The room was already bright when Theo woke up, squinting at the sunlight that beamed in through the window.
He began to stretch and blinked a few times, trying to make himself feel more awake.
"There is a demon in your congregation" a deep voice suddenly spoke, talking quietly from the door.
Theo sucked in a breath sharply, his eyes darting to the door and a shot of pain going through his neck from how quickly it moved.
"I know you're close with them, so it's hard to believe, but it's true" Val spoke calmly.
He was stood at Theo's bedroom door, leaving casually on the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.
It took Theo a few seconds before he could speak, allowing his heart a moment to calm down.
"Right" he groaned, getting off the bed stiffly.
He didn't have the energy to argue. He wasn't even sure if he was in the right anymore.
Theo walked past Val and made his way into the kitchen. He never was a morning person, and his exhaustion dulled all the fear and worry he had around the demon.
It wasn't until he had started making his coffee and started cooking himself some eggs that he really acknowledged the demon who had followed him into the kitchen and had been watching him as he made his breakfast.
"What do you eat?" He asked, yawning at the end of his question.
Val gave him a curious look.
"For food. What do demons eat?" Theo emphasized.
The demon peeked over at the eggs in the pan.
"Not that" he mumbled in disgust.
Theo glanced back at his food, searching for a problem with it and finding none.
"I've got toast in there, and bacon. Probably some other stuff but I'm not too sure" he gestured to his fridge and pantry which sat side by side on the far wall of the kitchen.
Val furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Theo suspiciously.
"I've never heard of those things" he said in an undertone.
Theo almost began explaining it, but sighed before any words got out. Instead he made his way to the fridge and then to the pantry.
"This is bacon," he set it on the table, "from pigs, do you know what pigs are?"
Val grimaced. He glared at the bacon like it was his enemy before bending down slightly to smell it.
"They're an animal, yes?" He finally responded, his voice coaxed in disgust and what seemed to be judgement.
Theo nodded, but was interrupted before he could speak.
"That's horrendous" Val hissed, "I had read about humans eating meat but I wanted to believe it wasn't true"
Theo stuttered for a moment, at a loss for words. In his mind it was just.. food. A common food, at that. Nothing was odd or gross about it.
"Demons tend to only eat fruits and vegetables. There are few species in Hell and no demon would ever consider eating them" his finger poked at the plastic surrounding the bacon.
"Right" Theo murmured, not even trying to hide the annoyance in his voice.
He returned to the fridge and all he could do was hope he had something the demon would eat.
"There's.. broccoli" he sighed, having few things that were appealing, even less that didn't have meat, and even less that were acceptable for breakfast.
"That is a common vegetable here, right?" Val asked, joining Theo by the fridge.
They hummed, a yawn following short after.
"I suppose.. it couldn't be too bad" Val glanced at Theo, "right?"
Theo hummed, nodding slightly before pulling the broccoli out and laying it on the counter before returning to his eggs that were nearly burnt.
"You can eat them as they are or steam them" he gestured to the broccoli and began sipping on his coffee.
Val looked suspicious, but lifted the bag a pulled out a piece anyways. He looked at Theo and waited for some kind of assurance. When Theo nodded Val slowly took a bite.
He chewed, looking unsure and honestly as if he didn't like it. However, he still reached back for another piece. Theo cringed a bit at the demon eating raw and ranch-less broccoli, but didn't say anything. The demon would just be more perplexed by ranch anyways.
Eventually the two settled down at the table, Theo with his eggs and coffee and Val with his broccoli and water.
Theo couldn't help but glance back at the demon. He still hadn't quite managed to see him as a living being with normal thoughts and emotions as well as the same needs as a human, despite all the proof he had been given.
Watching him eat made Val seem almost vulnerable, once again forcing Theo to see how.. normal he was. Nonetheless Theo just sighed and looked away, ignoring how conflicted he felt.
After taking his last bite of eggs and his last sip of coffee Theo stood up quickly, avoiding eye contact with Val.
"I've got to go write a sermon for Sunday" he spoke lowly, "feel free to look out the window or whatever else you do"
He realized how rude he came off, but wasted no more time in that room.
When he got to his office he picked up his Bible, but couldn't get himself to really focus on making a sermon.
Not with the book, Heaven, Hell, and-, sitting just on the other side of the table.
His eyes kept being attracted to it like a magnet and, though he knew that shouldn't be his focus at the moment, he couldn't help but get fixated on it.
He had tried studying it time and time again, but found nothing. Not a single coherent word or any signs of it being a puzzle or even being in another language.
When he ran into numerous dead ends he tried to get back to writing his sermon, but failed once again.
It took no longer than ten minutes for Theo to give up completely and decide he would do something else productive, like go grocery shopping.
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Filler chapter!!
Writers block is hitting me SO HARD
YOU ARE READING
Crossed (BxB)
Storie d'amoreA priest at a small church accidentally summons a demon into his home. Now he has problems lining up- from being conflicted with the demon to being told a member of his own church could be just as bad. He goes down a spiraling path of trust and dist...
