Where My Demons Hide

Chapter 26

    "Why weren't we?" I asked.

    "You can see that my life is... Hectic," Haiden said, scratching the back of his neck. "And I'm not a good person. Someone like you... Someone so nice and kind and wholehearted shouldn't be a part of this. I'm sorry you were dragged into this."

    He was feeling guilty about my presence in all of this mayhem, I realized. My eyes softened as I saw pain written across his face. He was staring down at me, his eyes filled with concern, and I stared up at him, wanting to caress his cheek. Haiden seemed to like to call himself bad and I wondered why when he wasn't deep down.

    "Why do you keep pushing me away?" I asked then. "Why do you keep telling me you're some horrible guy with a horrible life."

    "Because I am," Haiden said, sighing lightly. "Luna, when will you realize I am?"

   "How come you only knocked out the demon hunters yesterday?" I blurted out, realizing that was something I had been wondering. "I thought you were a ruthless killer?"

    Haiden seemed surprised by my question. Uneasy too, because he looked away. I stared at him, heart racing as I wondered who he turly was.

    "He knocks them out because he's a wimp," someone said, causing our heads to whip to the person. "He doesn't have the heart to kill."

    Taylor had just entered the cave and he was walking towards us, smirking. Haiden stiffened beside me, leaving me uneasy. There always seemed to be tension between Taylor and Haiden and I didn't know why.

    "Did you know he's only ever killed one person?" Taylor asked me, seeming amused. "That was the man who killed his parents."

    "That's enough," Haiden snapped, causing me to wince as his voice echoed through the cave. "What are you doing here?"

    "Found our hideout." Taylor grinned. "It's safe."

    Haiden stared at Taylor for a second and I watched as Taylor stared back. He still seemed to be amused and I didn't know why. All I knew was that it left me feeling creeped out. But yet, that wasn't my main focus.

    Although I had never truly believed it, I felt beyond relieved to find out Haiden wasn't a serial killer. It made me so happy that he had only killed one person and only because that person had killed his parents. From this piece of information, I knew Haiden truly still had the heart he once had when we were young.

    "Good," Haiden said, finally breaking the tense silence. "Now leave."

    "Okay," Taylor said, turning around. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

    Haiden's jaw clenched and I found my hand moving to his arm to calm him. He looked at me then and all his anger vanished as our eyes met. I smiled at that, truly happy because Haiden wasn't a murderer. He wasn't the heartless guy he kept trying to convince me he was.

    "So, you don't have the heart to kill people," I said, smiling. "What a bad guy."

    Haiden blushed at those words. He looked away and I laughed lightly. The guy I once knew was definitely still within Haiden. Somehow I would bring him out.

    "I'm..." Haiden seemed speechless. "There's so much my gang has done that isn't right. There's so much I have done that's not right, even if that doesn't include killing."

    "I know," I said truthfully. "But I'm glad to hear you still have the gentle heart you once had. That was your most beautiful quality."

    "My gentle heart?"

    "Yes, you were so caring. You always wanted to help people and you hated seeing others in pain." My eyes softened. "I'm so unbelievably happy that you still have that heart."

    Haiden seemed surprised by my words. But instead of denying them or brushing them off like he usually would have, he smiled. He smiled genuinely and I found my heart melting.

    "I'm glad you think I still have a gentle heart," he said. "I liked that about myself when I was younger, too."

    I smiled back and found myself wanting to hold him, but I pushed that feeling away. These little moments were good enough for me. Having Haiden just smile at me was satisfactory for the time being.

    "You know, people never really change," I said, taking his hand. "Once a good person, always a good person."

    Haiden didn't say anything to that, but he squeezed my hand. My heart began to race and I closed my eyes, finding myself growing sleepy. And with our hands holding on to each other's, I got lost in the land of beautiful dreams.