Wish Upon A Demon

25.

CHAPTER - TWENTY FIVE

I didn’t sleep the whole night.

My eyes were open, the events of the day repeating in my head, over and over again. I was tired; I wanted to drift off to sleep but every time I closed my eyes, I could picture every word, every scene in the alley, and I would begin to get restless. At some point in the night, I decided to let Alexandria take the bed and settled on the couch. My father had arrived a little after midnight, and I knew he was not alone due to the giggles and female voice echoing through the house. The door to their room had shut; yet, I could not find the peace I was looking for which came in the form of sleep.

What happened earlier that day, in the alley, was too much for me to handle.

After staying awake all night, I finally lifted my tired form off the couch and went out of my room. I was going down the stairs when I saw Cherry silently closing the door to my father’s room in nothing but a shirt, which I noticed belonged to my father. It was his favorite shirt; my mother had picked it out for him. And now his much younger girlfriend was wearing nothing but the shirt, letting the huge fabric consume her and fall onto her knees.

She caught my eyes, giving me a sheepish smile. “Did you sleep well?” She asks as we enter the kitchen. I occupy a seat on the counter, and Cherry ties her hair in a bun. “I did.” I lie. “Did you?” I ask. I knew she would have had a good night sleep. The lack of dark circles under her eyes, unlike me, is proof enough. “I did.” She nods, not meeting my gaze. There was something very odd about Cherry.

What are you?

Cherry stiffens as though she heard my words. She turns around, scrutinizing me. I see her crystal blue eyes skim me up down, judging me. I hoped the purple tint to my eyes weren’t visible. A second later, she gives me a smile, shaking her head slightly and turning around. My father walks into the kitchen, completely oblivious to my presence in the kitchen, and wraps his arms around Cherry. I clear my throat. Fredrick Martin snaps out of his sleepy state and takes a few steps away from Cherry. I nod to myself, knowing I was invading their privacy and hop off the stool.

“I had a sleepover last night. She’s still in my room.” I state, not wanting to raise any suspicions to Alexandria’s presence. “With whom?” Cherry pipes in. “My friend,” I flash her a weird look. “It’s okay honey, you didn’t need my permission.” My father waves me off, and I scoff slightly. “Oh, I wasn’t asking permission, dad, I was telling you.” I smile at him, “I just thought you should know.” My smile widens, and I walk away from the kitchen, running up the stairs.

My ears had caught the sound of a groan from my room. When I entered, I found Alexandria up in bed, eyes wide and clutching her head. “What happened?” She asks, and I eye the yet to heal bruises and cuts on her forehead, arms. The ones on her legs are covered up and under the shield of my comforter. “What do you remember?” I ask, sitting at the edge of the bed. “I remember working a late shift, and I remember getting to leave home. After that, it’s all a blur...” Alexandria says. Her eyes dart around the room, avoiding mine, and I instantly know she’s lying.

“I know you’re a demon, Alexa,” I say, placing my hand over hers.

She looks up at me. It’s like she’s relieved, and can finally breathe. “Oh, Faye,” She says, placing a hand on her chest. “I cannot explain how terrified I was last night. I wasn’t even aware there were demon hunters in this place, which is why I moved here.” She explains, and I ask her the question I wanted to since I found she was a demon. “How did you turn into a demon?”

Alexandria smiles sadly. “I come from demon ancestry, like you. But unlike you, my entire family consisted of demons. My mother was one, so was my father, and my younger brothers, and there was me. The one who very much human.” She says. I’m confused now, how she could she be born the only human in a demon family?

“My mother was a human too, and I was given birth to when she was human. She was turned into a demon after that since she too came from demon ancestry.” Alexandra answers my questions. “And then one night, we were attacked. The place where we lived– Baskin, Louisiana, was a small city with most of the population consisting of demons. Most of the families died, and my entire family was killed. I think the one who harmed me felt pity for me, because he left close me to death, but didn’t kill me.” She says, and I see her eyes watering a bit, at the thought of her family.

“Blood and fire. There was so much blood and the flames of fire were destroying the entire city. Everybody lay in his or her own pools of blood, dead. Except for me. My blurred vision kept looking around, trying to move, but unable to. And then I see a pair of boots appearing. He was the same man who left me to die. And then he just bends down, and makes me swallow something.” She says. I watch her as she speaks. It’s like she’s picturing every detail of that night. “After that, it’s all darkness and when I wake up, I’m a demon.” Her story comes to an end with that. “I kept shifting cities after that, renting studio flats, trying to make a living so I can survive.” She says. There was a guest bedroom in our house which no one made use of.

Once she was healed and ready to go, maybe I’d ask her to stay here.

Another question pops up in my head. “Those people that attacked your city, who were they? Hunters or Fallen?” I ask. Maybe what happened in Baskin gave the demons more reason to hate the hunters and Fallen. However, I’m surprised when Alexandria shakes her head and looks into my eyes, a chilling expression in her blue ones.

“Werewolves.”

I didn’t see the demon after that night.

It had been a few weeks since the night in the alley, and the demon boy respected my wishes, never coming to talk to me after that. However, that little part inside of me that cared for him before realizing his motive, wanted him to come back. It wanted him to come back for me. It was just a silly wish though, and unlike the first one I made, this was better off not coming true. I was afraid. Last time I didn’t see demon boy for a few weeks, I woke up in the demon world. I loved how beautiful it was there, but it wasn’t my home. This was home. The neighborhood, Riverdale in Ontario was the place I was born, bought up and this was the place I wanted to live in.

Guaranteed, I’d leave after high school, but these days, I had the thought to come back after college, find a job, and continue my life in the same neighborhood I had grown up in. Sure, there were bad memories too, but I’d have to find a way to live with them, just like I was finding ways to adjust to being a demon. Again, I didn’t like throwing tantrums. When something is done, you have to learn to live with it, instead of trying to reverse it. Or, in my case, there was no reverse button, so I had no choice but to live with it.

Alexandria left a few days ago, refusing when I had offered her to stay in my guest room. I had invited her to dinner with me most nights on the excuse that my father was at work and it would be nice to eat with a friend rather than be alone. Moreover, I think my dad was considering proposing to Cherry – a person whose last name I still didn’t know and a person I would never agree to call mom. A few days back, as I walked home from Alexandria’s cute, little apartment, I caught Fredrick Martin eyeing a ring from Fair Trade Jewellery Co. I was happy for my dad, he deserved it, but I wanted to know more about Cherry.

She was odd, and I needed to find out more about her.

I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard the knock at the front door. I looked to the TV in front of me, which was on a new channel, and stretched my arms, yawning. It was pretty late at night, and I was up waiting for my dad. He had a key so he could open the door himself. Then who was knocking? A few days ago, we had received news that there were several burglaries happening all around town. I was afraid to open the door. I switched off the TV, and since the room was already dark – as I had been watch TV in the dark, I remained silent, not making a sound, hoping whoever it was would go away.

A few more knocks came after that, each more frantic than the previous one.

Then it stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief. My loud and fast beating heart calmed down, and the fear bubbling inside me reduced. Then I wondered why I was afraid at all. I was a demon; I should have been able to take care of a few robbers. I shook my head, laughing lightly. The door flew was slammed open with such a force, that I praised it for not coming off its hinges. I turned around, eyes wide and mouth dropping to the floor when I caught sight of who had come. He was clad in black as usual, his movements were tipsy, legs wobbly and his eyes unfocused and hair disheveled.

It was the demon boy, in all his drunken glory.