In The Black (BxB)✔

Chapter 28 - Mr. Black

David was shocked at the revelation that Mr. Black's parents were human. Did that mean Mr. Black used to be human too? He did say that he had never been to hell before, but as far as he knew, it wasn't possible for a human to be turned into a demon.

Frank chuckled heartily, drawing David's attention. "I guess Peter didn't explain things to you then."

"Explain what?"

Mr. Black cleared his throat. "They're my adoptive parents."

"Oh...Oh!" That explained it then.

Katherine returned with a roast that she carefully placed in the center of the table. She then proceeded to set dishes of mashed potatoes, salad, and corn while the others waited. Frank offered to help, but she shushed him and made one last trip to pull out a jug of lemonade.

Once the table was finished being set, she sat down beside Frank and started handing the plates around so everyone could get what they wanted. 

"Peter was about ten when we took him in." Frank continued their conversation after loading up his plate. "There was a lot of fuss kicked up over us adopting an adolescent demon, but since we had been friends with his parents we were able to win over custody instead of them sending him off to a foster home."

"Wait, I thought demons lived to be hundreds of years old?" David eyed Mr. Black. Not that he cared if the man was centuries older than him or not, but the thought that he was was any younger than a hundred felt unusual.

It was Katherine's turn to burst out laughing. "Oh sweetheart, did you think all demons were born ancient?"

Davids cheeks burned red in embarrassment as he was reminded how little he knew about demons. Peter put a reassuring hand on his knee and smiled. "I'm only thirty four, but most of Demon Society believes me to be much older as well."

That comforted him a little, knowing he wasn't the only one assuming the demon's age.

"As a matter of fact, a lot of what society knows about me is false." Mr. Black continued. "As you heard, a demon being raised by humans is frowned upon since we have our own culture and needs and unfortunately, demons raised by humans are judged just as harshly as low ranked demons, regardless of their success."

"So we keep it a secret." Frank finished through a mouthful of potatoes.

"Demon society is so cruel." Kathrine sighed. "I always worry how you're fairing out there. Especially considering how your other parents were treated."

David looked questioningly at Peter, who had a faraway look on his face. This was another sensitive topic it seemed..

"My parents were low ranked." Peter explained. "And poor. My father had inherited a debt from my grandparents and started getting harassed to pay it back. One day he tried winning a large sum of money in what he believed was a rigged race, only to bet on the wrong car and lose everything. When they couldn't pay off the remaining debt in time..." The demon went silent, but David already knew what happened. He had been threatened countless times by his own loan sharks to know how deadly they can be if you borrowed money from the wrong people.

Oddly enough, this explained a few things. Peter's parents had lost everything thanks to gambling, so it made sense that Mr. Black had taken an interest in David's debts. He was literally in the same situation the man's parents were.

Silence fell over the table. The sound of china clinking was all that could be heard for a few moments before Katherine chirped back up. "Enough about that, let's talk about something else. David honey, how did you and Peter become friends?"