Page 7 of My Guardian Demon

He made a noise with his throat as I stared at the ceiling.

"I guess it started when I met Eston. I danced on a makeshift dance floor, set up in the living room of someone's college party. R&B music blasted from the speakers. I sipped this horrible tasting alcoholic drink from a blue solo cup. Whoever mixed that night's drinks did not know what they were doing. As a freshman, even I could do better. Still, I was having fun and had a slight buzz.

"A handsome blond man asked me if I cared to dance.

"I remember thinking that going home with this guy would beat going home alone to my vibrator later.

"I spent the next hour bumping and grinding on the dance floor with the most gorgeous blond god my beer goggles had ever seen.

"When the party wound down early the next morning, I didn't want to stop. My dance partner's name was Eston. Eston was going back to my dorm with me, I'd make sure of it.

"It turned out that, instead, we ended up going back to Eston's place. He had more privacy. As a sophomore, he had a house to himself off campus. His parents paid for everything, but I wouldn't find that out until later.

"Despite my devious intentions, nothing happened. I was too drunk. After a heavy petting and make-out session, I passed out on his couch.

"I woke up later tucked into Eston's bed alone. I found him in the kitchen, 3:00 in the afternoon, frying up enough greasy food to cure a hangover.” I sighed, remembering. “That food tasted so good.”

I cleared my throat. "Anyway, once I’d sobered up, he didn't look like the god I remembered from my drunken haze. But he was handsome and had a boyish charm that endeared him to me. It turned out, we had some classes together and the same circle of friends.

"We fell into an easy relationship immediately. There was no friendship phase. We were boyfriend/girlfriend that day. To put it in romance terms, it was insta-love."

I heard Onyx growl on the other side of the wall, but I ignored him and continued the story.

"We stayed together for about a year of the perfect relationship — complete honeymoon phase — before he started acting weird. Out of the blue.

"He demanded that I delete all men off my social media. Even family. We fought over that, and I wouldn't do it because it was stupid and unreasonable. I'd never cheated or given any indication that I might be cheating. It was one battle I wouldn't let him win. He had no intention of deleting all females from his accounts. Not happening on mine.” I shook my head, remembering the hostility he’d argued with.

"Then he had more demands, and I couldn't agree to them. He wanted me to move in with him, drop out of school, and stop work. And he dropped hints about how beautiful I'd look carrying his baby and how perfect I would be as a barefoot, pregnant wife. Sure, maybe that's fine for some people, but it's not me.

"The person Eston turned into was not the same person I'd met the year before.

"I broke up with him and thought that was the end.” I paused, thinking back.

"He waited for me after class, popped up whenever I went to the store, showed up at parties I attended, and waited outside my job. I even moved to a new place, and he still showed up outside my door. I wasn't afraid at first. Then he hit me for the first time."

Onyx hissed. "I'll kill him. Give me his full name. Now."

I chuckled. "No. Do you want my story or not?"

He sighed. "Continue."

"I started carrying mace with me. Eston got the jump on me one night, though, and beat me senseless. I didn't see him during the attack and had no way of proving it was him. The next time, though, there were cameras. That time, I got a restraining order against him."

Onyx clicked his tongue. I could hear the wheels turn in his head. "’The next time.’ I've changed my mind. I'm torturing him first then I'll kill him. Slow death."

I laughed. "Don't joke. I saw him snoop around outside my home and work a few times, obviously violating the distance limitation of the restraining order. Every time I'd report it, he was gone before the police arrived. But I don't think he can trace me here. I only told a few people where I was going. And even if he does, I asked the landlord to remove my name from the mailboxes to make it seem like my apartment is empty."

Onyx was quiet for a few moments. "Wynn, I'm not joking. Do you have anything you can use to protect yourself if he shows up here?"

"I have a baseball bat and my can of mace."

Onyx sighed. "You need to get a gun."

"I don't think it's necessary. I really don't think he'll show up here."

"Wynn." An undertone of stubbornness conveyed through Onyx's voice.

"Yes?"

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