Page 107 of Terror at the Gates

The apartment was dark when I returned home, which meant Coco was asleep. I relaxed a little, relieved that I wouldn’t have to explain my ruined clothes or the visible cut on my hand.

I didn’t like hiding things from Coco, but what happened tonight felt impossible to explain. It would also cause her to worry and not about the demons, which should be her real concern.

Instead, she’d fret over me. I was grateful to have someone who cared about me, which was why I didn’t want to burden her. The things I’d seen, they were better left unsaid. At least for now.

I wandered into my bedroom and turned on the light, throwing my backpack on the bed and shoving off my jacket, grinding my teeth as the fabric slid over my burned hand.

It stung. The skin was blistered, shining red, yellow, and a little brown. I wondered how to make it stop hurting. Right now, it felt like it was on fire. The entire thing throbbed,touched only by air. I was going to have to figure out how to treat it until I could make it to Dr. Mor, though I knew once I did, he would inform Zahariev of my visit.

I sort of resented that I couldn’t do anything without Zahariev finding out, but it was better than my father knowing, so I’d have to take the lesser of two evils.

I stepped out of my boots and then searched through the clothes on my floor for something to sleep in when I heard the toilet flush.

Fuck. Cocowasawake.

I wondered if I could turn my light off in time to go unnoticed, but as I swiped a shirt off the floor and straightened, Coco was already standing in my doorway.

She looked me up and down.

“Did you have to fight a bear to get those mozzarella sticks?” she asked.

I swallowed before I spoke. “They were busy.”

Coco just stared. I didn’t really know what to say. There was a part of me that wanted to tell her about my night, but I didn’t even know how to begin.Remember during church when the bishops would lecture about demons? When they claimed that sin led to possession? They lied. Even the pure of heart are vulnerable.

“Why are you up?” I asked instead, changing the subject.

“I had to pee,” she said, pausing before adding, “You got a delivery today.”

I frowned. I hadn’t been expecting anything, but then I wondered if Gabriel had sent along something to get my attention. I hadn’t answered any of his texts.

“From who?”

“Zahariev,” she said.

“Send it back,” I said.

“You don’t even know what it is!”

“I don’t need to know,” I said. “I don’t want it.”

She frowned at me. “I know you’re angry with him right now, but don’t let that get in the way of accepting a perfectly new dryer.”

“Adryer?”

“I’ve already done four loads of laundry in record time,” she said. “And warmed my towel for my bath.”

I wasn’t going to lie, that sounded really nice, especially when winter hit. The bathroom was poorly insulated, and there were no vents, so the only warmth came from the steam of hot water, and that didn’t last long when it was below zero outside.

“I just…don’t want to feel like I owe him,” I said, though I knew Zahariev didn’t expect anything in return, it didn’t feel right to let it lie. I wanted to pay him back for the rent, and now I wanted to pay him back for the dryer.

The list was getting long.

“He isn’t asking for anything, Lilith,” she said. “He just…cares about you.”

“Coco,” I said, stopping her. I didn’t want to think about Zahariev caring. I’d crossed some boundaries with him the night of Esther’s death. I blamed our familiarity. It was easy to seek comfort from him, but now that I was on the other side, I realized the mistake I’d made.

“I’m just saying, he’s trying to help,” she said.