𝔥𝔬𝔪𝔢 | 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔩𝔢𝔧𝔲𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔩

𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫

"Are you really crying again?" Betelgeuse looked down at me.
I just ignored him and slowly looked around the room, studying everyone's faces.
"I'm sorry," I said finally. "I didn't mean to."
Betelgeuse scrunched his nose at me.
"You're all being very mean. I thought you would be happy to see me." His cold hand on my shoulder made me flinch.

Dad quickly intervened. "Don't touch her," he ordered, but Betelgeuse shrugged off his behest. Subsequently, Dad took measures into his own hands and pushed Betelgeuse against the wall.

I got nauseatingly anxious. "Dad, don't-"

"What was that for?" Betelgeuse's voice rose above mine. "What is wrong with you people? Like, what do I ever do to you? I just wanted to say hi."

"I am going to call the police," Dad said in a gruff tone.
Betelgeuse looked at Dad like he was stupid. "You think I'm scared?"

"Betelgeuse," I called, "get over here."
He nodded like a polite child and followed my instruction.
"Say you're sorry," I whispered.
"Why would I—"
"Say it. Say you're sorry for what you did the first time you were here."
"But I don't want to!" he whined.
"And I don't care!" I replied.

He sighed and relunctantly turned towards my family. He looked back at me quickly and mouthed 'what am I supposed to say?' The look I gave him was enough to make him turn back to them.
"Um," he muttered. "I'm sorry." He looked back at me to see if I approved. "I'm sorry for all the stuff I did and for messing up the bathrooms. I've worked on myself a lot since then."

Everyone just stared at him blankly.
"You're supposed to tell me you forgive me now," Betelgeuse said to fill the silence. I shook my head. Nobody said anything.
"So, I was wondering if I could stay here until I get back on my feet. I'm on the verge of eviction in there," he pointed to the door he came from. "And I could be so good. I can be such a nice boy. Isn't that right, Lydia?" he looked at me with pleading eyes.

I gulped, not knowing who to side with. "That's right." I was scared to say anything other than that.

Dad gazed at me, appalled. "Lydia, are you being serious?"
"Yes," I murmured. I felt insane and stupid.

"Or, I could leave," Betelgeuse suggested. "And Lydia will have to go through the stages of grief again."
"Don't go there." Dad was taking in shaky, enraged breaths.
"Ugh! Don't act like an angel, Chuck," Beej spat. "Lydia told me about how you've all been treating her. I think I take much better care of her, so maybe I could stay here and teach you about Lydia's emotional needs, and once you've learned how to parent a grieving child I'll leave."
Dad had no response.
"You need to leave now," Adam answered for him. It was unusual to hear him being kind of intimidating, but he definitely could do it.
"You keep getting cuter," Betelgeuse effused.
Adam made a sort of gagging noise. "You haven't changed. Get out."

Betelgeuse rolled his eyes and strolled over to me. He bent down to whisper something in my ear.
"Why don't you just come with me?"
"I'm not doing that," I replied immediately.
"It's me or them."
I turned to look at him, my eyes growing wide.
"Don't make me do that." I wasn't really in the right state of mind to make any life-altering decisions.

I approached Dad. "Can he stay? Please?"
"Lydia, only a couple of days with him was torture. No way." I knew he was going to say that, but my heart still sank.

"Lydia!" Betelgeuse sang. "I don't have much time! Can you make a decision?"
"Stop putting me under pressure!" I yelled to him, then turned back to Dad.
"Dad, please? Just for a little while. We could teach him how to be good, and he could stay in the guest room."
"There's no saving him. He's beyond help."
We both looked at Beej, watching as he idly ate his own hair. I fought back laughter.
"He's really not that bad."

For a second Dad looked like he was considering it, but then his face turned to stone again.
"But you said his name already, did you not?"
"Yes, I did. I had to," I admitted.
He sighed. "I am not going to smuggle a demon in my house. And now, since he's not invisible anymore, he could do whatever he wants. It's not the worth the risk."

"Give me a chance," Betelgeuse begged. "I could redeem myself. You have to give me a chance."
"No," Dad answered.
"Delia!" Betelgeuse cried. "Delia, could you tell Mr. Deetz to give me a chance?"
"I'm not doing that," Delia smiled sarcastically.
"Fine!" Betelgeuse huffed. "Then I'm going to take Lydia."
He let that sit for a second, but took it back before chaos ensued. "Just kidding! Lydia, talk to them."