My demons (book 1)

Stranger in my own home

After a few days on a road they finally reached Aisha's old home. The worn fences and gloomy facades greeted me as if she had never left but she felt no connection to them anymore.

"I had never felt more like a stranger in my own home before," she said quietly, breaking the silence for the first time in a few hours, making Claire hum sympathetically, eyes still fixed on the road. "We will be fast, I promise. I need to see my Lucius and have a meeting with a client. It's only going to take a couple of hours."

"Knowing Lucas he had already left the town," Aisha remarked. "I'll be honest, I think he likes chaos too much to leave at the minute," Claire laughed, shaking her head lightly. "Would you be so kind and reach out to Alina and let her know we are here? We could use some help."

"Let's see if she lets me," she sighed before closing her eye, focusing on Alina. She wondered why using a phone was not an option Claire considered fitting. Then again, Claire's ways were often questionable at first but always somehow worked in the end.

"Aisha? Is that really you?" Alina answered moments after, pulling Aisha's lips into a soft smile.

"No, it's just my imposter trying to get inside your pants."

"Tell your imposter I'm not interested."

"I'm hurt. I'm great in bed."

"Oh, so that makes your imposter great too?"

"Shut up."

After Alina's laughter died down, Aisha decided to get straight to the point. "Listen, Alina, we are not staying for long but Claire needs to speak to Lucas and some other person so I'd hang with you in the meantime if that's okay. Oh, and if you could tell us where Lucas is, that would be swell."

There was a silence for a few moments before Alina's voice filled up her brain again. "We are all at my place. Would Claire mind if Jay was with Lucas? I really don't think you want to see him and that means he can't know you are here."

She asked the question out loud as Claire pulled over in front of Aisha's old house. "I don't need to see Lucas in person, just tell him to open his mind to me because I really don't want to force him. But I will if I have to," she answered, finally looking facing Aisha who leaned in, stealing a kiss before getting out of the car. "I'll inform Alina."

Still in shock, Claire followed her inside but before she could argue with her about the kiss, Aisha closed her eyes again to call Alina.

"Lucas is waiting," she informed Claire moments later.

"That was too fast," she remarked. "He knew I'll want to speak to him. This can't be good."

"Why?" Aisha asked, confusion tinting her voice.

"Remember the crazy uncle he told you about? The one who killed himself?" Claire asked softly, turning to face her.

"Yes, but he said he didn't tell anyone..."

"Correction; he didn't tell dad. He told me. Now remember how I told you we can't die from suicide?"

"I didn't know your uncle was one of us."

"Neither did any of us. We just assumed he is crazy since, you know; he was killing and torturing women for fun. But I noticed the same killing techniques on many recent bodies so I figured out what happened. I went to find him."

"Is that what you were doing after Caleb died? I mean before I called you? You killed him didn't you?"

"He never stopped killing. I had to stop him and we both know that was the only way."

"Hey, I'm not judging."

"It would be smarter if you go to Alina's place now, I don't want you to witness this. And I have a client to meet anyway."

"I'll let her know I'm on my way so she gets him out of the house. I really don't want to deal with him right now."

"You loved him once. How does that happen?"

"Are you asking for a friend?" Aisha laughed bitterly. "He hurt me badly when he left me. And after that he killed my best friend and never even apologised for it. He didn't even bother showing up to his funeral. That's how it happens."

"I don't want you to stop loving me, silly," she sighed. "Go now, I have a pissed brother to deal with."

She obeyed, leaving the house with a stupid grin plastered on her lips and a new found hope flaring inside her chest. Maybe there was some hope for them after all.