Demon in Town (Book 2)

Chapter 15

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”-Christopher Reeve.

Chapter 15

-Karen-

I thought it was easy.

Easy to find someone you could love forever. Easy to tell him that you love him and then he reciprocates your feelings. With Jon, it never really happened. But when I kissed Nate, I felt that I cared for him more than I knew.  It wasn’t only the care that I felt. It was more than that.

I don’t know how I would’ve felt if I had ever kissed Jon. After he called me his sister, supposing this was gross. I had to listen to numerous people telling me to move on from him. It was me who had held on to him for so long that I had forgotten that not all best friends eventually fall in love with you.

In stories it was easy.

Once again I thought it was easy. Easy to kiss someone, realise that he meant everything to you and in the end, he is your prince charming. He rides the horse with you at the back to the eternal sunset. Believe me, it’s quite a view.

That too happened in stories.

I liked fighting with Victor. Our verbal fights didn’t bother me as much as his serious talks did. I liked his cool self. I knew he wasn’t selfish and arrogant as he tried to portray himself. Like breathing, it was easy to be with him.

Until he played the good guy, everything was going easy.

I know I’ve now used the word easy so many times that it seems to have lost its value.

Why did Victor have to be a jerk at a time like this?

His words rang in my head over and over again till they sounded creepy enough to wake me up several times at the night. He was such a fine-looking guy and he could get any girl. It didn’t have to be me.

These were the times when you cursed yourself for being so…desirable.

No, really.

Some months ago I was a girl who spent most of her time with her athletic best friend and her head buried in books. Books after books went by but I never knew the life outside books was weird as heck.

If we hadn’t found the portal…it was inevitable, right? There is no point to argue.

“Karen, you’ve to wake up, honey.” Mom knocked on the door lightly on the fine Monday morning. “You overslept.”

“Give me five minutes, mom.” I jumped from the bed.

I had a whole day to think over this matter on Sunday. I couldn’t focus on my homework or my food without Victor popping up in every thought that flashed in my head. Saturday was fight night and Sunday was a waste.

I went straight into the bathroom and started brushing my teeth. I was in the middle of spitting when I noticed something off.

“No freaking way,” I said to the reflection in the mirror.

Strands of hair on the right of my head had turned bright green.  

“Hey, greenie,” A boy whom I didn’t know at all, grinned at me as I passed him in the hall.

 I opened my mouth to respond but I knew better. A string of bad words wouldn’t do it.

Only I knew how I had to run without saying bye to my parents back home. They certainly thought I was turning rude.

“Hey…” Beth stopped dead in her tracks. “You colored your hair?”

“Guess I did.” I sighed.

I had to lie. It wasn’t there yesterday.

“This looks awesome.” She chirped. “Maya doesn’t stand a chance against you.”

“Oh, no I’m not against her like, at all.” I shook my head. “I think it’s better to move on from Jon.”

“Wow, new hair and a new attitude,” Beth smirked, looking over my shoulder. “This color definitely suits you.”

“Umm…Thanks?”

“Here comes Xavier,” Beth said.

“Hi, guys.” The dimples were so adorable. “Karen, that’s a nice look.”

“You think it’s nice?” I asked, unsure of what I wanted to hear.

“Yeah, but I never took you for a girl who colors her hair.” He shrugged. “You never fail to surprise me.”

Oh, you’ve no idea…

“So, is green your favorite color?” Xavier asked.

I looked up, staring right into his big eyes. They glinted, or was it my imagination? Brown. My favorite color was brown, I wanted to say. What the hell, it sounded downright flirty. I must be losing my head.

I blinked my eyes. 

“Huh, I preferred violet but I tried a different style, and the outcome…” I began to blabber.

“Why is Jon looking all ragged?” Beth asked me.

I turned to see a Jon Carlton I never thought I’d ever see in my life. He was awake, yes but there were dark circles under his eyes and he looked restless. He was wearing his dark high neck blue T-shirt. The thing that bothered me the most was; he had no smile on his face.

I had called him yesterday, immediately in the morning to ask how he was doing. The call had gone to the voice mail. I waited a whole day to get a call back from him which never came until evening.

He had gone to a doctor because he had slept throughout the Sunday morning and he had a high temperature.

“Hey,” He puffed as he came closer to us. He nodded to Xavier and Beth.

“Are you okay, Jon?” Beth eyed him.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Jon said and looked at me. His eyes rolled down with my green hair strands. Even if he was surprised, he did his best not to show it to others. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“We’ll see you in English,” Beth said to me before dragging a reluctant Xavier with her.

“What the hell did you do to your hair?”

“Excuse me.” I was stunned.

“I thought you’d come to see me,” Jon was angry at me. He was never angry at me. “But you were busy dying your hair.”

Now that felt like a punch on my stomach.

“You seriously think I’d care for dying my hair?” I asked, trying not to lash out. “Do you remember what happened on Saturday night?”

He around and took a long breath.

“I remember, right. They took me, chained me, tortured me, and even bit me.” He said angrily. What was with this anger? “When I opened my eyes, I was in my bedroom with my clothes changed and the wound all healed. Now tell me, what do I not know?”

“We saved you, Jon,” I said. I was suddenly afraid of his temper. “Nate and Victor came with me to save you.”

“Save me?” He let out a half-hearted laugh. “I was dying there, Karen. I was there, with kids who were crying for freedom and I was among them. A man came in and he bit me, right here.”

He pulled at the neck of his t-shirt. On his smooth skin, there was a shining crescent mark. It was a reminder that he was bitten by a werewolf. There was no way out.

“What was he? A vampire?” His voice was full of disgust. “I swear to God if he was a filthy bloodsucker, I would kill all of them.”

“He wasn’t a vampire,” I said.

“What was he?” He reiterated.

“A werewolf,” I exhaled, hoping he would understand me.

But he didn’t. He took hold of my arm and gripped it in a bone-breaking way. His hand dug into my skin and I bit my lip to not scream.

“What happens now?” His eyes burned in fury.

“Jon, you’re hurting me,” I said as calmly as I could.

He looked down at his hand and let go of my arm. I moved my arm, checking if I had lost a bone or something. Luckily, he hadn’t broken anything. Since when did Jon become physically abusive?

“I’m sorry.” His eyes were begging for forgiveness. “I don’t know what has gotten into me. I can’t contain my anger. I never meant to hurt you, Karen.”

“Yeah, that’s why my arm feels like being crushed by rollers.”

“I’m so sorry.” He tried to reach for my hand but I jerked it back. I didn’t want another painful grip.

“What is going on, Jon?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I can feel the anger eating my up. Yesterday my temperature rushed so high that it broke the thermometer in my mouth. How was I supposed to explain this to my parents?” His eyes glittered with helplessness. “You know of all the crazy stories we’ve heard, am I really going to be one of them?”

I looked at the pathetic figure in front of me. I didn’t want to keep him in darkness. What was the point of keeping someone in darkness when the light was just about to hit them?

“Your silence answers it all.” Jon was ready to turn away.

“Jon, I’m sorry about this. It’s all because of me.” I held his hand. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Don’t blame yourself for this, please. It will make me feel worse.” Jon said. His voice was hoarse. Tired. “I don’t want to be some werewolf.”

“It doesn’t matter what you are, Jon. What matters is the person you are from inside.”

“Don’t give me that s**t, Karen.” He shook his head. “You think I’d like to become a monster from outside?”

“There are people who live with conditions.” I was trying to make him accept himself. It didn’t seem to be working.

“Conditions like what?” Jon snorted. “Do they become a werewolf overnight?”

“That’s not what I mean.” I groaned. “I’m a witch and I don’t cry about it all the time.”

He blinked.

“Yeah, and that’s how it all works. You are a witch, I am a werewolf and those two are vampires.” He laughed without any humor. “I can’t do this, Karen. I just can’t. There’s no way I’m giving up my normal life to become a hairy monster.”

“You don’t have to give up your normal life,” I suggested.

“Like hell! Sorry to break it to you, but being a werewolf is nothing normal.” He was furious again. “I don’t think I should be alive anymore.”

What?

“What? What the hell did you say, Jon?” I snapped at him. “If you think this is the worst thing that can happen to anyone, you’re wrong. You were dying, I know. He did this to you to take away the part of you that was human but you have to prove him wrong. You know Nate and Victor. They are vampires. They have to keep themselves alive by drinking blood but are they really bad? They came with me to get you out of that hole. They don’t even know you.”

“Karen—”

“Your nature can’t decide who you are. You are the only one who can do that.” I said. “Even if you are a vampire or a witch, or a werewolf or some other supernatural being, you can choose the path for your living.”

He nodded.

“But I didn’t get to choose this.” He whispered.

He was vulnerable for the first time in his life. I wanted to hug him so badly.

“I wish I could tell you this was okay but I know you won’t listen to me.” I sighed, looking down at our feet. “I’m with you, Jon. Please don’t let this stress overcome your cheerful self.”

“Am I still eligible for human school?” He asked with a hint of humor in his voice.

I looked up and hugged him.

“Hey!” His breath grazed my shoulder. “You better want to stay away from me when I can smell you. You need to take a shower.”

 I scoffed. “Your abilities are already pushing up to the surface?” I asked drawing back.

“I guess so.” He sniffed the air.

“You should eat something,” I stated. “You look in a bad health.”

“I think I can eat a person. No pun intended.”

“What did you eat for breakfast?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

“I didn’t eat anything at all.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I really want to taste blood.”