Chapter Six-Latent Demons

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LUC


I SAT AT THE BOTTOM of the stairs when the door opened. My head whipped towards Riley and she stepped out with Chuck cowering behind her. Her eyes read mine for a short time, letting me know in one fleeting glimpse that juice had leaked out of the talk. A million questions streaked through my mind as I rose, then watched them come down. The imbecile stayed away from me in the staircase as they neared. Begrudgingly, I moved aside to let them pass, not wanting him close to me, either.

"What are you doing?" I asked Riley when she strode by me.

"I'm walking him down to the intersection where he'll find his way home," she announced, looking up. "He came clean but... I can't tell you now."

I got the jazz given that Chuck was still here and if we were doing this, it had to be between us. No ignoramuses allowed. But the prospect of letting Riley accompany the bloke for a twenty-minute hike down the mountain ridges made my skin crawl... more than what I was about to offer.

"I'll drive him."

She arched an eyebrow. "You and him in a car? Yeah, that's not happening. None of us will come out of it alive."

"I'll behave," I muttered. "And you're not coming."

"It's either that or I walk with him. I'm being decent, here. I can't say the same for you considering that you started this."

There were moments where I liked it when she got all catty, but now it was like a slap in the face. On one hand, I deserved a little rebuttal for—well, abducting somebody.

"In my defense, it was completely justifiable." No way I'd let Chuck think he got away with screwing us over and I wasn't waiting for answers to magically spirt out of my ass. I had to go collect them and that implied using force.

Riley glared at me, freckles mottling her blushing cheekbones. "I don't care. But you better behave this time."

She whirled and stomped towards the Rover, signaling at Chuck to follow her. He hesitated at the far end of the snowy driveway, then paced towards her. The doors unlocked before I fumbled for my keys. Stubborn girl...

I took a moment and leaned against the railing, rubbing my fingers along a two-day old stubble on my jaw. 

In terms of compassion and overall decency, Riley surpassed me one hundred and fifty percent. That didn't mean we agreed. Ever since karma catapulted her across the states and landed her in Bumblefuck Oakwood, I had no choice but to become intimately acquainted with the word 'compromise'.

A pain in the ass word, if you ask me.

But I don't know... perhaps it was growing on me, because I brushed it off and started for my car, the keys jangling from my loose grip. They had already climbed in and waited for me. I had no desire to drive Chuck home, but as much as I hated to admit it, it was my responsibility to bring the pinhead back after stealing him.


❃ ❃ ❃ 


I didn't dwell about Chuck knowing where I lived. People couldn't orientate themselves after one visit in the forest. After dropping him off, I parked back in my driveway and Riley hopped out like the seat burned her.

"You all right?" I tramped over the snow as she moped to the stairs.

She plopped down with a frustrated whine, then crossed her arms over her knees. "It'll pass."

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