The Devil Inside

34: Sunset

Four thousand, seven hundred and fifty-eight—that was the number of people that had gathered beneath the stadium lights, awaiting the procession of students who'd somehow managed to make it to their highschool graduation in one piece.

It was nothing short of a miracle in a town like Greenwitch.

"You're going to do fine," Cooper's mom told him for what had to be the seventh or eighth time since leaving the apartment. She anxiously smoothed down the back of his hair.

"Mom," he scolded her, softly swatting her hand away. "Stop that."

"There's nothing to be nervous about."

"I," he emphasized, "am not nervous."

A lie. But really—what did one little lie matter these days?

She tugged at the sleeve of his black gown. "You look so grown up."

"I look like I'm wearing a garbage bag with holes in it."

His mom smiled at him a bit ruefully. She'd pulled out all the stops for this night, donning the little black dress he knew she liked to wear for what she dubbed special life events. She shifted in her heels, scanning the crowd ahead of them uncertainly. "I should go sit..."

"Go," he urged her, pointing to an empty section near the concession stand. "Meet me on the field when I'm done."

But she didn't go. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. He sighed, allowing it. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered, and only then did she release him and totter off to find a seat among the multitudes of other anxious relatives.

Neck burning, he turned and ambled back to the parking lot. The graduates were gathering in the gym before the ceremony—a rather unfortunate turn of events, given all that had happened there. But life in this town marched onward, undeterred.

"Cooper! Wait up."

He did not wait up. Instead, he picked up the pace. But Vincent had always been able to catch him, no matter how fast or how far he ran. Cooper laughed when he finally got close enough to sling an arm over his shoulder. "We made it, man!" Vincent crowed.

Cooper couldn't help but grin. "You thought a couple serial killers were going to stop us?"

They laughed—laughed despite the horrors they'd endured, time and again. Because they were here, sweating in these ridiculous polyester gowns and preparing to turn the page, closing the only chapter of life they'd ever known.

It was terrifying. And it was exhilarating.

"Hell nah." Vincent smirked up at the highschool. A steady stream of students in graduation gowns were crowding the stairs into the gym. "This is it. One more summer. One more summer, and we're free of this town and all the shit people in it." He brightened. "You think your mom would let us throw a going-away party?"

"In this lifetime?" Cooper scoffed at the idea. "Absolutely not."

"Eh. It was worth a shot."

They slowed as they approached the queue that had gathered outside the gym. A warm breeze stirred Cooper's hair, threatening to disrupt his mom's masterpiece. He quickly smoothed back the cowlick that had been plaguing him all day. "Vincent?"

Cooper watched him grin and wave at someone further ahead in line. "Hmm?"

"You plan on seeing your old man before you skip town?"

Vincent's smile fell somewhat. "Oh." He shrugged, straightening the neckline of his gown. Like Cooper, he held the matching cap in his hand, stubbornly refusing to put it on until he absolutely had to. "Maybe. Don't know yet. Haven't heard from him since...y'know, everything. I guess I still need to grab some things from my room..."