Demon: Book 1

Chapter 22: A White Lie

"What's this one about?" Titus held up a case with a superhero on the front.

"A guy who saves a city from a mental clown."

He scrunched up his nose and put it to the side. "Sounds weird."

Rolling my eyes, I knelt beside him. "It's good. Trust me, you'll like it." I put it into the player and grabbed the remotes. After getting everything set up, I retreated to the couch.

Titus joined me. "Humans come up with the weirdest things."

"One day, I'm going to show you a couple of werewolf movies, and you'll see how weird we really are."

He sank into the couch. "That bad, huh? If humans had some basic instincts, none of this would happen."

I laughed. "I doubt that would fix it."

"Hmm..." He slumped lower, clearing pouting. "Can't we do something else?"

"It's not a bad movie. I promise."

My mother walked in with a bowl of popcorn. "Alright, that should hold you over." She set the bowl down and looked between us. "I'll be outside in the garden. Can I trust you to be left unchaperoned?"

"Mom," I groaned. "You can't consider this as being unchaperoned."

"I'm limiting temptations." She went to the window and opened it all the way. "Be good, boys."

Demon came prancing to her from the kitchen. "Come here." She picked up the little dog. "Let's leave the love birds alone."

I scoffed at her remark. The backdoor closed soon after, and I pushed play. My mother talking to Demon could clearly be heard from outside.

Titus folded his arms and glared at the screen. "Yeah, we're really alone."

"Yep," I breathed, rubbing my forehead. "I'm starting to think I should have stayed in the closet."

"Yeah," said Titus. "Me, too."

***

Titus shifted his weight, and I opened my eyes. I scanned the room to see the movie credits.

"Aden?" said a deep voice.

I turned to the entryway to find my father standing there. My chest tightened. I sat up and removed Titus's arm from around my waist.

"Dad." I glanced at the clock on the wall. "You're home early."

He nodded, staring at Titus as my boyfriend scooted to the other side of the couch. "What were you doing?"

"Watching a movie. We must have fallen asleep," I laughed hesitantly.

The back door opened, and my mother appeared, holding Demon.

"Quint, dinner isn't quite ready." She put the dog down and grabbed my father's arm. "Another twenty minutes, so you have time to change."

My father didn't move. "I think it's time for you to go home."

Titus nodded and stood. "I'll see you later, Aden." He slipped past my father to put on his shoes.

No one moved until we heard the front door close and Titus's car start.

"What kind of a relationship do you have with that boy?" said my father firmly.

"We're friends," I replied, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"You're not lying, Aden? You wouldn't hide something from me, right?"

I shook my head. "No. Really, we're just friends."