I’m falling. Only fractions of a second ago I was in such bliss; and now, I feel like a fighter-plane crash landing to the earth. I can feel a mixture of wood chips and snow beneath me; and as my brain ceases its rattling, I can hear low growls coming from the swing set. My face is still buried in the snow, and it’s pulsating and sore. A dull, aching pain tingles within the cast on my leg. The growling has stopped. My head will only raise itself so far before a serious headache starts to form. I’m only able to get a glimpse of the two men facing off. One of the men is Chase. He’s still in front of the swings, blocking me from the second man, who I am assuming is the one that pushed me off the swing. I’ve never met this man, but he’s somehow recognizable. My head threatens to implode from pressure, and I’m forced to look back down. By the hostility in the air, I’m assuming the two men are still having a faceoff. A shiver runs up my spine, causing me to ignore my headache and look up again. The second man is staring right at me; his smirk is fatal. Chase’s glare soon follows, and almost dares the other man to make a move towards me. A silent argument breaks out between the two men, and finally ends when the second man disappears into thin air. Chase lets out a hot breath and jogs over to my side casually. I’m still on the ground, helpless and confused. My headache has gotten unbearably worse.
“Are you alright?” Chase asks. He doesn’t sound all that worried.
“No, I just took a dive to the frozen ground, I’m fine… What do you think?!” I reply sourly.
“You get kinda feisty when you’re upset, don’t you?” Chase chuckles.
“This is serious. My head’s killing me, and I think I just broke my leg again.” I try to be serious; but the tears forming in my eyes aren’t helping.
“I’m sure you do hurt. You took quite a fall there. Don’t start crying, okay? I can’t handle that.” Chase’s smirk fades.
“Oh? And why can’t a big strong demon handle a few tears?” Why do I feel like I’m not going to get an answer I like?
“Cause they make you look vulnerable, and that’s not good for my prey drive.” His smirk comes back. “Now roll over so I can get a look at you.”
“What?! Hell no, I’m not letting you come anywhere near me!” A moan escapes my mouth as I try to crawl away.
A deep laugh comes from Chase’s chest. Pure amusement is on his face. “Go ahead, try to run away from me. I’d like to see how far you can get. Just try to not sound too injured. I might get the urge to pounce.” The last word rolls off the demon’s tongue in a cat-like way.
I stop dead in my tracks. I really hope this demon is just messing with me.
“Now will you please roll over so I can make sure you’re alright? I promise I won’t bite.” Chase sighs and gets on his knees.
“Fine…” In the past second’s struggle, I only managed to crawl a few inches; this is proof enough that I’m not going to get anywhere without Chase’s help.
Chase helps me roll over to my back and begins rubbing my forehead. The sensation is a mix between an exam and a massage. My headache begins to fade away almost instantly. Without missing a beat, Chase moves down to my leg and begins poking and prodding. He uses significant pressure to feel through the cast, and at times it feels like he’s trying to rip off my leg. The pain becomes too much, and I’m about to yell for the demon to stop. Chase lets go of my leg and stands up as if he could read my mind.
His hand goes to his chin, and he takes a second to think. “It isn’t broken again, but the fall certainly didn’t help the healing process. It’ll just be sore for a little while; nothing to worry about.” He says. “How about we go home? I think you’ve had enough fun for the day.” For the second time today, Chase offers his freakishly long hand toward me.
