Where My Demons Hide

Chapter 9

    Haiden and I were enemies. I forced myself to keep that in mind as I walked downstairs, looking for Blake. Because Haiden was now someone of the past and I needed to keep my family close, I had an answer for Blake. One that would change everything, which was what I needed. I needed to change in order to forget about Haiden.

    Entering the kitchen, I saw Blake by the sink, washing the dishes. I stopped walking to stare at him, taking him in. Blake was tall and broad. He was muscular from actively working out, which made him much more bulkier than Haiden. Blake also had these warm brown eyes, which were like mine, and they were familiar. He was so familiar and I knew he would be good for me.

    Walking to his side, I stood beside Blake as he washed the dishes. When I stood beside him, Blake looked over at me and smiled, causing me to smile back. He was always so kind. He was always at my side. I needed someone like him.

    "Hey Luna, what's up?" Blake said, eyes softening.

    "I have an answer... To what you said two weeks ago," I said, staring into his eyes.

   "You do?" Hope filled his eyes. "What is it?"

    "A yes," I said, causing him to grin. "I'll be your girlfriend."

   Blake hugged me immediately and I laughed lightly, hugging him back. A part of me felt relieved since he didn't notice that I had said I would be his girlfriend and not that I liked him back. I couldn't lie to him, so I hoped soon I would actually fall for Blake.

    Blake pulled away from our hug, grinning down at me. I stared back at him, smiling, and then became surprised when I saw him leaning forward. Caught off guard, I quickly moved back, nearly stumbling. Blake began to frown because of that.

    "Sorry," I quickly said, blushing. "I..."

    "I understand," Blake said, sincere. "I'm your first boyfriend and you want to take it slow. That's fine."

    I nodded, although that wasn't the exact reason. Blake was my first boyfriend, but I had been kissed before. The reason why I hadn't kissed him was because it didn't feel right. All this time I thought of Blake as a friend and nothing more, so it didn't seem right to kiss him. I hoped that would change.

    "Can I take you out on a date?" Blake asked, bringing my attention back to him. "Later today?"

    "Sure," I answered, smiling. "That'll be great."

    Blake smiled back and I hoped we'd hit it off at our date. Growing feelings for Blake would be the best way to forget about Haiden, so I really hoped so. I desperately needed to forget about him.

*****

     Blake and I were sitting at a table, staring at our menus. We had gone to a fancy restaurant, one I knew cost a lot. I had felt guilty about it and after Blake coaxed me into believing that I would get to pay for our next date, I relaxed. The restaurant was nice, so I was happy to be there.

    "Did you find anything to order yet?" Blake asked, bringing my attention to him.

    When my eyes met his chocolate eyes, I couldn't help but stare at him. In his suit, Blake looked dashing. His blonde hair was neatly swept back and he was cleanly shaven. I had to admit Blake was attractive. He was handsome in a conventional way and I knew I should feel lucky. My boyfriend was both a good person and attractive, which was a great package. Because of that, I wondered why I felt indifferent about our relationship.

     "Luna?" Blake said, snapping me out my thoughts.

    "Sorry," I said, blushing. "I..."

    "Liked what you saw?" he filled in, looking amused.

I laughed lightly. Blake was my best friend. He would always be my best friend and I really hoped that one day, my feelings would grow into something more than what they were.

Blake and I continued to chat and eventually, we ordered and our food soon came to the table. We dug in immediately, growing silent as we ate. Food had a way of quieting people with it's appeal.

As I ate, for some reason I felt like someone was staring at me. It was like they were drilling into my head that was buried in my spaghetti with their eyes, so feeling paranoid, I looked up, expecting it to be nothing. But to my surprise, I saw Haiden in the restaurant, sitting a few tables away.

My eyes flew wide at the sight of him and I wondered what he was doing here. He was wearing a hat, covering his dark locks, but his face was visible for anyone to see. Knowing he was a wanted man, I began to wonder if maybe he was the dumb one.

I stared back at Haiden, wondering what he wanted. And then, memories of our conversation flooded back to me, causing my heart to drop. Feeling hurt, I decided to glare at him, only to show him that I didn't need him. He may of thought I was stupid, but now I was moving on from him.

As I glared at Haiden, he began to look amused. That annoyed me and my eyes darkened, wishing he would take me seriously. Just once, I wished he would.

    But no matter how full of anger my glare became, Haiden only looked amused. He was even smiling now, which made me want to walk up to him and tell him off. I didn't know why he was here. Haiden had told me to keep my distance, so it made no sense for him to be in the same restaurant as me, all alone.

    "What's wrong?" Blake suddenly asked.

    I looked at him and saw that he was frowning. He looked concerned and I blushed, knowing I must look insane. But yet, I couldn't help but shoot Haiden another dirty look. Haiden grinned when I did that, causing me to lose it.

    "Boys are idiots!" I exclaimed, causing a few people to glance at me.

    Blake's eyes went wide and my face went red. Guilt filled me as he grew sad. This was all Haiden's fault.

     "What... What did I do?" Blake asked, seeming crushed. "I'm so sorry for whatever I did. I never meant to anger you."

    I felt horrible. I couldn't believe he thought I was mad because of him since I could never be mad at Blake. He was too sweet of a guy, unlike Haiden.

    "No, it's not your fault," I said. "It's just... Well, this idiot won't leave me alone, you see. Even though he told me to stay away, he's the one remaining in my life. I don't think he understands that the concept of keeping a distance between us means both members need to stay away from each other."

    To my surprise, Haiden chuckled from where he sat. My eyes flew to him and something in me twisted at the low rumble of his laugh. It caused my heart to skip a beat and I internally groaned. No matter what I did, Haiden was still a part of me I couldn't get rid of.

    "Do you want me to beat up whoever is messing with you?" Blake asked, serious.

    "Yes please," I groaned.

    Haiden chuckled again and I closed my eyes, pushing the feelings of my heart away. At this point, moving on from Haiden was impossible. He was always going to be around, it seemed. Although it was annoying, I told myself to just pretend he didn't exist from now on. Maybe then he would actually disappear from my life.