Crispen moves his gaze from Terry to his brother.
“You used to love Megan. I watched you protect her with your life for weeks. She’s gotten her heart broken to bits, her life’s been thrown in a blender at high speed. She’s crushed, and yet you lay there and pretend like you’re not in the same room as her, like she doesn’t exist,” Mason spits coldly. “You act like we’re the monsters, when you’re no god damn better. Terry, get him out of here. Megan doesn’t need his bullshit right now.”
Through my tear-blurred eyes I think I see a hint of hurt pass through Crispen’s expression as Mason speaks. He almost winces like it’s hard for him to hear these words. Before Terry can take Crispen somewhere else, Crispen blinks slowly and says, “I’m sorry.”
Two words that I never, ever thought I’d hear come out of his mouth, at least not directed at me or Mason or any demon for that matter. He’s said some cold things, some terrible things to me, to other demons over the past few months, things that I don’t know I’ll ever be able to forgive. Yet I find my heart picking up pace upon hearing his apology.
Mason scoffs like he doesn’t take Crispen’s apology seriously. “Part of her pain resulted because of you, you know. You threatened her life, you attacked her! You tried to kill someone she cared deeply about! You betrayed the friendship that you two had!” Mason is angry. Even Terry looks surprised by his actions. Mason holds me tighter as my tears begin to subside slowly. It’s not that I’m not sad or hurt anymore. It’s that Mason has distracted me for a moment.
I reach for his hand and grip in mine. “Mason, it’s alright. It’s over and done with now.”
“No, it’s not done with until he apologizes sincerely and makes it up to you,” Mason argues calmly, but with an edge to his voice.
Crispen attempts to sit up. Terry watches him very carefully, Forrest too.
Mason lifts me off of him and sets me down on the couch gently before placing himself between me and his brother, as if he’s trying to protect me from him. I wipe my eyes.
I see a small grin come across Crispen’s face. “I’ll be damned, Mase,” Crispen says weakly. “She has your nuts in the palm of her hand too, doesn’t she?”
Mason stiffens. I wrinkle my nose in confusion.
“First me, then Aiden, now you. Does anyone else want to profess their undying love for Megan?” Crispen rasps.
My eyes widen in shock and I can’t help but gape at Crispen.
A sly smirk passes across Forrest’s face. “I think she’s a looker,” Forrest chips in. “She has a nice-”.
Terry cuts him off. “Manors, son! There is a lady present!”
Forrest’s smirk deepens and he sends a short glance my way. I suddenly feel very awkward and I just know that my cheeks are bright red.
“Changeling, would you like to add anything?” Crispen asks Terry.
“You know his name. You’ve only tried to kill him a thousand times,” Mason retorts.
Crispen manages what looks to be a painful shrug.
“Megan is kind, but I do not busy myself with the petty pain that is love. It never ends well, not when you manage to outlive everyone you’ve ever cared about. Don’t get me wrong, I have loved, dozens of times actually in my lifetime, but each time it only ends in pain,” Terry says, again in a casual, almost bored voice.
“Anyways, what are you guys going to do with me?” Crispen asks.
Terry ignores him. Forrest looks unsure. Mason looks to Terry and Forrest for an answer.
“Don’t tell me you guys haven’t thought that far ahead,” Crispen groans while shifting his weight.
“If we let you go, are you going to try and kill us?” I ask him.
His weak, cocky smile falters. “No.”
“How do we know this?” I ask for clarification.
Crispen studies me. “I guess you don't. You'll just have to trust me.” I have no reason to trust him and he must realize that because he hesitates. “I'm so god damned sick of being locked up. Just let me go find Aria and apologize to her. She probably hates me.”
Mason looks surprised by Crispen’s words.
“Aria,” I start. “We can give him over to Aria. She’ll watch him for us.”
Mason seems to consider it. “Where is Landon's cellular phone when we need it?”
“There's a pay phone downstairs,” Terry tells Mason. “Take Forrest with you. You never know who or what could be down there. This is Toronto after all.”
Toronto?! What?! I was out long enough for us to travel all the way to Toronto? Holy hell! It felt like I was only out minutes!
Mason looks hesitant to leave me alone with Terry and Crispen. Terry, to give him more reassurance that I'll be fine, stomps harshly on Crispen’s left leg twice, surely snapping it both times. I wince but before I can look away he does it to his right leg. The grossest, most disturbing sound I've ever heard makes me want to scream.
Crispen cusses and grimaces but he's no stranger to pain. He handles it like it’s a paper cut. I have a bigger reaction than he does, in fact.
Mason and Forrest then leave the room.
Terry picks up a travel magazine from the table and flips through it. I can’t take my mind off of Crispen. He’s just covered in blood. We can’t hand him to Aria like this.
“Can I go clean him up?” I ask Terry.
Terry debates it. “I can do it if you think it’s necessary.”
I shake my head. “You’ve done enough. I can handle this. I’m not a child.”
Terry looks about to argue but he knows me well enough that he knows I won’t give in. He kicks both of Crispen’s arms and then his legs again. The gross cracking sound of his bones shattering causes me to cringe again. “Okay, you have ten minutes before he’s healed enough to be of worry. He has no brass so he’s not much of a threat anyway.”
I jump from the couch and easily scoop Crispen up into my arms. My demon strength makes this simple. I set him into the bath tub and pull off his shirt in one swift movement. I then turn the shower on and let the water run over him. The water turns red as it escapes to the drain. Crispen seems to relax a little. He closes his eyes as the water gets warmer.
“Too hot?” I ask. I’m not sure why I care so much about his preference after everything.
“Perfect,” he answers. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a warm shower or a shower at all for that matter.”
“Aiden didn’t let you shower?” I ask with surprise clear in my tone.
“Not the last few weeks he hasn’t,” he tells me and reaches to unbutton his jeans.
I roll my eyes. “I’m not leaving you alone you know. I don’t trust you.”
He grins. “I know. I’m wearing underwear. Don’t worry.”
I almost sigh with relief.
He starts humming a tune I very vaguely recognize. I heard him hum it once months ago while we were making cookies.
“What is that?” I ask him.
He runs his hand through his hair and a rush of red water runs down his face. I’ve never seen so much blood. It makes me woozy.
“A song my mother used to sing to me. I don’t remember the words, just the tune,” he mumbles through a mouthful of water. “Will you help me remove my jeans?” he asks genuinely. “I feel so gross. I just really need a good wash.”
For a short second I feel pity for him. Aiden beat him who knows how many times. I can’t imagine being beaten like so and not knowing if there’d ever be an end to your pain. I agree to help him with his pants. I pull them off quickly so I don’t cause his broken legs too much pain.
I hand him the small hotel body wash and shampoo.
“Thanks. You didn’t have to do this. I know the guys weren’t about to,” he says after a moment of silence.
I don’t know how to respond. “Well, I know what it’s like to lose control to your urges. I don’t completely blame you for being an asshole. I blame you, but I also understand where you were coming from.”
I’m shoc
ked by my own words even though I know in my heart that I’ve just spoken the truth.
“You should completely blame me. I let you down big time. I was your friend. I was supposed to be there for you no matter what. Instead you we through everything alone and scared,” he says quietly. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.” He doesn’t look at me. “In all honesty, when I saw you with Aiden, I kind of just gave up. I got so damn jealous that my demon brother had somehow won you over. I was angrier at myself for not finding you and helping you than I was at you, yet I took it out on you and on Aiden. I got so bad that even my brother and sister turned against me. I went too far. I see that now that the jealousy has gone. I don’t have a right to be jealous of Aiden. Sure, he has you, but I mean the guy was born and damned to lead the demons. That sounds like a shitty job to begin with, but then you throw in the fact that the guy has no soul and this is his only life, you throw in the fact that his love died from a disease that was created by his own kind, you throw in that his family disowned him, that his parents died because of what he was, and hell, you throw in that his daughter was killed by his own brother. He doesn’t have much. Anything good he’s had, has been taken away. I even tried to take you away from him.”
When put like that, when everything is laid out all neat and tidy, I sort of understand why Aiden gave into the darkness. I’m the only thing that made him truly happy and I left I wasn’t around.
“I am sorry, Megan. I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me, but I am truly sorry.” Crispen washes the remaining shampoo from his hair. I glance down to see that the water has stopped running red. I wonder how painful washing himself is with broken arms. I feel almost guilty for not helping.
“You don’t owe me an apology. You owe Aiden an apology and Aria and Mason too,” I decide. “If you think about it, I barely knew you when you decided to hate me. It felt like I’d known you years but it was only a couple of months really. You don’t owe me anything.”
“I tried to take your life, Megan. I do owe you an apology,”
I don’t reply, but I lift him out of the tub and shut off the water. Just as a banging sounds on the bathroom door. I know exactly who it is.
“Megan, get out of there. He isn’t safe!” Mason cries and I think he’s about to bust down the door. It’s not like Crispen can kill me. Mason is being dramatic.
I glance down at Crispen in my arms. He stares back at me strangely.
“What?” I ask, confusion creasing my brow.
“Your eyes,” he says softly.
“I know. They’re terrible,” I agree, my heart falling into my stomach. I forget often that my eyes are no longer colored but completely black. The thought makes my stomach turn. I look away from Crispen.
He reaches up to my chin with one of his broken arms and for a moment I worry he might be about to snap my neck or something. I imagine that’d be extremely painful. To my surprise, though, he tilts my chin down so I’m looking at him again. “No, they’re not terrible, Megan. They’re just different that’s all. Different is good. If everything were the same things would get real boring, don’t you think?”
I stare at Crispen in question. No one’s said that to me yet. People have told me I’ll get used to my eyes, that they’re just the way they are, and that yeah, they suck, but no one’s told me that they’re not terrible, that they’re okay, even good. To hear this from Crispen of all people is a complete shock. I’m starting to wonder if he’s maybe bipolar. I notice that I’m smiling and Crispen smiles back. The moment is crushed when Mason swings the door right off its hinges.
“You’re paying for that!” Forrest shouts. “There goes my fucking damage deposit on the place.”
Mason stares at the two of us like he’s confused, like he expected us to be fighting or one of us to have injured the other. He steps back and lets me walk past him. Could he not hear that we were having a civilized conversation in there?
“Well, now that we’re all rested, conscious, and cleaned up, let’s get out of here before a demon reports our presence to Aiden,” Terry insists quickly. “I’m sure he has his best trackers out looking for us.”
Why we are in a city sprawling with demons is not something I know or understand.
“Aiden won’t expect you to be hiding in plain sight,” Crispen whispers to me.
“Where are we going?” I ask everyone and set Crispen down on the couch.
“Dad’s been around a while. He happens to own a small island off the coast. We’re going there. Aiden doesn’t know about it,” Forrest explains. He sounds almost excited, like this is going to be a vacation. It takes me a minute to remember that Forrest hasn’t spent much time here in the human realm. He’s probably never been on an island.
Terry throws Crispen over his shoulder like a sack of flour and exits the room. Mason approaches me and walks beside me behind Forrest.
“Did you get a hold of Aria?” I ask. Something occurs to me then. What if Mason told her where we are and Aiden gets it out of her? Is Aiden even still looking for me? It didn’t really sound like he was from what he said to me, but maybe he’ll still be looking for Forrest and Crispen.
“Yeah. Forrest invited her to come to the island and babysit Crispen instead of us sending Crispen with her. Between you and I, I think he likes her,” Mason whispers. “I don’t know how I feel about it either.”
“I think Forrest likes all women,” I assure Mason. “He seems to be that kind of guy anyway.”
“That’s not very reassuring,” Mason points out.
I suppose it’s not. “He’s a demon. I wouldn’t doubt she isn’t attracted to him.”
Mason debates this. “I’m not so sure. Forrest can be a flirt and he’s a good looking guy. Aria is more open minded than she gives herself credit. I wouldn’t doubt she gives him at least a chance.”
“You never told me about how your first conversation went with her since you’ve become a changeling,” I remind him. He promised he’d go over it in fine detail when he was ready to. They’d spent a whole three hours away talking, leaving me to be babysat by Forrest.
He bites his lip. “Later.”
I don’t argue. We end up driving to an airport nearby and jumping onto a small private plane that takes us over the ocean and to the island I’ve been told about. Terry drives the plane. I had no idea he had such a skill, but I remind myself that Terry probably has many, many skills that I’m not aware of. He’s been alive longer than I can even fathom.
Chapter 10
On the island is a small house that looks like it’s been kept up-to-date. I wonder who stays here. I don’t wonder long because Terry explains that he hires someone to take care of the place.
The island is bigger than I imagined.
“Wanna take a walk down to the beach?” Mason asks, seeing that I need to get away from Forrest who hasn’t shut up since we left Toronto.
I jump on his offer and pull him away from the others. Crispen looks to us from a lawn chair with begging eyes like he doesn’t want us to leave him with Forrest or Terry for that matter.
I actually pity Crispen because Forrest is that annoying. Terry must be used to it because he doesn’t seem very bothered.
I motion for Crispen to follow. Mason doesn’t say anything but smiles lightly at his brother. I hope the two of them will find a way to get along again one day, because from what I know, they were really close before Crispen went AWOL and Mason became a demon.
Crispen trails us a few feet back, giving us our space. “I like this place,” Mason says, looking out towards the ocean.
I have to agree. The place is unbelievably beautiful and relaxing.
“Are you going to tell me what Aiden said earlier that made you so upset?” he asks. I’ve been expecting it.
I trust Mason and consider him a dear friend, but I don’t know what to tell him. I don’t even know if I’m ready to relive the scenario. “Yeah. Later.” I use his earlier words.
“The fact tha
t he made you cry makes me want to…” Mason trails off. “I can’t believe I can even think it, but I actually want to punch him in the face.”
My eyes widen drastically and I stare at him blankly. What did he just say? A changeling punching big King Shit in the face, that’s something new and terrifying. That would mean a death sentence by law. Not only would he be punching the most important demon alive, but also showing Aiden that he is no longer controlled by the pures.
“I mean, I’m not sure if I could actually punch him in the face, but I’d like to. I don’t think I’m quite strong enough to actually intentionally hurt the guy,” Mason ponders. “Part of me is insisting that I race to him right now and hand you over and another part of me is insisting I keep you far away from him because he’s gone crazy. It’s tiring. My mind is constantly debating my options even though deep down I know there is only one real option and it’s this one. Thank god I can see enough reason, see far enough past the need to please him, to see that much. Terry told me to think of it in the way that Aiden isn’t himself and ultimately Aiden would want us to be doing this, keeping you from him and saving Crispen and Forrest from him. It’s easier to think this way because it makes me feel that I am ultimately pleasing my sire.”
“You’re doing the right thing,” I assure him.
Crispen begins singing from behind us and Mason and I continue our walk silently.
When we reach the beach, I take a seat under a leaning tree and close my eyes. I’m sure Mason and Crispen are going to have to have some boy talk, but Mason sits right beside me, his shoulder so close that it brushes mine.
“The cool wind feels good,” he notes and takes a deep breath of the fresh air. I have to agree with him there.
Crispen walks along the edge of the water kicking at the sand. He wears a set of Forrest’s clothes. I know they’re Forrest’s because of the way they fit Crispen. They’re a little too snug because Forrest, though still strong and muscled, is far smaller than Crispen is. A single seagull makes its way around the beach looking for food and the waves roll into the shore lightly. I close my eyes again and imagine that this is a vacation. I wish it were, but it’s really not.
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