Convoke

Chapter 27

"And you're trying to show him that he's worth your love?"

Tom nodded. "He basically hates himself."

Declan leaned forwards again. "And uh- do you know why he's a soul stripper?"

Tom didn't want to start oversharing. Ezra had told him things in confidence, things he would be expected to keep to himself. "No, but I'm sure I'll find out one day."

Their concern still lingered, which was what Tom expected. He was glad that they weren't telling him that he couldn't date him, or that they wouldn't approve. Though he was still unsure on whether they would date. Tom could try all he wanted, and he could only go as far as Ezra would let him.

"I need to meet him, properly," his dad said with a thoughtful frown.

"No. We're not actually dating. And I don't want you scaring him off."

"I won't! I'll just let him know that we support him, you know, we'll make him feel comfortable or whatever."

"But you can't be obvious. I know what you were like with Kimberley, you basically pushed our heads together."

"I did not," Declan said with a scoff.

Moira smiled, tilting her head. "It's nice to see that you've finally moved on from that witch."

"Yeah well," Tom shrugged. "I think it was about time." He got up and pointed at them both. "Don't mention this to Ez. Don't make it obvious that you know, and don't plot behind my back. He doesn't want to be with me . . . yet."

"Yet," Declan repeated with a smirk. "But don't you be going and disrespecting a demon's boundaries just because you're in love."

"I won't. I think he's just happy to have someone fighting for him, for once." Tom left them to talk in hushed voices and rushed to his bedroom. Looking outside, he saw Ezra crouching in the bushes like he had also sprouted from the earth. He knocked on the glass and raised two thumbs up. Ezra looked relieved and got up and left. Tom wondered where he was going, and whether he was going to wherever he called home.

His heart pounded, and he cradled his ribs until he could breathe with ease. He sent Cal a long text to keep him updated with the day. He didn't respond until dinner time, and his reply was mainly foul language directed at Gerry, or high praise directed at Tom's parents. He asked if Tom wanted company, but Tom was enjoying his solitude. His sister, her husband, and his niece had booked a hotel. His parents had gone to bed early, and Ezra hadn't returned.

He thought about summoning the demon to warm his bed. He thought about summoning the demon to kiss him and to remind him that he was worth it. He thought about summoning the demon just to look into his expressive brown eyes. In the end, Tom found himself sitting at his desk, flicking through the thick old book of demon crimes.

He sat for hours until his legs turned numb and his back stiffened and his neck begged to straighten. Tom studied every single page, expecting to find Ezrakhell's crime. He shut it and held it against his chest with a frown.

Maybe his crime wasn't in Wileshire. He thought about opening his laptop and researching everything he could about soul strippers until he spotted the time. Then he thought about summoning Ezra to ask him, though his mood would be less than ideal if he was summoned at almost one in the morning.

Tom flopped back onto his bed and slept in the same position till morning.

The pub opened at its usual time and Tom waited behind the bar with his parents. They hadn't mentioned Ezra again, nor that their son had come out as bisexual the day before. They went on as normal, and Tom was thankful.

Finn entered first with two friends. Nobody mentioned the fight and nobody mentioned the council meeting that would decide the fate of their old little pub. The more people flooded in, the more the pub crammed with a sombre silence and a heavy feeling that lay on their chest like an ugly illness.

Locals weren't as chatty. Nobody screamed at the horse racing or demanded football. Nobody drank very much or told their usual wild tales or dreams about demons. When Ezra turned up, everyone dropped their gaze, terrified of getting banned, or hurt, or worse.

Tom felt his parents staring at him as Ezra approached the bar wearing a black t-shirt with a black denim jacket buttoned up to his chest. "Hey," Tom said with a bright smile, catching the way Ezra's eyes focused on his mouth and his shoulder relaxing.

"Hi." Ezra quickly looked around, darting his eyes like a swatting fly. "It's quiet."

"There's a council meeting tonight. They're scared we'll lose the pub after that fight."

Ezra's gaze fixed on Tom, where they were comfortable. He frowned, suddenly worried too. "Oh no."

"Don't lose sleep over it, Ez," Declan said, chiming into their conversation. "I'll fight for your right to drink here. We have the locals on our side because they know we'll never ban you."

"If the pub has to no longer be demon-friendly, I would understand," Ezra said quietly.

"We have always been demon-friendly, it's only in recent years that we've had to clarify that. I would rather close up and move out than deny you your right to drink with us." Declan slapped the hard black marble of the bar. "Drink up Ez, enjoy the peace."

Tom proudly handed Ezra a pint of Strongbow and watched him move his large frame to the corner of the pub. He settled with his back to the wall, facing the rest of the open space. He plucked a book from the inside of his jacket at Tom couldn't hide a small smile. Seeing him nestled in the corner to read was his favourite part of the day. Soon they would have to reserve the table just for him. Tom wished that he sat at the bar so he was close enough to talk, though he couldn't afford to be fussy.

He poured a few more pints before Cal pushed open the door with the broken window, wearing a yellow hat with a matching scarf hugging his neck. The first words out of his mouth were complaints about the weather. "Thought it was meant to be spring," he grumbled, peeling off fingerless gloves. "Hi Tom. Where's that twat Gerry?"

"He's-"

"Also . . . " Cal interrupted and pointed at Tom's parents who were standing only a metre away. "You're lucky that you're good people." He hurried around the bar and draped an arm around Tom. "This man right here is comfortable with who he is. Nobody, and I mean nobody will make him feel anything less." He cranked Tom's neck into a headlock and rubbed his knuckles into his hair until Tom kicked him behind his knee and Cal flopped to the floor like a dead fish.

"You are highly embarrassing," Tom said with flushed cheeks. When Cal got up and tried to flatten his hair, Tom slapped his hand away. "But you get a free drink for your loyalty."

Cal silently mouthed yes to the ceiling and leaned in close to say, "I'm still a little bit insulted that you don't fancy me though."

Tom rolled his eyes and shoved him out from behind the bar. He glanced towards his parents who were laughing, and he relaxed. Finally, he was free to be his true self around the ones he loved the most. His gaze shifted to Ezra, expecting him to be hunched over the book intensely unaware of his surroundings. But Ezra was sitting up with his chin rested on his palm, and his other hand holding the book flat to the table. He watched Tom with a soft smile, one that he had released without knowing, and one that dissolved behind chewing lips when he quickly pretended that he hadn't been staring, nor listening.