Unrequited

Chapter Four: An Unexpected Sleepover

When I woke up, I found Noah standing over me. He held out a hand, and I took it. He pulled me to my feet, and I stumbled right into him. I blinked several times, and I looked around. Josh and Erick were both gone, and there was a police car out on the street.

"What was that thing?" I asked Noah.

"That was a demon soldier," he replied immediately and without hesitation. "You are so lucky he didn't come to kill you, because he would've overpowered you in a second after your little stunt there. I should've been watching, otherwise it would've been my fault."

"A demon?"

He nodded. "Yes, they are real. I didn't want to bring you into all of this yet, but it's clear you're already involved."

"Involved in what?" I asked weakly.

"It's a long story." Noah scratched his ear nervously.

Funnily enough, I believed every word he was saying. I'd seen that thing with my own two eyes, and there was no way it was something I had seen before. It couldn't have been human, and if demons existed, that was exactly what I would imagine one to look like.

"How come no one has ever seen demons before?" I murmured, my heart racing.

"Any regular human who lays eyes on one will immediately forget it. You, on the other hand-"

"Why do you talk about 'regular' humans like you're not of us?" I questioned hesitantly.

"Because I'm not. And neither are you. You're something else, something special."

"I doubt that," I told him, snorting. I had always been about as normal as anyone could get.

"Believe what you like."

"How do you know all this?"

"I'm supposed to protect you from demon soldiers," he informed me without even blinking.

"How could you protect me from that?" I asked him, confused.

"I'm your guardian," he mumbled.

"My guardian? But what about-"

"Meridian, I'm not talking about a stupid adoption program," he snapped at me. "I'm talking about life and death here. And your destiny."

"Forget that destiny crap!" I suddenly remembered the most important part of what had happened. "Where is Josh? Is he alright?" I cried in panic. Josh had to be okay. If he wasn't...

"He's been taken to hospital, but he's fine. Just a little cut, nothing bad." I pushed past Noah and walked towards the street. I found Josh's car still there, and I instinctively jumped into the driver's seat, but Noah gestured towards the police car right behind me. I slid over to the passenger side, and he got into the car, because - unlike me - he was old enough to drive and actually had a licence.

Noah drove me to the hospital, and we walked inside quickly. I almost ran to the front desk.

"We're looking for Joshua Raven," I burst out. The lady behind the desk narrowed her eyes.

"He's undergoing emergency surgery at the moment. You'll have to wait."

So we waited. Noah and I sat down between an old man and a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. I tried talking to the old man, but he just ignored me, focused too intently on his iPod touch where he was playing a game of Spider Solitaire. I switched spots with Noah, and turned to the young woman instead.

"Hello," I said. "What brings you here?"

She looked up at me nervously. "My husband is having an operation done on his arm. What about you?"