26. My Extended Family
My Extended Family
LUKE
L uke stretched out his toes as his brain crawled toward consciousness, and they came into contact with another foot. His eyes snapped open to find Matteo sharing the same pillow. That beautiful face was relaxed in sleep, not holding a single shadow or bruise from last night’s adventure.
He sucked in a loud breath as all his memories slammed into his brain. The attack by the masked men, the kidnapping, waking up to a brutal beating, and the demons.
The demons had swept in and saved them. He had no idea what they’d done with those frat bros in the end, and he didn’t care. Not when they’d hurt Matteo for no reason at all.
But Azroth had come to him afterward and given him the choice to have the horrible event wiped from Matteo’s mind. Walking away from that choice still seemed like a good idea, but now he had to explain it all to Matteo.
What the hell was he thinking?
Just as panic was setting in, Matteo stirred next to him. He blinked those ridiculously long eyelashes that always made Luke’s heart flutter. As soon as his big brown eyes focused on Luke, he smiled and let out a happy sigh.
Yet, before he could whisper a pleased “good morning,” that expression of joy withered. His eyes widened as they filled with a mix of horror and fear. He gasped and grabbed Luke’s arm, his fingers digging painfully into flesh.
“Luke! The kidnappers! They—” His words broke off as he looked around, fully registering that they were lying in Luke’s bed in his attic apartment.
He released Luke and shot upright. He clutched the blanket to his chest, twisting it in his fingers.
“How…how did we get here? How did we escape? It was real! I know it was real. That wasn’t a dream! ”
Luke sat up and wrapped Matteo in his arms, squeezing him as a tremble rippled throughout his entire body. “We’re safe. We’re at my place, and we are safe. No one can get us here.”
“But-but-but how? How did we get here? I don’t remember! Those bastards…they grabbed us right off the street. They…they were the ones who were harassing you! They go to Ravenwood! We have to report them. Call the cops!”
His arms didn’t budge from Matteo as the man seemed to want to spring from the bed.
Calling the cops wasn’t an option any longer.
Even if the demons hadn’t stepped in and they had escaped on their own, what would they tell the cops?
That they vaguely recognized the voice of one of the masked men?
That they thought it was this one guy— someone whose name they didn’t even know —without an ounce of actual physical proof?
“ Shhh , honey. You need to calm down. It’s okay. Everything is okay,” Luke murmured, kissing his cheek.
“Yes, but how is it okay? I don’t understand anything.
The last thing I remember is lying in the dark on that cold concrete floor.
My arm was killing me. My head hurt. But now, nothing hurts.
It’s like it didn’t happen, but I know it did.
” Matteo’s face whipped around, and he stared at Luke with an air of desperation, tears filling his eyes.
“It did, and I can explain everything, but…I’m afraid you won’t believe me. It’s going to be hard to understand.”
“Why wouldn’t I believe you? Of course I’d believe you!
” Matteo practically shouted in his face, making Luke’s heart melt.
“Wait! Wait! First, are you okay? That evil fucker kicked you. I saw it. Did you go to the hospital?” As he spoke, he turned in Luke’s arms and began feeling his chest and stomach.
“I’m fine.” Luke caught one of his hands and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “All healed up. Nothing’s wrong, I swear.”
“Okay, good.” He released a deep breath of relief and then narrowed his eyes at Luke. “Now start talking.”
Luke’s lips twisted into a complicated smile. “ Um …so, those guys who attacked us? They were the same ones from the quad that day. The ones who were making fun of me and were chased off by the crows and other birds.”
“I remember them. Fuckers,” Matteo snarled. “They deserved to be chased off.”
“Well, apparently, they wanted payback because the birds continued to give them grief, even though I didn’t know about it.”
Matteo giggled. “All the birds love you.”
Or more likely, his demons were a little too overprotective.
“How did we get out of there?” Matteo asked.
Luke licked his lips, debating for a second on how to dive in, but no great ideas came to him. “My roommates.”
His boyfriend blinked at him. “Really? The people you’re renting from? They found us and saved us? But…”
Yeah, that wasn’t good enough to fill in half of the holes in Luke’s story.
“You see, my landlords or roommates or whatever you want to call them, they’re not…human. They’re actually…” Luke clenched his teeth and fought to get his mouth to spit out the word. “Demons.”
“Demons?” Matteo blinked. “You mean like demon demons? From Hell? Fire and brimstone. Fallen angels. Minions of the devil. Those demons?”
“Well, I’ll admit that I don’t know all the details of their origins and jobs, but to keep it simple, yes, those demons.”
Matteo let out a laugh that sounded forced as he pulled his hand from Luke’s light grip. Luke’s heart sank as Matteo distanced himself. Could he blame Matteo? He sounded insane.
“I…I…don’t…”
“Think about it? We were both tied up and hurt. We had concussions and broken bones. How else would we be perfectly fine now unless magic was involved?”
“Yeah, but demons ? It would be easier to believe if you told me you were living with angels. Angels are supposed to be loving and care for people. Demons…demons are evil, right? Wouldn’t they have helped those assholes instead of saving us?”
“True. Sort of. I think maybe it’s more complicated than that. I…” Luke reached for Matteo’s hand out of habit to reassure himself, but stopped before he could touch him, pulling his hand back.
Matteo’s hands shot out and snatched up Luke’s, squeezing it.
“Look, I’m trying. It’s so hard to wrap my mind around it.
I’ll give you that I can’t think of any explanation that doesn’t involve magic.
I was sure my arm was broken. Last night, I thought…
” His voice trailed off, and he sucked in a ragged breath.
“I thought you were going to die. I was so scared.”
With his free hand, Luke cupped Matteo’s cheek, tipping his face up so that he could meet his eyes.
“I was scared too, but my friends rescued us. Forget the demon part for now. My friends saved us. They would never hurt me, and they promised they would never hurt you because you’re so important to me. ”
Matteo nodded and turned his face into Luke’s palm, brushing a kiss against his skin. He lifted his eyes, wincing. “Magic I can almost believe. But demons? That’s so…so…weird.”
Luke mentally rolled his eyes. It felt too perfect. “Would you expect anything less from me? Bird Boy?”
His boyfriend scowled. “Don’t call yourself that. They made that something evil. You’re more than your love of birds. Plus, I adore your fascination with birds. You’re so sweet and gentle with them.”
Matteo’s words helped to give Luke a flicker of hope. He was trying so hard to meet Luke halfway, but the whole thing was so preposterous. There had to be a way for Matteo to wrap his mind around it.
“Oh!” Luke gasped as an idea hit him. “Do you remember when things were so strange in the restaurant? You asked me if I’d performed an exorcism.”
Matteo sat up straighter, his eyebrows jumping higher on his forehead. “Did you really?”
“No. That was Ogos. One of my roommates. The demons have been trying to help me get a date with you.”
“What?” The question escaped him half gasp and half laugh. “A demon dating service?”
“Yeah, they got bored and decided they wanted to help with my love life since it was so pathetic. I told them I had a crush on you, so they offered to help me get a date with you,” Luke admitted, willing to confess everything.
To throw it all on the line if it meant winning Matteo over.
“Ogos was the one to make sure no other patrons visited the restaurant until we showed up. He wanted to make sure we got the best table. He was also trying to scare people away so that we would have the best service while we were there. In the bathroom, I convinced him to leave because I didn’t want him freaking you out. ”
“And the attack…”
“They had nothing to do with that,” Luke stated. “When we returned to the house, I asked them to leave so we could have privacy. We were lucky they discovered we were in trouble and saved us. Like I said before, they would never hurt me or you.”
Matteo sat quietly, gazing at where he was still holding one of Luke’s hands in both of his. “So…they helped us to go on a date, and they saved our lives?”
“Yes.”
Matteo shoved a hand through his messy hair.
His eyes were wide, but there was a distance to his stare, as if he couldn’t really see the room.
A boulder sank into the pit of Luke’s stomach.
He’d been afraid this would be too much for him to handle.
Demons? A demon dating service? Vigilante demons who saved their lives from evil bullies? It was all too much.
“Luke…”
“You’re overwhelmed. I understand,” he murmured.
“I think…I’m going to need some time to think about all this.”
“If you’d rather…” Luke paused and licked his lips. “Az said that he could wipe your memory. You wouldn’t have to remember what happened last night.”
Matteo’s haunted gaze snapped up to his face. “All of it? Does that mean I’d have to forget about us?”
Now it was Luke’s turn to hesitate. He was the one who said that he wanted Matteo to accept all the parts of his life and that he intended to keep the demons in his life.
If Azroth wiped Matteo’s memory of the demons now, weren’t they just living on borrowed time, setting themselves up for more pain down the road in the event that Matteo was never able to accept the demons as Luke’s extended family?
“I don’t know,” he whispered.
“Then…can I have a little time to think about it?” Matteo squeezed Luke’s hand and flashed him an incredibly fragile smile. “I don’t want to lose you, but I need to figure out if I can handle this.”
“That’s fair.” Even though it was breaking his heart.
There wasn’t much more to talk about. Matteo reluctantly released Luke’s hand, and they both got dressed. One of the demons must have been listening, because none of them were to be found as they descended from the attic to the front door.
Matteo paused as he stepped past the threshold and looked at Luke. The sun was shining brightly overhead, chasing away all of last night’s shadows except for the ones that seemed to linger in Matteo’s sad brown eyes.
“I’m sorry—” Matteo started, but Luke quickly cut him off.
“Don’t. Please don’t apologize. None of this is your fault.”
“But I like you, Luke. I like you so damn much, and I don’t want to screw this up.”
“You’re not. I promise. You’re looking out for you, and that is important to me too.” Luke lifted a hand and brushed his knuckles lightly across Matteo’s cheek. “I want us to date, but I won’t ever sacrifice your peace of mind. Take all the time you need. I’ll be here.”
Matteo nodded jerkily. He lunged forward, his lips crashing into Luke’s for a hard, painful kiss before he darted away, running down the porch stairs. Luke watched him as he hurried along the street, closing the door against the cold winter wind only after he could no longer see Matteo.
He turned and sat in the foyer, his back pressed against the door. Had he made the right decision?
Tog appeared a moment later in his demon form, shuffling down the hall toward him. The demon stood over him for a heartbeat before flopping on the floor next to him, his back against the door as well.
“Matteo will come around. I know it,” Tog declared.
Luke leaned his head on Tog’s beefy shoulder and sighed. “I really hope you’re right.”