His Guardian Demon

Chapter Eighteen

The drawing has nothing to do with the story, I just thought the picture @Lyralisha described was cute. Sorry the drawing is bad, I hope you can see it though. :)

"Ash, you can't do that! Do you have any idea what will happen if this backfires? You're going to be stuck with him all night, you know."

"I have to try, Domi. I can't live with these anymore! Ever since I got them all they've brought me is discomfort and inconveniences. I have to get rid of them. And if this is the only way, then so be it."

I thought back to my conversation with Domi after school Monday. I swallowed nervously as I waited beside my car for Winnie. He and I had the same class before we could go home, but he had to grab something from his locker. He told me to go ahead and wait by my car.

Today was Friday, and I was going to his house to stay the night. He thought we were going to work on our project, but he had no idea what was about to happen. I just hope―

"Hey, Ash!"

I looked up from the ground and cracked a smile. "Hey. You ready to go?"

Winnie nodded and got in the passenger seat. We drove in silence with the occasional "turn here" and "keep going straight" from Winnie, even though I already knew how to get to his house. Eventually, I drove to a stop by the curb.

The two-story house in front of me was light gray with white trim. It had a small mint garden in front and a white porch with two chairs separated by a small table.

I looked over at Winnie and frowned. He was biting his lip and twisting his fingers. "Are you okay?"

Winnie snapped his head in my direction and nodded. He blew out a breath and started to open the car door. I turned to do the same when I felt a hand clamp down on my upper arm. I turned back around and saw Winnie staring at me through his thick black glasses. He quickly retracted his hand with a blush and started to play with his fingers again. "Um, I feel like I should let you know. My parents can be very...curious. And oblivious. So if they make you uncomfortable, you have to let them know."

I exhaled through my nose and cracked a small smile. "Okay. Is that what's got you so worked up?"

Winnie nodded after a moment's hesitation.

Man, he's this nervous about me meeting his parents? What's the big deal?

We walked up to the door with our things in hand. Winnie glanced at me before placing his hand on the doorknob. Before he could turn it to open the door, it was yanked open to reveal a petite blonde lady. She was wearing a light yellow sweater and jeans to combat the cold. Her hair was pulled into a simple ponytail. Her nails were painted a sky blue. I could see the resemblance. Her eyes were a stormy grey, like her son's left. Not only that, but he inherited her nose shape.

What? Since when do I take notice of things like that? I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts before I glanced down at the small boy in front of me.

Oh, yeah, since I met―

"Winnie! You're home!" The lady (who I presumed to be his mom) said, enveloping his small stature in a bone-crushing hug, holding his head against her chest. I cleared my throat after a few seconds. She looked up at me and her eyes widened. "Winnie, who is this?"

"Th' em Abs," came a muffled reply.

Winnie's mom released his head, and Winnie took a deep breath before repeating, "This is Ash."