Kathy Love - Demon Cant Help It

She nodded.

She waited for him to tell her she must be mistaken. That she had to be imagining things, which she still wanted desperately to believe, but knew she couldn't. This time, like the last on the stairs, had just been too vivid.

"Has she appeared to you before?"

She gaped at him for a moment. Did he believe her? The phrasing of his sentence implied that. Not, has this happened before? Or could it just be a hallucination?

"Yes. I've seen images of her a few times. I think she was the one who left the footprints that I thought I saw that one night when I was so shaken. And most recently I saw her on the stairs at the bar. That's why I fell."

He nodded, and she couldn't read his expression.

"Do you think I'm crazy?" She had to ask, because she certainly felt like she was.

He shook his head. "No. I don't."

They were both silent for a few moments.

"I think you should lay down for a while." He started tucking the covers tighter around her still shivering body, but she shook her head, sitting up.

"I can't. I want our evening out."

Maksim shook his head. "You are too shaken. I think you need to rest."

She did feel drained, but she didn't want to be here. She was too nervous. Too afraid it would happen again.

"Can we spend the night at your place?"

Maksim nodded. "Of course. Why don't you get some things together and we'll head over there now?" He offered her a comforting smile. "We'll order in and watch a movie."

She knew he was trying to act as normal as possible and she appreciated it. Still there was a look in his green eyes that she couldn't read. Something guarded and distant.

Maybe he didn't believe her quite as much as he would lead her to think. But she didn't question it now. She wanted out of this place. She did not feel comfortable. Even the air seemed heavy with foreboding.

What did Kara want from her? Did she blame Jo for her death, too?

Maksim watched Jo get dressed and toss some clothing and other items into an overnight bag. She was seeing ghosts and he knew he'd done that to her. He was willing to bet money on that fact. There was always a consequence of entering a person's mind and this was hers.

And that consequence was terrifying her. And putting her at risk. And the baby, too. Disgust tightened his throat, making it hard for him to breathe.

This was a firm reminder that he was a demon. Demons could never be good for a human. Demons weren't good for anyone.

"Okay, I'm ready." She offered him a tremulous smile and he felt like even more of a dick because he was trying to be strong for her. For the individual who did this to her. And for purely selfish reasons.

He wanted to shout out his own anger with himself, but just gritted his teeth and held out a hand to take the bag from her. She handed it to him, and then he followed her down the hall, not missing the way she skirted around the bathroom.

He ducked inside, turning off the shower he'd left on in his hurry to get her out of the freezing water.

When he got to the kitchen, he found her looking at the huge bouquet of flowers now forgotten on the counter. She fingered the petals of one of the large orange daisies.

She turned to look at him, her eyes misty. "You remembered they are my favorite."

Somehow that bouquet seemed silly and inadequate now compared to what he'd done to her. How did he give her a gift to fix that? There wasn't one.

"We have to bring them with us," she said, gathering them up in her arms. She smiled again. "Thank you. I'm sorry I've ruined your hard work and special night."

"You haven't ruined anything," he said, his voice adamant.

She smiled again, but he could tell she didn't believe him. But how the hell did he tell her that it was he who ruined their night? It was he who hurt her. And brought all this pain over her lost sister back. In vivid ghostly detail.

"This is nice," Jo said as they got out of the cab in front of one of the shotgun cottages that lined the street. "Although I wouldn't have guessed these would be your colors."

She smiled over her shoulder at him.

He raised an eyebrow at the cotton-candy colors of the siding and shutters. "Yeah, not my choice. This is my sister's place."

Jo looked back at the house. "Oh, I didn't realize you were staying in her place."

"Yes. I keep hoping she'll return or someone will show up here who knows something. But so far I'm not having much luck with that."

Jo watched him as he unlocked the front door, trying to read him. Over their past week together, she'd considered him an easy man to understand. But not tonight. It was as if something inside him had shut down.

Again, she wondered if he really believed her.

His sister's home was nice. «Cheerful» was the first word that came to mind as she walked through the living room and kitchen as he brought her stuff to his bedroom. Obviously the guest room, if the size was any indication, since the queen-sized bed took up most of the space in the room.

Realizing he was staying in here, waiting for his sister to return, made her feel awful. And selfish. She hadn't even asked him much about her.

"What does your sister do?"

"She's a writer."

He placed her stuff on the bed, then led her back to the living room.

"What does she write?"

"Mostly books on the paranormal. Demons in particular." He studied her as he told her, seeming to be gauging her reaction, though she couldn't tell why.

She wrapped her arms around herself, suppressing a chill. "I think I'll pass on reading those for the time being." She tried to soften her comment with a smile, but she still couldn't tell what he was thinking. And it was getting very unnerving.

"How about we order in Chinese?" he said, heading to a pile of takeout menus tossed in a basket near the phone.

"That sounds great."

Jo watched him sort through them. Something rubbed up against her ankles, making her jump and cry out.

Maksim spun toward her, dropping several of the menus to the ground. "What the hell?"

A cat rubbed up against Jo's legs, and Jo was certain it was Erika's cat, but it couldn't be.

"What the hell?" Maksim repeated.

"Is this your sister's cat?"

"No, I think it's Erika and Vittorio's cat. But how the hell did it get in here?"

His words caused a chill to return to her finally warmed skin.

"I must have left a window open somewhere," he concluded, but his explanation for the cat's appearance did little to soothe her.

"Why would it be Erika's cat?" Jo asked, staring down at the animal like it was one of the demons Maksim's sister wrote about in her books.

"I just think it is. It's showed up here before. Or least I think it's her cat."

Jo moved away from the black creature, who stared at her with those golden eyes she knew altogether too well.

"I think it is, too." Another chill prickled her skin.

"I'm putting it out in the back courtyard. I'll bring him back to Erika and Vittorio's in the morning." He scooped up the cat, who yowled indignantly.

Jo watched as he disappeared down the hallway. A few moments later he returned. She still stood in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped protectively around herself. Like that would guard her from the creepy vibe in the air.

"It's been a weird night," he said, shaking his head.

"Yes, it has," Jo agreed. They stared at each other for a moment, then smiled.

"Let's order Chinese and watch some stupid comedy," Maksim suggested.

She nodded. "That sounds like a great plan."

When Jo woke up with the sunshine streaming down onto the bed, the events of last night seemed far away. She and Maksim had watched a silly comedy starring Will Ferrell. They'd eaten lots of moo goo gai pan and szechwan. And then they had made love, which had been toe-curlingly wonderful as always.