Where My Demons Hide

Chapter 10

"Do you know what your guardians are?" he asked, surprising me.

"What they are?" I frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Haiden seemed surprised by my response, but he then nodded. His shoulders seemed to relax, which left me confused. I had no idea what he was referring to.

"So you don't know," Haiden said, seeming relieved. "Good."

"Know what?" I asked. "Seriously, can you be any more mysterious?"

    Haiden didn't say anything. His eyes began to roam around my room, leaving me watching him. Thankfully my room was tidy, but it was quite small. I couldn't help but wonder if Haiden was judging it and its lack of furniture as he looked around.

    "Why are you here?" I asked again quietly, knowing there was more to his question.

    I was curious. He said my guardians were something and apparently, I didn't know what they were. Somehow, I had to get the truth out of him. 

     "I'm looking for something, remember," Haiden said. "It's in this house."

    Staring at him, I wondered why whatever he was looking for was in this house. I wanted to ask him, but I knew Haiden rarely answered questions. Due to that, I had to somehow get him to spill the truth out accidentally.

    "Then why are you here?" I asked. "You're doing an awfully bad job of looking by staying in my room."

    To my utter surprise, I saw blush creeping into Haiden's cheeks. It was barely there, so tiny I had to squint, but I noticed it and felt smug. Haiden wasn't at my house to look for something, he was there to see me.

    "You're here to see me, aren't you?" I asked, my voice growing soft.

    My heart felt warm and even though I knew I shouldn't care about how Haiden felt for me anymore, it was nice to know that he did care. After all these years, it made me happy to know that maybe, Haiden cared about me as much as I did.

"No," Haiden blurted out, looking away from me. "I..."

He drifted off and clamped his mouth shut. He wouldn't look at me for a moment and I stared at him, feeling my heart pound. Something was changing between us. Definitely for the better.

    "Look, Luna," Haiden finally said, looking back at me. "I came here to warn you."

    "About what?" I asked, frowning.

    "I will keep my distance from you, if that's what you want, but know that my gang members won't," he said, serious. "Be careful of them and keep your family close. They want something here and they'll stop at nothing until they get it."

    I stared at him, surprised. All this time Haiden kept telling me he didn't care and he even threatened me, but now he was warning me. It was out of nowhere, but I knew it was serious. That was probably the only reason why he was only doing it, which made me worry about my family.

    "Why are you saying that's what I want?" I asked, remembering what he said. "You're the one who told my to stay away. That's what you want."

    "No it isn't," Haiden shot back.

    The moment he said that, he looked like he regretted his words. My eyes went wide and my heart froze. Hope filled me as I realized Haiden did care about me. Deep down, there was a part of him that did and although it was rare he showed it, it was becoming more frequent everyday.

"You're confusing," I said. "I don't understand you."

"Yes, I'm a complicated guy," Haiden said, going back to my window. "That's exactly why you should realize you're better off without me."

I opened my mouth to say something to that, but Haiden shook his head. He looked exhausted and I decided to let him go. It was obvious he needed sleep, so I hoped he would get some when he left.

"Goodbye Luna," Haiden said, going out my window. "Stay safe."

His words hit me hard and I couldn't help but grow emotional. Haiden was a complicated guy. I couldn't seem to figure him out and I knew he was better off left alone. But, my heart couldn't allow me to forget about him. Especially after I learned he did care about me, I would stay at Haiden's side, even if I wasn't literally at it. He had once been at mine when I had really needed someone, so I would stay at his.