Page 9

What a week it’s been. On the positive side, I’ve gotten better at making some basic food, thanks to Max’s quick evening lessons.

So far, I’ve successfully cooked eggs, burgers, and pasta.

Max also ordered some pre-made boxed meals that I cook in this funny box thing he calls a microwave.

It’s nice that they are ready to eat so quickly, but they don’t taste too good, and tend to make my stomach churn a bit.

Of course, I don’t tell him that. I don’t want to come across as ungrateful.

Another first that was not as scary as I thought it would be was that I have been successfully pushing out my food waste every day.

The first time it happened, I announced my success proudly, and Max outright laughed at me and then asked if it smelled like flowers.

This confused me because it actually had a very unappealing smell.

When I told him, he only laughed at me more and told me it was normal for “shit to stink.” Needless to say, I kept my daily evacuations to myself now.

He showed me how to use his computer box, and although I am getting the hang of it, I’m not quite there yet.

I find it fascinating nonetheless. He navigated to the button called the internet, and on this one page, there was everything for sale you could want, and he ordered me a bunch of clothes.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, the items actually arrived at the front door the next day.

It was like magic. I never knew the human world was filled with so many wonders.

In the evenings, we spent countless hours on the internet pages, trying to find the ancient texts to search for demon contract loopholes. He ordered several books on demonology, but he says they will take several days to arrive. I don’t think those books will help us much anyway.

The Book of Arcainia, is the only book I trust to be accurate, but so far, we have had no luck in our pursuit of finding a copy. The only thing we’ve found is a couple of articles that reference the book. So, I am trying to hold out hope.

I also still don’t know what my future holds.

I don’t know how Max expects me to figure out my path in life as a human if I am stuck in the apartment all the time.

I told him as much, but he shrugged it off, saying we will find a solution soon enough.

He’s always so worn out when he gets home, so I never push, but I'm starting to feel trapped.

I’ve been craving a real life for so long that finally having one, and not being able to explore my options, is frustrating.

At least it’s finally Friday, and he should be here any minute now. I’m looking forward to his company. Loneliness is another emotion I am not fond of. He’s promised to take me out tomorrow. I don’t know what he’s planning, but I’ll take it.

I wish he would hurry and get here. I’m looking forward to the pizza he’s promised to bring home.

He brought me a slice a couple of nights ago, and I’ve never tasted anything so amazing.

He said that this city is the only one that makes it so perfectly, but I imagine some other places do it well too. I want to try it all.

But maybe his stopping to pick up the pizza is why he isn’t back yet. It’s starting to get dark, and he’s been home every night before the sun is fully set.

I head into the kitchen and pour us both a glass of red wine, another new thing that I love.

We each have a glass or two with our evening food, and it relaxes me and warms me up from the inside.

After he has a drink or two, he tends to pay closer attention to me, too, which I crave.

Last night, he even put a hand on my arm when he said goodnight, but his face quickly turned red, which I found endearing.

But something about wine makes us, at least physically, more comfortable around each other.

I hear the door as I take a long pull from my glass and smile. He is home.

“Hey, sorry I’m so late, but I have wonderful news,” he says, balancing a pizza box in one hand and holding a brown, fairly large paper bundle in the other.

“I didn’t notice the time,” I lie and take the pizza box, dramatically sniffing it before setting it on the counter. “I poured us some wine. What’s in the package?”

He sets it, with a loud thump, on the island. “This is the wonderful news I mentioned. Do you remember I said I had a friend in the history department over at Blake University?”

My pulse quickens, and I stare at the bundle in awe. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Not quite,” he says with a smirk. “But it’s close enough, I think. It’s not the actual book, but it's six hundred scanned pages of the original text.”

Without thinking, I run over to him and wrap my arms around him. “I can’t believe you got this, Max. You really are quite amazing.”

His body is stiff, but I feel it soften slightly with my words. Realizing I am making him uncomfortable, I back away, but I am relieved to find he is smiling at me, looking a bit proud of himself.

“It’s going to take us a long time to sort through it all,” he says, and takes a sip of wine. “But I think we can get through a decent chunk of it on the ride tomorrow.”

I pep up even more at this news, and my entire body bounces in delight. “Oh, yes. How exciting. Where are we going?”

He laughs, but not in a mean way. I think that he thinks I am cute. I’m not sure, though. I’m still learning how to decipher his expressions. “I’m taking you to the Sliver. It’s the place where I grew up.”

“What will we do there?”

“Well,” he runs his hand through his hair and looks off to the side. “I promised Garrett that I would look in on his mother, and it's been over a month since…since…”

Realization hits me. “Since I called in his contract. Right.”

The warmth in the room a moment ago is now gone. We stand in awkward silence and sip from our wine.

Finally, he clears his throat. “It’s about a five-hour drive, so you can scour the pages on the way.”

I nod, but a lump in my throat keeps me from saying anything.

“Don’t worry, Daphne,” he says, looking me in the eyes again. “She won't know what… em… I mean… who you are. She won’t make a problem for you.”

I nod again, but my chest is tight, and my eyes start to sting. I’m not worried about myself. I am scared. I’ve never had to face the human consequences of my crossroads duties, and I’m about to meet a mother who has lost her son because of me. I’ve never felt like such a monster before.

“You all right, Daph?” he asks, and I try to shake the sadness out of my expression.

“I just feel bad,” I answer honestly. “I know I didn’t have any choice in the matter, but I am the reason this woman is all alone.”

He surprises me with another laugh. “Wait until you meet her. She prefers to be alone.”

I don’t really understand, but I appreciate his attempt to comfort me. I want to change the subject. “I’ll be okay. Besides, we have pizza. Everything is better with pizza.”

He smirks at me. “New York Pizza. You mean that everything's better with New York pizza.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay, sure. New York pizza.”