Purification Withdrawal (DANIEL X OC)

Chapter 2: Fear On Both Ends

Bailey was awoken by a particularly loud sneeze. A sneeze that had startled Lily enough to lead her to lift her head and bark in alarm. Bailey's heart was beating a mile a minute.
Her drowsy mind screamed.

Oh God, a burglar has broken into my home and now they're stealing my pepper. This is how I die.

She blinked away her irrational panic. Oh. She had forgotten that she wasn't the only human in the house. Also she didn't have any pepper. There was a second sneeze, oddly sounding a bit more frightened. Bailey shot out of bed and slipped on her cozy white slippers and made her way out of the room and down the hall to the guest bedroom. She turned the knob quietly and opened the door slowly, peeking through the crack.

Daniel gritted his teeth and sneezed into his shoulder once more, groaning to himself. He had no clue what was happening. Where was he? Why did everything hurt so badly? Why was his head so clouded? Why was he cuffed to a bed?
Cuffed to a bed?!
He seemed to wake up a bit more at this certain realization, as if the violent sneezing hadn't already done the trick. He narrowed his eyebrows as he pulled at the cuffs.
"Wha-?" He mumbled. He started looking around the room, seeming rather frantic. He caught an eye peeking at him through a crack in the door and he gasped. It looked red. It looked demonic. It looked scary.

Oh God, I've been kidnapped by a demon. They weren't bluffing when they said they'd send me to hell!

Bailey gasped and shut the door quickly when he laid eyes on her. Great, it looks like she made him panic already. She'd better fix that. She took a deep breath and re-opened the door slowly.

"Uh..." She started.

Wow, she planned on talking normally to this man. What happened? Where did all of the coherent sentences she repeated in her mind again and again go? Probably chased away by fear. Scared off by actually looking the man in the eyes.

"Hello...there..." She forced out.

Daniel looked the woman up and down, frozen in place. He raised an eyebrow as he scanned her, trying to pinpoint what exactly she was. She didn't look like any of the distorted demons he'd read warnings about. Her eyes weren't as red as he thought, more of a crimson brown. She was petit and freckly, nothing like an intimidating monster or enchanting succubus. He was also sure that no demon would wear a cross around their neck. She looked tired. She looked very, very human. Slight relief washed over him, although not complete. He still had to deal with processing the fact that this small, anxious looking girl had shackled him to a bedpost.

"...Hello." He went along with the odd attempt at conversation.

Bailey clicked her tongue.

"Um... So I suppose you want an explanation?"

"That would be nice, yes."

Bailey inhaled sharply.

"Okay. So, my name is Bailey. I found you on the side of the road on my way home. You were tied up and covered in fresh wounds. I didn't know if I should call 911 because the nearest police stations are far away, and the hospitals are much, much farther. I-I didn't know how long you had, so I took you here and patched you up."

She spoke quickly, stumbling and gasping on her words. She couldn't look him in the eye. She was scared.

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you, Bailey!" Daniel grinned widely, his fake, almost sarcastic voice of gratitude showing through. This is how he trained himself to act. It was inviting to most people.

"However, uhh..." he looked to the cuffs and struggled a bit.

"What are these for? Don't want me running off?" He joked, chuckling a bit nervously.