The Demon Inheritance

TWENTY-TWO

I worked in a nap that lasted nearly twenty minutes before Dillan pushed on my shoulder and pulled me up again. I swatted his hand away stubbornly, careful to stretch my sore neck out in a way to gesture that I would be in the position for a while.

"We are wearing out our welcome," the tacosexual warned, flicking the black hair that streaked against his nose out of the way.

I spoke in a mumble. "Gran P didn't warn you out, did she?"

Dillan shook his head with a sigh. "No, but this is a thing you can feel. You're so stubborn sometimes, Em. Gran P has been nice and giving. You need to get up, we are leaving."

I leaned my head back, the nape of my sore neck pressing against the plush softness of the pillow. I felt my spine pop against the mattress, and I lazily kicked off some of the blanket unwillingly. I didn't want to return to holding myself up with my own strength. After all, the fight with Salt had been emotionally exhausting. I couldn't help but wonder about the things he had said to me. But, of course, I wouldn't dwell on it too long. How honest could a child molester, who betrays everyone, be?

Dillan nudged me gruffly. "You don't want to go check up with Oliver?"

I groaned. Part of me decided to rip away and want to go see if Oliver was okay after the fight, the other part of me still wanted to lie in bed. Oliver is much more important than your dumb neck. I kicked the covers off with much more force than necassary, and Dillan rolled his eyes. Finally deciding to go on a whim and get up, my muscles clenched as I pushed myself off of the mattress and slung my legs over the side. Dillan smiled in approval.

I narrowed my eyes a bit at him. "This is only for Oliver, got it?" Before he could make any sly remarks about how well my Apotropaic and I were getting along, I changed the subject brusquely. "Did you find a way to get closer to L. A. yet? We don't have any way to drive out of here."

He put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about that. Mun and Carter will take care of it. They're already out. Go and see your Apotropaic, okay? He is worried about you, you know."

I nodded with a sigh, and pushed myself out of the room. I stumbled a bit at first, but once I had made my way into the hallway to get to Ace's room, where he was hanging out in, the rest of the journey was steady.

With all my willing strength, I wrapped my hand around the doorknob, then stopped. You aren't being yourself, Emma Whitestone. Why are you so happy about being with Oliver? I smiled a bit to myself, and even answered my inner thoughts. I don't have to do this alone. I have friends now. And Oliver is one of my best friends.

When I walked through the door, the concern on my face was masked with emotionless skin. My slanted eyes were at a rest, and my thin lips were relaxed at the sight of Oliver on the bed. Ace was sitting on the edge, a concerned look carved into him. Oliver was facing the wall, away from the door, the blanket pulled up over his shoulders. The black-haired Apotropaic glanced at me, his dark eyes almost warning.

I ignored him and looked at Oliver. "Is he awake?"

"Emma..?" my Apotropaic turned over, and I was surprised by the sight that met me. His blue eyes were red and swollen from crying, and the edges around his eyes had crusted from it. His eyebrows were quivering arches of fear; he was shaking.

The sight of him blew my calm, and my face exploded into worry. I didn't care how I appeared to Ace. After all, there weren't many people here to judge me for my actions. Besides, when I saw Oliver's fear, I also thought of how scared Mary probably was in her position. I climbed onto the bed and wrapped my arms around my crying Apotropaic, forcing him to bury his face into my neck. He lifted his head just enough to breath, and his muscles seemed to unclench when I touched him. Like, somehow, I had healed him with my mere flesh coming into contact with his body. His arms went back around my neck, and he choked on a helpless sob. With the slightest bit of hesitation, I combed my fingers through his hair and closed my black eyes. He leaned against me, and at this point, I was beside him on the bed. Pretty much stomach-to-stomach, the two of us sat there for what must have been a full couple of minutes.