth, Evie—” he immediately grabbed me and pinned me against the window, his strength shocking me since he shouldn’t be able to hold me like this.

“I’d watch your mouth if I were you, pretty thing…” his eyes scan my face with dark intentions, Glass behind him rarely reacting. “You wouldn’t want to be the substitute for Lucien there. I can be very passionate and hungry, you know.”

“I’m glad I’m not you,” I sneer with gritted teeth, I’d rather cry and be pathetic than spend my life as a wh*re seeking s*xual gratification as if it’s the only way to be loved. You’re doing this because no one would love you for your rotten personality.”

Evie grabbed my neck with both hands and pressed me against the glass window, so angry I could see the veins on his neck and temples. “How dare you, puny f*cking human—!”

“Jude!” Salve held me and tried to pull me away, but I couldn’t move. Not with Evie pinning me down.

“Evie, stop…” Glass puts a hand on his shoulder, but he couldn’t pull the boy off me. Even I’m trying to push him off, but I can’t.

“YOU CAN’T RUN! You think we’re gonna let you run—no, you’re gonna know what it’s like to live here, to be trapped here! To have nowhere to run!”

“Evie!”

“YOU’RE GONNA EAT YOUR F*CKING WORDS JUST LIKE HOW I’M GONNA EAT—”

“Everest!” Glass calls out a bit more clearly, making Evie pause and soften his hold on my neck, but not quite letting me go. Glass seems to be the only one to calm him down, seemingly pulled out of his rage by his closest friend. I breathed heavily, staring into his green eyes which seemed to darken with a different shade.

Then, he smiles. He chuckles from deep within his throat. Then—the glass broke when he slammed my head onto it, the strength in both his hands throwing me right out of the broken window and…

All I could see was Salve, reaching for my hand with his mouth calling my name. His hands brush mine, but he could never hold it. I slipped out of his fall, and the last thing I’m thinking of is how I was in his place one time. Screaming for Salve, my hand slipping from his. The last time I could feel the warmth of his hand… was when it slipped the same way as I did now.

OUR LADY OF CARNATION VALLEY
third person POV

He had been standing among the flowers, dirt still on his palms, a dandelion stem bent between his fingers. When the sound came, Lucien lifted his head just in time to see a figure descending. Not fast at first—no scream, no flailing—just a sudden breaking of air, glass scattering like startled birds as his body slipped through the frame and into open space. Lucy saw an angel fall from heaven.

He tilted his head, curious, almost fond, the way one does when a bird stumbles mid-flight. Jude lay still in the grass, his eyes were open, unfocused, staring at nothing Lucy could see. Blood threaded slowly from beneath his head, dark and patient, soaking into the roots of the flowers. Lucien stepped closer, curious.

“Silly,” Lucy said softly, but his eyes look confused. “You shouldn’t jump from there. You’ll hurt yourself.”

Above them, a window stood broken, Evie looking down with his smile fading. Glass came up behind him, peering past Evie’s shoulder eyes heavy-lidded as always, until they landed on Jude’s body and Lucien staring at the body.

“…this is not good,” Glass whispered, as if commenting on spilled wine.

Redd didn’t look out the window at first. He felt it—the shift in the air, the wrongness settling into his bones. When he reached the opening and saw Jude below, his jaw clenched hard enough to ache. His hands curled into fists.

“Sh*t,” he breathed, voice low and furious. Not shocked. Not confused. Unsettled—like something precious had been mishandled. Pryce appeared at the window’s edge, his expression unreadable as his eyes flicked from Lucy to Jude, then to the spreading red in the grass. His lips pressed into a thin line.

Leo arrived last. He pushed past them without a word, ignoring Evie’s sharp inhale, ignoring Glass’s murmured warning. When he saw Jude, something in him went utterly still. No panic. No noise. Just a quiet, terrifying focus, as if the world had narrowed to one unbearable point.

“JUDE!” Leo cradled his limp body into his own, pressing two fingers against his neck to seek a pulse. His breath uneven as he feels a faint beat, since his blood was still pumping out of his heart.

“Lucien can’t see this,” Pryce said quietly. “Get him out of Lucien’s sight! LEO!”

Leo rushed Jude inside as Redd came with a bedsheet, throwing it onto the blood stained glass. Before Redd could go back inside, Lucien calls out, “Is he hurt, Redd?”

Redd paused at the sound of his voice, but refused to look at Lucien who was still holding the dandelion. He only mumbles, hoping he won’t hear, “Nobody’s hurt, Lucy.”

VOTE | COMMENT | WHAT’S GOING ON WITH LUCIEN?
No really, we (2authors) don’t know either, only Ashley knows