Demon: Book 1

Chapter 43: A Flat Lip and a Black Eye

“No,” I muttered.

She smiled at me. “You keep scaring me, Aden.”

“I know.”

“Don’t let Chris bully you into doing things.” She leaned down to look me in the eyes. “If he ever tries something like this again, you tell us.”

“I will. I panicked when I got the text from him. I didn’t think it through.”

“Come here.” She opened her arms to me.

Standing, I hugged her tightly. We parted, and she patted my good cheek.

“I really happy it’s not picture day Monday.”

“No, thank god.”

She pulled me down to her and kissed my cheek. “No more, Aden. No more.”

I nodded. “Promise.”

I went with her back downstairs. Titus and Xavier were talking with my dad. By the looks of it, I had caused a lot of problems for everyone.

“It’s time for us to be going,” said Xavier.

“Is it alright if I came tomorrow?” asked Titus, “to see how Aden’s doing?”

Our fathers opened their mouths, but my mother beat both of them.

“Of course. I’ve missed having you around and so has Aden. You’re welcome to come check up on him.”

Xavier and my dad muttered their approval as well.

“Titus, it’s late,” said Xavier as he slipped past us to the door. “Take care of yourself, Aden,” he stated, before exiting the house.

Titus walked over to me. “Feel better, okay?”

I nodded and stood on my toes to hug him. “See you tomorrow.”

He slipped in a quick kiss, before hurrying for the door.

I pressed my fingers to my lips. “Bye,” I said softly.

My mother awed and gave me that overly mushing look. My face heated up instantly.

“Mom,” I whined. “Stop it.”

“That was so sweet of him,” she breathed.

“Aden, off to bed.” My father nodded toward the stairs. “Karen we need to talk about a few things.”

She nodded. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

“Night.” I hurried up the stair and went to my room. A lecture was coming for me in the morning, but at least, so was my boyfriend.

 

***

 

I stared at the message on my phone. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.

My bedroom door opened, and my mother entered. I quickly locked my screen and tucked my phone away.

“I’m sorry, honey, but I think this is a lost cause.” She held up the shirt from last night. A brown stain still could be seen over the logo. “I tried everything.”

“It’s fine, mom. Just throw it out.”

“I did,” she grabbed my jacket that was draped over her shoulder. “Salvage this, though.” She held it out in front of her.

I smiled. “Thanks.” I took it from her and tossed it on my pillow.

She sat down on the bed. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to wash off these bruises. That’s a black eye, if I’ve ever seen one.”

“Mom,” I leaned away from her approaching hand. “I’m fine. Stop it.”

Turning my chin, she shook her head. “You look like chipmunk on his side.”

I groaned and flopped down on my side. “You’re not helping.”

She patted my leg and stood. “I’ll get you an ice pack. Hopefully we can get some of the swelling to go down, before Titus shows up.”

“Don’t do anything embarrassing when he gets here. You got all weird last night.”

“Aden,” she said from the doorway. “It’s how mothers keep their children grounded. Besides, he was very sweet. It was really nice of him to go get you last night, and his father was kind enough to tell us what was going on. They’re a very nice family, Aden.”

“You haven’t met his brother,” I muttered, under my breath.

“I’d love to one day,” she said cheerfully.

“Hmmm…”

“Quit moping, Aden,” called my mother as she left the room. “It won’t make your face heal any faster.”

“Mom!” I snapped. I preferred when she was worried about me over this constant reminder my face was messed up.

I waited until I heard noises downstairs, before taking out my phone. I have to show Titus when he arrived. He wasn’t going to be happy, and Xavier was going to be even worse. I read the message again.

I know what Titus is