Page 32 of My Demon Mate

“I’m not that tiny,” I say without venom because I really am. I haven’t really gained any weight since I was around fifteen. It’s hard to do when I don’t have much to eat. I’m surprised I weigh as much as I do. If I didn’t sneak food at the diner, I’d be skin and bones.

Raven winks. “You are perfect.”

I roll my eyes and take our empty plates to the kitchen. After rinsing them and putting them in the dishwasher, I go back to the couch and curl up beside Raven.

We watch mindless television for another hour before Raven shuts it off. “We should go away for the weekend. You quit last night, so you are not expected at work. Even if Mitch were still alive.”

“Go away where? To Xendail?” I bounce at his side, hoping he’ll take me to his dimension of hell.

“Not yet, baby. I was thinking somewhere on this plane. Anywhere you want to go.”

“Anywhere?”

Raven nods seriously. “It does not matter where.”

Sitting back on my heels, I wrack my brain for a place I want to go. There are so many places I’ve wanted to visit. So many things I’ve wanted to see and do, but I could barely save money for a trip to the grocery store, let alone somewhere to take a break and see the sights.

Having too many options sucks. With the knowledge I can go anywhere I want, I can’t narrow it down. The paradox of choice is real. I’m almost giddy with excitement because I never had too many choices.

After several silent moments, I snap my fingers. “Thrill Realm!”

I’m shocked when Raven’s black eyes light up. “The amusement park? With rollercoasters?”

“Yes,” I say with a chuckle. “You know about Thrill Realm in hell?”

He gives me a deadpan look and I laugh, leaning on him and kissing the underside of his chin. “Yes, Everest. We know enough about this plane to know what you humans like. And I have heard tales of it from other demons.”

Pretending to be affronted, I lean away from him. “You’re the one that got excited about rollercoasters.”

Raven’s cheeks pink, and I swear it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. “Okay, Thrill Realm it is.”

Squealing, I race up the stairs to get our clothes packed. Then I realize we don’t have luggage. “Raven!” I shout to him.

“Yes?” he asks, walking behind me and wrapping an arm around my waist.

“Can you get suitcases? I have all these new clothes I want to wear.”

Raven snaps his fingers and two suitcases appear on the bed. “Do these work?”

“They’re perfect.” I kiss his cheek and get us packed.

Even though Thrill Realm is only a three hour drive, I didn’t go because I didn’t have a car or people to go with. Not like my dad wanted to do anything fun. Especially with me. And where would I get the money to go on a fun vacation like that? A ticket to Thrill Realm alone is almost fifty bucks. That doesn’t include the rides or games or concession stands. If you pay for a wristband, rides come along with the purchase, but that’s close to one hundred dollars.

I had the opportunity to go once. Or at least, that’s what I was led to believe. But it was cruel trick, and I still feel like a fool for falling for it.

That thought deflates me, and I sit on the bed with a partially folded shirt on my lap. The memory is painful, mostly because I haven’t thought about it in years. It’s like I shoved it away so it wouldn’t hurt me, keeping it as far away as I could. Now the Band-Aid is ripped off and I can’t stop the same feelings I felt when I was thirteen from bleeding into me now.

Almost appearing out of nowhere, Raven kneels in front of me, a look of worry etched across his handsome face. “What is wrong?”

Swallowing past a tight throat, I ask in as cheery a voice as I can muster, “What makes you think something is wrong?”

He taps the side of his head. “I can feel what you feel through our link, remember? You were happy a moment ago, now you are crushed. Why?”

Shutting my eyes, I let the memory flow over me, and I have to part my lips to breath past the boulder lodged in my throat.

“Everest. Hey!” Joey said, patting me on the back and sitting beside me at my lunch table. I always sat alone, no one wanting to face the wrath of Joey and his crew. That meant there was no one to have my back now that he caught me unawares.

I looked over at him, eyes wide with shock. Joey was never nice to me. He beat me up all the time for no reason and made my life hell. He was the reason I hated coming to school every day. Even though I didn’t have money and his family was rich, he’d make me bring him a quarter for his ice cream. On days I couldn’t get the quarter, I was beaten by him while his friends watched.

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