The next day Theo woke later than usual. The sun was high in the sky and his clock read 10:23 am.
He took a moment to rub his eyes and stare off into space. He wanted to go back to sleep, but he hated messing up his sleep schedule.
And so he stood—stretching his sore back—and went to make his coffee.
He made his way from his bedroom to the kitchen, and had yet to see Val. He wasn't too concerned, of course, because there wasn't much space between the two rooms.
He slowly made his coffee and, as he was waiting for his mug to fill with it, laid his head back on one of the cabinets.
He let his eyes shut. If it weren't for the fact he was standing up he would've seemed asleep. He completely dozed off, there wasn't a thought left in his mind.
"Look who decided to wake up" a smug voice spoke from only a few feet away.
Theo flinched more than he would like to admit. He had forgotten he wasn't alone in the house anymore after living by himself for all his adult years.
He opened his eyes to look back at the demon who was leaning on his cabinets and smiling in a cocky way that honestly irritated Theo just a bit.
"Didn't your parents teach you to knock" Theo scoffed.
Val furrowed his eyebrows and his eyes formed a look of what seemed to be irritated, maybe even a bit sad. He let his crossed arms fall to his side and took a deep breath before letting his face return to normal.
"You went to bed pretty early, why're you waking up so late?" He mocked, changing the subject.
Theo couldn't say he didn't notice Val's change in demeanor, but he tried his best to ignore it.
"Why do you know when I went to bed?" Theo asked before yawning quietly and grabbing his coffee.
"I went into your room" Val said casually, seeming to see nothing wrong with his statement or actions.
Theo simply sighed, not willing to argue with the demon.
"So?" Val spoke again.
Theo raised an eyebrow at him. "So?" He echoed.
"So.. why were you sleeping for so long?" Val finally emphasized.
Theo set his mug down and flashed the demon a look. "I don't know, I just did"
Val didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but stayed quiet.
Theo continued to sip at his coffee. He couldn't say he was really bothered by the demon's presence. He certainly wasn't scared like he had been before.
Matter of fact, he had grown used to the demons scary appearance. His gray skin, black eyes, and tall stature didn't catch him so off guard anymore.
"I saw a creature earlier, outside the window. I wanted to know if you know what it is" Val spoke again.
Theo nodded, taking another sip.
"It was small, but not small like birds" he announced, his voice carrying a tad more enthusiasm than it usually did.
He held his hands out and tried to show the size of whatever creature he was talking about with them, each hand being just less than a foot apart.
Theo nodded slowly, a list of animals it could be running through his head.
"It was brown and it had a few white spots" Val smiled a bit and looked at Theo impatiently.
"Val, there are lots of animals that could be" he sighed, finishing his drink and tossing the mug into the sink.
The demon looked up in thought, racking his brain for any other features.
"Did it have wings?" Theo groaned, yawning once more.
He knew the demon wasn't used to animals like the ones on earth, but he couldn't bring himself to meet his excitement over everyday animals.
"No, it had four legs and a short snout" Val tried his best to accurately describe it. "And these long ears that reached back below its neck"
Theo almost laughed.
"A rabbit?"
Val shrugged. "I'm not sure, I don't know much about earthly creatures"
Theo actually did laugh a bit this time.
"If it had long ears I imagine it was a rabbit" he clarified, finally leaning off the kitchen counter and making his way to his office.
Val followed close behind him.
"Val?" Theo asked with furrowed brows.
He sat in a chair—the only chair in the room— and scooted closer to the table.
"Hm?" The demon hummed, looking at the many books on a bookshelf rather than back at Theo.
The priest sighed, grabbing his Bible and notebook and opening them each up.
"Is there a reason you're following me around?" He spoke with a not quiet nice but not quite rude tone.
Val pulled his eyes off the books and looked back at Theo. His expression was mostly blank, not much emotion shown at all.
"What else do you want me to do? I think the human world is interesting but I can't stare out a window forever" he mocked.
Theo let out a huff of air, turning to the page he needed in his Bible.
"Pick out a book if you'd like. I have to write the sermon for Sunday though, so try to be quiet" he sighed one last time.
Val grabbed a book without even looking at it and walked out of the room. As soon as Theo's relief set in, however, the demon came back carrying a kitchen chair.
He set it down at the opposite end of Theo's world table and began to read, not sparing Theo another glance.
Great. He thought.
He tried to write his sermon, but it felt like every time the demon would shift in his chair or turn a page in the book he was reading he would completely stay out of his concentration to focus on Val.
He made progress in his writing, more than he had been recently. And yet it was sloppy and felt almost unfinished.
Val eventually got up, placed his book back on the shelf, and made his way off to some other part of the house to do who knows what.
That didn't help Theo focus though. His thought process was gone and wouldn't come back anytime soon.
Great he thought once again.
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YOU ARE READING
Crossed (BxB)
RomanceA 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...
