Page 19 of The Devil and His Ghost

“An annoying one?” I replied with a shrug.

“An Incubus,” he whispered. “You could say all things romance are my expertise, which means I can sense how you feel about him.”

My cheeks warmed, despite the mental walls I slammed into place. My crush on Xander was no one’s business but mine, and it was a fact I intended to carry to the grave, considering he didn’t see me as anything more than … a fish, apparently. Even if I were older, that wouldn’t change the reality of my situation. It wouldn’t change—

Perseus’s slitted eyes widened, and his shoulders tensed. His lips parted slightly while his demonic eyes seemed to peer so deeply into mine, it was like he was staring right into my soul, into my secret. I realized with a heavy wave of dread that was exactly what he was doing. If he could see my attraction to his friend, he could see that, too.

“Stop it,” I hissed between clenched teeth.

He swallowed hard and straightened, eyes never leaving mine.

“Okay,” Xander chirped, coming back into the room. “I’m ready—”

“You know,” Perseus began slowly, finally tearing his gaze away from mine to meet Xander’s, “I actually think you should stay here. A pet needs quality time with their owner, don’t you think?”

Xander gaped at him like he’d lost his mind. “Uh … no?”

“Stay here,” Perseus ordered him. “I’m going without you. If you try to follow, I’ll make you impotent.”

“What the fuck, Perseus! You—”

Perseus vanished in a cloud of shadow. Xander stared in furious shock at the place his friend had just been while I smiled. I’d changed my mind. I liked that Perseus character.

“Can he really make you impotent?” I asked carefully.

“He can and would. Asshole.”

Grinning unapologetically at Xander, I chirped, “So The Exorcist?”

His head fell back, and he released a deep sigh. “Sure.”

I used the remote to close the many window shades while Xander dropped onto the couch and pulled up the movie on the TV. As was our movie tradition, I borrowed his phone to place an order for pizza.

Routine was something I’d always lived in, especially at Mountview. Having a reliable schedule kept me moving, kept me from dwelling on things better left behind, kept the nightmares from closing in. The routine Xander and I had made brought an even greater sense of comfort. While his schedule and presence weren’t consistent, our relationship when he was here was. There was no guessing what he felt, what his intentions were, and where we stood.

I joined Xander on the couch and grabbed the many loose notebook papers. “Before we start the movie, I thought you could look over this. I tried writing.”

“Oh yeah?” He held his clawed hand out and took the pages from me. After skimming over just the first two pages, he gave me a patient, fanged grin. “You know me. I’m pretty honest.”

“Uh-huh,” I responded apprehensively, curling a strand of my black hair around my finger.

“Today, I’m gonna lie, because being honest seems too mean.” He cleared his throat, and his face brightened to an exaggerated level. “This is amazing! You’re the next Stephen King!”

I groaned and dropped my head back against the couch to stare at the ceiling. “How can someone be so talentless?”

“Yeah,” he sighed with me. “You’re an oddity, for sure.”

I flopped my head to the side to fix a bland stare on him. “You’re not making me feel better.”

“Not trying to.”

I blew out a hard breath and looked back up at the ceiling. Was I disappointed that yet another endeavor to find what I was good at had failed? Yes. I’d spent so many important years confined, medicated, and analyzed for telling a truth that no one else believed. Figuring out myself and the world was equal parts exciting and terrifying.

But was another part of me kind of glad that I still didn’t have an ability to fall back on? Yeah. The sooner I found what I could do to make a life for myself, the sooner I’d have to leave my safe haven.

The pizza arrived, so Xander hid his demonic features to grab it. I turned and stared over the back of the couch, watching as he hummed and grabbed plates.

“Um,” I started slowly, “I was looking at the calendar you left me. My birthday is this Friday.”