Page 24 of Demons & Damnation

Without a word, he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. Whispering to her, he said, “Can you undress yourself or do you want me to do it?”

Kyla blinked at him but said nothing. Her pretty blue eyes looked at him, but she wasn’t there. She stared straight through him, almost as if the lights were on but no one was home.

A chill ran down Dylan’s spine. He’d seen this before. On Kyla. And in men he worked with. His heart cracked in two as he realised he might have to ring his sister. But that would bring with it its own mess of questions and a further complicated situation. He’d leave Sam out of it until absolutely necessary.

Stripping Kyla’s jeans, socks, and thong off, he picked her up and set her down in the volcanic water she loved being in so much. As the water rose and swallowed her body up to her perfectly round breasts, Dylan swiftly took her bra and t shirt off and eased her back against the end of the tub.

As the bubbles converged underneath her chin, she blinked a few more times, as if she were slowly coming back around out of her catatonic state. She looked up at Dylan, her eyes full of fear of shame and whispered, “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” he said, bending down and kissing her forehead. Stroking her red hair, he said, “I’m going to clean this mess up but if you need me, I’m here.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the warm water soaking into her body. Dylan hurried to clear the mess, wanting it clean and safe for her to walk across the carpet whenever she decided to emerge from the bath.

Within half an hour, he’d cleared the mess and hoovered every last splinter from the carpet. He returned to the bathroom and sat down on the bathmat, facing Kyla.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Kyla stared into space, not moving a muscle, not even blinking. Her eyes were glazed over as if she were not even conscious. Dylan reached out and touched her shoulder, making her jump. She blinked several times and turned her head slightly to face him.

“Sorry, did you say something?”

He nodded. “How are you feeling?”

Kyla let out a long sigh and then closed her eyes before sliding under the water, immersing herself completely. Dylan raised an eyebrow, wondering if this was her response he was supposed to somehow decode.

After several seconds, Kyla resurfaced with a big smile. “I’m good. I feel like a brand-new penny.”

Dylan pressed his lips together and said nothing for several seconds. “Good. I’ll give you some peace whilst you finish up. I’ll wait downstairs for you.”

Dylan headed downstairs, flicking on the TV in an attempt to distract his wandering mind from worrying about Kyla.

Half an hour later, Kyla emerged, wrapped up in her purple fluffy dressing gown and her long red locks held up in a towel on her head.

“You didn’t need to stay,” she said, flopping down on the sofa next to him.

“Yes, I did,” he replied, pressing the mute button on the TV. “You ok?”

Kyla shrugged her shoulders. “I’m fine.”

Dylan sighed. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a man, it’s that where it concerns women and the phrase ‘I’m fine’, things are usually never ‘fine’.”

“Well, in that case then, I’m good. That better?”

Dylan let out a light chuckle. “It’ll suffice. Look, if you want to talk about it, I’m always here for you.” He settled a hand on her knee and squeezed it. “I mean it. Night or day, rain or shine, screaming, crying, or laughing. Pick up the phone and call me, I’ll be here faster than you can blink.”

Kyla shrugged her shoulders again and grabbed the TV remote, turning the sound back on. “I told you, I’m fi—good. I’m good. There’s nothing to talk about. Besides, it’s not like you’re just around the corner all the time, is it? I never know how long you’re going to be here for. How long this time?”

“Kyla,” Dylan said, snatching the remote back from her and letting out a sigh. “You’re far from fine and there definitely is something to talk about. As for my job, you know what the deal is with that. I have to earn money somehow. I’m good at what I do, and I enjoy it.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Dylan pressed his lips together and indulged in her staring contest for several seconds, debating his options. She was pressing him, backing him into a corner she knew he couldn’t back out of. The worst thing was he knew what she was doing and the direction this conversation would take next.

Backing down, he glanced away and sighed. “I’m back for six weeks.”

Kyla nodded. “And then you’re away for how long again?”

Dylan moved his right arm, resting his elbow on his thigh before dropping his head into his hand and pinching the bridge of his nose. Squeezing his eyes shut, he debated not even answering her. She’d forced him into a checkmate, again. He knew their power play dynamics from the bedroom were spilling over into reality, and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing either.

---