Free Demon Kissed by H.M. Ward Page A

church, and up a dim stairwell. Crashing through the first door I found, I slid into the room, and pushed the door shut behind me. Collin didn’t follow. Not this time. He was gone. And it was my fault. I hadn’t meant to run him off. I just wanted to know why he wouldn’t touch me.
    What the hell is wrong with me? Emotions bubbled into a frothy mix of humiliation and regret. Anger seared through all of it. Collin was one of the only friends I had left, and I screwed it up. Growling in frustration, I turned and hurled the painting at a pile of books. It rolled behind them and out of sight. Sliding my back down the wall, I lowered my butt to the floor, banging my head softly into the wooden shelves behind me. He didn’t want to touch me. The reality crashed into me with a deafening blow.

CHAPTER TEN
     
    School dragged on. My life as a poser Martis proved to be under-whelming during the school day. No one hunted me there. At least, I didn’t think they did. I still wondered who the Seeker was, and how close she was to finding me, but no one stood out as an angelic stalker. My new life was weird, and I was having trouble with it. Learning how to survive, without exposing my secret, made me want to hurl. Putting aside all thoughts of the Martis and Valefar who wanted to kill me, I made it through the day. Somehow, I also managed to avoid the biggest mistake I’d made in years. Collin was conspicuously absent, which meant he cut, or he was avoiding me. Or both. Suck . I didn’t know how to fix it.  
    He ran . Like I scared him—like he couldn’t stand the thought of touching me. It was just too messed up. Not having any idea what I would say to him, I was glad he was avoiding me. And it wasn’t like I could tell him the truth, which would sound insane.
    Hey Collin, I’m acting like a nut-job because a demon slave tried to rip out my soul the other night, then my best friend attacked me. I felt utterly alone, and you were there, and… well. It didn’t matter anyway. I couldn’t tell him.
    The last bell rang at 2:26pm. Not wanting to go home yet, I slowed my exit, walking with Eric, lost in thought. We pressed through crowds of kids, heading toward my locker. Something told me that I should be cautious of Eric, but right now he was one of the only people I could talk to. It forced a friendship that was based on lies, which made my skin crawl. I hated lying, but I had no choice.
    Our conversations got progressively more normal, as my life got stranger. I smiled at him, “I don’t know how you can stand having me as your lab partner. I’m gonna tank our grades.”
    We shouldered our way down the hall, through crowds of scattering kids. A light box flickered overhead. Eric had a soft smile on his lips. “Nah, Ivy. It’ll be fine.” Shannon’s warning echoed in my mind, as He’ll kill you . I couldn’t see it. That made me either reckless—or retarded. Probably both.
    “You always think everything will be fine,” I said half laughingly. “Seriously, I mutilated our worm and the frog. If the pig wasn’t already dead, I’d feel sorry for him. As it is, I can tell it’s just a train wreck waiting to happen. I’m gonna feel like its Wilbur… or it’ll make me think of ham.” I cringed. “Well, either way, it’s got a C written all over it.”
    Eric’s soft steps fell in perfect pace to mine. They matched his sweet, quiet demeanor. “I am serious. It’ll be fine.” He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, still smiling, amused.
    “The only reason you’re the other dumb one ,” God help me, I used air quotes for dumb one , “is because I suck your lab grades down. I don’t think that’s fair either,” I said looking him square in the face. “You know all this stuff. And I keep messing it up.” Our paces slowed in sync, as I neared my locker. Eric stopped, and touched my arm. Still emotionally raw from my encounter with Collin last night, I flinched. His hand withdrew. Not meaning to