Demonspawn (22 page)

The red glow of the demon world faded away. I
was back in the church with the moonlight pouring in from where
windows used to be. No ghosts, no demons. Even the cold chill was
gone. I started to process what just happened. My confidence and
strength were gone once again. The sight of blood and body parts
flashed through my mind. Mark's last words, basically condemning me
for stealing his power. Nausea washed over me. I leaned on a broken
bench.

Cindy was near the sacrificial table with her
back to me. She ran a hand along it. “Jesus, this place is
creepy.”

“Yeah. Tell me about it.”

She jumped and turned around. “Alex?”

“Yeah.”

She saw I wasn't doing good. She was at my
side in a second. She put a hand on my chest to help me keep
balance.

“What's wrong?”

“I'm fine. Just a little dizzy.”

“Don't sneak up on people like that.”

She backed away to give me some space. The
nausea left and I started feeling alright.

I wanted to go home. There were still
questions. How did I have the demons' power? What else could I do?
But I was done. No more questions. No more digging into my past.
I'd already regretted nearly everything I'd learned. I wanted to go
home, go out on the weekends with my friends, hang out with my
sister and best friend, load a few trucks at work. No more demons.
No more spirits.

“Look, I'm sorry I got mad at you earlier,”
she said. “I just...didn't want to watch that tape again. I
wandered around town, got something to eat. I saw this church and
thought maybe this was the place, you know?”

“You're right. This is it.”

“You want to look around?”

“No. You were right, Cindy. We should have
left. There's nothing for me here. I'm done asking questions.”

She nodded. “Okay. I'll drive home this
time.”

I helped her back over the fence and we went
straight back to the hotel. We packed and left. I almost left the
tape in the VCR, but decided to take it with us. I was quiet the
first hour of the drive back, just reflecting on everything.

A human with the powers of a demon, who could
cross between three worlds. Nice. What the hell did that mean for
the future? How would I tell my future wife that? Of course, that
would assume I'd ever date again. Between having a crush on Cindy
and feeling like a freak, how would I ever date anyone? How would I
live a normal life, ever?

Then there was Mark and Sarah Fuller. I hated
them so much, but I made the demons let them go. I started to
regret that on the drive home, and I felt guilty for it. I hoped
that meant I was still mostly human.

There's a lot of problems
twenty-three-year-olds have. Worrying about that old car. Trying to
get that new girlfriend. Trying to find a direction for a career. I
was worried about my demonic powers.

Still, our little trip put one thing into
focus. My
real
family.

We crossed the Maryland state line when I
turned to Cindy.

“Hey, where's your phone at?”

“My purse. Behind the seat. Maybe you should
get your own cell phone.”

“But then I'd have no use for you.”

“Funny.”

Alicia answered the house phone after a few
rings. I felt bad, her being alone at the house without her big
brother an apartment away. That feeling went away when I heard
music and voices in the background.

“Cindy?” she said, obviously reading the
caller ID.

“Try again.”

“Shit. Hey Michelle! Turn that music down!
How you doing, big brother?”

I smiled. “You wouldn't be having a party,
would you?”

“On a school night? Please. Just a few
friends over.”

“Alright. I won't tell Mom. Cindy and I are
heading home now. Just wanted to check in, tell you I love you, all
that corny family crap.”

“I love you too, Alex.”

A voice in the background. “Aw! She loves her
brother!”

Then another. “I love him too! Have you
seen
Leese's older brother?”

Alicia was mad. “Hey, would you two shut
up?”

I laughed. “Go do your thing. Stop by
tomorrow for dinner.”

“Cool. Say hi to Cindy for me.”

I hung up and dialed another number.

“Hello?” Mom sounded exhausted. It was close
to eleven o'clock on the west coast.

“Mom. How you doing?”

“Alex? Hi.” She sounded tense, a little
afraid.

“Cindy and I are driving back now. We'll be
home tonight. Just wanted to call and let you know everything's
cool.”

“Glad to hear it. Honey, I'm so sorry I
didn't tell you everything earlier.”

“You got nothing to be sorry about. I love
you. I'm so glad you're my Mom.”

There was a pause followed by a sniffle. “I
wasn't there for you growing up. I was either in school or working.
You practically raised Alicia while growing up yourself.”

“Mom. I'm who I am because of you. Alicia and
I are lucky. Don't ever forget that. I love you.”

“I love you too.” We were quiet a moment.
Afraid to admit I almost felt a tear coming on. I held it in. “Okay
dear. I think I'd better go. I'm having dinner with a client, and I
don't think it's too smart if I start crying.”

I laughed. “No problem, Mom. I'll call
tomorrow.”

I put Cindy's phone away. She was looking at
me.

“What? What's up?”

She smiled. “You're gonna have me calling
my
folks soon.”

“Nothing like seeing your biological parents
try to kill you to make you realize there's worse things than your
sister waking you up in the middle of the night cause of bad
dreams.”

“Yeah, true.”

“I couldn't have done this without you,
Cindy. Thanks for coming with me.”

She looked surprised, then embarrassed. “You
know I'd do anything I can for you, Alex.”

“Same here.”

“Great. Can we have sex now?”

I laughed. If only. “I probably couldn't
handle you.”

“Nah. We'd do fine.”

I looked at her. Weird thing to say.
Obviously she was kidding, but those jokes definitely put pictures
in my head.

I was saved from having sexual thoughts of my
best friend by a roadside restaurant. We grabbed a quick dinner
before heading back home. It was late when we pulled up in front of
the apartment building. We grabbed our bags and stood in front of
our doors. I was still wide awake, but Cindy looked tired.

“You going to sleep?” I asked.

“Yeah. I'm beat. But I got a few more days
off. I'll stop by tomorrow morning when I wake up.”

I smiled. Things were already feeling normal
again. “Cool. See you tomorrow.”

It felt great to stand in my own living room.
Just a few hours ago I'd seen things I'm pretty sure no person had
ever seen, nor
should
. Blood-filled churches, a world just
outside our own, spirits being tormented for decades. But standing
in my own quiet apartment, I felt I could at least try to put some
of that behind me.

I did feel overwhelmed as I turned on the TV
and poured a glass of tea. How was I supposed to deal with
something this big? When I finally got over my little crush on
Cindy, how would I tell the next person I had feelings for that I
had a little bit of demon in me? Would anyone be able to accept
me?

I sighed as I crashed on the couch. I tried
not to worry about it too much. One thing at a time. Right now my
biggest priority was trying to enjoy the rest of my days off.

It was around midnight when I finally passed
out on the couch.

I wouldn't get much sleep.

*****

I awoke in the middle the night in a cold
sweat. The TV was still on. I sat up quickly, a little
too
quickly. Dizziness took over and I came very close to throwing up
all over the carpet. I had a quick mental flash of a bathroom that
wasn't my own. I recognized it right away as Cindy's. Then I saw
another flash of Cindy on one knee in front of her toilet.

I wasn't sick. She was.

I slowly stood up and took a deep breath. I
was fine once again. That definitely wasn't fun.

I left my apartment and knocked quietly on
Cindy's door. It was unlocked, like usual. I poked my head in.

“Hey, Cindy!” I whispered. “You in here?”

Her apartment was completely dark except for
the open bathroom. The light spilled into the hallway. I heard a
sound that I'd heard many times, the sound of someone leaning over
a toilet. It lasted a few seconds, followed by Cindy's weak
voice.

“Alex? Get out of here, please.”

Like a good, stubborn friend, I didn't
listen. I softly shut the door behind me and walked down the hall.
I peered in the bathroom to see Cindy on all fours, wearing her
pajamas. Thankfully I couldn't see any details of what she was
putting in the toilet, or I might have joined her. The sound was
bad enough.

She got done another round and turned to look
at me. She looked terrible. Her face was almost green and dripping
with sweat. Her eyes were half closed and puffy from
exhaustion.

“Come on, Alex. Leave. This is
embarrassing.”

Cindy's hair only went a little past her
shoulders. But it was still long enough to cause some issues when
throwing up in a toilet. I sat on the edge of the bathtub and held
her hair back. I was just in time as she gripped the sides and went
one more time. I had to look away. Funny thought. I got done seeing
blood and guts not too long ago, and came out of that fine. But I
could barely handle my friend throwing up.

“Goddamn restaurant food.” She collapsed next
to the toilet. “Last time I stop at a place I've never been
to.”

I felt bad for her.

“What the hell are you doing up?” she
asked.

“I wasn't. I sensed you were sick.”

She managed a smile. “Let me get this
straight. I get sick, and you sense it?”

“Yup.”

“Damn. You must be in love with me.”

Her eyes grew big and she leaned in the
toilet once again.

She was right. That's when I first realized
it. It wasn't a simple crush I had on Cindy. It wouldn't go away.
It wasn't just a matter of Cindy being gorgeous. She was the one I
wanted to be with. As I sat there on the tub next to her, holding
her hair back while she puked, with her looking the worst she's
ever looked, I realized I was in love with her.

Wonderful. As if I didn't have enough to keep
me up at night.

“Shit,” I complained.

“Huh? What's wrong?”

“Nothing. How you feeling?”

“Like shit.”

I tried to grab her under the arms. She
forced me away. “I can get up by myself.”

I backed up with a smirk on my face. My
Cindy, always strong and stubborn. As she stood up, I saw her knees
shake a little. I caught her before she could fall.

“I'm dizzy.”

“I can see.”

I scooped her up in my arms.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Come on, Wonder Woman. Let's get you in bed
before you pass out in the bathroom. Then I'd have to take pictures
and put them on the Internet.”

She smiled and wrapped her arms around my
neck. “I should get sick more often. A free lift is always
nice.”

I was a step away from her bedroom when she
stopped me. “Uh, can't go in there. I, uh, threw up on the
bed.”

“Nice, Cindy.”

I carried her to the couch and gently lowered
her down. She threw an arm over her head and closed her eyes. It
took me a few minutes to get her settled in. I grabbed a spare
blanket and pillow from the closet, and the trashcan from the
kitchen, in case she had just a little more in her. I took her
blankets off the bed and put them in the washer right next to our
apartments. When I finally got done, I thought she had fallen
asleep. I carefully took off her slippers and tucked her in. I
turned the bathroom light off and was nearly to the front door when
she talked to me.

“Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“Stay here. Keep a sick woman company.”

I sat in the chair across from the couch. She
had the most comfortable chair in the world. I settled in and
leaned my head back.

I had no idea how I was gonna deal with my
feelings for her.

“Remember Steven? Freshman year of college?”
she asked me out of nowhere.

I did. An ex-boyfriend of hers. Asshole.
Cindy fell head over heels for him. It wasn't her fault. He hid his
nasty personality pretty well in the beginning.

“Yup. You miss him, don't you?”

“Ha. Please. Remember when I got the flu? His
idea of taking care of me was trying to have sex.”

“Yeah I remember. When Alicia found out I
thought she was gonna kill him.”

“Yeah. It's sad, isn't it? You take better
care of me than any boyfriend I've ever had.”

I could hear the sadness in her voice. It
wasn't like her to reflect back on old boyfriends. I guess being
sick brings out that crap. Despite how I felt about her, I had to
make her feel better.

“Don't worry, Cindy. You'll find that guy who
drives you crazy.”

She was quiet for a second. “I hope you're
right.”

“I'm always right.”

“At least I always have you as my whitest
friend. That's depressing,” she joked.

Friends. That's what we were. I had to repeat
that to myself over and over to get it through my thick head. I was
mad at myself for that little stunt I pulled, carrying her to the
couch. That wasn't what friends did. That's what guys did when they
were looking for any kind of excuse to touch someone they had the
hots for.

I had to stop that sort of thing.

“Goodnight, sickie.”

“Night, Alex.”

I had a few relaxing days off till the
weekend. I spent most of it with Alicia and Cindy, and some time
alone relaxing in the apartment. I did surprisingly well with
Cindy. I was determined not to let my feelings for her rule me. I
shoved them deep down. If I could control all the other crazy
things I could do, I could control my feelings as well.