Page 33 of My Demon Mate

Swallowing my limp peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I said in a small voice, “I don’t have any money today, Joey. I don’t?—”

He waved me off. “I don’t want your money, man. Look, I wanted to say sorry for all the stuff I been doin’. Beating you up and stuff. It’s wrong.”

My mouth dropped open, but I closed it quickly, nodding like it was no big deal that he’s been bullying me for years. All I wanted was for Joey to be nice to me. The apology isn’t necessary, but it’s nice to hear. “It’s okay.”

“Good.” Joey stood up and pulled an invitation from his pocket. “I’m having a party at Thrill Realm on Saturday. My parents said I can invite some friends. You should come. They paid for everything, and we get these cool wrist bands. We can ride any ride we want!”

Through my apprehension, excitement bubbled up inside me, thinking about doing something fun with friends. Are me and Joey friends now? He wouldn’t invite me to his birthday if we weren’t. He said it was only for friends. That must mean it’s true. His parents don’t make him invite the whole class anymore. “I’ll ask my dad.”

Joey gave me a thumbs up and went back to his table. His friends turned to look at me and they all waved. Stunned, I waved back, thinking it was the beginning of a new chapter in my life. One where I had friends.

I begged my dad for three days to go, finally getting through to him. To make sure he had no reason to keep me home, I cooked dinner the night before and froze it, ensuring he had something to eat while I was gone. It was the first nice thing he’d ever done for me, and I thought that really meant my life was starting to look up. If dad would say yes to me going away with my friends, anything was possible.

That Saturday, I woke up with butterflies dancing in my belly, excited to go to the first party I was invited to personally, not as a group thing. The only parties I went to were the ones the whole class were invited to.

We didn’t have a car, so I had to walk to the address on the invitation. I woke up extra early and walked fast to get there, so I wouldn’t make them wait. Couldn’t make a good impression with my new friends by being late.

Just as I was turning down the street that was written on the invitation, I saw a van driving towards me. I did a double take when I saw Joey and all his friends packed inside. I looked at the shitty watch I found in the locker room a few months ago and saw that I was ten minutes early. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I stopped at the curb, thinking his mother would see that I was there and wait for me to get in.

But that didn’t happen. Joey made eye contact with me and a sinister smile spread across his face. He got his friends attention, and they all looked at me, laughing. He rolled the window down and said, “Go home, Piss Pants. You’re not invited with the cool kids,” and laughed again as his mother drove off. Even though I could tell she was scolding him for his remark, it did nothing to fix my trampled feelings.

I winced at the cruel nickname he gave me when we were in the fourth grade. He had beaten me up in the bathroom when I had an emergency, and I wet my pants. He went around and told anyone that would listen that I peed my pants on purpose. The name stuck until we were in high school.

He never had any intention of being my friend or having me at his party. He wanted to enjoy knowing he hurt me that badly. He wanted a different way of bullying me besides using his fists.

After that, I tried to stay as far away from Joey as I could, as he was the only one that really bullied me. His friends never joined in, but they didn’t stop him either. He still beat me up some days, but none of the physical pain could come close to that emotional blow he dealt me that day. I never tried to make friends in school again.

A growl fills the room and I open my eyes, almost forgetting that Raven was there and I was traveling down memory lane. Shit, did I say all of that out loud?

“I will … fucking … kill him!” Raven roars, making the walls vibrate, cracks forming and pictures falling to the floor. The walls warp and bend, a haze drifting over them before they resumed their normal shape, though not their original condition. “Where the fuck is he?”

I shrink back, but not in fear. It’s amazing to witness Raven’s magnificence. I don’t even think Raven notices that he’s in between his two forms, half of his face the tanned and chiseled human and the other half his red and gold demon form. His horns have made an appearance, and his hands are three knuckled, claws extended. They tighten against my legs where they’re resting on my thighs, but he’s not hurting me exactly. The pain feels good. It grounds me to the here and now—I’m not the frightened, hurt kid that was treated horribly for no reason. I’m with Raven, the only place I want to be.

Stammering, I say, “Um … last I heard, Joey was in Las Vegas. He’s been there since after college, I think.” Sitting back in my original position, I ask, “How …?”

Before answering me, Raven takes several deep breaths. I watch as his horns disappear, and his face resumes the handsome tanned human one he initially introduced me to. His fingers don’t immediately revert back, still the deep red and gold with three knuckles. He flexes them, looking down like he hates their current state.

“You were thinking about it,” he says finally, looking up at me with hurt shining in his deep black eyes. “When you feel that strongly about something, I can see it as you do. Your memory …” he growls again, eyes taking on a dark, angry quality. He pulls me into his arms, holding me tight, giving me some of his strength. “I am so sorry, baby. I should have come for you sooner. I should have found a way to be here for you.”

Wrapping my arms around him, I breathe him in, his heady scent of man and something spicy I can’t place, tunneling into my senses. It’s smells amazing and helps me feel more grounded. It also reminds me that I can get my revenge because of how Joey mistreated me. The memory stings and probably will for years to come, but with Raven by my side, it’s not too bad. He’ll make it better when he rips his fucking head off.

I frame his face with my hands and smile at him. “You’re here now, my demon. And you’ll make it right, won’t you?”

“Of course.” He kisses me gently. “We can go somewhere else. We do not have to go to Thrill Realm. I do not want to bring up bad memories for you.”

It would be easier to go somewhere else. Somewhere I can have the same amount of fun without the shitty memories. But why would I alter the plans I have because Joey was a piece of shit bully?

No, I’m going. I’ve wanted to go since I was a kid, and I won’t let what Joey did cloud that. And Raven looked so excited about the rollercoasters. The look of excitement warmed my heart, and I won’t let Joey take that from me. My demon will get on those rollercoasters, dammit!

Lightly brushing my fingers on his face, I say, “I want to go to Thrill Realm. We can make good memories there, you and me.”

“You and me sounds good,” Raven says between kisses and I giggle, my terrible memory forgotten.

After we kiss for a few more minutes, Raven tells me we can’t take things further so that we can start our drive to the theme park. It’s not a far drive, but it’s the weekend—there is bound to be a lot of traffic with parents taking their kids there to enjoy a bit of fun. Before we go, Raven snaps his fingers, and two bright green wristbands with Thrill Realm embossed in black appear in his palm.

I laugh, putting his on after he fastens mine around my wrist. Now we don’t have to stand in line to get wristbands, and we don’t have to buy tickets for rides. We can go through the express line and get front line privileges.

We plan to get a hotel before we hit the amusement park so we don’t have to drive back tonight. After we tire ourselves out, there’s no way I’ll want to get on the road for three hours.

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