THE DEVIL'S AFFECTION

36. DARKER DAYS

{3 days later}

          "I just don't understand!!" Hanes' voice echoes throughout the house.

I shock up from the bed. He sounds angry from downstairs. I hesitate to move, a little scared at first but then quickly reacquainting myself with where I am and remembering who he is. He might be angry, but he won't be cruel to me.

I step out of the bed onto the cool tile floor and scamper out of the bedroom. I take a few steps down the staircase and peer down towards the back kitchen. I can see him pacing there.

He's muttering something to himself but I can't make out what he's saying.

"For fuck sake!!" He shouts again and I startle.

I slowly creep down the stairs, wondering if it's better for me to try to go see what's wrong or just stay away. I haven't seen him in a state like this since one of his business calls earlier on in the time that I've known him. He's been so gentle and kind since getting here. What has changed?

I decide to move further down the stairs anyway, hoping I've made the right decision.

Once I get to the bottom of the steps, I walk over to him a bit quicker so he takes notice to me. When he does, he stops pacing and stands in place, panting with anger.

"What's going on? What happened?" I question softly.

"I-It's nothing. I'm sorry for waking you... it was nothing." He walks over closer. "Here, let's go back to bed."

He tries to nudge me up to bed but I stand in place.

"No, Hanes, you were just yelling to yourself. This is driving you insane!"

"I wasn't yelling to myself, Viv." He furrows his brows, still trying to nudge me upstairs.

"So, who were you yelling at? The bowl of fruit on the island? One of your books? The statue?"

"Viv, please, I'm just trying to work this out. Leave me be."

"No, I wanna know what's going on. This fear is crippling you. I don't even know what we're running from other than Kai and I don't know why he's chasing us. You brought me all the way out here... for what?"

He shakes his head, worry splayed across his face. "It's best that you don't know. There's nothing I can do to... change it right now so we have to stay here. Here is harder for them to get to."

"What I don't know, in this instance, could very well hurt me. What's happening? Who's this They you keep talking about?"

"Trust me, in this instance, you not knowing is the only option."

I shake my head. "You can't keep me here and, if I'm honest, I can't live under these secrets anymore. I'm sick of being the only one naive in this situation."

"I'm not telling you, Viv. Drop it." He sighs, looking down at me.

"If you tell me what you do, I'll let you my real name." I offer the deal.

This has been eating me up since we've known each other and for a while after being here it, I tried to ignore it but seeing him so anxious about it worries me. I feel like this is something I need to know for my own safety. I could have died the other day and I still don't know why.

"This is much bigger than a name." He furrows his brows.

"What do you do? Are you in some gang? Are you in the mafia or something?! Like what the hell could it be that I just can't know about?!"

He looks away from me and I know that's the only answer he's going to offer me.

"Fine." I become bitter. "I'm going to find out one way or another. I just hope that when I find out, it isn't as I'm dying."

His face twists in a saddening way, but I continue on and storm back up the stairs to the bedroom. There's no escaping him in this house so I hide under the covers, where I can imagine I'm somewhere else away from him.

I WAKE UP next to Hanes. The sun hasn't risen yet and I don't know why I'm awake. I lay watching Hanes sleep, his face frowning and clearly marked with tension. He used to look so peaceful when he slept.

Whatever is coming, it's eating him alive before it even finds us. If I'm being honest, it's eating me up too, I just don't know what "it" is yet.

My eyes are hazy and weak as I attempt to fall back asleep. My body feels heavy but as I get close to sleep, I hear a shuffling coming from downstairs. I snap awake, shocked with fear.

Maybe it was the beginnings of a dream. Maybe it was one of those instances where I'm half asleep and I can hear the dream before it begins... maybe. That was probably it.

As I slowly let my eyes close again, I hear a louder thud that actually shakes the house a little.

Fuck.