Where My Demons Hide

Chapter 7

A week had passed since The Demons had invaded the house and things had calmed down. No one was hurt, but apparently they had stolen something. Some sort of map that made me wonder if they were leaving. I felt sad at the thought, knowing that meant Haiden would be leaving then too, but I didn't do anything.

I hadn't gone to the forest ever since our last encounter. I had been forcing myself to stay away, knowing I needed to forget about Haiden. He was bad news and even if I would always care about the boy that had helped me out when I was younger, I had to move on. The new Haiden was not my Haiden, and I was slowly coming to accept that.

Whenever I thought of Haiden now, it was more of in a nostalgic way. I no longer wondered about the man he became, but I thought about the boy he once was. Memories of the time we spent together would flood into me and I'd feel happy. Although I wished things hadn't changed, I knew that everything happened for a reason. Haiden changing meant we weren't meant to be in each other's life.

"Luna, what are you doing sitting all alone?" Chelsea asked out of nowhere, surprising me.

I looked to the entrance to the living room and saw that she was staring at me, looking concerned. Flushing, I knew it looked odd that I was just laying on the couch, staring at the ceiling. So, I tried to change the subject by looking down at the dress she was wearing.

"You're going somewhere?" I asked.

    "Yes, Peter, Blake and I have a meeting to attend to," Chelsea answered. "It's about the decreasing business in our cafe."

    "Blake's going, too?"

    "Yes, he is eighteen. He's an adult who will soon be the owner of the cafe once Peter and I feel like moving on."

    I never knew that. Although Blake hadn't gone to university, I had always thought it was because he hated studying. I hadn't once thought it was because he was interested in taking over the cafe one day.

Blake suddenly appeared next to Chelsea and he looked at me. His cheeks flushed and so did mine, and I looked away. Ever since his confession, I didn't know how to act around him. I felt awkward and I wondered what I would do about my response. So far, it was a definite no and I hated the idea of hurting him. But, I knew I had to tell him eventually.

"Chelsea! Blake!" Peter called. "Let's go!"

"Bye Luna," Chelsea said. "We'll be back in a couple of hours. Please... Be safe."

"Goodbye," I said, looking back up at them.

The Daniels left and I was soon home alone. Staying on the couch for a while, I suddenly thought about Chelsea's words. She had told me to be safe and I knew it was because of The Demons. They were still on the loose.

Getting off of the couch, I told myself to stop thinking about them. I went to the kitchen, knowing I should make a snack. I was hungry and I had nothing else to do home alone.

In the kitchen, I put bread in the toaster and waited for it to heat up. As I waited, I wondered why I was never invited to the cafe meetings. I liked to think I was an important employee, so a part of me felt offended that Blake was allowed to attend the meetings and I wasn't. We were the same age, so it was only fair the both of us went.

The bread jumped out of the toaster and I went over to it and placed it on the plate. Going to the cabinet, I grabbed peanut butter and went to the drawers. Pulling out a butterknife, I suddenly heard someone snicker.

I whirled around, startled by the noise. My eyes flew wide when I saw a blonde girl in front of me, two meters away, smirking. Staring at her face, my heart stopped when I recognized her. She was a member of The Demons. She was Lydia.

"Hello there," Lydia said, stepping forward. "What are you doing in the home of The Daniels? I thought they only had a son."

    I stared at her, unsure of what to do. Her eyes were gleaming with mischief and I doubted she was a misunderstood soul. Lydia seemed evil and I stepped back, afraid.

    "What do you want?" I asked, my back pressed against the counter now.

    "Something," she said, beginning to walk forward. "But first I need to do something about you."

    Her eyes hardened and I knew she would bring harm to me. So acting fast, I threw the butterknife at her, hoping to wound her and run. But to my disappointment, Lydia simply caught it and held it high, looking furious. I gulped.

    "You bitch!" she screamed. "How dare you throw a knife at me!"

    Lydia began to throw the knife, leaving me closing my eyes as I knew that this was it. I was about to die. All my regrets flashed before my eyes and the strongest one was not talking to Haiden. I regretted not bringing him back to the good side.

    "Stop," I heard the low, husky voice I was beginning to remember say, surprising me.

    Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw that Haiden was standing in front of Lydia. His back was towards me and I watched as Lydia stared up at Haiden, looking shocked. Guilt was written across her face as she stepped back, stunned.

    That was when I realized Haiden had intervened and thus got hit by the knife. For me, he had stopped Lydia from attacking me. My heart warmed at the thought, even though I was still shaking with fear.

    "Oh my god," Lydia said, her eyes growing full of worry as she placed a hand on his chest. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

    "I'm fine," Haiden mumbled. "It's just a scratch."

    Suddenly, Lydia threw her arms around Haiden's neck. She leaned forward and kissed him, causing me to let out a small gasp. Haiden immediately kissed her back and I looked away, unable to take it. The sight bothered me and my heart sunk for some reason. This was not my Haiden, so I didn't know why I was feeling this way.

"Let's go," Haiden said, pulling away from her. "We'll complete this part of the mission another day."

"Okay," Lydia said softly.

Looking up, I saw the hard exterior Lydia wore had vanished. Around Haiden she was a lovestruck, vulnerable girl, and it left me wondering if Haiden had a special affect on girls. I could tell I wasn't the only girl's heart he had touched.

Haiden and Lydia seemed to forget I was in the room as they walked down the hall to the front door, holding hands. Lydia was in front and Haiden was behind her, and I watched them. Although my heart felt uneasy at the sight of them, I couldn't avert my eyes.

That turned out to be worth it since as Haiden began to leave through the door, he suddenly looked at me. He was expressionless, but the fact that he looked at me gave me hope. I wasn't going to give up yet.