“Stop,” he says. “Stop running away.”
“If you’re allowed to run away, so am I,” I snap.
“Asmodeus!” Ellison shouts as he rushes across the yard, but I turn invisible. I know I can’t go far, but I can get away from them. “Come back here. What happened? Asmodeus, talk to me.”
I slip around the back of the house and tuck myself in the corner where I grab my head and close my eyes. I can taste blood but I just wipe it away. Ellison, Landon, and August try to find me for quite some time, but their words fall on deaf ears because all I can see is August’s face… his bloody face…
When Ellison heads out to the car after morning breaks, I know I have no option but to follow him, even though Landon and August seem to be getting into the back seat. I refuse to turn visible, so I climb in still invisible and sit in the front seat. Ellison drops Pocket Lint on my lap and begins to drive.
“I’m afraid if I talk, you’re just going to run off,” Ellison tells me.
“You’ve never been quiet for this long in your life,” Landon says. “It makes me feel icky.”
“Was it because you couldn’t stop him?” August asks. “It’s frustrating when you can’t stop someone who wants to hurt those you care about. I know. On the outside, the media portrays me as having a phenomenal success rate, but all the fails hit me so hard that it’s difficult to see that. We’re just human, Deus.”
Ellison’s hand grips tightly on the steering wheel until his knuckles are white. He remains silent for the whole car ride until we reach headquarters.
“I’ll be fine alone,” he says, so I let him go without a question asked.
The second I get out of the car, Landon latches on to me. “You’re not going anywhere, you hear me? You’re going to turn visible, and you kind of feel damp. Is your ass damp from the morning dew? August probably has some clothes you can change into.”
“Why are you touching his ass?” August wonders.
“Isn’t that how all friends greet each other?” Landon asks.
“Not that I’ve noticed.”
“You should start.”
“I feel like I’d end up in some kind of sexual harassment thing,” August says.
“Nah, our friends are really strange. They’d love it.”
Once we enter the lobby, Nolan sees Landon and hurries over. “Did Ellison come with you?”
“He did.”
“Where is he? I had a question about this stalker situation of his.”
“That way. I think he went to a meeting or something. Sounded boring, so I didn’t exactly listen. Instead, I’m babysitting Asmodeus the Gloomy.”
Nolan looks in my direction before nodding. “I’ll be right back. I need to talk to you guys before you leave.”
“Got it,” Landon responds as he tries to drag me into the elevator.
“I want to wait here for when Ellison gets done,” I say.
“Fine, fine. You promise you’ll stay here while we get you some clothes?”
He parks me on a chair and then pats my invisible head. “Attaboy. Stay… stay! Good boy!”
And then off he hurries.
I close my eyes, mentally exhausted.
I turn visible long enough that I can pull out my phone and switch to the front camera so I can examine myself. There’s dried blood on my face that Pocket Lint is trying to lick off—I can’t tell whether it’s out of concern or a desire for flesh—but I had managed to wipe most of it off. I guess I should go to the bathroom and get myself cleaned up, but before I can go anywhere, Ellison’s illusion appears in front of me.
“Finally going to be visible for a bit? Can we go for a walk so we can talk? I’m tired, Valerie is bitching up a storm, and I just… I need to walk. I feel…” He sighs. “I feel like shit… so I’m treating you like shit.”
