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I considered him carefully, trying to merge my boss with the wealthy man with dead parents and mysterious reasons for being late… “You’re Batman or something, right?”
“What?” He leaned forward, and Mary threw her head back, laughing. Willow shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“I mean…you have some hidden thing at night. Hurting bad guys. That’s why you miss dinner.”
He held up his hands. “No. I wish. I’m much more likely to be at the gym or something like playing the piano or working on old cars. No, I’m not that good. I prosecute during the day and at night, I’m totally boring.”
He’s lying.
The fact seemed completely obvious, but it did beg the question of what he did with his time if not vigilantism. And why did it make Willow uncomfortable? I let it go and watched them instead. Mary finally caught my eye.
“You need to eat more. I know you think you’re not hungry, but you are.” She pointed at my plate. “You can’t do what you’re doing every day—you can’t keep holding on—if you’re not feeding. She can’t stop you from eating. She can make you not feel hunger, but you can eat when you’re not hungry.”
She was right. I didn’t love being told what to do, but I could see her logic. I took another bite of the sauce. I could taste the garlic, which was sort of fun. When had things gotten bland, and why hadn’t I noticed it before? I ate some more.
“Hey,” she caught my attention again. “I don’t mean to sound preachy. I didn’t eat more than a bite here or there for the last year of my possession. I’m mad that she’s messing with you and then doesn’t let you know it. I had a demon that wanted to hang around, like yours seems to be doing. It’s not that they don’t want to kill you. They just want to do it slowly.”
I tilted my head, considering her words. I’d never thought of it that way, since my demon said we could coexist. Did she lie to me?
“Oh my god, it’s snowing.” Willow got up and walked to the window. She stared outside. “Go away snow. It’s April.”
I groaned. “It’s going to be such a long night.”
I thought of the tent city and imagined the fires being lit in garbage cans and other receptacles. People would be moving their tents close to the heat sources, but I wasn’t there. By the time I returned, all of the good spots would be gone, leaving me both literally and figuratively out in the cold.
It would be the definition of eat and run, but I should get to where I could spend the night and try to move the collection of my stuff over there. “I’m sorry. Could you call me a taxi?” Myburner phone was getting really low in minutes, so I would need to get more time the next day. If they had different phone plans, and I suspected they did, I’d be grateful if they could help me.
“No,” Cruise shook his head. “I’m not going to let you go out there tonight in the snow. You could die.” He motioned toward the table. “Have a seat. Eat, if you’re still hungry. I’m not going to order you to eat, unlike my sister, who claims I’m the one with no manners.” He rolled his eyes then smiled at me. “You can sleep here. We have three guest rooms. If you’re not comfortable staying here, we can put you up in a hotel, but I don’t want you to sleep outside tonight.”
I waited for my demon to object, but she stayed remarkably quiet.What is she doing or plotting?
“I couldn’t possibly put you out.” They hardly knew me, and I was absolutely possessed. “I mean I’m still not entirely sure why I’m even here. I can’t impose on your family more.”
“Oh,” Willow whirled around. “Trust me, you’re not. This house is huge. Besides, once they’ve decided you’re important, they don’t let go of it. If you go back to your tent, Cruise will show up in the middle of the night to bring you back here. I stormed out once after a fight with Mary, and she apologized outside my door the entire night. They can be rather pushy. Yes, that’s the right word—pushy.”
Cruise laughed. “Blame it on our parents for never showing us the way or on the nannies paid from our trust funds to raise us. We’re just badly instructed.” He motioned toward the outside. “Let’s go watch the snow, if we’re all done eating.”
I guessed I could spend the night. Anything would be better than freezing.
Don’t get any ideas, Addalee. Their sister died getting a demon out of her. You will, too. Don’t start thinking how sweet Mary is fine now and untouchable, and you could be too… But you won’t. You’ll die. Badly.
I didn’t doubt her words. It seemed pretty likely she would be right. I’d die badly.
“Do you have a coat?” Mary asked. “Never mind. Since I didn’t have one when I lived in a tent, I can assume. I’ll get you a coat.”
I watched her leave the room, questions bubbling inside of me and out of my mouth before I could even think about not saying them. “Did you throw her out? Is that why she had to live in a tent?”
“No.”He shook his head fast. “This is as much her house as mine. I’d never throw her out, even if I could. She wasn’t living here at the time, just me. Mary was married before. Her wife threw her out. When I found out what happened, it was months later. I was away at law school in another state, then I basically got shoved out of my sisters’ lives when they got possessed, so I came back and found them. I brought them home.”
My heart seemed to calm somewhat—which made me realize it had been racing. Wow. Who knew? Maybe I cared more about being kicked out than I realized.
On second thought, no, I didn’t. The time when it mattered had long since passed.
Willow stared at me for a long moment. “Then I met and fell in love with Mary. Honestly, I couldn’t help myself—she’s just the best person you’ll ever meet. I agreed to move in with her. Since the siblings have stuck together after the loss of their parents, Cruise has been stuck with me, too.”
He grinned at her. “Totally stuck. I mean, how do I make it through a night with you, Willow? It’s not like you’re walking around taking care of both of us and showing us what a good relationship with a good person should be?”
Cruise teased her like he had every right to. They really were family.
