My friend, Demise

Chapter 32

"Eat." Demise's father glared at me as I kept a close eye on my food. I refused to eat his cooking, terrified that he'd poison me. Even if I did eat it, I threw it up immediately afterwards.

"You haven't been eating either?" Denise asked me. "But you liked the lunch food."

"Azriel." His dad stood up and pulled a box of cigarettes out of his pocket. "Come outside, we need to talk."

"Yeah ok." I followed him out to the front porch, where he grabbed my jaw so tight that I thought he'd break it.

"Get your shit together. I'd hate to take your behavior out on my own son."

"I'm just...scared."

"If you're so scared then you should do what I tell you. Act like everything is fine, maybe even smile a little."

"I don't think I can."

"Then I don't think I can spare you."

"I'll be okay, even if you do kill me." I looked down. "Just leave everyone else out of it."

"Maybe I will of you behave." He let go of me, letting me run my jaw to ease the pain a bit as he began to sign to me. 'Now go eat.'

"I have to ask." I stared intensely at his hands. "Why did you attack me? It's a risky move."

'You're a witness.'

"I didn't see it, I heard it."

I felt someone grab my arm and pull me away, feeling the vibrations of a familiar voice against my back once I was inside the house. "Demise, I don't know what you're saying."

He stepped in front of me and pointed to his lips. "You don't have your gun."

"Oh! That's right, I left it in the basement." I pulled my arm from him. "I'll go get it."

He grabbed my arm again, tighter this time. "That's where you were when you lost your hearing, right?"

"Uh...yeah."

"My dad was down there at that time, wasn't he? His car was in the driveway but I didn't see him anywhere else in the house."

"He wasn't there." I responded too fast, which made him soften the look of worry in his eyes. The emotion boiled into confusion as he looked at my hands. "I was alone so-"

"That can't be right. You two are acting like you're hiding something but...." he looked back up to my eyes, a nervous smile across his mouth. "He wouldn't do that, right?"

"He didn't."

"You can't hold eye contact."

"I have to look at your mouth to know what you're saying so-"

"Azriel, don't lie for my sake. Was my dad the one who did it or not?"

I locked eyes with him to try and prove I was being honest. "No."

He sighed and let go of me. "Thank god...I thought I was gonna cry if you said yes."

"I'll go grab your gun, okay?"

"Alright. Just be careful, if your not back soon I'll go get you."

The basement seemed colder once I entered this time, the walls in that room wiped down so well that you would have never guessed someone was hurt in there.

I grabbed his gun from the floor and sat down for a moment, sighing. I can't tell him the truth.

The room gives off an eerie vibe, so I stand up and head to the door. I stopped at the handle, finding a gold necklace hanging from it.

This must belong to that woman he killed.  I pulled it from the handle and weaved the chain between my fingers, unlatching the locket at the bottom. Inside was a photo of my parents and I, which made me a little confused. I've never seen this necklace before, but I'm in it.

I decided not to worry about it yet due to already being stressed enough with the situations I just went back to the Demise's bedroom.

"Azriel!" Demise was thrown to the wolves at a young age, born into the wrong family at the wrong time. I bet if he hadn't been born into that family, none of this would have happened. If he had just been born elsewhere, he would be okay. "Did you find it?"

"Yeah."

"Caine's coming to pick us up, said he had something important to talk about."

"I don't see how you two made up after you shot him."

"You wouldn't get it."

Caine's house was as clean as ever, apart from the stray dog hair he plucked from the couch and dropped into the trash. "You two can sit down. This will take some explaining."

"Yes sir!" Demise grabbed my arm and happily sat down in the couch, pulling me down with him as Caine turned bright red.

"Don't call me that, it makes me uncomfortable."

"Okay then, Mr. Sephtis....tell me what you're so worked up about."

He coughed into his fist and composed himself, sitting down across from us. "Your dad is the one that took his hearing" He signed along with his words for me.

"I- what?"

"Hey! We agreed not to tell him!"

"I said I would hold off as long as possible, I didn't say I wouldn't tell him. It's important that he knows that."

"No it's not!" Amidst our arguing, I turned to look at Demise. He was staring forward with wide eyes, his skin a chilling shade of white as I practically watched the world around him glitching out of his view. "Ah...Demise?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick." He held a hand over his mouth and ran to the bathroom. We both stayed in place. Caine frowned.

'He's puking.'