Demon: Book 1

Chapter 9: An Unexpected Guest

"Aden?" She narrowed her brows. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," I breathed. "I was getting something out of my closet and a box fell."

"Are you sure, sweetheart?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's nothing. I woke up and I'm still a little disoriented. I'm fine."

"Alright, goodnight." She pulled me down to her and kissed my cheek. "Get some sleep, okay?"

"I will. Goodnight." I closed the door and leaned up against it.

I'd never be able to explain having a random stranger in my room this late. I looked over to the bed to see Titus sitting with multiple boxes around him.

"Have you ever heard of privacy?" I tried to take away the sketches he was flipping through.

"Aden." He pulled me over to him. "It's not that big of a deal." Grabbing the bundle of papers from me, he glanced through them.

Backing up against the wall, I waited for the sarcastic comments and sideways glances to come. Titus simply continued to look through my drawings.

"I'm not very good."

Titus spotted a book on my desk and went for it.

"Wait—" I held up my hand.

He didn't listen and flipped it open. "Wow, you've really improved."

I rubbed my arm. "They're not very good," I muttered.

Titus shrugged. "I can't draw at all, so I'm impressed."

I shrugged. "I guess."

He grabbed another box from the pile at his feet. I recognized the markings.

"Titus, no!" I jumped on him and tried to wrestle it away.

"Come on, Aden." He jerked it out of my hands. "It's a little too late for that."

I felt my face heat up when he removed the lid.

"Did you make these?" He pulled out a wooden lion.

"It was a long time ago." I clasped my forehead. "I was really into animals as a kid."

Titus laughed softly.

My face blared red. I snatched it away from him and dropped it back in the box. I tried to take it away, but Titus wouldn't let go.

"Aden, I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought it was funny you got so defensive about them." He picked up the wolf. "I really like them." He handed the wooden figurine to me. "This one is my favorite."

I sat on the bed next to him. "You don't think it's stupid?" I ran my thumb over the wolf's face.

"No." He carried the box over to my dresser. "Why don't you have them out?" He began to line them along the top. "It's a waste to keep them in a box."

I walked over and scanned the lines of wooden animals. "I don't know."

Titus took the wolf from me and examined it. "It's almost lifelike. You're really talented."

With a sigh, I took it back. "The fur isn't right, and I took too much off the arm." I tossed it in the box.

"Hey." He grabbed it and placed it with the others. "Why did you do that?"

"I'm too old for this stuff." I scratched the back of my head.

"You're not a very good liar." He followed me to the bed. "What's the real reason?"

I gathered up the sketches and loose papers. "Just because."

"Aden." He took the stack from me. "They're really good."

I wrung my hands together. "My friends would make fun of me when they came over, so I stopped. It's kid stuff."

"It's called talent, Aden." He flipped through the pages. "It's not something you outgrow."

"My friends think so."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but your friends suck."

"No, they don't." I started to gather up the books and put them back in their boxes. "They didn't want to be friends with the artsy kid, so I quit. I figured it would be better to be the nobody friend of the popular kids than a nobody with a pocketknife and a block of wood."

"Well, I think they're beautiful," Titus stated. "Like that stick you carve the first time we met. I still have it."

I couldn't fight the smile from forming on my lips. "My grandpa taught me. He gave me my first pocket knife on my seventh birthday. My mother wasn't too sure about it. She kept lecturing me about being careful. I only cut myself a couple of times." I laughed at the memory. "It was never too bad, but she always threatened to take it away after she patched me up."

"Would you make me one?" His eyebrows pinched together. "Please."

I walked over to the dresser and picked up the wolf. "You can have this one and I'll make you another one to go with it."

His face lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you. I promise to take good care of it." Titus hugged me tightly.

"Your welcome," I whispered, laying my head against his chest. "I'll get started on the other one tomorrow."

He released me and stepped toward the window. "I better get going."

"Yeah, you probably should," I replied, chewing on my cheek.

"I'll see you Monday," said Titus, straddling the window frame.

"Yep, Monday."

"I'll have everything nice and clean before you get there." He gave me that cheesy smile before disappearing outside.

"Bye," I called after him.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the wooden animals. They did look nice lined up along the edge. Smiling to myself, I picked up the boxes and stacked them next to my desk. After closing the window, I slipped into bed. The figurines could stay, for now at least.