Demons Run (14)
Once Raziel realized I wasn't up for much talking, he said his goodbyes and disappeared again, leaving me in a buzzing silence with Roman and the two faeries.
A very insufficient amount of time after Raziel's departure, we saw a car headed down the road toward us, its headlights shining brightly in our faces. I shielded my eyes. The car moved past Roman and the twins who were trying to flag him down, and instead pulled up easily beside me.
I stopped in my tracks to face the car as the driver rolled their window down. In the driver's seat sat a Mexican man with tanned skin and dark eyes. He we was smiling at me, revealing teeth that would have appalled any student in dental school.
I approached the window a bit cautiously, but I wasn't too worried. I wasn't really worried about anything by this point. By now, a shady foreign guy in a beat down car was the least of my worries.
"¿Cómo puedo ayudarle?" He asked in a thick, authentic accent.
And suddenly I was struggling to remember the two years of high school Spanish lessons that I had done ridiculously bad in. I only remembered the names of months and a few different foods. Knowing that leche meant milk didn't really come in handy in these types of situations.
My eyes went wide, "Pardon?"
"¿Cómo puedo ayudarle?" He repeated, this time a bit slower. Roman was now somewhere close behind; I could feel his presence like sun rays pounding down onto black pavement.
"Do you speak English?" I tried, "Yo soy hablar englas?"
Okay, so pretty sure I just totally butchered his language, but he knew what I was asking all the same.
"No." He answered, shaking his head.
That's when Mr. I speak fluent Latin and I'm very hot and bilingual stood next to me at the window, "Puedes llevarnos a Key West?"
His voice was so inviting, something I was seriously beginning to resent. He caressed the words with as much care as a native speaker, so much I almost forgot he spoke English.
"Si, si!" He gestured to the seats around him and then his eyes trailed to me, "¿Quién es tu amiga bonita?"
Amiga meant friend and bonita meant pretty. Those were the only two words in the sentence I could pick out, but I felt flattered. Unless of course he was talking about Pain and Panic, who had taken to playing slaps while they waited.
"Esa es mi mujer." said Roman, "No disponible."
The Spanish man nodded understandingly and gave a good-natured smile. I was curious to what Roman's answer was. So curious, in fact, that I made a mental note to translate it on google later-- if I could manage to spell it.
Roman and I got in the backseat (don't ask me why, it was his idea— which made me not want to do it, but I wasn't in the mood to argue) while Pain and Panic got in the front two seats.
The man seemed happy to be taking us to Key West and even enjoyed the company of the twins. All three of them sat up front, blaring La Cucaratcha and obnoxiously singing along to it.
Deciding we probably had an hour left in the journey, I laid my head back and tried to sleep. It was hard to find any rest feeling Roman's eyes on me, hearing the blast of Mexican party music, and feeling like I would evaporate into nothingness.
...
I felt Roman softly prodding at my arm sometime later, "Angel. Wake up, we're here."
It was about 8:30 or 9:00, and Roman was right. We were waiting outside a hotel with flickering vacancy signs in the front. Pain and Panic were already out of the car with all of the bags. Roman got out first; he offered his hand to help pull me out, but I point blank refused it. I didn't want his help.
"Gracias." said Roman, leaning down toward the window with money in his hand.
The man shook his head and refused the money, "Necesito no dinero. Mi pueblo, tienen un dicho... cuando encuentre una rosa, no la retire. Cuando encuentre la verdadera belleza, que apreciamos ella. protegerlo. " He went on, "Yo no te conozco, y tú no me conoces. Pero sí sé que la forma que usted está buscando ella es la manera almas gemelas miran unos a otros."
I was completely lost, and had not the slightest clue what the man was saying, but Roman looked a bit moved by his words. He nodded and said very quietly, "Si."
I waved and smiled at the man as he pulled away from us. Always be kind to strangers, because an angel could be watching. I'm fairly positive Raziel had something to do with a car showing up as soon as he left; it was just too suspicsious.
As soon as his beat up little car was out of sight, Roman turned to me, "Come on, let's go inside."
We went through all the normal motions of checking into the hotel and getting the right keys to our room. Roman tried to coax me into small talk, but I wanted no part in it. I could tell it was starting to bother him.
When we got to the room, the twins sat down the bags they were holding and flopped down onto one of the beds, each one of them simultaneously diving for the TV remote. Panic eventually won, but Pain was jumping on his brother's back asking to watch Manswers.
The TV ended up on Johnny Test on Cartoon Network.
The TV was way too loud for my over-packed mind. All I could think about was the numbing feeling in my chest and how every time my two favorite people got around each other they fought. One of them didn't even care about me. It was wishful thinking that I'd ever see Roman again after he got what he wanted from me.
I knew Raziel had good intentions. He cared about me and I still cared about him. Every time he showed up, it was always out of concern for me.
Roman had this innate ability to turn cold after Raziel showed up. It's like he saw that I was cared for and suddenly wanted no part of me.
"Things are always so fucking tense after we see Raziel," said Roman, "It's ridiculous. And exactly why I hate him coming around."
I decided then that I didn't feel like talking to him, or being in the room, for that matter. If I stayed I would end up saying something in defense for my guardian angel that would make him mad.
I left the hotel room then, walking down the breezeway and stopping to lean against the railing. The cold air felt nice on my too-hot skin. I forced away the hurt— tried to. When I pushed back the sadness it was only replaced by resentment which was no better.
The sound of our hotel door opening and closing brought me back to the present. I felt his presence before I saw him, like I always did. His footfalls were light and airy despite the fact he was so large.
The perfect predator.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked suddenly, appearing beside me. I didn't look at him.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Why aren't you talking to me?" He asked curiously. His voice didn't sound accusing or angry, but he did sound just the slightest bit saddened and confused. I noticed that his arms were resting on the railing, and he leaned forward to try and get a good look at my face.
"I just don't feel like talking," I said quietly. This was partly true. I didn't feel like talking, but there was more to it.
"You haven't even spoken ten words to me since we ran in to Raziel."
Roman was sort of ADHD and he hated silence. Despite being a grown man, he was like a child in the sense that he needed constant stimulation. I'd noticed it over the last few days. I often felt myself wondering if little things like that were demon characteristics, or just Roman characteristics.
"You don't even care about me, so why does it matter if talk or not?" My words were cut and dry. It was a subject I felt highly touchy over, but I didn't want him to know how hurt I was by his words.
"You're ignoring me over something I said to angel boy?"
"He has a name." I said a bit shrewdly.
"Why do you care so much about him?" Roman asked, stepping back and shaking his head.
"You don't get to ask that question." I said coldly.
"What, so you get to ask a million questions and I don't?" He scoffed, "For someone who's all about fairness, that hardly seems fair."
"Fine. You wanna know why?" I asked, turning away sharply from the railing, too, so I could look him in the face, "Raziel may have been dishonest but he cares about me, and he's never given me a reason to question that. I care because I don't have room in my life for people who don't give a shit about me, and you know what? Raziel cares about me every single bit as much as I do about him."
He looked down at the ground silently, "I told you I wasn't any good…"
I stood, staring at him. I finally understood. He was being an asshole on purpose. He was hurting me on purpose. It was all an act to prove a stupid point.
"So that's what this is about." I said, puzzled. "It all makes sense now. You're trying to make me hate you." I shook my head, "You think that if you can prove you're a jerk I won't get attached."
He didn't look up from the ground or move, but he didn't have to. I had him figured out now. I was actually sort of baffled that he'd go to such extreme measures to make sure I didn't get attached. He had probably figured out that just telling me wasn't doing any good.
"Please, angel." He said quietly, "Just come back inside. It's cold out here."
"Okay." I said quietly, walking around him and toward the door.
When we entered the hotel room again, the twins were thumb wrestling.
“Again?” I asked, leaning against one of the walls.
“There’s nothing to do!” Panic whined.
"Shit!" cursed Roman softly, "I left one of the bags down in the lobby. I'll be right back."
When Roman left, I felt this odd sense of relief, yet somehow like I wasn't complete without that intense feeling I always had around him. My emotions were fried.
“Eve, what can we do?” Pain asked, standing up. He was rocking back and forth on his heels.
“Well, there’s a pool table downstairs.” I told them.
“Ooh! A pool!” Pain said excitedly.
“Does it have water!?” Panic asked, just as excited.
Like a wide range of pop culture and other human things, they had no idea what a pool table was or how the game was played.
“No, not that kind of— you know what? Yeah, there’s water.” I said noncommittaly. They’d learn better this way. Besides that, Pain never believed a word that came out of y mouth unless he saw it for himself.
“Are you sure? What if something happens?” Pain asked worriedly. Last time they left I was tracked by another demon and nearly killed.
Okay, so I didn't have the best track record at being left alone.
“Go on ahead; I’m not leaving the room.” I assured them, "Roman will be back in a second, he just went to grab one of our bags."
“Okay.”
The twins left in a blur of excitement. Once alone, I walked over to the television set and powered it down. The silence that met me soon after was the most comfort I'd gotten all night.
Roman entered the room again, holding the stray bag we'd forgotten down in the lobby.
He did a quick survey of the room, “Where’d Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb go?”
“You know Alice in Wonderland?” I asked, shocked.
Even though Roman was better with modernism and pop culture than the twins were, I didn't expect him to know a few different things here and there, such as cartoons. The twins spent most of their time in the burrow, which is the reason they were so unaware of human invention. Roman said he liked being above surface, but he did travel back and forth from hell.
“Angel, just because I’m a demon doesn’t mean I don’t watch movies.” He replied.
“Well excuse me for thinking you wouldn’t watch a cartoon.”
Alice in Wonderland had been one of my favorite childhood movies. As a kid, I never understood why Alice cried so much in the movie. I thought she was the luckiest little girl alive. She got to escape to a beautiful Wonderland filled with strange and marvelous people and things. Now, I realized, I was Alice. I'd fallen down the rabbit hole and into the lap of a beast. I finally understood all her tears. In theory, Wonderland sounds-- well, wonderful-- and as exciting as it may be, it was also very scary once made real.
“I've found myself in a few odd places.” He said with a distant smile.
“They went to play pool.” I answered his previous question.
“I’m sure they’re expecting water and swimming?” He asked, opening the mini fridge and pulling out a bottled water.
“Yeah.”
“I gotta piss,” Roman announced, walking towards the bathroom.
“You’re so charming,” I said sarcastically, throwing him a depreciating look.
“I’m the most charming person you know,” He added a wink before closing the bathroom door.
He was so bipolar.
When the door was shut, I sat back on the bed and ran my hands down over my face.
My cell phone started ringing Highway to Hell and I looked around, surprised. It had been a while since I'd heard it and I almost didn't realize that someone was actually calling. I reached inside my pocket and quickly answered, not checking the caller ID.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Evangelina!" screamed the extremely angry voice of Ben, "Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you for days!"
"I-I'm sorry! Ben, I'm so sorry!" The words came sputtering out of my mouth, "It's just been really rough going around here and—"
The hotel door flew open and there stood Ben with the phone pressed to his ear, "Oh, really?"
"Ben." I said quietly.
"You know, I put up with a lot of shit from you, Evangelina. Mixed signals, avoiding me… but now lies?" He asked furiously, "Come on, we're leaving right now."
"No." I squeaked, "No, I can't leave."
He locked his jaw, "Where's Penelope? I wanna talk to her."
The sound of the bathroom door opening made me look up. Roman walked out then, in all his tall, muscle covered glory.
Ben's face grew even angrier at the realization that there never was a Penelope nor a family death. He snapped his head toward me, "Nice fucking childhood friend."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up!" said Roman, suddenly intervening at Ben's disrespectful tone, "Who the fuck are you?"
"Who the fuck are you?" Ben shot back. Roman went tense. I knew he wouldn't feel bad if he got the chance to slug Ben a good one, especially if he knew who he was.
Suddenly, all the shock of Ben showing up out of nowhere went away. I wasn't hurt by his anger anymore; I was furious at his attempt to control my actions and monitor me as if he had any right to do so.
"How did you even find me, Ben?" I asked, feeling very double-crossed.
"So you're Ben?" Roman asked interestdly, "The one that's been blowing up Eve's phone the entire time we've been together?"
Ben opened his mouth, presumably to make some douchebag comment, but I beat him to it, "I asked you a question."
"I tracked your cell phone." He answered, holding up his own as an example.
"That's a violation of privacy!" I yelled angrily, "And quite frankly, a little creepy."
Roman laughed somewhere behind me and muttered, "What did I tell you? I told you he was obsessive, but you never listen to me. Guess you have to learn the hard way." As he sat down in his arm chair.
"Who the hell is he?" Ben asked, gesturing to Roman. I glanced over at him to see he was giving Ben a very cheeky smile, waving at him. He seemed to be enjoying himself.
"He's no one." I said dismissively, looking away from Roman and back to Ben.
Roman stood up almost as quickly as he'd sat down and walked to where I stood, pulling my back into him so our bodies were pressed together. His face lowered itself down to my ear where I could feel hot, playful breaths, "Aw, angel. I thought we had something special."
Ben's fists clenched furiously, "Eve, are you doing drugs?" He asked very seriously, "It's not like you to run off with random strangers! You're turning into a drug whore!"
"I'm not a whore, and he's not a stranger!" I objected. Ben was quickly getting on my bad side.
"Oh yeah?" Ben challenged, "I bet you don't even know his last name!"
"Last names are of no consequence." Roman purred with a wink, "That's not what she'll be screaming."
I shot Roman a sideways glare that he returned with a sexy smirk. The infuriating bastard!
"Just go home, Ben. I'm not leaving." I said, standing my ground.
"Yes, you are!" Ben yelled, "I'm not leaving you here with this dick!"
"Wow, Benny boy." Roman said with a beautiful, indulgent laugh, "The friend zone really fucked with your head."
Ben turned on him, "Kind of like I fucked Eve?"
I didn't even have time to protest this, because Roman's features automatically turned grave and stony; it was a huge contrast from his earlier amused state. Before I could say a word, Roman had shot from his place next to me and over to Ben.
There was a loud booming noise in the room as Roman slammed Ben into the wall. He had his forearm pinning Ben to the wall by his neck.
"That's my angel you're talking about!" Roman growled viciously. "Don't you fucking dare. Don't ever disrespect her like that you filthy little swine!"
Despite the weight of the situation, butterflies escaped into my stomach. His angel.
Whereas most men would now be terrified in Roman's hold, Ben's face contorted into a sadistic grin. His eyes began flashing and then seemed to glow from the inside out.
I covered my mouth to prevent the gasp. Ben wasn't who I thought he was.
Not at all.
"What the hell?" I asked, choked up.
Ben made a tsking noise, "Well, I guess my secret is out now. Ooh, Barbatos is gonna be thrilled." He laughed and then turned back to Roman, "Your angel, huh? She wasn't yours when I had her on her back." Roman's temper rose. A vein was popping in his neck and it was obvious that Ben loved getting a rise out of him, "She's a tight little thing, Roman." He continued tauntingly, "Too bad you won't ever know. It just kills you that I do, doesn't it? Do you wanna hear about all the sexy little noises she made?"
Roman couldn't take anymore. He slammed his fist into the side of Ben's face and a strangled cry emitted from my throat.
Roman threw Ben into a lamp at the other side of the room with a loud growl. Ben let out a soft grunt and stood up, dusting himself off.
"That's how you wanna play?" said Ben, glaring over at Roman, "Fine. I'm game."
The two demons launched into a furious fight where punches were thrown mercilessly. Blood flew and everything that wasn't secured to the ground tumbled into the wreckage they left in their wake.
I felt helpless; what could I do? I opened my mouth to try screaming, but I couldn’t. It was like my vocal chords were incapable of the gesture. I tried again, hoping that if I could, I could distract Ben long enough to help Roman get the upper hand. Again, I failed.
Where the hell were the twins when you needed them?
A loud growl erupted from Roman and he kicked Ben in the chest, sending him flying into the wall. The white wall cracked and sent plaster and debris crumbling around Ben.
Roman's shirt was splattered with blood, and I couldn't be sure who's it was. Ben was gaining his balance back and gave a devilish laugh.
“This is pathetic. Let’s talk, one demon to another," said Ben, enjoying the anger he was able to pull from Roman, "I had Eve first, Roman. What kind of Demon steals another demon's property?”
I wanted to throw up. Ben had never spoken this way before. Maybe that’s because I never knew the real Ben; I knew a product of good acting. It suddenly occurred to me that now even my old life was crumbling to ruin. It was all destroyed. I would have nothing to go home to.
“Evangelina isn’t property.” Roman said scathingly. His voice sounded like a broken-up growl.
Ben gave a mean-spirited smile, “You've been lying to her, haven't you?” There was a dangerous, gleaming malice in his eyes as he turned them upon me and raked in my appearance. I hugged my arms to myself, feeling exposed, and having lost the ability to speak. “I’m assuming so, anyway,” Ben spoke again. He seemed oddly pleased by this.
“What do you know about truth? You’ve lied to her for years!” Roman yelled, balling his bruised hands into giant fists.
"You're just like your god damn brother." Ben spat. My eyes automatically went to Roman again. That seemed to have hit home with him, and my face turned slightly confused, “Oh, come on Eve!” Ben said, again earning back my attention, “I thought you were smarter than this! Don’t tell me you’re the stupidest bitch I've ever met.”
Ben began taking slow, predatory steps toward me and I backed up, staring at him with wide, fearful eyes. What was he talking about? Roman had already told me about Ray and everything else he'd previously been hiding. What else was there? We agreed to be honest with each other and I really believed him.
“SHUT THE HELL UP!” Roman yelled furiously, charging at him.
This time, completely blind rage had made Roman a bit sloppy on his form. Ben knew this and seized the opportunity, swiftly jumping up. It was like one of those slow motion movies where you watch something really awful happen for a prolonged period.
Ben had turned away from me to attack Roman. His hands were at Roman's throat in a constricted chokehold. Roman was on his knees, his hands gripping at Ben's trying to break free. Ben had a tight grip on Roman, I could tell from the way his hands were starting to turn white. Roman was struggling to breathe; God, that sound ripped my heart to pieces. I couldn’t let Roman die, especially not because of me.
“She makes you human… weak.” Ben whispered lowly, “I actually feel kind of sorry for you, so I'll do you a kindness. You’re better off dead, half breed.”
Those words snapped me out of whatever trance I'd been in; I grabbed the nearest item to me, which just so happened to be an antique glass lamp. I fumbled over to the dresser and picked it up, snatching its chord from the electricity socket and fraying its wires.
As swift as I could manage, I smashed the lamp over Ben's head. It caught him off guard, I could tell because of his sudden stumble. Blood dripped from the back of his head and off of his hair where the glass had cut him deeply. He turned around so fast that my eyes could barely register the movement. I was stunned and terrified, so I whimpered. His eyes were no longer glowing, but had been swallowed entirely by black and he was breathing heavily.
Roman took advantage of the moment and dragged him back down, again falling into another outrageously vicious fight where no blood loss wasn't even an option. It was obvious that Roman was a stronger demon, but since he'd met me even I noticed the subtle changes. Roman was no longer the same cold, robotic, merciless fighter he'd once been. Ben, however, was.
Somehow, Ben managed to slip away from Roman just long enough to grip me by my arms and shake me, "Listen here, you little bitch! I'm gonna teach you a lesson I should have a long time ago."
I let out a scared noise as he back-handed me hard across the face. It stung so bad that my vision blurred, and tears started in my eyes. He gripped my arms and slung me hard across the room. I hadn't expected to go as far as I did, but the throw had been so powerful that I went flying into the bathroom door all the way across the room. I felt the impact of it rush through my entire body like painful electric pulses. I slid down the door, my body going numb. Tears pricked at my eyes but I held them back the best way I knew how. I hated crying.
“ANGEL!” Roman yelled, suddenly abandoning the fight with Ben. His fighting blinders had came completely down, and he didn't care about the other demon anymore. In just a split moment, Roman was at my side, his hands cradling my face, “Angel, are you okay?” His voice was full of concern and an unmistakable sadness. He looked hurt from the inside out.
I watched as Ben gave me a look of triumph and pure evil. He'd hurt me purposely, knowing that Roman would check on me, so he could slip away unharmed. He knew if he didn't get out soon that Roman would have killed him just like every other demon before. Ben was an asshole, but he was far from an idiot.
“Ben's getting away!” I panicked, my voice straining.
Roman shook his head, not even bothering to look. He was too busy checking me for injuries, “I don’t care. He’s probably running off to play slave to Barbatos. God only knows what those two do in their spare time. Are you okay? Please don’t lie to me.”
I reached up and brushed my fingers softly across the cut on his cheek. Roman had taken quite the beating for me.
“I’m fine,” I mumbled.
He shook his head and scooped me up off the floor as if I was weightless. My heart fluttered at the closeness; he set me down on the bed. I was surprised when he didn't let go. He sat down next me, cradling me close to him as if he was scared that if he let go, I'd fall into oblivion.
I let out a strangled, angry, hurt noise that sounded like a cross between a sob and indignant frustration. I was hurting immensely over the betrayal of Ben. He'd been my only friend since I got to the university.
Not only that, but now Roman had gotten hurt because of me. I should have never accepted the calls from Ben. He'd asked me not to, but I was stubborn and hadn't listened to him. Wonderful situation I ended up in. I really needed to start listening better.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.” Roman pleaded quietly.
I looked up to his face, taking a moment to admire his features. Even bloody and bruised, he was devastatingly handsome. He was the sort of man I read about in books, only he was real and so much… better. In every sense of the word, Roman could easily surpass any other man, fictional or real.
“He was the only friend I had, Roman. I trusted him and I honestly thought…" My stormy cry ended in a torn sob that hung in my throat. I was such an idiot, "I thought we'd be together."
"But you didn't like him, right?" Roman asked. His voice was still strained and angry from Ben's harsh words. I knew he was thinking about the one accusation in particular because of his sudden, possessive disposition.
"No. And I didn't sleep with him," I kept blubbering, "I'm a god damn virgin."
The fact that Ben had even lied about such a thing upset me. Sleeping together was never an option; the closest I'd ever been to losing the V was Raziel. And, well, that didn't exactly work out considering we aren't even the same species.
"Wait, what?" Roman asked, pulling away to look me in the face. His large hands were once again on my face, angling me so that I was looking him in the eyes, "You never told me you were a virgin."
"It never came up," I said with a confused look on my face, "Does it matter? I mean it's not a normal topic of conversation."
Why was he so concerned about whether I was a virgin or not?
"You're right, it doesn't." He murmured, "I'm just a demon and its the purity aspect…"
Purity aspect?
"He tried, though." I sniffed, "All the sex jokes and coming onto me… God, they weren't even jokes…" I wiped my face miserably, "I guess I sort of knew that all along."
"Remember that joke I made about needing your consent to touch you when we first met?" He asked, stroking my cheek. I wasn't sure if this was meant to comfort me or himself, but I didn't really care by this point.
"Yeah," I said, giving a gentle nod.
"I still stand by that," He said genuinely, "I will never touch you without consent."
I didn’t reply, I just laid my head on his chest, needing the comfort. We sat in silence for a while, and I didn't at all mind it.
My mind traveled back to Ben's behavior. He acted smug, as if he knew something about Roman that he knew would hurt me. Something he knew would hurt Roman as well. I wanted to believe Roman had told me everything, but something was gnawing away deep in the bowels of my mind, telling me that there was much more to the story than I was seeing.
A little while later, the twins came bursting into the door. Their eyes going wide at the condition of the room before settling on Roman and I.
"Did you do the sex…?" Panic asked, walking over to the wall where Ben had been slammed into it and running his hand down over the cracks.
I stared at the twins, opened mouth and blushing. Oh, I wish.
"You two always seem to disappear when something bad happens!" Roman muttered. I gripped Romans hand. "Ben was a demon." I told the twins. Pain and I shared a look.
"Your boyfriend from home?" He asked.
I nodded, "That's the one."
"He wasn't her boyfriend!" Roman spat disgustedly, "Why the hell did you two leave?"
I removed myself from his arms and curled up with a pillow. Roman looked a little upset that I'd moved away from him, and spared me a glance before he stood.
"We went to play pool. I don't understand why it's pool because water isn't involved, but—" Panic was in the middle of explaining, but Roman threw the TV remote against the wall. Shiny black broken pieces rained down, leaving a dark scuff mark on the white paint.
"You two are supposed to be helping!" He yelled. The twins had nothing to do with this!
"Roman, we didn't know!" Pain said, his bottom lip shaking.
"Obviously you didn't know! Eve could've died! I could've died!" said Roman.
He was still angry from the entire ordeal with Ben, probably even Raziel. All in all, it had just been a bad day for Roman and he was taking it out on the twins because they were the only ones he hadn't yet argued with.
"We won't leave again." Panic said, his lip doing the same pathetic trembling as Pain's.
"You two aren't helping at all so far!"
Pain and Panic looked so heartbroken at these words. I'd never seen them so upset. They admired Roman and looked up to him; he was like a hero of sorts in their eyes.
I couldn't handle the hurt in the faeries's eyes. They stood up for me all the time, it was my turn to return the favor. I got up quickly, standing in front of Roman so I was inbetween he and the twins. I pressed a hand to his large chest and could feel his heart beating rapidly.
"Don't you dare talk to them like that." For the first time this entire evening, my voice was fully returned. I didn't croak or stutter. The words came out effortlessly. There was no sign of previous emotional distraught in them.
"Eve—" Roman started.
I shook my head at him, "You don't get it. They're trying, Roman. They're here because they risked their lives saving ours. They may not have been here when hell broke lose, but that doesn't mean they're useless." I said defensively, "Don't you dare accuse them of not helping. If it weren't for them, I would've already jumped aboard the crazy train. They are two of the funniest, craziest, most loving damn people I've ever met. And they put up with us. Don't take your anger out on them. If you need to release your anger, just yell at me, okay? Leave the twins out of this."
It didn't fully register that I was speaking until I was done. I couldn't just stand there and let him talk to the twins like that. They hadn't done anything wrong.
The twins looked shock that I'd spoken like that toward Roman. We'd argued before, but usually never in front of them. They were like children and you couldn't let them see the distress. Roman's eyes went through all the motions— angry, sad, worried, concerned— all before resting on apologetic.
"I'm sorry," He mumbled, reaching for my hand, "I'm just angry. None of this was on my list of things to do."
"You think I wanted to be swept away by a demon and two faeries? If anyone here has a right to be upset, it's me. But I'm not. So let's just get through this. Please. Babylon is only one boat trip away and then you can get rid of us all."
We'd already gotten thus far without fights. I didn't want the four us to argue. We were all stuck together for endless hours, so mild irritation was bound to happen, but there was no need for pointless arguing. Things would clear up in the morning when we boarded the cruise ship and all had a chance to go our separate ways and do our own things, rather than be couped up in a tiny hotel room together.
I turned towards the twins and they pulled me into a hug. "We're so sorry," they said in unison.
I wrapped both arms around them, "It's fine."