His Guardian Demon

Chapter Eleven

I froze. Answering his questions was going to be tricky, especially since I didn't want him to know what I do or what I am.

"Yeah, I was," I finally answered, knowing that if I took too long to answer Winnie would be suspicious.

Winnie nodded and looked down at his interlocked hands resting between his knees. I sat next to him and mimicked his actions. I could feel him suddenly shift his attention to me. I tried not to squirm under his intense multi-colored gaze.

Winnie looked back down at his hands and timidly opened his mouth. "If you ever need to, uh, talk, I'm here."

"What?!" I whipped my head around to face him. "What do you mean?" That was the last thing I was expecting him to say.

Winnie looked back at me with wide eyes and pushed his glasses up on his nose trying to hide the blush overtaking his face. "We-well you were on the bridge, an-and you looked really sad!"

I stared at him, eventually putting my head in my hands as I realized what he was implying. "Winnie, I'm not suicidal. I'm fine, okay?"

"Then why were you sitting so close to the edge?! You could have fallen off very easily!!" Winnie responded, cheeks still tinged slightly pink.

I shrugged. "I don't know, but it wasn't because I wanted to jump off!" I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him it was because I liked to look at the sunsets as close as possible. That would ruin my image!

Winnie sighed, out of relief or something else, I wasn't sure, and said, "Okay. Um, what was the explosion?"

"What explosion?" I asked. Better to play dumb than try and explain something I had no idea how to explain.

Winnie shook his head after a moment. "No, nevermind. It must have just been a dream."

I stood up awkwardly and closed the bathroom door, walking into the living room where Domi was watching Spongebob. A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Hey, Domi?"

"Yeah?" 

"How can we fix the problem if we have no clue how it started?"

Domi froze and paused Spongebob, a sign this was very serious. Domi never, and I mean never paused Spongebob. For anything. "Maybe you should start by reading up on the history of it and then see if you can piece something together then." 

"Read up on what?" 

I whipped around and mentally screamed at myself for being so careless. I didn't even hear the bathroom door close or Winnie's footsteps. "Who the first person to discover DNA was and how it works," I answered without missing a beat. I was suddenly thankful I lied so much. It made it easier to lie in times of need, like now.

Winnie's mouth made a silent 'o' before he shuffled in place and looked at his phone. I frowned and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Um, my phone is dead."

Domi turned around to face him and said, "I have a charger you could borrow if you want." 

Winnie nodded and followed Domi upstairs. After a moment, I followed too.

"―followed me home one day. We've had her for a long time," Domi said as he plugged the charger in the wall and placed Winnie's phone on the bedside table. I leaned against his doorframe and listened to their conversation.

"Why did you decide to name her Storm?" Winnie asked as he ran his hand through the mound of fur around her head.

"It was raining that day when we found her."

Winnie nodded and began to pet Storm fervently. Storm began to kick her leg and pant. When Winnie slowed down, she got up and licked his face once before running past me. Winnie watched her and jumped slightly when he saw me standing there. 

Pink dusted his cheeks as he got up and followed Domi out the door. I grabbed his arm before he could get too far away and pulled him closer. I heard his breathing hitch in his throat as I leaned down next to his ear. "Dad will talk your ear off if given the chance. If you need me to save you, just say the word and I'll be right there," I let go of his arm once I finished and leaned back.

Winnie had his eyes closed behind his black glasses. His face was flushed and his breathing was shallow. My back itched, wings threating to come out at the sight.

Winnie blinked his eyes open and nodded. He hurried down the stairs. I ducked into the bathroom in the hall and locked the door. I stared into my reflection as I tried to get my breathing under control. Freaking out was only going to make my wings pop out of my shirt. 

Why was my breathing so heavy in the first place?

I turned on the faucet and splashed some water in my face. My wings settled down against my back again. I sighed and left the bathroom.

I walked into the living room and silently sat down in the chair. Storm jumped up beside me. I rolled my eyes and began to slowly drag my hand through her fur as I listened to Winnie answer Domi's questions.

"So Winnie, how long have you lived here? What grade are you in? Favorite color? Plans for the future?" Domi rattled off quickly.

"Give him a chance to answer, Dad," I said as I glanced at Winnie's bewildered face.

Winnie let out a weak chuckle before he cleared his throat and began to answer Domi's questions. "All my life, really. My parents bought a house here when I was two. I'm a 17 and a senior, my favorite color is pink, and I want to be a veterinarian."

Domi nodded and looked at the digital clock on the TV stand. "It's getting kind of late, do you want to have dinner with us?" Domi asked as he looked at Winnie.

Winnie shook his head. "Thanks, but my parents are probably worried about me. I should get going. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Monrico," Winnie said as he extended his hand to Domi.

Domi stood up and pulled Winnie into a hug. "Please, call me Domi." 

Winnie seemed surprised before he slowly wrapped his arms around Domi. Domi let him go and walked to the kitchen. I turned to Winnie as I picked up my keys. "I guess I'm taking you home. Don't forget your phone," I reminded him as he started to walk out the door. 

As Winnie rushed back upstairs, I hurried to the kitchen and asked Domi a question. "Hey, when you touched Winnie, did it burn?"

"No, why?"

I heard Winnie coming back downstairs and said, "Just wondering."

Winnie had asked me to drop him off three blocks away from his house. It was a strange request, but quickly understood when I felt the presence of another spirit. It made me want to gag at how nice he was being, but I repressed the feeling. 

Instead, I gagged at how nice I was being. Why would I try to help him when just being around him made me feel uncomfortable? Why did I care so much about him? Why would I voluntarily touch him when whenever I touch him, I get burned? I had no idea if he felt it, but I sure did!

Well, for some reason, the burning stopped. And his presence isn't so bad anymore. I can hardly feel it, if at all.

I ignored the fact I didn't answer one of those questions.

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OKAY this was chapter 11! I hope you enjoyed! If you did, why not share the story or tell me what you think? All feedback is welcome as long as it's constructive! Until next time!