This disastrous situation was all my father, the traitor,'s fault. I’m being forced to… to be in a dreadful circumstance because of that man. I’ll never forgive him for the betrayal.

  After I had snuck home last night with a few new scratches and bruises, and fell into a deep night's sleep that I thought only the dead could experience, I came down for breakfast in an agitated mood. Honestly, I should've been just grateful a shadow monster didn't attack me during the night but instead I was being a grump because I had sores in places I didn’t even know existed, I was tired even though I slept for almost ten hours and I desperately needed a shower since I forgot to take one yesterday.

  On top of it all, I was forced into close proximity with Ron Basin last night, something that soured my mood greatly.

  My dad must not have noticed my attitude or didn’t care because after he made me breakfast (something he had been doing since the Giant attack), he started asking me weird questions.

  Questions like: “Cain, I’m worried about you. Do you have anyone your age that you can turn to if you need it?” and “Do you have friends?”

  For which I answered with an indignant “Of course, I do!” rather than answering honestly, as I should have done.

  “Really? Who?” Dad had asked, observing my face under his bushy brows.

  “Ummmmmmmmm, you don’t know them,” I had said, unable to meet his eyes.

  Dad had crossed his arms and gave me an unimpressed look. “Oh, yeah? Then you should ask them if you two can hang out today. Get you out of the house.”

  “Fine. I will,” I said. Dad kept watching me, obviously expecting me to do just that. My completely friendless-self internally panicked for a moment. With a desperate idea popping into my head, I pulled out my phone and reluctantly scrolled on to a contact. I pushed the call button. It rang for one- two, the call clicked.

  “Hello,” a voice said.

  I worked up the nerve and said, “Heyyyyy, Alvita Reid!” I laughed awkwardly. “It’s Cain.”

  “Yes, I know. Do you need something? I can come over right away.”

  “Um, actually, I’m trying to get out of the house. Do you want to hang out somewhere? Maybe go get coffee or something?”

  “Yes, if that is what you’d like to do. Where at and when?”

  “How about in an hour? We can meet up at that one cafe on Bricktown Road, maybe?”

  “Yes, I’ll be there.”

  “Alright, see you there. Bye.” God, I sound so awkward.

  When I looked up, Dad was smiling slightly, something I didn’t see often from him. He nodded as if pleased.

  “I’m glad. You need to get out of the house. It’s important for you,” he said, his smile falling away.

  I groaned and prepared myself for a difficult day.

  The first thing I did was take a shower. After I took off my shirt, I observed the bruises on my ribs, shoulders, and forearms. I winced as I pressed on the blue and purple skin. They looked bad, but I supposed they could be worse. They could be bleeding like my leg.

  The jeans from last night now had a rip in them, something I might have to sew just so no one notices. My leg now had a band-aid, one of those big ones, that I slapped on. It was the best I could do with my limited medical experience.

  I turned on the water with dread (because being wet was the worst) and looked at the mirror. I pulled up my lips and studied the sharp teeth. I clicked them together and ran a tongue over them. I released a loud breath and prepared myself for the rain of water.

  I eventually left my house with twenty-five minutes left before I had to meet Alvita.

  Bricktown road wasn’t too far away, I could make it there in ten minutes, maybe a bit less if I took a subway. With my senses only heightened by the demonization, going on that thing was on the bottom of my list of ‘want-to-dos’. I don’t think I could stand the lights and the noises for even a minute.

  So instead, I walked for a while, making it to the cafe right on time. I pulled out my phone to text Alvita when I saw her in my peripheral vision. Her hair had been treated kindly and was now a river of tight curls that fell down her back and framed her dark face. Her clothing was also neat and wrinkle-free; despite that, the bags under her eyes hadn’t changed. Her irises still held an exhaustion.

  “Cain Rogue,” she said, coming close. “How has your day been?”

  “Oh, it’s, uh, been good. Thanks for asking, how has-”

  “I wanted to tell you that I have researched what you alluded to the last time we met,” Alvita interrupted him. “You said that you didn’t know me, and in return I told you about myself. I realize now that perhaps that wasn’t the best way to get to know me. I’m glad we get to meet. I have read that the best way to know someone is to spend time with them, and therefore, today is a perfect opportunity to do so. Hopefully, afterwards, you’ll be more comfortable asking me for assistance. I suppose I should thank you for requesting such a meeting.” She nodded her head in thanks.

  I ran a hand through my hair, feeling anxious. She spoke so formally that I felt I had to match her somehow.

  “It was no problem at all,” I said, trying for a smile.

  She paused and then twisted her mouth, creating the illusion of a smile. “I’m sorry. I must seem cold to you,” she said, her fake smile dropping.

  “No, no. It’s okay. I understand, you’re going through a lot and stuff. I’m also… glad to like- hang out. Wanna head inside?”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  While we waited in a not too long line in front of the cafe’s counter, I tapped my fingers on my leg. Something like guilt swirled in my stomach.

  “Hey, uh, Alvita,” I said, her name weird in my mouth. I don’t think I had ever said it without her last name before. “I just wanted to tell you before guilt eats me alive is that, well, I kinda… maybe, asked you if you wanted to hang out cause my dad was pressuring me. I’m sorry.”

  Alvita nodded. She was standing beside me with her hands clasped in front of her. She looked over at me. “I see. That does make sense. I did find it odd that you suddenly asked to meet.” There was a drawn-out moment of silence before Alvita broke it again. “What’s your favorite kind of coffee?”

  I blinked. “Huh? Oh, cappuccinos. With sugar. Maybe something with pumpkin spice if it’s fall.”

  “I see. You said you liked pumpkin. What an interesting choice of flavor, seeing how it’s so gross.”

  I paused, then my mouth fell open. “What?”

  Does she have no taste?

  “It’s gross.”

  “Are you insane?”

  She frowned. “No?”

  I found it hard to believe that. I mean, everyone in my family loved pumpkin, how could she think it She had to be crazy.

  We made it to the counter with me still trying to wrap my head around the fact that someone could possibly dislike something that I like (which was impossible).

  I ordered right away, but Alvita just stared at the board, not saying a word.

  “You okay?” I asked. “Do you know what you want to get?”

  “Hmmm, well, I don’t really like coffee.” She looked over to the worker behind the counter who was waiting for them patiently. “Can I get a hot cocoa? Extra chocolate?”

  The worker nodded. I tried to put in my card, but Alvita beat me to it. The barista told us to wait on the other side of the counter for our drinks.

  “You don’t like coffee? Then why did you agree to get coffee with me?” I asked, confused. If she did want to hang out, she could have suggested doing something else.

  “I am unsure of what people do as recreational activities. Coming here sounded as good an idea as any I could come up with. Also, you seem to like coffee, so I’m fine with it.”

  I stared at her, trying to figure her out. Everything I knew about her repeated in my head, but the pieces just didn’t fit together. She just lost her mother, but instead of being with friends or family, she’s trying to be my ‘assistant’ all because I didn’t let her die. It was baffling.

  One of the employees gave us our drinks, and I thanked them. I gestured to a table that was near a window, and we went to it. I sat down, setting the coffee in front of me, and trying not to stare at her-- to study her face until everything clicked. I took a deep breath.

  I thought. It’s time to stop beating about the bush.

  “Alright, look. If you’re really serious about this assistant thing, I need a straight answer otherwise, I can’t go along with it. I need to know why. I know- I know I helped you that night, but most people wouldn’t take their gratitude to the lengths you are. I don’t understand your motives and… well, it makes me really nervous. So please, can I get a reason why your so determined to help me?”

  Alvita watched me for a long second, her face unreadable. Her eyes narrowed for a moment before her head bowed slightly. Facing the table, her expression hardened as if deciding something. She suddenly straightened, her eyes as steely as ever.

  “I understand. If it is an answer that you want, I’ll give it to you.” She opened the lid of her cocoa and watched the brown liquid as she stirred it with the straw given to her. She didn’t look back up at me once as she spoke.

  “My mother was a kind woman. The kindest you’d ever meet. Every Christmas, she’d make a big batch of treats for all of our neighbors, and we’d go about, handing them out. She even recorded different allergies so everyone could enjoy them. If someone didn’t have a family to spend the holidays with, she’d invite them to our home, even if they weren’t close family friends. And despite the fact that she worked every– every day, she still took care of me and my grandmother whenever possible. She was incredibly caring.”

  Alvita’s voice darkened. “I’m not like that, though. I never was. I thought it was weird to have people in the house that I didn’t know well, even if we saw them once a week. I don’t understand why she made treats when most of them didn’t do the same for us. She spent so much of her time helping other people, and I don’t get why.

  If it were– were me who had died and you had saved her, she’d have done something incredibly kind, incredibly caring, something to really show you her gratitude, whatever that may be. don’t know what that is, though. I want to do something she’d have done. At least once. I owe her that.” Alvita gestured vaguely to me. “This is my attempt at that.”

  I was about to say something, but Alvita kept going, this time her eyes drifting to the window. “I didn’t know why I did what I did at the time, two days ago. But this is the conclusion I came to after some thinking– That I need to prove that I could be similar to my mother.”

  She met my eyes, her gaze intense. “Do you need me to explain more?” The question was genuine.

  I shook my head, a lump forming in my throat. I swallowed, looking away. I couldn’t meet her eyes anymore.

  “No. I… I think I get it now.” I took a sip of my drink, ignoring how my tongue burned under the heat.

  Ellen Reid’s body yet again flashed in my head, and my eyes started to sting, but I didn’t let them shed any tears, not with Alvita right in front of me. My gloved nails dug into the fabric on my palm, and a rumble of guilt rose through my chest, wanting to end me right there and then.

  “If you want to be my… 'assistant', then I don’t mind. You can help me however much you want to,” I said, trying to at least look in the direction of her face. I found that something small, something akin to a smile, was caressing her mouth. She seemed relieved, a tension falling away from her shoulders.

  This whole assistant thing was less about me than it was about Alvita. If helping me with little everyday things helped her with her mom, then I was not going to stop her. Especially with how much I truly failed, how, despite being right in front of me, her mom still ended up dead.

  “You know, I don’t know what to think of you,” Alvita said after a second, catching me off guard. “You told me you weren’t a hero two days ago. I agree. I don’t believe there are such things as ‘heroes’. Almost everyone has motives, especially those who claim themselves hero. You are weird to me, I believe, because you seem to have the same belief as I. Is that true?”

  I bit my lip in thought, my brows creasing on my forehead. “I believe there's some heroes. I believe that if you don’t want to be a hero but you still continue to be one despite that, you are truly one, like my brother, Cory. Unlike me, he hates being called a hero, he hates the whole title actually. He can barely even stand superhero movies, and he hates attention. It's his least favorite part of the job. He just spends his nights and days saving people. He’s a true hero in my eyes.”

  Alvita hummed, sipping her hot cocoa. “Or, he has a different motive that you don’t know of.”

  My mouth dropped open in offense.

  “Sorry,” she said casually. “Or he doesn’t have a motive.” She shrugged. “He could be doing it completely out of his goodwill. I don’t know him. It’s just that, with a high-stress job like his, he must get something out of it, otherwise he wouldn’t be in the Wardens. That’s just how humans work. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

  I blew out a puff of air. “Yeah, you're probably right. But he’s still a hero, and you can’t change my mind.” I crossed my arms and held my chin high, releasing a humph.

  “I won’t try too.” Alvita tilted her head and leaned across the table suddenly.

  I looked back and forth and finally met her gaze. “...What?” I asked slowly.

  “Your teeth. They’re sharp.”

  My stomach dropped, and my eyes went wide. My teeth rammed into each other with how quickly my jaw closed shut.

  “Yeah…” I eventually said. “They are.”

  “Sorry. Are you embarrassed about them?”

  I nodded, not daring to open my mouth. With one hand over it, I said, “They make me look like a Twilight fan.”

  Alvita looked confused. “No, they don’t. I think they’re cool. They look like you could rip into something’s throat and kill it like a predator in the wild.”

  I that imagery, especially with how I have heard that more powerful demons have done exactly that to real people, but I pushed down my nausea.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  She smiled, seeming actually happy, and nodded.

  “You're welcome.”