Devil's Train

Chapter 10.

When we get back to my grandmother's house, my mom is sitting on the front porch, talking on the phone. I assume it's the friend she was talking about earlier. She sounds extremely worried until she notices us and tells the person on the phone that she'll talk to them later.

"H-hey, mom-"

She runs up and hugs me tightly with a sigh of relief. "Jack, I'm so sorry about this."

"It's whatever," I tell her awkwardly, returning the hug. "I'm okay, mom..."

My mom takes a deep breath and pulls away from me. "What was it you wanted to tell me about Simon?"

I exchange a worried glance with Simon and then look back at my mom. "I want to go somewhere else where grandma can't hear us..."

My mom nods and we make our way down the block, walking and talking.

After a few minutes, Simon speaks up, "this is going to be hard to believe, but. I'm a demon."

My mom stops dead in her tracks, look at us with shock, but then smiles worriedly. "That's not funny..."

"H-he's not l-lying, mom...," I say quietly, looking down at the ground.

My mom looks at us both, disbelief clouding her gaze.

"Simon, show her," I say.

Simon takes off his beanie to show his horns and lets his tail sway gently along the ground.

My mom gasps and backs away, nearly tripping over her feet and stares at us both in shock. "Th-that's... N-no! Jack, w-what is the m-meaning of this!"

"Mom, please calm down!" I tell her quickly, starting to panic again. "H-he's not what you think he's like, I promise!"

"If he is what you say he is, Jack, then..." My mom turns away from me and takes a couple of deep breaths. "You need to explain everything right now, Jack."

So I do.

I explain to her everything.

Well, mostly.

I tell her about how we first met. I tell her about how we grew to love each other. I tell her that Simon is a big sweetheart, how he's a vegan, how he loves animals, how he loves flowers and art and everything. I tell my mom about how Simon is the least threatening person I have ever met and how I trust him with nearly everything.

The entire time, she stares at me with disbelief and shock, but she doesn't look at me with disgust or disapproval or anger.

After we try to explain as much as we can, she takes a deep breath and looks down at the ground.

"Jack, I'm not going to pretend I completely understand what you have been through. I'm not going to pretend I'm completely okay with this, but... If Simon treats you well, then I'm happy," my mom says quietly. She looks at me with kind, gentle, happy eyes. "I'm so happy your first partner is treating you right." I can see pain and regret in her eyes when she says this. "Simon?" She looks at Simon. "Thank you for treating my son so well. I'm not going to pretend that I completely accept that you're... A demon... But thank you."

Simon stays silent, but I can tell that he can barely contain his happiness.

"I felt like I needed to tell you this finally because no matter where we move, Simon can easily follow me and live near me. He sorta lives in an old, abandoned cabin in the woods near the train tracks that I go to a lot," I tell my mom.

"But what will you do when you're ten years older than he looks?" My mom asks. "When you're thirty and he still looks seventeen, that... That will just simply be strange."